English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris Bulbs

Light Needs

Part Sun to Full Sun

(5+ Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

34 in.

Mature Spread

18-24 in.

Growing Zones

4 to 9

English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris pairs creamy standards brushed with lemon and peach with ruffled light-apricot falls edged in cream, all centered by a tangerine beard. The 5-inch flowers have a light vanilla-like fragrance. Each 34-inch stem has a high bud count, giving established clumps a generous spring display, often followed by late summer or early fall rebloom. Blue-green, sword-shaped foliage sets off the peach and cream tones of the flowers.

Registered by Australian hybridizer Barry Blyth in 1989, English Charm has now been grown long enough to be regarded as a historic tall bearded iris. It is hardy in USDA zones 4-9, and its rhizomes increase over time to form broader clumps that can be divided and replanted. Place it through the middle of a sunny perennial border, near a cutting garden, or in a wide patio container to view the detailed coloring at close range. Established bearded iris tolerates periods of dry soil, and deer and rabbits generally avoid the foliage and rhizomes.

English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris Bulbs Care

Plant English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris Bulbs in late summer to early fall, allowing several weeks for roots to establish before persistent cold arrives. Full sun supports the strongest flowering and rebloom potential, although half-day sun or light afternoon shade can be suitable in hot climates. Choose well-drained loamy, sandy, or amended clay soil with a preferred pH around 6.1 to 8.5, and position the rhizome so its upper surface remains exposed or only barely covered.

Water thoroughly after planting, and keep the root zone lightly moist for the first four to six weeks while new roots develop. Once established, allow the soil to dry somewhat between waterings, but provide supplemental moisture if needed through midsummer when reblooming iris is forming its later flower stalks. Apply a low-nitrogen fertilizer as spring growth begins and again after the first flowering cycle, spreading it around the clump rather than directly against the rhizome. Keep heavy mulch away from the crown so the rhizome receives good air circulation.

Cut finished flower stalks close to their bases after each bloom cycle and remove damaged or spotted foliage during the growing season. In late fall, trim declining fans to about 6 inches and clear dead leaves from around the rhizomes to reduce overwintering sites for iris borers. Divide crowded clumps every three to four years in mid to late summer, keeping firm outer rhizomes with healthy roots and leaf fans.

English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris Bulbs Spacing

Space rhizomes about 18 to 24 inches apart so expanding clumps have room for air circulation and continued flowering. For container growing, choose a broad pot at least 12 inches deep with large drainage holes and a fast-draining potting mix, keeping the rhizome crown at the soil surface. In zones 4-5, give containers winter protection in a sheltered, unheated location where the roots remain cold but receive some insulation from repeated hard freezes.

English Charm Reblooming Bearded Iris Bulbs Companion Plants

Speedwell makes a strong companion in a sunny well-drained site because its upright blue flower spikes provide a cooler color counterpoint to the peach and apricot iris flowers. For larger beds, ninebark provides lasting shrub structure behind the iris and continues interest after the spring flowering cycle has passed. In a large container, bacopa can trail around the rim beneath the iris fans and adds a lower flowering layer without crowding the exposed rhizomes. 

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