E ARE fortunate to have our iris 
gardens in the Pacific North- 
west where iris rhizomes grow 
to perfection. That iris rhizomes 
grown in this section are supe- 
rior to those grown in other 
parts of the United States is a fact recognized 
by other commercial growers. Iris rhizomes 
grown in this Pacific Northwest section gen- 
erally throw up one or more bloom stalks the 
first spring after placement regardless of what 
state in which they may be planted. 

The iris rhizome pictured on this page is 
that of a root showing increase buds devel- 
oping a few months after replanting in a cus- 
tomer’s garden. These buds have just started 
to develop but have not attained the size pic- 
tured when the rhizomes are shipped from 
our gardens to our customers in the summer 
months. Not all rhizomes have the number 
of buds shown, but we always make sure at 
time of shipment that there are two or more 
such buds—for without increase buds, the 
rhizome will not flower the following spring. 
The Oregon climate is a mild one with 
plenty of moisture and a long growing season 
which enables the iris roots to grow and 
develop exceptionally well. But each winter 
we have a touch of snow and several weeks 
of freezing temperature which hardens the 
iris roots and freezes out the weakling plants 
and less hardy sorts. Oregon-grown iris are 
perfectly hardy—as hardy as those grown in 
the northern-most and eastern-most states. 
We are located on Canyon Road, a contin- 
uation of Jefferson street, 5 miles west of 
Portland's city hall. There is bus service ev- 
ery half hour; get off bus just beyond Nendel’s 
station at Walker road and walk up hill on 
right. Our gardens are in full bloom through- 
out May and early June. 
Unfortunately, many flower lovers have 
obtained the erroneous impression that iris 
flowers are not particularly attractive and 
that the color range is limited. This impres- 
sion has been created in the minds of many 
because the only iris blossoms which they see 
in gardens are the older types which were in 
commerce prior to the great advance made 
through scientific breeding. Ninety-five per 
cent of the varieties which we offer were 
originated by hybridizers during the 1930's 
...they are beautiful modern iris. Modern iris 
differ as greatly from the varieties in exist- 
ence during the 1920's or earlier as do the 
1942 automobiles differ from the ugly, top- 
heavy, inferior motor cars of that early period. 
Visitors to our gardens during blooming 
season invariably exclaim, "Why, these flow- 
ers are gorgeous! I didn’t know iris were so 
beautiful! Where did you get all the colors 
and color combinations?’’ Then some of them 
are bound to ask, ‘‘How do you get the plants 
to produce such tall bloom stalks bearing so 
many huge blossoms? Mine never do that!” 
It is with great difficulty that we convince 
them that the height, size, and number of 
blossoms is due to hereditary factors bred into 
the improved modern variety and not to spe- 
cial care. Hybridizers have bred for improve- 
ment in height, size, floriferousness, and color 
and they have achieved great success. 
These new improved varieties, incidentally, 
can only be obtained from commercial iris 
spécialists like ourselves. Seed firms and gen- 
eral nurserymen almost invariably carry only 
the very old, out-moded, inferior, cheap sorts 
which iris specialists have long ago thrown 
on the junk heap. This spring we went 
through the catalogs of seed firms, nursery- 
men, and general perennial growers situated 
throughout the nation. We regretfully ob- 
SWEENEY, STRAUB & DIMM, HORTICULTURAL PRINTERS, PORTLAND, ORE. 


RAE sin Se it ctu rs laa sow SoSH odd oa 
served that nearly all iris offered were the unattractive sorts we grew in our gardens 
during the First World War years and in the early 1920's. 
Seed firms, nurserymen, and small iris growers often tell prospective customers that 
iris should be purchased as near home as possible for: (1) the roots do not carry satis- 
factory; and (2) roots from another section will not grow and bloom so well. Both these 
statements are base, downright lies made for the purpose of discouraging the sending 
of mail orders to Oregon where both climate and soil happen to be particularly favorable 
for iris growth. We make shipments every year to Australia, China, England, South 
Africa and other far-away lands and customers there report receipt of the iris rhizomes 
in good condition. Needless to say, every state in the union is considerably closer than 
such countries; customers in the most distant state receive shipments within a week from 
time of mailing, and plants are as fresh then as the day they were dug. 
We have had a number of customers in New England and the Midwest write to us that 
our roots were larger, grew better, produced more increases, and threw up stronger 
bloom stalks than roots purchased from growers within a few miles of their home. 
