3 o8 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



September, 19 13 



The majority of the species 

 to grow, some of them being 

 garden. As herbaceous Per- 

 ennials, the Irises like to re- 

 main in a situation for a 

 number of years when they 

 will become increasingly 

 handsome. Like most plants 

 with very showy flowers, al- 

 most every species of Iris is 

 a sun lover, and should be 

 given a fairly open position, 

 although some of the more 

 robust kinds will do very 

 well on the borders of shrub- 

 beries. Most of these plants 

 should be placed in the 

 ground in the Autumn, and 

 just before the coming of the 

 Winter frost is the best time 

 of all, as in this case an 

 early starting is prevented. 

 It is important to plant the 

 bulbous varieties at a fair 

 depth, and with some of the 

 more delicate kinds it is not 

 a bad plan to provide some 

 protection such as a layer of 

 straw until the arrival of 

 the Spring. Of course this 

 is not necessary with the 

 hardy sorts, such as the 

 group represented by the 

 Flag or German Irises. It 

 has been said that all the 

 kinds of Irises will grow any- 



An array of Spanish Iris planted for landscape effect 



of Iris are wonderfully easy where no matter what the soil may be, but it will be found 

 the most hardy plants in the that a little modification in the condition of the land will 



be very helpful. Thus the 

 larger number of Irises will 

 prefer a well-drained soil, 

 although in the case of very 

 dry districts it will be found 

 that frequent mulchings of 

 manure will help to sustain 

 the plants during hot weather. 

 As a general rule we may 

 take it that the bulbous kinds, 

 such as the English and 

 Spanish sorts, will do best in 

 a situation where the soil in- 

 clines to be light, while the 

 German Irises with their 

 fleshy roots delight in a more 

 heavy condition. Further still 

 there are certain kinds of 

 Iris such as the Yellow 

 Marsh Iris (Iris Pseuda- 

 corus) which will not be a 

 great success unless they are 

 in a very moist situation, 

 where their roots may even 

 be covered with water at 

 certain seasons. 



A special mention must be 

 made of Iris Kaempferi, the 

 famous flower of Japan, 

 which has only very recently 

 been taken up by western 

 gardeners. Visitors to the 



This illustration shows the method of dividing a clump of Iris for flowery islands in the Sum- 



re-planting mer cannot but carry away 



