"RlSHUiXO"' 



"SHJMUYO" 



JAPANESE IRIS 



"There is nothing in the garden like Japanese Iris for 

 arrogance, subtlety and sheer insolence of beauty. This is 

 precisely the effect conveyed when one sees Japanese Irises 

 in large masses. When a few plants are found on the banks 

 of a stream, they have more of piquancy and less of bold- 

 ness. They are the most striking flowers of July, and not so 

 difficult to grow as the average gardener supposes. 



"It is 7iot true that Japanese Irises must have bogland or 

 even water in which to bathe their roots. They love mois- 

 ture, but will flourish in any good garden soil if water is 

 applied in abundance and if the exposure is sunny. The 

 latter point is important. It is useless trying to grow Jap- 

 anese Irises in a shady spot. Sunlight and moisture are the 

 two requisites for success with these plants. 



"Let it be remembered that this type of Iris takes an 

 entirely different treatment from the Bearded Iris. Instead 

 of being planted almost on the surface of the ground, the 

 crowns should be buried two inches. 



"Peat can be added to advantage to soil where Japanese 

 Irises are to go. Unlike the bearded Irises, which delight 

 In lime, the Japanese forms prefer a soil which is some- 

 what acid. Lime should never be used with them. It is also 

 important that the ground be kept well cultivated, never 

 being allowed to become hard or dry. A summer mulch of 

 pulverized peat lessens the amount of hoeing necessary 

 and helps to hold the moisture. 



"The location should be one where the drainage is good, 

 even though it be close by a pond. These Irises like to have 

 their roots reach water in summer, but stagnant water must 

 not stand around the clumps, and it is imperative that they 

 should not be caked over with ice in winter. 



"Japanese Irises must have plenty of room, and must 

 never have competition from weeds or grass. If they are 

 used in a general garden away from water, a spot should 

 Ije prepared for them by digging out a foot of earth and 

 working in an abundance of well rotted cow manure. If the 

 earth is at all heavy set the divided clump on a little mound 

 of sand. When winter comes a light mulch will be needed. 



"There is only one way in which to get an abundance of 

 large flowers, and that is to supply water with a generous 

 hand during the spring before the buds open." — Extract 

 from "Horticulture" Magazine. 



And from Mr. F. F. Rockwell's valuable book on "Iris" 

 we quote the following: 



"Many gardeners have resorted to the expedient of order- 

 ing Japanese irises only in mixture, or as unnamed seed- 

 lings. All too often these mixtures turn out to contain but a 

 few colors, and these of indifferent quality. 



"All of these difficulties have conspired to prevent the 

 Japanese irises from attaining the popularity which they so 

 richly merit. I mention them, not to make any gardener 

 hesitate about planting Japanese irises, but rather to ex- 

 plain why they are not more universally known and plant- 

 ed, and to caution the securing of stock from a thoroughly 

 reliable source. 



"The Japanese irises are the last of the more important 

 groups to flower. Beginning before the latest of the Tall 

 Bearded sorts have finished, they carry on the pageant of 

 iris beauty for most of another month, and to new peaks 

 of splendor. 



"The Japanese irises, as already pointed out, differ from 

 all of the preceding sorts not only in flower form, but in 

 general habit of growth. They are considerably taller. The 

 effect as they grow in the garden, either at close view in 

 the hardy border or bed. or at a distance in landscape 

 planting, is so radically different from that of the Tall 

 Bearded irises that it would be well worth while to have 

 both, even if they bloomed at the same time. Not only are 

 the plants taller, but the foliage and flowers are less for- 

 mal, and for that reason preferable for certain types of 

 landscaping. 



"For midsummer masses of color on a large scale, the 

 Japanese irises are unsurpassed." 



-j Page Tivrnty-cight 



