Irises - Historic Iris Preservation Society

A DECORATIVE IRIS 85
The broad glaucous foliage of /. pallida, especially
of the Dalmatian forms, is an ornament in any border
long after the flowers are over ; or,
if a thick mass of fine
deep green leaves is wanted, a place near the front might
be found for 7. gmminea. The flowers are never conspicuous,
hiding themselves among the leaves,
but their
scent is delicious, although here again care must be
exercised in obtaining the plants, for some are scentless,
while in others of the same batch of seedlings the fragrance
is most marked.
Few Irises are more decorative or more worthy of a
border than the best forms of 7. sibirica.
place in any
Once more, the form or variety is all-important, and,
once again, few catalogues can be relied upon.
It is
perhaps only those who have raised 7. sibirica from seed
who can realise the endless variations that can be obtained.
The probability is that there are a certain set of factors
or unit characters that can be united in various combinations
according to Mendelian principles, but these factors have
not as yet been worked out for any Iris. At present,
all that can be said is that the Western forms of 7. sibirica
are much more decorative than the Eastern 7. orientalis,
which was described more than a century ago by Thunberg.
The latter is
apt to hide its often magnificent flowers
among the foliage, but the best of the European forms
throw up a whole sheaf of slender stems, each surmounted
by about six flowers, opening in succession, and either
blue or white. 7. sibirica likes a soil that is rich in
humus, and prefers to be left undisturbed provided that
there is no lack of nourishment for its roots. This may
be provided by an annual winter mulch of leaf-mould