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The Perennial Garden (Season is May and June Plant)

season is May and June. Plant in an open sunny location, in fertile well-drained soil. When the plants become bushy and the bloom is not so profuse as it should be, the plants must be lifted and divided, it is usually necessary to do this work every three years or so in order to secure an abundance of bloom. The best time to divide iris is immediately after the flowering period or during September; when this work is done later in the autumn, the plants may die out during winter. Early spring division while often practiced sometimes will affect, adversely, the bloom for the coming season. When the plants are divided separate each rhizome, then trim off the long straggly roots and reset, planting each division 6 inches apart. The German Iris cannot stand deep planting; barely cover the rhizome with a thin layer of soil; watering after planting should be done with judgment, as too much water will cause the rhizomes to rot before they root. This is one of the best ways in which to propagate the iris, as increasing the stock by means of seed is very slow. Seed sown in the summer will not germinate before spring, and the seedlings will not bloom until they are two or three years old.