Blue Spritz

Blue Spritz is one of Donald Delmez's finest, and the awards back it up. The falls open blue white, finely veined in blue purple, then finished with a clean white edge and a yellow-green signal at the center. The style arms are multiple, dark blue lined white, and the whole flower is softly ruffled — a lot of detail packed into one bloom.

Registered by Delmez in 1996, from 'Caprician Butterfly' × 'Warai-Hotei'. It earned an Honorable Mention in 2000, an Award of Merit in 2003, and took the Payne Medal — the highest honor for a Japanese iris — in 2005. Delmez, of St. Charles, Missouri, received the American Iris Society's Hybridizer Award in 2017 for his body of work.

Standing 35 inches with midseason bloom.

Japanese irises want moisture, especially through spring bloom season, and slightly acidic soil — they won't tolerate lime. Full sun gives the best performance. Hardy in zones 4–8.