CHAPTER VII 



Subsequent Care 



HE CARE AND ATTENTION required 

 by the Iris, when once established, is less 

 than that of almost any other desirable 

 flowering plant. Even if planted in the sod, if cared 

 for the first year or two it will thereafter not only 

 maintain itself but bloom abundantly and increase 

 without further attention. It is above all others the 

 plant for the lazy man and also for the lady indisposed 

 to any more exertion in the flower garden than is 

 required to gather the blooms. Nevertheless it will 

 well repay whatever care it may receive. 



CULTIVATION. In the spring go over the newly 

 planted beds and remove all covering put on in the 

 fall or winter, and if any of the plants have been 

 heaved push them down again; remove the dead 

 leaves from all the beds, both for sightliness and to 

 get rid of any pests which they may harbor. If the 

 plants are crowded or the clumps are large it will be 

 well to carefully remove, from time to time, the oldest 

 leaves tending to keep the rhizomes too moist, es- 

 pecially in wet weather. For the looks of the plants, 

 all the withered blossoms should be picked off every 

 morning and every flower-stem should be cut out as 



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