Hardy and Halt-hardy Plants 



59 



The next most important commercial Iris is the Spanish one (1. Xiphion), 

 a beautiful bulbous species in which a fine trade is done in the bulbs 

 amongst amateurs, market, private, and public gardeners in the autumn. 

 Hundreds of thousands of bulbs are imported from Holland. Market 

 growers usually purchase to obtain cut flowers in early summer before 



Fig. 212. Iris Susiana 



the open-air blossoms appear in May and June. The bulbs are placed in 

 shallow boxes or 2 or 3 in. apart in large pots in good rich soil, and 

 buried an inch or two below the surface. Root action is established out- 

 of-doors or in cold frames, and the pots or boxes are brought into the 

 greenhouses from Christmas onwards as required. Forcing is very gentle, 

 60 to 65 F. being sufficient, and better than a higher temperature. When 

 grown in pots, the plants, flowers, and all may be sold as they stand, if 

 worth while. The chief trade, however, is in the cut flowers, and if these 



