Bearded Irises, such as Stepping Out, like full sun on their zhizomes (a modified horizontal plant stem that runs underground), and don't like to be waterlogged, so I decided to plant it in a terracotta pot, for now at least, where I can monitor it more easily. It is easy to see why it received the RHS Award of Garden Merit. The RHS states that it likes an acid to neutral well-drained soil, any aspect except north, and is as hardy as they come at H7. It flowers in spring, is deciduous, perennial, and clump forming. Exposure can be sheltered or not sheltered (I live high on the Pennines Mountains so I put a plant support in the pot, just in case). It achieves a height of about 1 metre with a 1/2 metre spread.
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| Bearded Iris 'Stepping Out' |
I am limited to what I can grow in my 30 x 30ft garden that has two patios, a shed, and a 9 x 7ft garden room in it. The top patio gets the most sun from mid morning until sundown in the warmer months when the sun is higher in the sky. The bottom patio, which runs along the wall outside my kitchen, gets morning sun only. Needless to say, Stepping Out has been placed on the top patio.
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| Bearded Iris 'Stepping Out' |
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| Bearded Iris 'Stepping Out' |
All the above photos were taken today, 23 May, 2026.
Bearded Irises can be propagated by division six weeks after flowering. Here is the RHS advice on how to go about it.
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| Bearded Iris 'Stepping Out, 13 May 2026 |