CULTURE OF BEARDED IRIS 



Irises prefer full sun but will grow and bloom well if given half 

 a day of sunlight. The bearded iris will not tolerate wet feet and 

 the gardener can avoid many problems by providing good drainage. 



Irises will grow in any good garden soil. If other plants make 

 good growth in your garden, irises will flourish in it. But extra food 

 is necessary for best growth and bloom. For the new planting a 

 balanced chemical fertilizer can be dug into the soil at the rate of 

 one ounce per square foot, if this is done three weeks before the 

 plants are set in. Half this amount should be used if it is added just 

 before planting time. Large quantities of well-rotted compost or 

 well-rotted manure are good additions but should be placed eight 

 inches deep or dug into the soil and they should not be piled around 

 the rhizome. It is good to combine the chemical fertilizer with the 

 rotted materials and to dig both in together. In general, fertilizers 

 high in nitrogen should be avoided. 



Each spring, after growth begins, one handful of granulated 

 super phosphate plus two handfuls of agricultural gypsum can be 

 sprinkled in a circle around each clump. A half ounce of balanced 

 fertilizer may be substituted for the super phosphate. It is good to 

 make these applications just before a rain, or to hose the plants 

 clean of any fertilizer which has fallen on the new growth. 



Like many perennial plants, irises may be moved at any time if 

 proper care is taken. However, there is a best time to move them. 

 This is during the dormant period which extends from soon after 

 they bloom until the time when new growth develops. (It is for 

 this reason that we ship in July, August and September.) If you 

 move your irises within this period you will have the least trouble 

 and the greatest success. 



Just one word of caution about injury is necessary. Since disease 

 may enter through open wounds it is better to trim foliage away 

 with shears rather than to tear it away, and to cut rhizomes apart 

 rather than to break them apart. Cut surfaces and injuries which 

 do occur should be exposed to the sunlight for several hours before 

 replanting. A light dusting of sulphur on such wounds is still fur- 

 ther insurance against future troubles. 



Although your bloom should be fairly good the year after trans- 

 planting, your best bloom will occur in the second to fourth years, 

 so do not divide your clumps too soon. But after three or four years 

 the rhizomes will become crowded and should be dug, divided, 

 and replanted. This is also the time to revitalize your soil by add- 

 ing humus and fertilizer as was recommended for the new planting. 



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