50 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral EVlHloD 



The Iris in Early Spring* 



Dr. F. G. Brethour, Toronto, Ont 



AS soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground, and before any growth 

 starts, trim off all ends of the 

 foliage, down to two or three inches 

 from the ground. Bemove all debris, 

 such as leaves, grass and weeds, and 

 scrape off any soil that by accident has 

 gotten too high on the rhyzomes. Then 

 peel off any broken leaves, or any that 

 show signs of being winter-killed or 

 diseased. This gives your clumps a 

 neat appearance, and is not conducive 

 to rot if the weather is wet. Now, go 

 over them carefully, feeling for any 

 soft or spongy spots and cutting them 

 smoothly off with a sharp knife. Then 

 spray them with a 2 per' cent, solution 

 of formalin or a solution of permanga- 

 nate of potash, half ounce to a gallon of 

 water. 



Bear in mind that the iris has two sets 

 of roots. One set lies just beneath the 

 surface, running out horizontally, so' 

 that fertilizer must not be used too 

 freely for fear of burning. In the first 

 place, scatter all over and around air- 

 slaked lime to make the ground look 

 white, and scratch this in gently with 

 a small iron rake. This breaks up any 

 crust that may have formed on the sur- 

 face. Then, after the first rain I go to 

 a pile of rich earth, made up of de- 

 cayed sod, or edge clippings and leaves, 

 which has been covered all winter with 

 a pile of manure. I scatter this about 

 half an inch thick between the different 

 clumps, followed by some bone-meal, 

 about a handful to a plant, which is 

 scattered thinly. This I rake in gently 

 also. Nothing remains to be done ex- 

 cept to watch for signs of root-rot, if 

 the weather is wet. If you do not get 

 good bloom from this, I certainly 



*A paper read at the recent convention of the 

 O.H.A. at Toronto. 



would dig up the clumps and remake 

 the ground. 



The best time to plant iris is im- 

 mediately after blooming period. If, 

 however, you have to plant in spring, 

 or have seedlings to transplant, do it 

 early. 



Iris Show 



What promises to be one of the out- 

 standing events in horticulture in the 

 province this year is a big Iris show to 

 be held by the Toronto Horticultural 

 Society in early June. For the first 

 time our own Canadian seedlings will 

 be shown for awards by merit, and the 

 Federal Committee on names of novel- 

 ties will be on hand to pass on these 

 specimens. Besides iris, the Darwin 

 tulips, lilacs, shrubs and perennials 

 will also be shown, and it is possible 

 the wonderful peony show of last year 

 will be eclipsed. Further notice of this 

 show will be given. 



The Gladiolus 



Mrs. G. A. Bonisteel, Belleville, Ont. 



THIS article on types and standard 

 varieties is intended for the ama- 

 teur rather than the professional 

 grower, the latter already being famil- 

 iar with them. 



The different points to consider are 

 size and color of flower, arrangement 

 and number of flowers on stem; num- 

 ber open at one time ; height and erect- 

 ness of flower stalk, and keeping quali- 

 ties of flower. Few gladioli reach per- 

 fection in aU points. 



Hybridizers have increased the size 

 of gladioli from two inches to some 

 magnificent beauties six and seven 

 inches across, although th6se with 

 which we are most familiar are three 

 and a haK to five inches — a nice size, 

 indeed. 



Flowers may have a solid color, a 

 blotched or lined throat, or be mottled. 



The WllLci j^ivc:^ |ji cirl l-iii-ru i w n Cicul 



tint, either in a solid shade or with 

 delicate throat markings or blotch, yet 1 

 there are some remarkable combina- 

 tions in mottled and striped produc- 

 tions. 



A flower of good height with an up- 

 right flower stalk, and flowers facing 

 one way, is to be preferred, although 

 a twining stem is graceful in a vase 

 arrangement, but not handy for ship- 

 ping. 



One of the most important points is 

 the number of blooms on a flower stalk 

 and the number open at one time. Most 

 standard varieties produce from ten to 

 sixteen blooms, but several newer varie- 

 ties have from fourteen to twenty. A 

 first-class variety should have not less 

 than four blooms open at one time, un- 

 less flowers are extremely large ; there 

 are a few varieties that will show as 

 many as six to eight flowers open at one 

 time. 



The time required to obtain bloom is 

 approximately eighty to one hundred 

 and ten days, according to variety. 



Among the very early standard 

 varieties we have: Halley, salmon; 

 Prince of Wales, a salmon pink over 

 yellow, a sort of glorified Halley, of 

 which it is supposed to be a sport ; and 

 the wonderful new Marechal Foch, a 

 light lavender pink of beautiful texture, 

 measuring six inches across. This is a 

 cross of Halley and our old standard 

 America. It has the earliness of Hal- 

 ley and the 'color of America and is 

 larger than either. 



A little later come Mrs. F. Pendle- 

 ton, Mrs. F. King, Europe, Panama, 

 Schawaben, Loveliness, Niagara, and 

 America, Peace, a standard white, and 

 War, a good red, are both late and 

 bloom at the same time. Therefore, we 

 can see the necessity of knowing if a 

 variety is early, medium, or late, when 

 (Continued on page 52.) 



Delegates to the Convention of the Ontario Horticultural 

 This convention marked another milestone of satisfactory progress in the history of the horticultural societies of Ontario. 



were added, and a still further rapid develop- 



