July 18, 190S 



HORTICULTURE 



67 



ten in advocacj of bright fruiting shrubbery for orna- 

 ment I j 1.1 1 (here is this oilier reason for their planting 

 which is well worth considering. Provide wild cherries 

 and such things in abundance in the hedge rows, by 

 the roadside and in other spare places and we believe 

 nnieli of the cause for complaint will have been removed. 



About Iris 



Roses Under Glass 



CARRYING ROSE PLANTS OVER 



It is often more profitable and convenient to carry 

 a house of roses over a second season than to replant 

 with young stock, particularly if, for any reason, we 

 find that we cannot replant until late in the season. 



To be successful, this process requires careful prep- 

 aration and intelligent handling. Plants in table 

 benches, where conditions relative to root action are 

 readily controlled, may be ripened in about ten days, 

 but where the plants are in solid beds or benches it is 

 advisable to begin early as the work of ripening the 

 wood requires a longer period. 



Begin by gradually withholding water from the 

 roots and allowing the soil to become moderately dry 

 before giving another supply. After five or six days of 

 this treatment the plants will get all the water they 

 require from the syringe which must be kept going in 

 order to keep down red-spider, which must not be al- 

 lowed to increase, as the full complement of leaves is 

 required to complete the ripening process. 



The soil must not be allowed to become so dry as to 

 cause the young wood to wilt or the plants to shed 

 their leaves. It will often be necessary to touch up 

 those places which, being exposed to the direct rays of 

 i lie sun. or from other causes, show a tendency to bake. 

 Air must be given freely, both night and day, as it is 

 an important factor in hastening the ripening. It re- 

 quires about three weeks to properly ripen plants in 

 solid benches. As soon as the plants are sufficiently 

 ripe they should be carefully pruned, removing all the 

 dead and very weak wood and cutting back the strong 

 shoots to five or six eyes, and just tipping the very 

 young shoots. If the plants are to occupy the same 

 benches remove as much of the old soil as can safely 

 be done without injury to the roots, then give an ap- 

 plication of bone meal, and fill up with a good rich 

 mixture of soil and manure. 



The work of transplanting old stock entails a deal 

 of labor, and, unless every precaution is taken to insure 

 its being carried forward as expeditiously as possible, 

 does not always prove successful. It is well, before at- 

 tempting to remove the plants from the benches, to give 

 the soil a good watering to render it plastic, so that a 

 good-sized ball may be taken with each plant. Each 

 plant should be encircled by a piece of string or raffia 

 and all the shoots drawn rather closely together: by 

 this means it will be possible to convey them to their 

 destination without leaving half of them hanging to 

 projections along the wayside, also it will greatly facil- 

 itate handling by the men engaged in planting. 



As soon as a bench is planted it should be well 

 watered and sprayed and in very bright weather the 

 spraying should be done every half hour, for the first 

 two days. In fact it is sometimes necessary to spray 

 thus frequently for five or six days, using an exceeding- 

 ly fine nozzle so as to sret as little water to the roots as 

 possible. 



Iris means "Rainbow" and that means all the colors 

 there are. Twenty years ago, in our Queens catalogue 

 I prefaced our [ris section thus: '"The orchids of open 

 air gardens are the Irises. If there are any more beau- 

 tifully illustrative of form, more cheaply obtainable, 

 more easily cultivated, more continuous in llowering 

 than is the Iris that family has not yet come under our 

 observation." This 10th of June, 1908, I would not 

 change a single line. 



We know it takes time to start a^ain old-fashioned 

 things, peonies, and phloxes and delphiniums for in- 

 stance, reference to which I hope to take up later, and 

 now the Iris begins to shimmer in the limelight, so 

 much so that it may be expected to be one of our next 

 first numbers. This Iris family should have more told 

 of it than there is time and space at my disposal today. 

 Some good every day German Irises are Sapho, vio- 

 let and deep purple, early, distinct : three or four kinds- 

 travel for Sapho; fifteen or twenty kinds carry this 

 name. Augustina, yellow and maroon. Eugene Sue, 

 white and purple. Gertrude, violet blue, new and dis- 

 tinct. Gracchus, yellow and brown crimson. Celeste r 

 pale blue, sweet as a gardenia. Jaacquesiana, maroon r 

 bronze and crimson. Sans Souci, gold and mahogany, 

 a gem. Judith, purple, sulphur and violet. Duchesse 

 de Gerolstein (Harlequin Milanais), white, flaked and 

 reticulated, a fine old variety. Dalmatica, lavender, 

 tall : this has about twenty names. Madame Chereau, 

 a gem amongst gems : pure white, cerulean blue and 

 Tyrian purple, so beautiful and yet not young: has 

 many names, — twenty or more. Fairy (?), white with 

 violet veiling. Darius, yellow, purple shading to cream. 

 Ulysee, bronze, purple and gold and drab. Speciosa 

 (catalogue), lavender and dark purple, large grower. 

 Sir Walter Scott, yellow, brown and rich crimson. King 

 Henry, deeply colored, crimson, purple and yellow. 

 Leopold 1st, amaranth, yellow and smoky bronze. Peter- 

 son Harlequin Milnais is the glorious old Duchesse de 

 Gerolstein. 



The Iris man, after he has become acquainted with 

 the preceding varieties will be looking for more and 

 more, providing always that there is accommodation for 

 the same. Everybody should have Florentina, with all! 

 the grace, beauty and expression of everything charm- 

 ing: colors, are white, lavender, green, brown and yel- 

 low. I know that this old dear thing is carrying twen- 

 ty names: some of them are Chameleon, Peacock, Iri- 

 descence, Multicolor. Western Glow, and the glorious 

 old favorite has stood its ground since 1596 and it is 

 the same Florentina. Chamoeris Olbiensis, purple, 

 white and gold, dwarf, flowers in April. Guldenstadt- 

 iana, white and gold, tall, June. Iberica, purple and 

 lilac and coffee color. May and June. Laevigata 

 (Kaempferii), the Japan Iris: the 4th of July banner 

 flower, one hundred distinct kinds. Pumila, dwarf, 

 purple, blue and white. April. Siberica in various 

 colors, tall and graceful, May and June. 



Another class of Irises is the Xiphions, including 

 alata, caucasica, filifolia, Histrio, juncea, persica. reti- 

 culata, tingitana, vulgare and xiphioides. This section 

 of Xiphions have bulbous roots and they are rather 

 more delicate than the ordinary above-ground rooters. 



Somebody some day "ill write a popular Iris book. 



John Thorpe. 



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