CULTURE OF BEARDED IRIS 



From the book "IRISES" by F. F. Rockwell 

 Published by the Macmillan Company, New York 



The amateur gardener interested in Irises 

 will have seen it stated again and again that 

 they are among the easiest of all plants to 

 grow. Even some books on the subject dis- 

 miss their culture with but a paragraph or 

 two. 



It is true that Irises are exceptionally easy 

 to grow if — but the "if" covers several 

 points of such vital importance that it is 

 as easy to fail with Irises if these require 

 ments are not met as it is easy to succeed 

 with them when they are. 



Moreover, it is one thing merely to get 

 Irises to grow but quite another to get 

 them to thrive so vigorously that they will 

 give freely and fully the marvelous beauty 

 which over a long period should be their 

 contribution to the garden. Anyone who 

 plans to grow even a few Irises should not 

 be content to achieve merely indifferent 

 results, especially as real success is to be had 

 with little or no more labor by providing 

 conditions which will keep the plants really 

 happy. 



Soil and Fertilizers. Most Irises will sue- 

 ceed well in any type of soil from almost 

 pure sand to stiff clay. I have grown the 

 bearded and beardless types in these two 

 extremes and in every soil between them. 

 I have seen them growing in very light, 

 sandy loam and in really heavy soil, both in 

 the same garden. I have grown some 

 species of the bulbous Iris in light, sandy 

 soil as well as in fairly heavy loam. 



Where one may choose, a medium 

 heavy, fairly well enriched soil — in other 

 words, ordinary good garden soil — is to 

 be preferred. The advantage of a heavy 

 soil is that it will maintain the food supply 

 necessary for continuous good bloom sea- 

 son after season better than really light 

 soil. Its disadvantage is that it may incline 

 to be too wet, especially in a rainy season. 

 Light, sandy soil, on the other hand, has 



the advantage of thorough drainage, but 

 the disadvantage of quickly dissipating the 

 food supply. A well drained porous me- 

 dium loam well supplied with humus com- 

 bines the advantages and eliminates the 

 disadvantages of both the preceding types. 



Fertilizer. Sheep manure, tankage, and 

 many other fertilisers good for most garden 

 flowers are rather too rich in nitrogen for 

 Irises. They result in a lush but soft 

 growth of the foliage and poorer rather 

 than better bloom. They may be employed 

 temporarily as a mild stimulus as the buds 

 are forming but should not be used to any 

 extent throughout the season. I have used 

 with great success in preparing the ground 

 for Irises both bone meal (both coarse and 

 fine, mixing half and half) and a generous 

 quantity of wood ashes; either of these 

 supplies a little but sufficient nitrogen and 

 plenty of phosphoric acid and potash in 

 such form as to become gradually available 

 through two or three years, by the end of 

 which time the clumps usually need re- 

 planting. Three or four quarts of bone meal 

 mixture is sufficient for a bed 5 feet wide 

 by 20 feet long. The wood ashes may be 

 put in to a depth of one-half inch or so. 

 Both should be thoroughly forked into the 

 soil before planting. Other fertilisers of 

 various kinds are frequently advocated by 

 Iris growers, but I have never found any- 

 thing else necessary in preparing the soil. 



How and When to Plant. Don't plant 

 bearded Iris in a deeply shaded situation. 

 They love the sun, and while they will 

 grow well enough in heavy shade they will 

 not bloom well. The roots of trees and large 

 shrubs rob the soil of moisture and plant 

 food, and so this must also be taken into 

 account when deciding where the Iris 

 are to go. Light shade is a satisfactory and 

 sometimes an advantageous adjunct, pro- 

 viding the soil is not sapped by tree roots. 



