IRIS RETICULATA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19578, 26 August 1933, Page 11

IRIS RETICULATA.

Although this beautiful little iris cannot be regarded as a rare plant it is seldom one finds it cultivated except in the form of a small cluster in a rock garden or in pots in the greenhouse. Yet its early flowering coupled with the refined beauty of its blossoms are sufficient to warrant its inclusion on a much larger scale (writes “Loraa,” in the “Manawatu Daily Times.’’) Undoubtedly the best place for it is outdoors in the rock garden, and if a breadth of it some two feet in diameter- were planted in a broad bay a particularly charming picture would result. Flowering as it does with the snowdrop, it may be regarded as one of the arliest of the iris family. The plant is not more than six inches high when in full flower, its rush-like foliage which follows, the flowers rising a foot or even more | under good cultivation. Its flowers are a rich, mottled gold, not the least attractive feature about them being their delightful fragrance. In the rock garden it makes a brave show when rock gardens are almost flowerless. Owing to its dwarf .tature the flowers often get badly soiled during heavy rains, and to prevent this it is advisable to plant the bulbs under a cari>ct of dwarf-growing sedulums. It need a sheltered, weil-drained spot, and fully exposed to direct sunlight, but shcltcivd from cold spring winds. As a pot plant for the conservatory it is a perfect gem, the bulbs being potted in the autumn and kept in a cool ; frame until they are showing buds, . when they may be brought In to flower.