April 27, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
The Bokhara Iris. 
CT 
The bulbous Irises have flowered as 
usual in the open air, but like all other 
vegetation, they have been much later 
than usual. The lack of rain and snow 
at the critical time just enabled the flowers 
to make a fine display without being dis¬ 
figured. As usual, I. bucharica has been 
very conspicuous, and without doubt it is 
one of the most striking and handsome of 
its class. It is closely allied to I. orchi- 
oides, from which it differs chiefly in the 
colour of its flowers, but, if anything, the 
blooms are larger and the colours very 
striking and clearly contrasted. The 
ground colour of the blooms is white, and 
a large yellow blotch on the falls serves 
to give character and beauty to the flower. 
These flowers appear during the early part 
of April, sometimes a little earlier. The 
stems are about 12 in. high, and bear 
several flowers on the top in proportion to 
the strength of the plant. The bright 
(Iris bucharica.) 
green leaves are arranged in two ranks on 
the stem, and give it a well furnished and 
clothed appearance. Like other forms re¬ 
lated to 1 . orchioides, it comes from Tur¬ 
kestan, and from that part 'known as 
Bokhara. 
Those who would like to grow this Iris 
should prepare a bed of good soil on the 
sheltered side of a wall facing the south. 
This will protect it from north winds, and 
if in any way exposed to east winds a little 
shelter could be provided even of a tem¬ 
porary nature, such as some evergreen 
branches stuck in the ground on the east 
side of the plant during the period it is 
in bloom, should the weather happen to 
be rough. Encouragement should be 
given for the stem and leaves to complete 
their growth by watering, if the weather 
should be very warm just after the period 
of flowering. When the leaves turn yel¬ 
low no harm will result should the soil 
285 
get quite dry. Indeed, a good baking will 
ripen the bulbs, cause them to rest, and 
prepare them for flowering another year. 
-- 
Moving Great Trees. 
The directors of the Old Leuckcnberg 
Botanic Gardens, in Frankfurt-on-Main, 
Germany, having to remove their quar¬ 
ters, have requisitioned the services of 
Mr. William Barron, of the firm of Wil 
liam Barron and Son, Derby, to superin¬ 
tend the transplanting of a Yew tree about 
300 years old. As the tree is about 50ft. 
high, with a trunk 8ft. in circumference, 
necessitating the transport of a block of 
earth with the roots about 15ft. square 
and 8ft. deep, the task is not an easy 
one, especially as this huge tree has to 
be taken right through the town in an 
upright position. Among other ancient 
trees successfully transplanted by the same 
firm is the “Buckland ” Y’ew near Dover, 
moved in 1880. This tree is said to be 
over 1,100 years old, and is mentioned in 
the “Domesday Book.” 
-♦+*- 
Galega officinalis Hartlandi. 
To the Editor. 
The illustration of Galega officinalis 
Hartlandi serves its purpose excellently, 
but in the text no reference is made to the 
fact that G. o. Hartlandi bears beautifully 
variegated foliage early in the season. 
Until the plants are about one foot high, 
all the leaves are banded with creamy 
white, making a highly decorative subject. 
Unfortunately, this variegation disap¬ 
pears later on. 
HORTI. 
-- 
^Italian ]V[aple^ 
(Acer opulifolium). 
The Sycamores are not usually included 
in lists of ornamental flowering trees, yet 
some of them are worthy of more than 
passing attention from a floriferous point 
of view, and are worth remembering for 
conspicuous positions when a selection of 
trees is being made. A. opulifolium is a 
native of Europe, and is known under the 
common name of Italian Maple. W hen 
mature it forms a tree 50 feet or so high, 
with a large rounded head; it is, however, 
as a tree of half that height that we are 
more used to seeing it. W hen young, 
growth is rapid, but it has a habit of 
developing a large bushy head at the ex¬ 
pense of trunk, consequently some atten¬ 
tion in the way of pruning is necessary. 
The leaves are large, more or less cordate 
and five-lobed. Previous to falling in 
autumn they usually assume a very pretty 
shade of yellow. The flowers are very 
pale yellow, and borne in drooping 
corymbs from axillary and terminal buds 
on last year’s wood in April. As every 
branch produces blossoms freely the effect 
of a well developed tree can be imagined. 
In addition to the type there are two well 
marked varieties, i.e., neapolitanum and 
obtusatum, both of which are worth 
planting. 
Iris bucharica. 
