rid 



THE 



GARDEA 



9 



MA GA ZINE 



spider and the fruit prematurely ripening. In the one case the soil may 

 be improved by drainage and the addition of road drift or other gritty 

 matter, and in the other by liberal dressings of decayed vegetable 

 refuse ani by mulching during the summer with half- rotted manure, 



p-rass inn winery, nr nther Waht material that mav be available. There is 



Cali 



89s. 



Irises. 



matter, ana in tne otner Dy iiDerai uicssings 01 aecayea vegetaDie ^ LL Californian iris, so far as at present known h#»i 



refuse ani by mulching during the summer with half-rotted manure, f T rou P Apogon, or beardless ins, several of them bei'ner l g to the hit* 



grass mowings, or other light material that may be available. There is Unfortunately, as is often the case with our treasures t? mSof th< W 



nothing better for applying to quarters occupied by gooseberries of which to manage, though there is one simple and most snrJ , e , are difficuh 



the staple is light than farmyard or stable manure, for while enriching treatment which seldom fails. I have sometimes seen tl metbo d of 



the soil it materially assists in conserving the moisture. tised b y American dealers at a time when planting th lris adv «r- 



The form of the tree must of necessity be determined by the position certain failure, and the invariable remark from lovers f v ° uld ""ean 



to be occupied, and the accompanying illustrations will be of considerable m Sty beautiful plants has been, when recommending- th ?< Se dlan »- 



service in enabling the cultivator who has had but little experience except how t0 £ r ° w the P lan . 4 1 would at once pay any price for it h \ J* 1 ^ 



with the ordinary bush in making a selection adapted to his requirements. so manv times, and it has never succeeded with me " N« 1 " av e had it 



a?o we user! fn have imnnrtatiz-knc «r i • , ' _ ea ny twent n... 



Multiple Cordon Gooseberry. 



These illustrations are reproductions of sketches made of some of the 

 trees exhibited by Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, at a meeting of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society in the summer of 1897, and consequently show 

 what has actually been accomplished. As the trees are represented as 

 growing in pots it may be well to mention that they were lifted and put 

 m them simply for the purpose of exhibition. The fan-shaped or 

 multiple cordon is of special value for training to walls, fences, or trellises 

 of wire and wood can be strongly recommended, for they are immensely 

 productive. Cordons may have one, two, three, four, or five stems 

 but from three to four are preferable. The stems in all cases should be 

 six inches apart and the distance at which the trees are planted must be 

 regulated by the number of stems. The pyramidal tree is well suited 

 for the open quarters, as also is the goblet shaped, which has much to 

 recommend it because of the full exposure to light and air the fruit 

 obtains. In the majority of cases gooseberry bushes are allowed to 

 become overcrowded, with the result that fruit is produced on the outside 

 of the bush only, and the yield is less than it would be under more 

 favourable conditions. It is a good rule to have the leading branches 

 far enough apart to a low of the hand being passed between them 

 without scratching, and m the course of the summer the young growth 

 should be pmched or cut back to within a few leaves of the basef except 

 fnvol ?T, ed -° take ? e pIace of old branches. Summer p nchfng 

 amplrreturn *"* ^ su P eriorit y ° f the results will afford an 



G. 



con 

 any of 



°8 U ,,v - luuflvcm^unauuus oi such kinds as IrU u "vxttrs 

 tenax, I. macrosiphon, and others, arriving as a ml/ • m . rtw egi, hi; 

 dition in the autumn, but with the most careful treat 1! Sp ndid COtl - 

 the plants ever made roots, or survived the sprin? S rardy 

 the plants arrived during the spring the results were better V^ZT* 

 more than 20 to 30 per cent, survived. The dealer* hi a' , stl11 n « 

 lected them during the autumn or summer, and they were 

 and then sent during the early part of the spring P d ln 



A few years later, through the kindness of a friend I had a ft» , 

 collected in the spring and sent, well packed, by mai \- th it I * plants > 

 Iris tenax, Iris Hartwegi, and a few plants of IrS Dougt? 7Tl*l 

 grew and flowered (I think in 1881) ft the Hale FarmNuieris^ 

 dentally Ins Hartwegi was lifted during the autumn, and K itlS 

 ahveover a year it never flourished again, and ultimately led 

 Dpuglasi has slowly increased, and has flowered every year s nee 

 Ins tenax a whole bed, about ten feet long was raised, and there aresS 

 a few good pieces >n existence, and these of a particular fine colour 2 

 having been able to secure another spring-collected lot of the t 

 Hartwegi, and feeling sure that, after so many attempts, if tried I «£ 

 with autumn-collected plants there would be another failure, I haveS 

 up growing this species until I feel sure ,of success. These iris are no 

 particular about soil or climate, because as I have grown Iris tenax wel 

 m the open on soil consisting of heavy London clay, and again in sand 

 soil and ordinary loam, I feel sure that soil or climate is immaS 

 Of greatest importance is, however, that they are not often moved 

 and then only during the spring when they begin tpgrow, always planting 

 them again at once and rather shallow, giving an occasional waterin! 

 during the first week. After that time they have made new roots and 

 are safe. I speak, of course, only of the small growing kinds, which art 

 at the same time the prettiest and most difficult ; such species as Iris 

 longipetala and I. missouriensis are easily managed. 



Iris Douglasiana has very low and slender stems ; creeping root- 

 stock ; leaves linear, evergreen and persistent, two to three feet long, dark 

 green and often purple at the base. Flowers large, creamy white, lined 

 and veined with crimson ; falls rather long, with narrow standards ; crests 

 large. Flowering during the early part of the summer, this proves a 

 very handsome species, being quite unique in habit and colour of flower. 

 1 here is also a variety with lilac flowers and dark lilac veins, but whether 

 this is the true I. Douglasiana I am unable to say. 



Iris macrosiphon has also low and slender stems and creeping 

 rootstock; leaves light or glaucous green, linear, six to ten inches long, 

 rather stiff and narrow ; flowers small, rather graceful, lilac purple, tube 

 somewhat filiform. The type flowers in May or June. Iris macrosiphon 

 var. flava, is a form differing from the type in its shorter and broader 

 leaves and bright yellow flowers. This form may, however, prove to be 

 quite a distinct species; but as we had it under the name of I. macrosiphon 

 var. flava, and also under I. m. flava var. nana, it is not for us to alter 

 the name. It has the advantage of being much more easily cultivated. 



IRIS tenax has slender rhizomes ; leaves tufted, linear, about four to 

 six inches long and a quarter to half an inch broad, deep green, usually 



S°- S^?? 1 " 6611 » stems slender and short. Flowers comparatively large, 

 bright lilac to rosy purple. This species is very free flowering and one 

 of the most beautiful irises in cultivation. Flowers appear in May. 

 , IRIS Hartwegi has a slender creeping rootstock; leaves linear, 

 six to nine inches long, deep green. Flowers bright or pale yellow, 

 sometimes sulphur or white. Flowers are produced in May. This is 

 the most difficult of these Californian irises to manage. 



1. bract eata produces tufted, linear, rigid leaves, nearly evergreen, 

 1 to one and a half feet long and half an inch broad. Flowers pale 

 vellow and of a uniform colour. The plant is of very slow growth aim 

 flowers m May and June. 



I. tenuis has tufts of very thin and slender leaves about a foot loof 

 and one-third to half an inch broad. Flowers small, white or sulphur, 

 veined yellow and pale lilac. At present this is a very rare species a* 

 seldom seen in cultivation. It flowers in April or May. . . 



IRIS missouriensis, besides being a very handsome species, is aw 

 one of the easiest to grow ; its tufted, linear leaves, about one to one aw 

 a half feet Inner onj v.^if • 1- 1 1 1 _i - r ,mo-r> ■ stems one 



one 



large. 



e this snoum ^ »-~ 



It is very easily g«>»* 



a ~~» — v*~** ia 01 mucn coarser gruwth than the prec r 

 flowers larger but not so numerous, and produced later, in May 



~ wx uitac nib 10 Dioom. .Being so very 

 ror beds, especially when required permanently, it is very w 

 IRIS longipetala is of much coarser growth than the pr 



his 



and^men^ ^ ^ ^rvations 



limed and unhmed soils it waTfound^W ^ *? i' ? Va "° US plantS u P° n 

 other respects there was an ill effl f f he u thC P ^ ntS Were treated alike 

 ammonia, which vSs nTthe call whS ST • i C T tmuous us r e °. f s «'P^te of 

 form of nitrate of soda was enSlovId I >> u ' m the 



effect of sulphate of ammonS ZnU ^ the iJ1 - 

 connection with it of suffident^rSnatfnf ^ aI , to g eth K er ^ the employment in 

 or by air-slacked lime. Su°phSe 'hL <^ h \°? ^ USC ° f L Wood 

 ficial effect upon the growth of itatos^ rEff ^ ^ ^ hene ' 



These observaTions have been Tnfirm.H ° haIk ' wood 1 ^ es » or air-slacked lime, 

 deficient in lime in this cSn ? and Id ^ ST* ""^ S ° i,S naturall y 



beneficial manurial or physical influence which a t%l?^T n a ! lde . from a " TT """"unensis. ins rongipetaia tuu.^- •- 



chalk, may have ; they aire probably Sdu, ^ ffhteSl SS-vT^ °f hSS ^ L .} 0n ^^ and probably L spuria ; of compact growth, 



deficiency of mineral bases in the soil, and °heir IS to co^eT ? lt T™ 1 u ' ♦! ,ufo . rin Ieaves > pale blue, white-veined flowers hat 



:ed therein by ardfiSfmethod7 0 Z^*™* ^ ^ two Preceding. I. californica or L long.petal^ ,m 



7W. W . y mncial method5 of cropping and s allied to Iris missouriensis, but has not free habit, and flj* 



later. ' q. REUTHt- 



, . ~ °" — - au numerous, a.nu uiuuulcu "»^'! - s tnrM t 



longipetala is also very variable, and crosses easily with alhec fo^ 

 although intercrossing does not seem to improve them much, vvw 

 known in gardens as I. Tolmiana seems to be a cross between I. m«s^ 

 ensis and I. longipetala, and has paler flowers and broader ^ 

 b? GS l i l ' missouri ensis. Iris longipetala compacta 



cross 

 vritb 



