12 - re July 7, 1995 — North Shore News

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“THE. ‘INSTANTLY. recogniz-
’ able‘ iris has’ one ‘of the. most
‘ beautiful blooms in. the - plant
Kingdom.

wot consists: of two major parts:
three ‘upright or horizontal petals

om :, called standards and three lower
sepals called falls. The falls are

almost always marked with a con-.”

spicuous and brightly colored spot —

~ often. yellow. or orange — which ;

serves to. draw pollinating insects to

_ the right spot. Ld
That the. Dutch iris should be ‘so
“important commercially may be a
» Surprise to many Canadian gardeners,
“hc as itis rarely grown outdoors here, In
™ fact, it has only minor “importance ‘as
an outdoor bulb even in.warmer cli-
mates. Instead, where the. Dutch iris
: “really shines: is.in its use ‘asa cut
flower. Since the bulbs can be so cus-

on Ut Be nish PES

ily forced, it is the only type of iris;
available. to florists throughout the ®

year. with. peak sales during winter %
and spring. Some 200 million cut-
flower irises are sold cach year and *

the Dutch iris is the 10th most impor-
tant cut flower in the world.

Dutch ‘irises are always cut and:
sold in bud, a great advantage to both:

florists arc: consumers, since they are
therefore practically immune to dam-
age during transit: When purchasing

them as- cut: Mowers, always pick

flowers which are not yet. open, as
they have the longest vast life.

After buying j irises, place.them in
a cool place, in a bucket of water to

“allow. them to absorb plenty of fresh

water for ‘several hours. Then ‘fill a

SEV RET GNC bg TI

clean vase with a solution of water

and cut’ flower preservative, which «

will lengthen their vase life by half.
Before putting the ‘flowers in the

“ vase, cut | to 2.cm from the bottom of
‘, the. stemy with a sharp knife. Arrange
irises either alone, or in a:summer

bouquet from the Pick of your garden
flowers.
If the irises fail to open, it may be

~ that the sheath (the leaf-like bracket

that protects the petals) is too tough.

If this is the case, you can give moth- .

er nature a helping hand by either slit-
ting, or entirely removing the sheath.
When the water level drops, always

add some more cut-flower preserva- ,
tive and water to the vase, never just”

change the water itself...

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