Colorado Iris transplanting

Question

I transplanted some yellow and purple iris last year. When they bloomed this year, some of them bloomed with both colors. They are like a Guldens Mustard color. Why did this happen?

Answer 1

Typically the color change in Irises are driven by some chemical application, such as the use of the herbicide RoundUp will cause color changes. Other wise the reason for a color change is that the irises divided had some less dominent colors in the mix but being crowded kept them held back. Once these less dominent color mixes were in a new and less crowded location, they came forth in bold fashion.