IXIA 



IXIA 



1709 



frame is to have other tenants through the summer, 

 the ixias may be taken up after their tops are dead and 

 stored in dry sand till planting time comes around 

 again. Otherwise, merely cease watering as the tops 

 of the ixias die down, and put on the sashes again, 

 tilting them so that they will give air and shed rain. 

 (L. Greenlee.) 



Outdoor culture of ixia is likely to be more satisfac- 

 tory than indoor culture, if one meets the few simple 

 requirements. The planting of the bulbs should be 

 delayed until the last moment, because ixias are more 

 inclined than most things to make an autumnal growth. 

 They should be planted 3 inches deep as late as Novem- 

 ber 30. In planting bulbs it is always well to sprinkle a 

 handful of sand on the spot where they are to lie. This 

 helps the drainage, especially on heavy lands, and pre- 

 vents rotting. The bulbs should then be covered with 

 about 3 inches of leaves, hay, or better still, pine- 

 needles. In the latitude of Boston, ixia beds can be 

 uncovered during the first week of April. However, 

 there will still be sharp frosts to nip the tender shoots 

 that have started beneath the winter covering. Conse- 

 quently a little hay or other covering material should be 

 left nearby, where it can be easily secured when a chilly 

 evening threatens. In ten days the young sprouts will 

 become sufficiently hardened to withstand any subse- 

 quent cold. Even such hardy things as alliums, when 

 first uncovered, can hardly withstand any frost at all. 

 It is, however, a mistake to wait two weeks longer and 

 then permanently uncover the bulb beds, for by that 

 time the early-starting things are likely to be so lank 

 and long that they never attain ideal sturdi- 

 ness. It is better to uncover too early than 

 too late. The secret of success with ixias out- 

 doors is largely in hardening the plants in early 

 spring and in never allowing them to grow too 

 fast under coyer, where they become yellow and 

 sickly. In winter, shutters may be placed over 

 the bulb beds to shed the rain; but the bulbs do 

 as well without this protection, though they may be later 

 in starting. Of course, ixia bulbs cannot stand any 

 freezing, and they must, therefore, be planted in 

 unfrozen soil. After flowering, let the bulbs remain in 

 the earth until the end of July; then take them up, and 

 store them, not in dry earth, but in boxes without any 

 packing. Let them remain in a dry place until they are 

 wanted for November planting. In the southern part 

 of England, ixias can be planted 6 inches deep in hardy 

 borders as late as December, and Krelage, perhaps 

 thinking of still warmer regions, considers ixias as sum- 

 mer-blooming bulbs, and advises planting from Octo- 

 ber to December. In the writer's experience, the 

 flowers from the old bulbs are not at all inferior in suc- 

 ceeding years: indeed, the contrary has been the case, 

 and the bulbs raised at home have been superior to the 

 ones purchased. Amateurs are commonly advised to 

 throw away the offsets because fresh bulbs are cheap. 

 Yet the writer finds that many of the offsets bloom the 

 first year and nearly all of them the second. Ixias 

 have been raised commercially near Boston with 

 every prospect of success. Ixias are amongst the most 

 pleasing of all bulbs. With thousands in bloom in 

 the month of June, they make a braver show even 

 than tulips, and they are less known to the public. 

 (W. E. Endicott.) 



In California, ixias, with which may be grouped for 

 cultural purposes such other South African irids as 

 sparaxis, babianas, and tritonias, are of all bulbs the 

 best adapted to California conditions, thriving outdoors 

 with the minimum of care, increasing very rapidly by 

 offsets, and even forming colonies from self-sown seed. 

 Planting should be done as soon as the imported bulbs 

 are available, usually in October. They should be put 

 about 2 inches deep and as far apart as taste dictates, 

 say 3 inches, if space is valuable. Good drainage is 

 essential and a sandy loam much better than heavy 



adobe, although the writer has grown them success- 

 fully in both. Divide every alternate year to prevent 

 crowding. Pick the brightest place in the garden, as 

 the flowers require strong sunlight to open them up 

 well. This is especially true of the green kind, /. viridi- 

 flora. To raise new varieties, sow seed in autumn, 

 the resultant bulbs blooming the second season. Some 

 of the best varieties in California are self-sown seed- 

 lings, the result of crosses between good named varieties 

 in neighboring beds. After a start has been made, the^e 

 is no reason why the American supply of these bulbs 

 should not be grown in California, as they ripen very 

 well and are of greater vigor than the imported ones. 

 Where space is limited, ixias may be planted among 

 daffodils, thus renewing the show a month after the 

 latter are over. As both bulbs ripen together, in harvest- 

 ing this is no drawback. For garden effect, large plant- 

 ings of separate, clear-colored, named varieties are 

 much better than mixtures. The flowering season 

 covers about six weeks, the pretty cerise /. speciosa, 

 (I. crateroides) blooming in March, while the brilliant 

 brick-red Vulcan is sometimes as late as May. (Sidney 

 B. Mitchell.) 



aristata, 8. 

 bicolorata, 9. 

 caesia, 4. 

 cana, 4. 

 columellaris, 6. 

 crateroides, 13. 

 elegans, 8. 

 flavescens, 9. 



INDEX. 



flexuosa, 11. 

 longiflora, 1. 

 lutea, 10. 

 maculata, 5. 

 monadelpha, 3. 

 nigro-albida, 5. 

 ochroleuca, 5. 

 odorata, 2. 



ornata, 5, 9. 

 ovata, 7. 

 paniculata, 1. 

 patens, 12. 

 polystachya, 9. 

 speciosa, 13. 

 stellata, 7. 

 viridiflora, 4. 



2002. Ixia 

 paniculata. 



A. Tube of perianth long, and some- 

 what dilated below the limb. 

 1. paniculata, Delaroche (7. longi- 

 flora, Berger). Fig. 2002. Corm 

 %in. or less diam., with brown 

 tunics: basal Ivs. 2-3, linear and 

 glabrous, to 1J^ ft. long: st. 1-3 ft., 

 sometimes branched: fls. many, in 

 lax erect spikes, the tube to 3 in. 

 long and straight, the limb cream- 

 white, the segms. obtuse, often 

 tinged red and sometimes with a 



blackish base; anthers wholly or partially 



exserted, about as long as the filaments. 



B.M. 256; 1502. There are two botanical 



forms or varieties. 



AA. Tube of perianth short, and dilated below 

 limb into a distinct funnelform. 



2. odorata, Ker. Lvs. very narrow: st. 

 slender, distantly branched: fls. bright 

 yellow, fragrant, in a short spike; tube 

 funnel-shaped, J^in. long, the segms. 

 oblong; anthers equaling the free fila- 

 ments. B.M. 1173. 



AAA. Tube of perianth short and cylindrical 



(not dilated upward). 

 B. Filaments more or less connate or joined. 



3. monadelpha, Delaroche. Corm glo- 

 bose, with fibrous coverings: Ivs. very nar- 

 row: st. slender, simple or somewhat 

 branched: fls. few, in a short spike; segms. 

 typically lilac, but there are forms with 

 claret-red, blue or pale yellow segms. com- 

 bined with eyes and markings of various 

 colors, some of which have received sepa- 

 rate names. B.M. 607; 1378. 



BB. Filaments all free at the base. 

 c. Fls. green. 



4. viridifldra, Lam. Corm depressed- 

 globose, ^in. diam., with fibrous cover- 

 ing: Ivs. narrow, strongly ribbed : fls. many, 

 in a long loose erect spike, typically with 



