RHIZOMATOUS SPECIES 75 



Iris throws up its blooms, except the Algerian /. 

 unguicularis or stylosa, and this will soon become too 

 big for its position unless the rock garden is on a large 

 scale. Once, however, the last flowers of /. reticulata and 

 I. persica of the year have faded, the first dwarf rhizomatous 

 Iris may be expected to unfold its earliest buds, usually 

 not long after the beginning of April. The actual date 

 will vary slightly with the season, and also with the amount 

 of shelter from cold winds that the surroundings afford. 

 In most seasons it is a race between the dwarf, narrow- 

 leaved Greek forms of /. stylosa (sometimes known as /. 

 cretensis) and the true type of /. pumila as to which shall 

 be the first to unfold its flowers, and the Greek plant 

 usually wins by a day or two. It is important to lay stress 

 on obtaining the real I. pumila, for this plant is still some- 

 what rare in cultivation. There is no difficulty in finding 

 the name in catalogues, but it is quite another matter to 

 find plants that fit the name, except, as a rule, those 

 varieties that are offered under the names of pumila 

 ccerulea and pumila azurea. These two names are not 

 quite synonymous, or perhaps it would be nearer the 

 truth to say there do exist two garden forms for which 

 these two names may be used. There is very little differ- 

 ence between them : in colour, in fact, there is none, 

 but one is superior to the other both in size and vigour, 

 and is moreover more floriferous. Of the better form 

 it is possible to have as many as thirty flowers on a 

 patch a foot square, and the colour is a rather grey 

 sky-blue. 



These pumilas are, for their size, at any rate, some 

 of the most floriferous of Irises, and the whole plant with 



