This complete guide gives all the information you need to choose, grow, and appreciate the beardless iris-from basic planting information to help beginners, to the essential hybridizing details that horticulturists need. Beardless irises are cousins of the more familiar bearded irises, but are much more variable, with plants ranging from four-inch-tall dwarfs with tiny flowers to five-foot stalks with dinner-plate-size flowers. In addition, beardless irises of at least one type will grow in virtually every gardening situation from dry shade to standing water in full sun. No other group of perennials offers such versatility. Here, all five major groups are covered in detail: Siberian, Japanese, Pacific Coast Native, spuria, and Louisiana. The garden uses, development of the modern hybrids, and recommended cultures are given for each of the diverse groups of beardless irises. In addition, a separate chapter covers the techniques for creating your own beardless hybrids.

Sempervivum have long fascinated gardeners and are useful plants for gardening situations in which other plants might fail. Many people are aware of only a single, rather uninteresting green cultivar, but selections from the wild and the work of hybridizers have resulted in over 7,000 cultivars with a range in size from 1/2 in. to over one foot in diameter and colors from gold to black. Clearly the gardener has never had a better choice. This book covers all aspects of their history, taxonomy, culture, propagation, hybridizing, people involved in the production of Sempervivum, and a long list of cultivars that are recommended for the gardener. Color illustrations show not only the cultivars, but garden uses and cultural practices.