236 Raising Irises from Seed 
frost, they may be replanted and suffer little from the experience, yet it is better, on the whole, to 
postpone the sowing of non-bulbous species until the autumn. 
It is possible that, under other conditions of soil and climate, other methods of procedure would 
be preferable, but on sandy soil in Surrey my practice is to sow all Iris seeds in pots and to sink the 
pots up to the rim in the open ground, merely covering them with large strawberry guards to keep 
birds from scratching out the soil, as they are otherwise apt to do, when the pots are kept moist in 
periods of drought. 
In the case of the bulbous species, the pots should be large, 5 — 6 in. in diameter, and of the 
usual depth, but the seeds of the other species, which are transplanted soon after germination, may be 
sown in somewhat shallower seedpans with the advantage that less prepared soil is needed to fill them 
— a saving which may well appeal to the amateur. 
Drainage is important, seeing that the pots may have to stay several years in the ground, and 
I have found it expedient to abandon the usual broken fragments of pots in favour of patent “crocks," 
consisting of a circle of wire gauze, bound round with a narrow edge of metal. Drainage of the old 
kind, however carefully arranged, seems to become choked eventually with the result that moss forms 
on the surface and the seeds rot. With the wire gauze, however, covered with a good layer of moss, 
perpetual drainage is apparently assured. 
The soil used to fill the pots can be made rich with leaf soil and very old manure, and in the 
case of bulbous species it is as well to fill the pots three parts full of a mixture consisting of little 
more than equal quantities of these two constituents. The top inch or two in which the seeds are 
actually sown should have a larger admixture of sandy soil, not too finely sifted. The seeds should be 
covered by about half an inch of soil. Those of the Pogoniris, Oncocyclus, and Regelia sections may 
be sown thickly, for only a few will usually germinate in any one year, while the individual seeds of 
species belonging to the other groups should be placed not less than f or ^ inch apart. 
The seeds of the various species are very variable as to the time of year at which they may be 
expected to germinate, but as a general rule the period of germination roughly coincides with the 
reappearance of active growth in the dormant mature plants. Thus seeds of the Xiphium Irises 
germinate in autumn, those of the reticulatas in mid-winter and those of the Juno group soon after 
Christmas, when the tips of the growths from the reawakening bulbs are just piercing the soil. On 
the other hand, seedlings of /. nepalensis do not appear until late in April or early in May, which 
is precisely the time when this curious Iris begins to show signs of returning life after its long sleep, 
which lasts from the end of October until that time. 
Seedlings of bulbous species that germinate in mid-winter appear to be hardy to a surprising degree 
but at the same time nothing is lost by giving them the protection of a cold frame, in which the pots 
should be sunk to the rim in ashes, for it is important that they should make as much growth as 
possible in order to be able to form strong bulblets. As the days lengthen in spring and the power 
of the sun increases, the watering of these pots in frames becomes an important matter, for it is 
essential not to check the growth by allowing the soil to become too dry. The frames should be 
open whenever the weather is favourable, and air at all times is desirable. 
As April passes into May, the leaves of the Junos and reticulatas will show signs of turning 
yellow, and then all water must be withheld and the bulblets allowed to ripen off their growth. When 
the leaves are withered, the pots may be turned out and the bulblets sifted out and stored in sand 
until planting time in September. If the frames are not wanted for other purposes, the lights may be 
left on and the pots undisturbed until the actual planting time has arrived. Where possible, this latter 
plan is perhaps preferable, for no small bulb is improved by being kept out of the ground for any 
length of time. 
Seeds of bulbous Irises germinate well in prepared beds of rich light soil in the open, but this 
plan has disadvantages. Either the seeds must be so thinly sown that the plants may be left to flower 
in the seed-beds or the bulblets must be lifted, and it is by no means so easy to find bulblets in 
the open ground as to sift them out of pots of soil. 
The non-bulbous species are somewhat later in germinating and, unless the weather is exceptionally 
severe, no attention need be given to the pots except to keep down weeds and to prevent the soil 
becoming so dry that the seeds cannot germinate. When the young plants have produced three or 
four leaves and grown to a few inches in height they should be planted out in their permanent 
quarters. In favourable weather, even the smallest plants consisting only of a leaf and the radicle can 
be successfully planted out, but it is usually better to wait until three or four leaves and a number of 
roots have developed. 
In dull wet seasons, when the capsules of seed do not ripen readily on the plants, they may 
be picked, while still green, as soon as the seeds begin to turn from green to pale brown and 
the ripening process may then be continued in some dry warm place under cover. 
