HOW TO GROW IRIS 
Open Season for Iris. Iris may be reset any 
time when the ground isn’t frozen. Best time 
is from midsummer to last of September so 
the roots become well established before win¬ 
ter. 
The Iris increases by new shoots forming 
from eyes or buds at the sides of the division 
or “toe” planted. In most sections the new 
shoots make new divisions strong enough to 
be detached and reset by early July. But a 
few weeks additional growth before replant¬ 
ing is advisable. If you have Iris shipped in 
July or early August, do not expect as large 
roots as would be sent later in the season. 
The main idea is to get the new Iris plants 
well established before winter. Many of the 
most satisfactory results I’ve ever had were 
from Sept, and Oct. plantings, while a big 
patch was set out late November and did 
splendidly. Of course, I hilled up and pro¬ 
tected the late plantings. 
Set roots 12 to 20 inches apart, according to 
room. The closer they are set, the sooner they 
will need to be taken up, divided and reset. 
Even 3 2 inches should bloom three years. 
Cover the roots only an inch or so. They 
like to be near the surface. Tramp on the 
fleshy part of the root (the rhizome) and 
tramp hard, after it is planted. Keep watered 
for a few weeks until new growth starts. 
Don’t worry if the small threadlike roots are 
dried up when planting. New roots will start 
at once from the rhizome. If no rains, see 
ground doesn’t dry out too much. 
Iris can’t stand wet feet. Always see that 
no water stands on them. If soil is not sandy, 
then better raise the beds or rows before 
planting, so good drainage is insured. 
If plant Iris late in fall, then cover lightly 
with brush, corn stalks, tomato vines, excel¬ 
sior, or any coarse material until early spring. 
This is to prevent alternate freezing and 
thawing in winter. No protection after first 
winter needed. Remove covering early in 
spring. 
I usually protect my late Iris plantings 
simply by throwing a ridge of soil over the 
rows with a small hand plow, shovel or hoe, 
covering everything. In this case I cut the 
tops back nearly to the rhizomes, planting 
more like bulbs than plants. Very important 
to pack soil firmly about the roots and see 
that they enter the winter in soil not dried out, 
though much moisture not needed or desirable. 
Level the soil early in spring. 
To guard against pests and diseases I go 
over the Iris that have been planted a year or 
more, and with big shears cut tops off close to 
the ground LATE in fall. Haul off tops and 
burn them, using kerosene. 
Or, during a dry spell in winter, after tops 
are brown and dry, run over the rows or hills 
with fire. If rows run so wind sweeps length¬ 
wise then often one can burn the whole row 
by touching a match to one end of the row on 
a windy day. 
Another plan is to use a swab—an old sack 
tied to a stick—the cloth saturated with kero¬ 
sene. This burning must be done quickly and 
preferably when ground is frozen, while roots 
are dormant, to avoid damage to the roots. 
Contrary to what seems reasonable, the Iris 
rhizomes can lie around in the air and sun 
for days, after which they will grow and 
thrive all the better for this “sun tan.” In 
fact, one of the best treatments for diseased 
rhizomes is to dig them up, cut out all bad 
parts, then let the roots lie in sun for some 
days before replanting. 
Take notice how the rhizomes work them¬ 
selves up to top of the ground if you let them. 
They crave air and sun. For late fall plant¬ 
ing, when the roots are practically dormant, 
the tops may be cut back close to the roots. 
PEONY POINTERS 
By all means, plant Peonies in fall, from 
early Sept, till ground freezes, if you can. 
Next best is EARLY spring, the earlier the 
better. For spring planting, the roots should 
be dug and stored in basement in fall, or some 
mild day in winter BEFORE buds have devel¬ 
oped very much. Peonies in the garden or 
field begin to shoot up so early that spring 
digging may be fatal to the newly set plant if 
dug up and reset in spring. 
Size of roots or divisions may vary a great 
deal, and all be good. Not advisable to plant 
a very large root. A smaller one, from good 
healthy stock, will usually forge ahead of a 
clump several years old. Number of eyes to 
the root or division is the usual way of des¬ 
ignating the size and value. But this is only 
a partial measure. A root may have too many 
eyes for its size. Maybe a 3-eye division will 
excell a 4 to 6-eye one. 
Regardless of number of eyes or size of 
root, the root should be cut back to within 5 
or 6 inches of the crown before planting. Do 
not plant a root anything like a foot or so 
long. 
If roots dry out in storage or in shipping, 
soak them 24 hours in water before planting. 
In fact, it’s a good idea to wash all peony 
roots before setting them out. Of course you 
will gently firm the soil all around the roots, 
being careful not to injure the eyes. Water 
thoroughly soon as planted. See that soil is 
wet when ground freezes. 
Avoid placing any fertilizer close to the 
roots, especially any barnyard or poultry 
manure. Almost sure death to peonies when 
so used. May be dug in some distance away 
from the roots. Any good brand of commer¬ 
cial fertilizer is O. K. None really necessary. 
Set roots 18 or more inches apart. Set shal¬ 
low, so the buds or eyes not more than 2 
inches below level of ground after ground is 
settled. Make a hill of soil 6 inches high over 
each plant late in fall and throw some old 
trash, such as suggested for Iris, over the 
roots after hilling up. This for the first win¬ 
ter only. No protection needed later years. 
Do not expect many Peony blossoms first 
season. And not best results the second. 
From third year on, you get the real true and 
full size blooms. Cultivate and water as 
needed, continuing this after blooming season 
until September. Let the roots remain for 8 
or 10 years, or as long as they do well. Then 
divide and reset in September or October. 
A well established Peony root or clump may 
be likened to a storage battery. You recharge 
it for the next season by watering, cultivating 
and judiciously fertilizing. This is done after 
blooming time until September. 
Por largest blooms, remove all buds but the 
main or terminal one, soon as they appear. 
Cut Peonies before blossoms fully open, let¬ 
ting them open indoors. Renew water daily, 
and cut off some of the stem same time. Keep 
the cut Peonies in a cool place, out of a draft. 
Ants on Peonies do no harm. Blasted buds 
may be due to various causes. One is, freez¬ 
ing some weeks before. If Peony stems slim 
and too many to the plant, thin them out 
early, by cutting off some close to the ground. 
So long as Peonies doing well, don’t feel you 
need to take them up. Very different from 
the Iris, which must be thinned or reset every 
few years. Peonies have been known to thrive 
and bloom 100 years or more in same location. 
Often a newly planted Peony root will die 
down first summer. Do NOT dig it up or dis¬ 
turb it. Let it alone, except to water it. 
Chances are it will revive the next spring. 
Plant this fall, even though very late. I may 
not sell any Peony roots again until next fall. 
Certainly not many kinds, if any, next spring. 
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