148 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Floral Edition' 



large pond or lake large plants are not 

 an objection, but in a small one or a 

 tank, the leaves quickly cover the entire 

 surface, to the detriment of the plants. 

 It is therefore advisable to undertake 

 a periodical thinning out and division 

 of the water lilies in small ponds or 

 tanks, and this should be done in early 

 May. The task is a difficult one unless 

 the pond can be drained otT. when there 

 is Httle difficulty. The plants may be 

 cut through with a spade or strong, 

 sharp knife, and will soon make growth 

 and flower the same year. The work 



ought to be performed about the times 

 mentioned, a good deal depending on 

 the climate of the district, and it may 

 be carried out in milder places as soon 

 as the plants show signs of growth. 



Where it is not easy to undertake this 

 task or it is ncccv ary to delay it as long as 

 possible, much may be done by thinning 

 out the foliage of the Nymphseas. This 

 should be done annually, at more or 

 less frequent intervals, in small tanks 

 where there are several plants, or tubs 

 occupied by one or more plants. — 

 — Gardening Illustrated. 



Th< 



Iris and Its Cultivation 



W. T. Macoun, Dominion Horticaltorist 



IT does not seem so long ago, to those 

 of us who are getting past middle 

 life, since about all the irises we had 

 in our gardens were few, such as Iris 

 pumila, the delightful fragrance of 

 which is to, at least, some of us, a glad 

 reminder of the first spring days in the 

 gardens of our childhood. There was 

 also the old reliable, but beautiful. Iris 

 florentina, and the large purple-flowered 

 Germanica. These, with Iris flavescens, 

 completed the list, as far as my memory 

 serves. Outside of these few what 

 other iris had we in Canadian gardens? 

 Now all is changed and hundreds of 

 lovely varieties are available to make 

 our gardens more delightful and in- 

 teresting. So popular has this charming 

 flower become that it has its own 

 American Iris Society, with a great test 

 garden at the New York Botanical 

 Gardens and several supplementary 

 ones. Books have been written about 

 it, the two most noted being "The Book 

 of the Iris," (Lynch), and "The Genus 

 Iris," (Dyke). 



We who are iris enthusiasts think 

 that there is no group of plants which 

 affords more delight than the iris. There 

 are more shades of colour than in most 

 other kinds of flowers, and the light, 

 delicate texture of the flowers, combined 

 with their graceful form, and delicate 

 fragrance, are points much in their 

 favor. The Greeks gave the iris an 

 appropriate name when they called it 

 the Rainbow Flower, for there must be 

 all the colors of the rainbow in it. As 

 cut flowers they are most useful, the 

 buds opening readily indoors. They 

 have a long blooming season, beginning 

 almost as soon as the snow is away and 

 continuing until the end of July. And, 

 finally, many excellent varieties can be 

 obtained at a low cost, and will multiply 

 rapidly. 



But it is upon the more prosaic side 

 of culture that I write, and one can say 

 briefly that they are of easy culture, 

 succeeding in a great variety of soils. 



Prcscntetl at the recent convention of the O.H.A. 



For the bearded flag iris or German 

 iris, a rather dry soil is desired, but they 

 have succeeded well on both very light 

 and very heavy soils at Ottawa. A 

 sandy, loam well-drained, and well- 

 enriched, ensures perhaps the most 

 satisfactory results. The roots of these 

 iris are near the surface, hence a soil 

 which will not often heave with frost is 

 desirable, as they will become too 

 shallow, and the clumps have to be 

 renewed oftener than they otherwise 

 would. 



Siberian and Japanese Iris 



The Siberian and Japanese irises need 

 a moist soil to be at their best, and look 

 well by ponds or streams. In a good 

 garden soil one can have these succeed- 

 ing well with the bearded flag iris. The 

 bulbous irises, such as the English and 

 Spanish, also do well in the average 

 garden. 



Time of Planting 



In our experience, iris may be planted 

 successfully at any time from early in 

 the spring until the ground is frozen in 

 late autumn. Perhaps the most satis- 

 factory time for the bearded flag iris 

 is between the time when they have 

 done blooming and early autumn. If 

 planted then, they will become well- 

 rooted before winter sets in, and there 

 will be good bloom in the spring. Spring 

 is a good time to plant the Japanese 

 iris, or they may be planted with good 

 results in autumn also. The bulbous 

 iris are planted in the autumn as soon 

 as bulbs can be obtained. 



How to Plant 

 Bearded flag iris should be planted 

 quite shallow, the fleshy roots being 

 barely covered with not more than an 

 inch of soil Great losses have occurred 

 from planting these iris with several 

 inches of soil over the top of them, es- 

 pecially in damp soils, as the roots rot 

 under these conditions. It is natural 

 for them to have the fleshy roots close 

 to, or even on the surface of the soil, 

 where they are subjected to the summer 

 sun and keat. Pieces of roots may lie 



around for weeks in the summer on the • 

 surface of the soil, which, if replanted, 

 will soon grow. There is more danger 

 of the iris being killed by apparent 

 kindness than by apparent neglect. It 

 can be readily seen that when the roots 

 of the iris need to be exposed to the ■ 

 sun, which they become by this shallow 

 planting, it is important to plant them 

 where they will be in bright sunlight 

 most of the day. Where shaded they , 

 will not bloom well. 



The bearded flag iris multiplies rapidly 

 and after a few seasons, the centre of 

 the clump becomes weak. If the most 

 and best bloom is to be obtained from 

 the area of ground it occupies, it is 

 necessary to divide the clump and re- 

 plant it The old clumps may be left 

 for a season or two, after pieces have 

 been taken off them, until these new 

 clumps are large enough to ensure a 

 good display of bloom. It is even mon 

 important to divide the clumps O: 

 Japanese iris than it is the bearded 

 flag iris, especially when they are grown 

 in the average garden and have none 

 too much moisture. The tufts or clumps 

 soon become thick and there is appar- 

 ently not that free flow of sap, which is 

 essential, if there is to be free blooming 

 Hence the clumps should be divided at 

 least every three years. When growing 

 along a stream or in springy places, the}- 

 may be left longer without dividing. 



Enemies and Disease 



The iris has few enemies and the 

 most serious seems to be a rot disease 

 which, however, in over thirty year> 

 experience at Ottawa, has given us little 

 trouble, but which has destroyed many 

 plants in some places. The following 

 method of treating iris affected with 

 this rot is employed by one of our 

 Ottawa iris enthusiasts The affected 

 plant is dug up, and the diseased part 

 cut away until healthy tissue is reached. 

 When this is done another clean knife 

 is used to cut off an additional thin 

 slice, after which the roots are soaked 

 in a two per cent, solution of formalin 

 for a time, which should not exceed ten 

 minutes. 



This two per cent, which should not 

 be confounded with other and perhaps 

 better known two per cent solutions, is 

 made up by using about two teaspoon- 

 fuls of formalin to a pint of water. No 

 doubt soaking the soil with this formalin 

 would also be beneficial, if it is necessary 

 to re-plant in the same place. Where 

 only a small part of the plant is affected 

 the disease could be cut away and then 

 the injured part sprayed with formalin. 



The leaves of iris often are spotted 

 with disease which is most noticeable 

 after the blooming season At Ottawa, 

 this has not been found to affect the 

 blooming for the following year to any 

 appreciable extent, and the plants are 

 not treated for it. 



