
See page 27 
for 
Extra Plants 
How to Grow Them 

It is simply a matter of understanding that Jap- 
anese Iris like plenty of fertility, plenty of water, 
a soil that is slightly acid, and sun. They are 
not difficult to grow at all if you remember those 
four things. 
TO PREPARE THE SOIL for Japanese Iris, 
spade it to a depth of about 10 inches, then add 
plenty of well-rotted material (humus). 
And now you can “go to town” with cattle ma- 
nure, if you know where you can get it. Simply 
see that the manure is well-rotted, then spade in 
plenty of it. Remember, that we said these flowers 
like plenty of fertility. 
And, if you think your soil is alkaline, also add 
considerable quantities of leaf mold or peat moss. 
These will acidify at the same time that they are 
adding humus. Work the fertilizer or humus well 
into the soil, spading it over several times, and 
you are ready to plant. 
This could be a 
fairy tale, but 
it isn’t. 


To set Japanese Iris, prepare a hole for each 
considerably wider than the roots, and consider- 
ably deeper than their length. Then hold the 
plant in the hole, with the crown of the plant 
about one or two inches under the ground level, 
and fill up with soil. Be sure to press the soil 
down, to avoid air pockets. This is important in 
planting any flower. 
Mrs. R. 6. Backhouse 
The Beautiful and Rare Pink Narcissus 
This amazing flower dares to be different, for where 
others clothe themselves in white and shades of yellow, 
Mrs. R. O. Backhouse decides on apricot and pink. Oh, 
the yellow and white ones are beautiful, we agree, but a 
pink one is prettier still. 
Ms. R. O. Backhouse has a beautifully shaped long, 
slim trumpet that is still more beautiful for its rare color- 
ing: pale apricot at the base, shading into shell-pink at the 
delcately ruffled edges, and all framed by a delightfully 
graceful ivory-white perianth. 
EXTRA FERTILIZER can now be added, if you 
wish, on top of the ground, around the plants, 
but not too close to them. A good commercial 
fertilizer should be used. Or, you can wait until 
spring, as commercial fertilizer is usually quick- 
acting, and may lose its effect if used in the fall. 
BEST PLANTING TIME for Japanese Iris is 
usually early in the fall. Plant as soon as received 
from the nursery. 
Do not use any sweetening material, such as lime, 
; The flower is large, and is borne on tall, straight stems. Long- 
on your soil for Japanese Iris. 5 
lasting. Blooms with other Narcissi. 

FOR WINTER PROTECTION, you can mulch 
with manure. It will add fertility, which certainly PRICES: 1 for 75c; 2 for $1.35; 3 for $2.00; 4 for $2.65; 6 for 
will not be refused by your Japanese Iris, and in $3.95. 
fact they will bloom all the better for it. Peat 
moss is another good fall mulch, as it does tend to 
acidify, and often makes the soil fertility more 
digestible to the plant, though in itself it is not 
a fertilizer. 
Patrica 
Gardenia Type 
PLANTING DISTANCE for Japanese Iris is 
about 1!4 to 2 feet. 
CULTIVATION AND WATERING: With Like the Gardenia in appear- 

Japanese Iris, you can water, water, water. You 
can also cultiyate. Keep the soil stirred well after 
each watering or rainfall, to a depth of about 2 
inches, waiting only long enough so that the 
soil will not be gummy and stick to your hoe or 
other garden tool. Keep weeds down. , 
At the end of the blooming season, watering is 
not so important, but there is no reason why it 
should not be continued. After all, you must 
develop your roots for the next season’s blooms. 
They can be mulched each fall after the first 
freeze, with good rich, well-rotted manure, but 
this is more of a fertilizing process than winter 
protection, as the Iris are quite hardy and will 
usually come through. 
THEY SHOULD BE DIVIDED every three or 
four years, depending on how crowded they 
become. 
(How-to-Grow Index-—page 22.) 

[29] 
ance; but far easier to grow, 






and even more lovely in its 
abundance of blooms. 40 to 50 
milk-white petals—a pure and 
wholesome beauty. 20 to 24 
inches high. Healthy. You may 
leave the bulbs in the ground 
-ear after year and the flowers 
set progressively better. Good 
cut flower; beautiful in the 
garden. PRICES: 2 for 50c; 
4 for 84c; 5 for $1.00; 6 for 
$1.17; 12 for $2.15; 18 for 
$3.05; 24 for $3.95. 
R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Michigan 

