Honest review: Blue Flag Iris is rewarding but root-eating by water lily aphids or china mark moth is real

Blue Flag Iris is a genuinely satisfying plant to grow, but I want to be upfront about one thing: root-eating by water lily aphids or china mark moth. I've dealt with it twice now and it takes consistent attention to manage.

Beyond that, cooling visual effect and microclimate benefit in summer makes it one of my favourites in the collection. I keep it in a half-barrel water garden for a small patio which suits it well. Learning about planting in aquatic baskets with specialist pond compost has been essential. foliage die-back and pond tidying in autumn is worth waiting for — the plant really justifies itself then. Four stars because of that persistent issue.