268 
IRIS = 
BREEDING DWAR¥ BEARDED IRIS 
(Continued from Page 261) 
should ccme prcbably both variegatas and 
Amaenas as both are closely related. 
Gene‘ical theory tells us that it makes no 
dfference which plant is needed for the sees 
or pod parent, the reciprocal cross giving 
the sam2 results as the other. This applies 
io plants with the same chromosmal numb- 
er. However when working with plants with 
different numbers there may be a difference, 
and as these species all have different counts 
I would advise that the reciprocal cross be 
also made to get the full gametic range of - 
characters. 
How to Pollinate Dwarf Iris 
Pollinating Dwarfs is so easy and simple 
that it may be useless for me to describe 
the mechanical processes necessary, but for 
the benefit of the beginner, I will briefly des- 
cribe my method. 
Looking down into the throat of the flow- 
er you will see a small stem-like filament 
coming up from the base of the throat, with 
a small pollen sack on the end. This is the 
stamen and the male parent.. Directly, 
above, overhanging and protruding outward 
is the crest, with two sorts of flags sticking 
up. Attached to the under side of the 
crest is a sort of shelf which can be exposed 
by ilfting up the rest, seperating it; this littld 
shelf is the stigma or female organ. 
Take a pair of blunt tweezers such as 
jewellers use for picking up small screws 
and reach down into the throat and break 
off the stamens of the flower you want to 
use as the male or pollen parent. Look to 
see if it has pollen, as some varieties do not 
have one; you can see it very readily. Carry 
this stamen over to the flower you want to 
use as the seed parent, with the left hand 
fingers take hold of the crest flags and lift 
it up exposing the surface of the stigma. 
Look to see that a bee has not already de- 
posited some pollen, then if clean, still hold- 
ing the stamen in the tweezers, wipe the pol- 
len sack across the stigmatic surface and, 
the job is done. {ft is not necessary to poll- 
inate more than one stigma, but look to see. 
that the other two are clean. Also it is 
not necessay to bag or cover the bloom. 
after pollinating as the pollen iakes hold 
very soon. & 
Records Important in Hybridizing 
Always keep exact records of your crosses, 
all the way through until they bloom. Get 
some string tags at your drug store and 
mark the number or name of the pollen par- 
ent on it, then attach it to the mother plant 
just below the bloom. Without records 
you can get nowhere. 
The best time to pollinate is about 9 
o'clock in the morning of a clear day, you 
an tell easily when the pollen is dry enough 
to wipe off. Though any time of the day 
will usually take if the weather is dry. Pol- 
fen an be saved for up to six weeks by plac- 
ing the stamens in a dry place and kept for 
the time when some other variety blooms. 
After poilinating, the seed pod will soon 
begin enlarging and sometime around Aug- 
ust first will dry up and begin to split open. 
Put in a bag, marking the cross on the 
bag. Plant in September or early October 
and they will germinate in the early spring. 
As soon as they are about an inch or more 
Onion Growing on a Large Scale in Michigan. 
high transplant out into their permanent 
places. I like to transplant them during 
May, as by doing so I am assured that they 
all will blocm the following spring. In oth- 
er words you can expect bloom the second, 
spring from the time you pollinate. 
If you have not grown seedlings from‘ 
these Dwarf species you are missing an op- 
portunity for the greatest thrill that gard- 
ening can give. It is a hobby that enlarges 
as it developes and one who has undertaken 
to experiment with hybridizing has surely 
discovered the Fountain of Youth. 
HELLEBOCRUS OR CHRISTMAS ROSE.. 
Helleborus, which includes the so-called 
Christmas and Lenton Roses, are not re- 
lated to the rose at all, but are members of 
the Buttercup family, with glossy much cut 
leaves and large cup, or saucer-shaped flow- 
ers at most unusual seasons. The Christmas 
Roses often start blooming in very late fall, 
and if protected by a box with glass over 
the top, will continue throughout the winter. 
Then the Lenton roses, in somber and wierd: 
shades of purple and rose, brown and green- 
ish, take over for several weeks more. 
A planting of these in some fairly shelt- 
ered spot, under deciduous trees or shrubs 
which will give summer shade and winter 
sun, ‘is something that most gardeners 
covet. But plants are expensive and rather 
scarce, so that one must usually be content 
with only one or two. 
They may be raised from seed with a 
little patience. If the seed can be sown 
when fresh, in an open ground bed in late 
fall or early winter, the seeds will germin- 
ate freely with the first spring thaw, and 
grow on unharmed by later bad weather. 
Seed obtained now should if possible be 
sown in flats er tin cans and set outside to 
take all the bad weather the winter can pro- 
vide. If the seeds fail to come up as sch- 
eduled, be patient and leave the bed undis- 
turbed till next spring, when there will al- 
most certainly be a stand of husky little 
plants. These grow rapidly for one of the 
Buttercup relations, and should make flow- 
ering plants in about three years. 
In addition to the species mentioned, H. 
orientalis and niger, there are rare green 
forms that are equally easy in growth, 
among them H. olympicus and H. corsicus. 
LIST YOUR PLANTS 
Do you grow rare and hard to find 
plants? Then you should carry an advert- 
isment in our columns; it is the only medium 
that reaches interested buyers and the cost 
is less than you can print your list. 
DISTANS: DISS-tanz; separate. 
DULCIS: DULL-siss; sweet. 
DISTYLUS: DISS-til-us; two-styled. 
ELEGANS: ELL-eg-anz; beautiful, elegant. 
Speeding up the Lilies 
Many of the favorite species of Lilies 
as well as some of the most choice hybrids 
strains, are so slow from seed that most 
amateurs feel alarmed at the thought of 
attempting them. If .sown in late fall or 
early spring a tiny bulblet developes the 
first season, but no top growth is made until 
the second year. 
A very simple method that has been 
tried by numerous amateurs in the past few 
years makes possible the saving of an entire 
year in the growth of these lilies. All that 
is necessary is a supply of sand (vermiculite 
will probably work as well) and a screw-top 
jar, preferably wide-mouth, for each lot of 
seed. ; 
Mix the seed with a fair amount of moist 
sand, place in the jar, screw on the cap, and 
set the jar in a warm place, the top of a 
kitchen cupboard is excellent. The sand 
must not be wet, but quite moist. If it 
should dry out, a small amount of water may 
be poured in but never enough to show 
over the top of the sand. Arranging the 
seeds so that a few are visible from the 
side of the jar will enable one to watch 
progress. 
In anywhere from one month to six, de- 
pending largely upon the freshness of the 
seeds, tiny white bulblets will appear at 
the base of the seeds. These should be left 
in the jar until they are about as large as 
a grain of wheat. Then the jars may be set 
in a refrigerator for about a month, to give 
the period of cool weather necessary to 
induce top growth. However, if temperat- 
ures of 60 degrees or below can be ex- 
pected for several weeks the bulblets may 
be moved directly to pots of soil. This mov 
ing should be done carefully, with the bulb- 
lets inserted too (the pointed end) upper; 
most and covered with about one half inch 
of soil. In a few weeks top growth will 
will start, and the bulblets can then be hand- 
led as ordinary seedlings. There are re- 
ports that the babies have put out sizeable 
leaves while still in the refrigerator. 
This type of treatment is of value only on 
those species that require two years to show 
top growth and has been found to give ex- 
cellent results of auratum, speciosum, szovit- 
zianum, martagon and its hybrids and other 
species classed with these in the seed list. 
PRONUNCIATIONS 
DAHURICUS: da-HEW-rik-us; Dahuria in 
East Siberia. 
DELTOIDES: del-TOY-deez; roughly _ tri- 
angular. 
DENSIFLORUS: den-sif-FLOH-rus; — den- 
sely flowered. 
PEUSTUS: dee-USS-tus; burned. 
DIFFUSUS: dif-FEW-sus; spreading. 
DIGITALIS:  dij-it-TAY-liss; finger-formed. 
