FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
159 
trouble to grow it. I have had the dwarf 
Iris pumila in flower in the autumn 
months. Some plants which were set out 
on my place in 1886, were still in exist¬ 
ence in 1896; but they never made much 
growth. 
In moist rich soil the Japanese Iris 
(I. laevigata) flourishes with all the vigor 
of a native plant. It will not grow on 
high dry pine-land or in poor soil. The 
soil must be rich in humus. A rich black 
vegetable mold near the edge of the water 
is just the right place for this exquisitely 
beautiful plant. Before planting add a 
very liberal amount of old cow-manure 
to the soil; also apply good commercial 
fertilizer early in spring, just before 
flowering. There is such a wealth of rich 
and delicate colors in the different vari¬ 
eties, and they flower so abundantly, that 
it seems strange that they are not grown 
more in Florida. There are hundreds of 
fine varieties, single and double, which 
almost all originated in Japanese gardens. 
Our Florida Iris (I. hexagona) should 
not be omitted from this list; as it is a 
very beautiful and easily grown plant, 
growing well where the Japanese species 
flourishes. There is also a pure white 
form of it. This species offers a good 
field for the hybridizer. 
The Roof Iris (I. tectorum) of Japan 
thrives finely in my garden in half shade 
and in rich moist soil. As its name im¬ 
plies, it grows largely on the straw roofs 
of Japanese houses. 
There are undoubtedly numerous spe¬ 
cies of the rhizomatous Irises which will 
thrive splendidly in our gardens. I only 
experimented with them in a limited way; 
but hope to take up the genus as a spe¬ 
cialty in the near future. 
I have never planted the bulbous Irises, 
such as the English and Spanish, and I 
Nazarina, I. Sarii and I. Bismarckiana 
have found Iris Susiana, I. Iberica, I. 
a failure. In their native home they rest 
in a dry hot soil during the summer and 
autumn months; while here they grow 
and flower in the dry season, April and 
May, and rest in the rainy season, which 
invariably makes the thick rhizomes rot. 
To Mr. E. N. Reasoner belongs the 
credit of having introduced to our gar¬ 
dens an Iris-like plant, which is at once 
a most vigorous grower and an abundant 
bloomer. It is at home on our high, dry 
pine-land, and also in moister soil, but it 
will not flourish in places where our wild 
Iris and the Japanese Iris thrive best. 
This is the Natal Iris (Moraea iridioi- 
des), a veritable jewel for our gardens. 
If well cared for, it will soon form large 
clumps and will flower four or five times 
during the spring and summer months. 
In order to see it at its best, it should 
be planted in groups or large beds. The 
flowers are three to four inches across, 
pure white, and marked with deep yellow 
on the claws of the outer segments; the 
style is marked with blue—a very strik¬ 
ing combination of colors. 
The Blackberry Lily (Pardanthus Chi- 
nensis) comes up from self-sown seed 
everywhere in my garden. Antholyza 
Aethiopica and other species, Watsonias, 
and Montbretias grow all well, but I 
never have been successful with the Tigri- 
dias, which grew to perfection in my gar¬ 
den in Texas. 
The Gladiolus (the Gandavensis as 
well as the Childsii and Groff varieties) 
grows as well in Florida as in other 
southern states. I prefer the Gladiolus 
Childsii varieties on account of their 
vigorous growth, large and finely formed 
flowers, and gorgeous colors. This strain 
was produced by the celebrated hybrid- 
