Japanese Flag

Japanese Flag (Iris Kaempferi) - The many varieties in cultivation under this name have sprung from I. laevigata and I. setosa, and form a fine race of garden plants, whilst every year many beautiful sorts are added, chiefly from Japan, though many seedlings have been raised in this country. The flowers are variable in size and color, some measuring as much as 9 and 10 inches across. The varieties of I. setosa differ from those of I. laevigata in having broader and less-drooping petals, and the three inner petals are often of the same size as the outer, so that the flower is symmetrical. I. Kaempferi will grow in almost any soil, but is best in a good loam, with peat added to it, though this is not so much for nourishment as to retain moisture during the hot and dry summer months, for this Flag likes moisture, and its numerous roots will often go 2 feet deep in search of it. It dislikes shade, preferring a warm sunny position, being especially happy when planted by the margin of a lake, pond, or stream, where cooling conditions obtain, but where the roots or crowns are not submerged. Two-year-old seedling plants of it bloom in June and July, and amongst them will be found an endless variety of colors from white to the richest plum, the deep blues being very rich. In cultivation they prefer a generous treatment, rich loam and old manure suiting them. Plant September to November and March to early April. When transplanted this moisture-loving Flag does not bloom well until the second season after planting. Division, or seeds, which should be sown as soon as gathered either in pots or in the open ground, they will vegetate in the following spring.

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