1708 



ITEA 



IXIA 



white, in solitary, erect, hairy, simple, dense, terminal 

 racemes 2-6 in. long, given a greenish white effect by the 

 stamens and pistils, not particularly showy, appearing 

 late June and July. Pa. and N. J. to Fla. and La. B.M. 

 2409. In nature it inhabits low, wet places. In cult, 

 it seems to adapt itself to almost any soil. It is not 

 perfectly hardy N., but grows rapidly and seems endur- 

 ing of both sun and shade. In ornamental use it is 

 planted in masses or mixed with other shrubs of similar 

 character in the shrubby border or at the edge of woods. 

 Its somewhat coarse character does not favor its 

 approach to more refined objects. In autumn it becomes 

 a brilliant red. It is prop, from seed, by cuttings and by 

 division of roots, which spread slowly and form clumps 

 of sts. It may be collected from the wild. 



ilicifolia, Oliver. Evergreen shrub, with holly-like 

 spiny-toothed broadly elliptic Ivs.: fls. small, greenish 

 white, almost sessile, in a terminal drooping raceme 1 

 ft. or less long. Cent. China. G.C. III. 34:375; 42: 

 123; 50:96. G.M. 54:567. Hardy in parts of England. 



A. PHELPS WYMAN. 



L. H. B.f 



IVA (named after Ajuga Iva, from its similar smell). 

 Composite. A genus of about twelve species of 

 American shrubs or shrubby herbs with flowers sug- 

 gesting those of Artemisia, or the common ragweed, 

 but from which it differs in having heads all of one kind, 

 the bracts of the involucre not united. This includes 

 I. frutescens, Linn, the MARSH ELDER or HIGH-WATER 

 SHRUB, a native hardy perennial of no garden value, 

 which is, nevertheless, on record as having been culti- 

 vated. It grows 3 to 12 feet high in salt marshes and 

 on muddy seashores, has serrate leaves and flowers as 

 inconspicuous as those of a ragweed. See B. B. 3:292 

 and the manuals. 



IVESIA: Potentilla. 



IVY. The common or English ivy is Hedera. Boston 

 I. = Parthenocissus tricuspidata. German I. = Climbing 

 Senecio and Herniaria glabra. Ground I.=Nepeta Gle- 

 choma. Kenilworth I.=Linaria Cymbalaria. Poison I. 

 =Rhus Toxicodendron. 



IXIA (Greek, bird-lime; said to refer to the juice). 

 Iridacese. Attractive bulbs (cormose) from the Cape of 

 Good Hope, with grass-like foliage and spikes of flowers 

 in early spring, exhibiting a wide range of colors; usually 

 flowered under glass, but can be grown in the open in 

 the North with good protection. 



Corm mostly globose, tunicated, fibrous-coated or 

 nearly naked: st. simple or the infl. branched, about 

 1-2 ft. tall, bearing an erect spike or raceme of mostly 

 6-12 fls. : Ivs. at the base of the st., erect, with perhaps a 

 few smaller cauline ones: fls. funnelform or salverform 

 with a slender sometimes elongated tube, and 6 nearly 

 or quite equal segms., the colors white, yellow, orange, 

 lilac, pink, crimson, red, purple or even green; sta- 

 mens 3, attached in the throat, the filaments free or 

 connate at the base; ovary obovoid or oblong, 3-celled 

 and many-seeded, the style filiform with slender lobes: 

 fr. a membranaceous obtuse 3-valved caps. Species 

 about 25 in S. Afr., 1 in Trop. Afr. 



Ixias number their cultivated forms by the hun- 

 dreds. Next to crocuses and freesias they have no 

 rivals in point of popularity among spring-blooming 

 bulbs of the iris family. Culturally they belong to the 

 same class with babiana and sparaxis, which are also 

 desirable and distinct in general appearance and color- 

 ing, but are surpassed by ixias in popularity and in 

 number of varieties. Botanically, these three genera 

 belong to the ixia tribe, in which the flowers are spicate, 

 not fugitive and never more than one to a spathe. The 

 stamens of Ixia are equilateral; those of Babiana and 

 Sparaxis unilateral. Ixias have about six erect grass- 

 like leaves arranged in two ranks; Babiana has plaited, 



hairy leaves. Bulb catalogues give no hint as to the 

 parentage of the numerous named varieties. They may 

 not mention /. maculata nor /. columellaris, which 

 are probably the important parent stocks. Of the 

 species recognized by Baker in Flora Capensis, appar- 

 ently only 7. viridiflora appears as a trade name, but /. 

 speciosa and 7. paniculata may be advertised under their 

 synonyms 7. craterioides and 7. longiflora. Ixia flowers 

 are charming in every stage of development. At first 

 the flowers are erect and cup-shaped. They close at 

 might and remain closed on dark days. As they grow 

 older they open wider and 

 become more star -shaped. 

 Fig. 2001 shows the flowers 

 in their drooping stage. The 

 plants remain in flower for 

 three weeks, although 

 the faded flowers at 

 the bottom of the spike 

 should be taken off 

 toward the end of the 

 period. As cut-flowers, 

 they are presentable 

 for a week or two. 



For greenhouse bloom, 

 ixia bulbs can be 

 planted any time from 

 September 15 to October 30, 

 the sooner the better. In 

 general, tender bulbs of 

 small size tend to lose 

 vitality when kept a long 

 time in the dry air of ware- 

 houses. They should be 

 planted an inch deep, five 

 or six in a 5-inch pot, or eight to 

 ten in a 6-inch pot. They like a 

 compound of sandy soil and leaf- 

 mold. It is probable that most of 

 the failures with ixias are due to 

 hasty forcing. The pots should be 

 stored under a bench or in a 

 rather dark cellar, at a tempera- 

 ture of 45. The object is to hold 

 back the tops while the roots are 

 growing, in order to get stocky, well-colored, slowly 

 started shoots. They need no water until growth has 

 started. Then water carefully until the flowers come, 

 as the young plants are liable to rot at the surface of 

 the ground. While flowering, water freely. After 

 flowering, some gardeners give the plants no water. 

 Others keep the soil moist until the leaves turn yellow, 

 and then gradually withhold water. As to temperature, 

 the plants may be brought into a cool greenhouse (50) 

 when well started, and toward the end of January may 

 be given 5 more heat if flowers are desired as early as 

 the middle of March. Ixias have to be staked and tied. 

 The old bulbs, from which the offsets have been 

 removed, may be used again. Ixia bulbs, which are 

 really fibrous-coated corms about J^inch thick, keep 

 as well as freesias. Seedlings flower the third year. 



In coldframes ixias give good results. Choose for the 

 frame an open place, sheltered from north and west 

 winds. In its construction give especial care to pro- 

 viding good drainage, to close-fitting and snug banking, 

 so that frost, mice and moles can be kept out. A sandy 

 soil, without manures, is safest and best for ixias. If 

 fertilizers are used, they must be placed several inches 

 below the bulbs, never in contact with them. As in out- 

 door culture, the bulbs must be planted late and in soil 

 well dried by placing the sashes over the frame some 

 time beforehand. Plant about 3 inches deep, as far 

 apart, and treat afterward much as in greenhouse cul- 

 ture. Take off the sashes in early May to show the 

 mass of rich, odd flowers which, ordinarily, will open 

 about that time and last for several weeks. If the 



2001. 



Ixia flowers in 

 their drooping 

 stage. (X 1 A) 



