Little Silver, N. J. Hybrid Japanese Iris 
a 

KEMP'S NEW HYBRID 
JAPANESE IRIS 
(Japanese Variety ““HARMONY” x Laevigata, Alba Pupurea 
‘‘SPECIES’’) 
Foreword 
About 30 years ago the Iris species Laevigata, Alba Pupurea was 
found growing in a remote section of northern Japan by one of Wal- 
lace’s (of England) collectors. It is of the Kaemferi (Japanese) type, 
having six narrow petals with distinctive blue and white colors. The 
blooming season is about midway between the German type and 
the early blooming Japanese type. Wallace sent some of the stock 
to the Department of Agriculture in Washington. They in turn sent 
us almost their entire stock, explaining that it might be possible to 
effect a cross between the Japanese and the Species. Its season of 
blooming made it difficult to get pollen of the species in time to cross 
on the Japanese varieties, as never more than one or two of it re- 
ues when the first blooms of the early blooming Japanese varieties 
opened, 
The early attempts to effect a successful cross were failures, but 
year after year the work was carried on for a period of approxi- 
mately 15 years when a single successful cross was effected. From 
this pod of seed came the four beautiful varieties listed herein, and 
which are now being introduced to the flower loving public 20 years 
after the first attempt to cross them. In our more than 40 years 
of breeding better flowers for better gardens, we are more enthused 
over achieving final success in this outstanding work than all our 
other successes combined, for we believe they are the only hybrids 
between the straight Japanese Iris and the Laevigata, Alba Pupurea in 
existence. 
All four varieties are very outstanding. All are of the Kaemferi 
type, yet different and much more beautiful than any Iris of this 
type we have ever seen, or have any knowledge of. 
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