822 



IRIS 



IRIS 



linensis, seem as happy iu the moisture as in the up- 

 lands. The Iris rhizomes wbich require deep planting 

 are mostly smaller and thinner than those of surface 

 creepers. The species with these roots are mostly 

 strong-growing plants, rapidly increasing and requiring 

 an abundance of moisture, though there are some nota- 

 ble exceptions to be mentioned later. Of tbe members 

 of this group, /. Sibirica, in several purple and white 

 forms, is a common garden plant. /. ensata is a com- 

 mon Asiatic Iris with smaU fls. borne among the narrow 

 foliage, which is as ornamental as some of the large 

 grasses. 



The Japanese Irises, which usually end the general 

 display of Irises, are a remarkable example of type- 

 breaking, the occidental gardeners having worked up 

 from /. l(vvigata a wonderful variety of colorings and 

 variation in number of petals, though the colors may 

 be included in about half a dozen general types. There 

 are few handsomer tlowers than good forms of the 

 white Japanese Iris. This Iris may be grown on the 

 upland, but it does not do its best in such locations, for 

 it is particularly susceptible to good treatment, and to 

 produce large flowers both water and manure are essen- 

 tial, Mr. Peter Barr, the veteran fancier of good plants, 

 lately wrote the undersigned from Japan, after consulting 

 one of the oldest cultivators, that "this Iris is grown iu 

 the rice fields in winter and watered each month while 

 at rest with human manure {cow manure would do) ; as 

 soon as young growth appears no more manure is given 

 and the ground is flooded. When growth has ended the 

 water is withdrawn." 



One of the most curious things in connection with the 

 Japanese Iris is that though these plants have been in 

 cultivation here since soon after the treaty ports were 

 first opened, they seem to have excited little attention 

 from gardeners until within a few years. Yet the first 

 importations were as handsome as the later. In this 

 connection it may be said that Japan has also /. gracill- 

 pes, a dark purple hardy form, and /. Japonica or Chi- 

 nensis, one of the beauties of the family but, like /. 

 tectornm (the Roof Iris), another crested kind, nee<ling 

 here greenhouse protection and well worth it. There is, 

 however, a perfectly hardy crested Iris, the beautiful 

 dwarf /. crisitata of the upper southern states — a charm- 

 ing plant for a front border or rockery. Equally dwarf 

 are our lake Irises /. laenafris and /. vertta. 



Tbe west coast of the United States is fortunate in 

 possessing some beautiful and distinct Irises, mostly 

 of the wiry-rooted, thin-leaved type. They have not yet 

 been fully separated botanically, and they are most 

 difficult things to establish in eastern or other gardens, 

 so t*hat there are really very few in cultivation. Raising 

 from seed seems the most practical way of establishing 

 these species. They seem to be perfectly hardy here, for 

 some of them have been tested and flowered, but they 

 do not tarry long. 



/. macrosiphon, I. ffartwegii, I. Douglasiana^ I. 

 bracfeata, I. tenax, I. longipetaln, I. tenuis and J. 

 Purdifi is a list which will interest the searcher after 

 interesting plants. Max Leichtlin, who has a genius 

 for growing difficult things, has been successful in es- 

 tablishing /. bracteata, I. macrosiphon and /. Purdy- 

 ana. He says, "My experience is that they cannot be 

 moved unless in full vegetation. We must grow them 

 from seed, and not touch the seedlings until they have 

 formed a solid rootstock. After this and movement to 

 grow has began, they can be safely handled and trans- 

 planted like other Irises." 



There remain to be considered two allied groups, the 

 Oncocyclus and Regelia. These are considered by ama- 

 teurs the most interesting groups of the Iris family — in- 

 teresting in the amateur's vocabulary meaning some- 

 thing rare and difficult. At the best, these plants give 

 few flowers, but they compensate for this by their dis- 

 tinct and quaint beauty. The best known member of the 

 family, /. Susiana, has been in cultivation several hun- 

 dred years, but is by no means yet a common plant. It 

 takes more kindly to cultivation than any of the other 

 species, will usually flower in tbe border the first year 

 after planting if the spring is not too rigorous; and 

 gardens are not unknown where from some conditions 

 of fortunate placing or soil, they continue to flourish. It 

 cannot be said that there is any hard and fast formula 



for growing these Irises. Tbey vary among themselves 

 as to their requirements, and need special and ditferent 

 treatment in different gardens and climates. These Irises 

 are natives of Palestine, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Cen- 

 tral Asia and Persia regions, all of which are hot and 



1172. Iris uneuicularis. 

 T5T)e of smooth-petaled Iris (X^a). No. 13. 



dry in summer, with a settled and sometimes severely 

 cold winter and a genial spring. In some of the regions 

 they are protected by acovering of snow in winter while 

 dormant, but Palestine and Persia have open winters, 

 and their Irises make growth at this time. After culti- 

 vating most of the species for a number of seasons, the 

 writer's experience does not lead him to dogmatize 

 much on their cultivation or to approve of many special 

 devices which have been put forward from lime to time 

 as the solution of the problem. The consensus of opin- 

 ion among the growers who have had the best success 

 with these plants is about as follows, premising that we 

 are dealing with plants which are perfectly hardy: We 

 receive the rhizomes with the Dutch bulbs in the fall, at 

 which time they are dormant and leafless. It is well to 

 store them in a cool place and plant out in November in 

 a bed of fairly light and well drained soil in a border 

 fully exposed. They require no protection, but if the 

 climate is one where frosts and thaw alternate, it is 

 well to give the ground a covering while frozen to keep 

 it firm. Tbe Irises so planted will seldom spear here till 

 genial weather arrives, and with plentiful supplies of 

 moisture at the root will give flowers from strong buds. 

 After flowering, or, more accurately, flowering time, one 

 is forced to choose between two methods of treatment. 

 If the garden is high, dry and hot, the best procedure is 

 to cover the beds with a glass frame sufficiently large to 

 protect them from moisture and allow the rhizomes 

 to bake. This frame may be removed in the late fall. 

 If the leaves appear, as some of them are likely to do, 

 they may be left unprotected until very severe weather 

 sets in, hereusually in December. The protection should 

 be something to protect the leaves from the winter sun 

 and frequent change of temperature. Here coal ashes 

 have proved satisfactory, thouirh unsightly. Foliage 

 does not seem to become as soft under them as under 

 leaves or mats. If the spring is genial, with weather 



