The Yellow Flag, otherwise known as the Iris Pseudacorus or Yellow Iris, Yellow Flag, Water Flag Iris, Daggers, Flagon, Jacob’s Sword, Water Skegs, Yellow Feur-de-Lis, is a somewhat well known perennial plant native to the United Kingdom.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Yellow Flag Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Yellow Flag are the following:
- Water: The Yellow Flag loves moist soil but will still survive dusty soil when it is established.
- Light: Keep your Iris Pseudacorus in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Yellow Flag in soil with poorly draining to moisture retentive properties, so ideally, one that is made of loam and clay.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Yellow Flag is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Yellow Flag belongs to the Iridaceae family, the genus Iris and the species Pseudacorus, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Iris Pseudacorus.
As with other Iris’s, the Yellow Flag is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
The Yellow Flag is a plant native to the north Africa, Europe and western Asia. This is why the Iris Pseudacorus is used to growing in specific regions of United Kingdom.
You might be wondering why your Yellow Flag’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Iris Pseudacorus will be most used to the heat zones in the 3 – 8 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, A2, A3.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Yellow Flag is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Yellow Flag are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Iris Pseudacorus can grow up to 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) in 3′ – 5′ (90cm – 150cm) and 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Yellow Flag a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 36″ (90cm) free so the Yellow Flag can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Yellow Flag is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Iris Pseudacorus loves moist soil but will still survive dusty soil when it is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Yellow Flag in soil with poorly draining to moisture retentive characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has frequent standing water, occasional flooding, and occasionally wet properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Yellow Flag then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Yellow Flag needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Yellow Flag prefers to have soil with frequent standing water, occasional flooding, and occasionally wet properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of loam and clay.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Yellow Flag requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Iris Pseudacorus in
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Yellow Flag will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late), and during the summer (early).
Flowers
You can expect your Yellow Flag to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
In particular, this perennial is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Yellow Flag produces some beautiful yellow, or gold/yellow flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Yellow Flag have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a whorled organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Iris Pseudacorus to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Yellow Flag is well known for its tolerance to clay soil, wet soil and animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Iris Pseudacorus will be fine.
Garden
Does your Yellow Flag have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Iris Pseudacorus owners agree that this perennial will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of coastal garden, city and courtyard, and in informal and cottage styles.
In particular, the Yellow Flag’s best location within your garden is in ponds and streams, beds and borders, and in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a container, or a cutting garden.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Yellow Flag, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
