80 
^>b<*7Iow<ar (Brower 
August, 1919 
1 T H E I R I S . I 
The Iris— (Broad Leaved.) 
[ Written expressly for 'The Flower Grower.] 
BY BENJ. C. AUTEN. 
There is no Iris but is exquisitely 
beautiful, not only in color and in de- 
tail, but in every color and in every 
detail. Yet I am not an Iris enthusi- 
ast. It is in its general characteristics 
that the Iris is lacking. It is mushy 
in substance and flabby in general ap- 
pearance, and its wilted blooms must 
be carefully removed every day if the 
plant or plantation is to look respect- 
able, a task impossible for a busy 
mortal. 
For one who likes to study and to 
dream over individual blooms, any Iris 
is good, except that, like the colonel’s 
whiskey, “ some are better than oth- 
ers.” For general effect, however, and 
for color effect in masses, a variety is 
better that does not sample up a whole 
millinery shop in each blossom : that 
is, a one-color variety. A bed of the 
many-colored flowers is simply a 
mess of speckles ; yet, there are some 
colors that do not occur otherwise, 
and some types. Koenig and Black 
Knight are grand varieties, too noble 
to be ignored, and some of the frilled 
ones are too dainty to do without. 
Madame Chereau, the most often 
named of the frilled varieties, I do not 
like, its color is too dull. Gazelle is 
better. 
In a flower of so wide a variety of 
colors there must be, according to gen- 
eral principles, colors that are incom- 
patible. Tastes vary, however, and 
fashions change. There are color com- 
binations now fashionable that in my 
early days would have been insuffer- 
able. Pfauenauge, is it a dream ? Or 
is it a nightmare? I’ll not dispute 
either answer to either question, yet 
the general color effect of this variety 
certainly is not indispensable in mass 
planting. 
In the one color varieties, of the yel- 
lows I believe Flavescens is still the 
best, even though its color is rather 
non-committal. For a very light blue 
I like Pallida Dalmatica. Celeste is too 
ghostly pale. Ciengialti is fine as a 
medium blue, more crinkly, and there- 
fore more shiinmery than Pallida Dal- 
matica, but fully as fine a flower, even 
if small. In dark blue I prefer Argus 
to Gertrude, as the color of Gertrude is 
rather lifeless. Kochii is a rich purple, 
and gives the darkest effect in mass 
planting of any Iris I know. 
Innocenza to me is not only the most 
beautiful of the white varieties, but 
the most beautiful of all Irises, though 
Fairy is an awfully close rival for both 
positions. As both of these are very 
late, it is well to name an early kind. 
Florentina, the common one, though 
large and imposing, is dull in color. 
Germanica Alba, 1 think is better. 
A pink Iris I do not want around me 
at all. It is pretty to look at once, but 
disagreeable to live with. Some of the 
most beautiful of the Irises to study in 
the hand are too pale in color to be 
effective in a planting, except with 
carefully arranged background. Lord 
Grey is a sample of these. 
Iris Rosenbachiana. 
It is a pity that this Iris is so scarce and 
so little known, for it is not only one of 
the earliest to flower in the New Year, but 
also one of the most gorgeous of all. It 
must be confessed at once that it does not do 
itself justice unless it can have a roof over 
its head when in flower ; but then, what 
flowers have we that can withstand the 
weather in January? Frost it can stand 
with impunity, and though, when the ground 
was frozen solid a few weeks ago, the de- 
velopment was temporarily checked, the 
plants are now (March) as happy and the 
flowers as numerous as though we had had 
no frost at all. My own plan is to grow the 
plants in cold frames through which air 
circulates freely at all times. Years ago, 
when I first saw the flowers of Iris Rosen- 
bachiana, I vowed I would not rest until I had 
a whole frame full of specimens ; and now 
that I have several frames full of flowering 
bulbs of this Iris I do not regret my vow. 
All my present plants have been raised from 
seeds here, and as seeds are sown every 
year, fresh plants come into flower every 
year, so that the length of the period of four 
or five years that elapse between the sowing 
of the seed and the first flowering of the 
bulb is no longer realized. 
The bulbs of Iris Rosenbachiana need care- 
ful handling, for each should have attached 
to its base four or five long store-roots, 
which are swollen into tubers almost as 
large as the bulb itself. They should be 
planted early in the autumn in rich, light 
soil not deficient in lime. The apex of the 
bulb should be about two inches under 
ground, and the lights can remain off the 
frames until the thick shoots begin to break 
through the surface early in January. Once 
the soil is pierced, development is extraordi- 
narily rapid, and the tips of the leaves are 
barely more than an inch above the soil be- 
fore the first flower has developed. Each 
individual flower lasts a week or ten days, 
and as strong bulbs produce three or four 
flowers in succession, the display is spread 
over a considerable period. The flowers are 
stemless, and the ovary is quite sessile in 
the axils of the leaf, as in other Juno Irises. 
The flower is raised on a dark purplish 
brown tube three inches or four inches in 
length, which carries it well above the foli- 
age. The illustration shows a four-flowered 
plant. Two flowers are fully expanded, one 
has withered already, and the fourth is just 
emerging on the right. 
The most conspicuous parts of the flowers 
are the large crests of the style branches, 
which stand almost erect above the strap- 
shaped falls. As in all the Juno Irises, the 
falls and the standards are, as it were, in- 
verted, so that the latter extend horizontally 
or even hang down, while the former arch 
high above them. 
If I. Rosenbachiana ever became a florist’s 
flower— a fate which will probably never 
befall it— there would be no end to the series 
of named varieties, for each seedling seems 
to differ from its fellows in its coloring. In 
every one there is the contrast between the 
particular shade of blue or red purple and 
the gold or orange of the prominent crest. 
The ground color is either white or a pale 
bluish grey more or less suffused with a pale 
shade of the purple, which is most intense 
on the blade of the falls. This patch of 
vivid color sometimes covers the whole 
blade, but more usually the tip is much 
paler or even white. In rare cases the pur- 
ple is almost wholly absent, and only occurs 
in the veins on the haft of the falls, the rest 
of the flower being a pale creamy yellow. 
It is possible, though not certain, that 
under the name of I. Rosenbachiana we have 
also in cultivation a second species. Iris 
baldschuanica. Further supplies of collected 
bulbs from Russian Turkestan could alone 
help to settle the question, but my impres- 
sion is that there are either two closely 
allied species or, at any rate, well-marked 
local forms. The earliest-flowering forms 
have golden pollen and gradually tapering 
roots of a pale brown color, while the later 
forms have white pollen and more abruptly 
narrowing roots of a whiter color. Among 
my own plants I am afraid there are now 
hybrid intermediate forms, so that I have 
little hope of settling the question without li 
fresh material. — W. R. Dykes in The Garden 
(English). 
Short Hills Garden Club. 
Our Club has arranged its Eleventh 
Annual Dahlia Show for Friday and 
Saturday, September 26th and 27th, at 
the Short Hills Club. Admission free 
to the public Friday afternoon and 
evening, and all day Saturday. 
The classes are open to all amateurs. 
There are to be classes for flowers 
other than the Dahlia, special classes jj 
for flower arrangements and a class for 
children’s exhibits. 
As our shows have won well merited 
praise from the highest authority on 
Dahlias, we hope that the public will 
take advantage of the Club’s hospi- 
taiity. 
Mrs. Charles II. Stout, 
Secretary. 
