THE GROWING OF IRISES 
FROM SEED 
A. FRANCIS MORTON, Jr. 
A Garden Sport of Infinite Fascination for the Lover of Glowing Color 
fgj^>£gRIS may be grown from seed by any one, with a little 
care and patience, and the reason why there are so few 
amateurs who are growers of seedling Iris must be 
attributed to the fact that few dealers offer any seed 
other than that of the Japanese Iris. 
Tall Bearded Irises do not produce a great deal of seed, and 
unless one is trained to gather the pods as they mature during 
the summer, much of it will be lost, for all kinds do not ripen 
simultaneously and as soon as the pod opens at the top the seeds 
will scatter. 
When to Gather and How to Sow 
I HAVE begun gathering seed in early August, going over the 
plants every other day for a full month. The seed-pod 
(ovary) is located just above the spathe valves and as the Iris 
bloom begins to fade the fertilized ovary will commence to swell. 
It will gradually become darker in color and then split at the 
top. An afternoon’s heat, when the first split appears, is 
sufficient to cause the pod to pop open and scatter the seed. It 
is a good practice to go over the beds daily and pick all the dis¬ 
colored seed-pods, whether they have split or not, and keep them 
in a warm, dry place, in covered trays. The seed may be 
cleaned at the time of gathering or when the harvesting for the 
season is finished. 
After cleaning the seeds, stratify them in moist sand, and then 
put them aside for planting in the late fall which 1 have found 
more satisfactory than sowing as gathered, a proceeding some 
other raisers prefer, however. (See, for instance, Mr. Sherman 
Duffy in June Garden Magazine. — Ed.) 
1 always work up a good seed bed first, and then plant the 
seeds (an average of 25 to the foot) in narrow drills (the width 
of a small hoe) covering them with half an inch of soil. I firm 
the soil over the seeds with my feet and then rake the drills 
lightly with a steel hoe to avoid the danger of the tamped earth 
hardening or caking. Then I cover the rows with gladiolus tops 
which are left on until late May. This gladiolus leaf mulch 
protects the baby Iris in their first days, and keeps the soil 
mellow and moist. 
What the First Summer Brings 
W HEN the leaves are raked off the four-inch drills show an 
irregular lot of little green shoots, some only half an 
inch in height. It is not necessary to shade them and they are 
extremely hardy from the start. By July the largest are ready 
for transplanting, and 1 have made it a practice to sort out these 
to transplant first. The tops are cut back to three inches above 
the earth, and the plants then dug and reset. Digging and re¬ 
setting is carried on all through the summer, for as I have said. 
the seedlings vary in growth and vigor. At the time of the first 
transplanting there will be some “babies” too small to take up; 
and it may be of interest to know that I have had seed lie dor¬ 
mant in the drills for three years before germinating! It 
might also be worthy of note that the second-year stand is always 
better than the first. 
The transplanted seedlings are set one foot apart in rows three 
feet apart, and not moved again until they have bloomed. 
About one third will bloom the second year; none of them bloom 
the first. 1 have waited six years for a bloom from some seedlings 
and in most cases the wait was worth while. While most of 
the seedlings will make as many as five divisions by the fall of 
their first season, by the time they have bloomed, the plants, 
originally planted one foot apart, will have filled out the open 
spaces in the rows. 
Which Types Seed Best 
T HE Japanese Iris seeds very freely, but it is not generally 
advisable to attempt growing this class owing to the 
necessity of planting in semi-marshy land. The Japanese 
plant their Iris seed in their rice fields which are flooded during 
the summer and then drained off. They are fertilized with 
liquid cow manure several times during the winter while the 
plants are dormant and in the spring when growth commences 
they are left alone. 
The Siberian 1 ris is also a profuse seeder, but the blooms of the 
seedlings of this class do not vary a great deal, and unless one is 
propagating for commercial purposes, but few seeds should be 
planted. 
But the Tall Bearded Iris, sparse seeders though they are, do 
“shoot” some wonderful colors and color combinations. (Arti¬ 
ficial hand fertilization described in the June G. M., page 291, 
is desirable.— Ed.) In my plots 1 have pale pinks, deep 
yellows, soft yellows, rich clarets, mahoganies, deep maroons, 
pale lavenders, grays, whites, royal purples, browns, old golds, 
violet-reds, buffs, bronze-blues, ageratum-blues, and countless 
color combinations of these. Some carry pale lemon beards, 
others show a brilliant orange, and still others soft blue beards. 
There will be freaks a-plenty, some ugly to look upon, others, 
washed-out, with imperfect blooms, but in the main there is a 
greater percentage of desirable blooms to each hundred seedlings 
of Iris than of any other variable perennial I have ever grown 
successfully from seed. 
Baby Iris are not hard to please; they do not require a rich 
soil; they delight in a somewhat lime soil, with full sun-exposure. 
Never allow fresh manure to touch the plants, cultivate them 
as you would any ordinary root vegetable, and they will reward 
you handsomely. Truly, the Iris is the plebeians’ Orchid! 
GOOD AUGURY FOR AUGUST 
A RE you planning to do any repapering this autumn? If so, you will be interested in what Amy Richards Colton has to say on WHERE TO USE 
WALLPAPERS OF FLORAL AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN. This is a pleasant way to keep a bit of garden brightness with you all winter and 
Mrs. Colton’s suggestions are always well worth considering as she speaks from the fulness of long practical experience as a decorator. 
THE LOST GARDENS OF CAMBODIA, one of those romances of fact more fascinating than any flight of fancy, by H. H. Manchester. 
From intimate personal knowledge and association with plants, B. Y. Morrison writes of EVERGREENS THAT KEEP THE GARDEN ALIVE 
jmd Agnes Fales Huntington tells of IRISES FOR EVERYBODY, grouping them according to color, rose-purple, old gold, and all the lovely radiant rain¬ 
bow hues flaunted by this family of flowers. 
Some delightful SEASIDE ROCK GARDENS designed and planted by Beatrix Farrand. WATER GARDENS; and 300 MADONNA LILIES 
MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY OLD are among the picture features of the coming month. 
Rational Cjarden Week for I <p 2j to be observed zApi'il igth — 25th 
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