THE EVANSIA SECTION 31 



All the species are well worth growing. The earliest 

 to flower and the plant that has been longest known is 7. 

 japonica. Unfortunately in most parts of England this 

 is a greenhouse plant, not because it is not hardy but 

 because it will not flower out-of-doors, owing to the fact 

 that in March and April, when it should flower, we do not 

 get enough heat to enable it to throw up its stems. In 

 pots, however, or in a border in a cool house this Iris is 

 well worth growing. The broad, deep, green leaves with 

 their polished surface provide a delightful background for 

 the much branched stem with its numerous pale, lilac, 

 crested flowers. The edges of the petals are waved and 

 crimped, and the name 7. fimbriata, that has also been 

 applied to it, is not inappropriate. 



When this Iris is grown in pots, it flowers best, pro- 

 bably, if it is left alone and allowed to become somewhat 

 pot-bound. Water may be withheld when growth becomes 

 less active after the flowers are over, and the rhizomes will 

 then ripen. 



The individual flowers are about 3 inches across, 

 flat in outline, owing to the fact that the standards are 

 spreading rather than erect. Each flower lasts only about 

 twenty-four hours, but each spathe contains three or four 

 buds, and the numerous heads of flowers on the stem 

 prolong the display for several weeks. 



Varieties with variegated leaves are said to exist, and 

 will doubtless appeal to those who appreciate such freaks. 



A better Iris from the garden point of view is /. tectorum, 

 so called because it grows on the ridge of thatched roofs 

 in China and Japan. This has large flowers of the same 

 shape as 7. japonica and the other members of this class. 



