Crinums and Amaryllis
For the past year or so an unusual amount of interest has been shown in this magnificent class of plants, followed in many instances by grievous disappointment, as, led away by the glowing descriptions of the dealers, investments are made in bulbs whose proper culture is entirely unknown. It is to be regretted that dealers sending out bulbs requiring special treatment—as the Crinums—do not give instructions for their culture. It would save a vast amount of disappointment, complaint, and distrust. Unfortunately many florists do not themselves understand their requirements; they merely purchase the bulbs from other dealers, and publish trade advertisements and illustrations.
Seen in bloom under proper conditions and treatment it is not strange that florists wax eloquent in their praise, and invest heavily in bulbs which they sell to an ignorant and confiding public. There is, however, little difficulty in growing the Crinum—indeed, I know of no plant more easily grown, once it is understood.
Most of the complaints show that there has been no effort made to study the nature of the plant. A little study would show that an immense bulb like Crinum ornatum must have a generous supply of roots to sustain it; that these roots must have time to grow, commensurate with the length of time the bulb has been out of the ground, and that not much could be expected of it until these conditions were fulfilled. These facts are obvious from a study of the dry bulb, other facts are only arrived at after experience with the Crinum as a plant.
The root growth is quite in keeping with the size of the bulb; it forms great quantities of fleshy white roots as thick as pipe-stems, which are very impatient of disturbance and should be left practically unmolested for a number of years. When a bulb is prepared for market these roots are all removed. It is not strange that when called upon to rally from the shock of dismemberment and to replace the entire root growth it should sometimes fail to bloom as readily as expected. Often only a portion of the former roots start again, and this must be taken into consideration when anticipating bloom.
When a dry bulb is received from the florist it should be potted at once in a pot two inches larger in diameter than the bulb, that is, one allowing one inch of space between the pot and the bulb all around. Good potting soil, loam, leaf-mould, or muck, good sharp sand and old, well-rotted manure should be used. I do not think the muck absolutely essential, except in the case of C. Americana, which may be grown in pure muck, but good fibrous loam and sharp sand must be used. Place an inch or two of drainage material in the bottom of the pot, covering with sphagnum moss to keep the water from washing the soil into the drain and clogging it; fill within an inch of the top of the pot with soil; press the bulb into it, making a depression the shape of the base of the bulb and a couple of inches deep; line this hollow an inch deep with clean white sand, replace the bulb, water, and give a warm, sunny position. The bulb may be lifted and examined daily without injury, to note the root development and to watch for signs of blue-mould, which is apt to attack the Crinum if slow in rooting and which, when it appears, should be carefully wiped off. As soon as the root growth has fairly commenced the bulb must not again be disturbed, as there is then danger of injuring the root. This inspection shows the root development the bulb is likely to make, and gives an idea of the probable florescence. The bulb is planted on top, and not in the soil, but if it makes the root growth it should that will hold it as firmly as though it were entirely embedded.
Usually a bulb will bloom in about three months from potting, sometimes sooner, but it is better to allow it a margin of time. Few leaves are made up to blooming time, but after the bloom has faded the foliage grows rapidly and, in the case of large bulbs, is really magnificent. When the foliage begins to fade and turn yellow at the tips the growth for the season is practically over, and water should be gradually withheld, and the plant allowed to rest. From this time on give only sufficient water to keep the plant from going dust-dry. Enough water may be given to keep the roots from shrivelling but not sufficient to induce top growth. Soon after starting it will be noticed, perhaps, that the bulb has shrunk and grown smaller and somewhat soft. As the foliage dies it becomes firm and hard again, the strength of the top has returned to the bulb from which it came, and it is at this period that it makes its own growth and prepares for another season of bloom, readiness for which it will announce by beginning to grow though water be withheld. The top earth—which should be dry at this time—should be removed as far as possible without disturbing the roots, and replaced with good, rich soil. Water freely, and when the buds appear give a little weak liquid manure once a week. The second blooming will be much finer than the first, as the plant has now sufficient root growth to support both stalk and blossom.
Should the bulb outgrow its quarters it may be shifted into a pot two sizes larger, care being taken not to disturb the roots. In this way the Crinum may be grown on from year to year, shifting when really necessary, renewing the top-soil each year without disturbing the roots and allowing it seasons of complete rest. This is the whole secret of Crinum culture—undisturbed root action and well-defined seasons of rest and growth. It requires a warm, sunny window in winter, and an eastern exposure in summer, where it will get the full morning sun and be protected from rough winds which injure the foliage. In protected situations certain varieties, as C. Kunthianum, hold their great leaves erect and are very fine; they will not do this when exposed to wind. Care must be taken to protect them from heavy rain, as water settling in the leaves sometimes causes the bulb to rot. I have lost some very fine specimens from this cause. A protected sand-box is an ideal place for them, as the evaporation from the wet sand supplies just the moist atmosphere they like. They may be wintered in a warm, dry cellar, but, if the cellar is at all cold or damp, it will be better to keep them on the back of the plant-stand or on a shelf in a closet where they may be inspected frequently.
Crinums are such expensive floral luxuries that it pays to take good care of them. Many varieties make few offshoots, and hence can never become cheap, but there is a distinct pleasure in possessing something rare and fine.
Unfortunately much confusion exists in regard to the two Crinums, Kirkii and ornatum, and the same bulb is often offered under different names. The dealers themselves seem to have no clear idea as to which is which. I believe, however, that ornatum is distinguished by a pink stripe through the centre of each petal, while the corresponding stripe in Kirkii is reddish-purple; these two are the most uncertain and unsatisfactory of all Crinums in the hands of the amateur.
C. Moorei, also often offered as ornatum or Kirkii, is one of the choicest Crinums and a native of South Africa. Its flowers, produced in umbels of from ten to twelve, are of a soft, delicate blush with a pink bar through the centre of each petal. It is deliciously fragrant, and the large bulb and handsome foliage much resemble C. ornatum. C. erubescens is another rare tropical species, having umbels of as many as a dozen lily-like flowers of a claret-purple outside and a soft pink inside with filaments of dark red. It is a free bloomer of easy culture. C. Capense rosea has the reputation of being the most easily grown of any Crinum, and is quite hardy with protection as far north as St. Louis. It is said to winter in the cellar like a Dahlia. Farther north it should be given the same care in winter as other varieties. The flowers are numerous—white flushed with rose with a pink stripe through the centre, and more drooping than the flower in other species. C. scabrum, often called Christ and the Apostles, having thirteen flowers, produces an abundance of pale-green foliage beautifully waved and crimped. It has usually two flower scapes at once, flowers much like the old Annunciation Lily, but with a longer tube, so that the outer row droops. The six broad petals are pure, sparkling white with a light red stripe down the outside of each and a pink one on the inside. This is one of the most desirable varieties. C. fimbriatum—Milk-and-wine Lily—is much like C. Kirkii in habit and appearance, but smaller, the flowers being but three or four inches in diameter, the foliage more erect and sword-like.
SHOULD BULB OUTGROW ITS QUARTERS SHIFT INTO POT TWO SIZES LARGER
C. pedunculatum grows to a magnificent size, fine specimens averaging six feet in height and width. Its flowers, of pure white with purple anthers, are formed in umbels of thirty or more; the petals are narrow and the flowers exquisitely fragrant. It has a queer stump-like bulb which grows to an immense size, and is an evergreen, producing its flowers at intervals through the year like C. Americana, which has also pure white, fragrant flowers, the petals long and narrow. The latter, when in bloom, throws up one immense spike in the centre of the foliage, giving the plant the appearance of a great rounded bouquet. It is a native of the Florida swamps, and should be grown in muck with considerable moisture, blooming best when pot-bound. C. grandolia, or augustum, is the finest of all the Crinums: one grown in Florida “with leaves six feet long and correspondingly wide, with a crown of bloom the size of a bushel measure.” Its umbels of flowers, thirty or more in number, with broad petals eight inches long, make a magnificent display. The buds are a purplish-red, the flowers, when open, a blood red outside, and a delicate, satiny flush inside. The bulbs grow to an immense size.
C. Kunthianum, another of the large-growing Crinums, is highly to be recommended for amateur culture, being much more easily managed than either ornatum or Kirkii. It is evergreen, and has broad strap leaves of a bluish green that, in the house, are held erect, and for this reason it presents the finest appearance of all Crinums. It throws up a tall spike crowned with ten or twelve large, lily-like flowers of a rosy white with crimson stripes through the petals.
The general treatment of Amaryllis is the same as for Crinums. Disturb the roots as little as possible, and give as complete seasons of rest as the plant seems to require. When it is apparent that they are trying to rest they should not be forced to grow, but aided to sleep by judicious withholding of water, tempering of the light, and the like. Evergreen Amaryllis, like the Aulica platypetala, do not need these periods of complete rest, but they need a partial rest, and as long as no new leaves appear should be watered moderately and the roots left undisturbed as long as possible. Remove all offshoots that have grown to any size when the plant starts to grow and the top-soil is being renewed, and pot them off in small pots an inch larger than the bulbs. The number of fine hybrids have increased so rapidly of late years that it is impossible to describe them separately, as many of them are flaked and splashed with colour in a wonderful manner. Of the old-time favourites it is doubtful if any excels the A. Johnsonii, and a collection of Amarylli might well begin with this.
Tuberoses should be started in a warm place where they will not be exposed to draughts or chills. Before potting, take a sharp knife and remove all the old root and hard substance about the base, leaving but a thin layer below the bulb. Unless this is done, growth will be either delayed or prevented, as the new growth cannot push through this hard substance. Pot singly in four-inch pots and keep moist and warm until growth begins, when they may be given a position in a sunny window, and encouraged to grow until time for planting out in the open ground, after all danger of frost is past. If it is not desired to plant directly in the open ground they may be shifted into six-or eight-inch pots and plunged in the ground. They must be plunged to the brim, or over, and will require more water than when growing in the ground. If they are still blooming at the approach of frost they may be lifted and removed to the house. Others that have been bedded out may be lifted, potted, and brought in, and will bloom as freely, though not as quickly, as those in pots. Disturbing the roots does not seem to interfere at all with the process of bloom.
The double pearl Tuberose blooms but once, and it is hardly worth while, unless one has much room and time, to try to bring the small bulbs forward to the blooming stage, as they must be cultivated for two or three summers and cared for for as many winters. The variegated leaved, however, blooms from year to year, and should be taken up in the fall and stored in a warm, dry place. This variety is single, but very fragrant and pretty. Tuberoses do well in the Gladiolus bed, and their pure white spikes are very attractive among the more brilliant flowers, but they should be planted in clumps and not scattered among the Gladioli.
Chapter FOURTEEN
Aquatics
There is special delight in the cultivation of aquatics, due partly to the novelty of the work, and partly to the feeling of rest associated with this particular branch of floriculture. One can rarely go into the garden in the early summer without seeing something to do, a plant to be trimmed, or a vine the wind has blown down, and always plants needing water. When the lily pond is reached, be it natural or artificial, one feels that here there is rest, for an established lily pond seldom needs care. In small tanks the water must be renewed occasionally, but once a week will be sufficient.
Probably the simplest way of constructing a lily pond where the lay of the land and soil are favourable, is to mark out a desired area, remove about two feet of soil and turn the cattle on it. With stiff clay soil this will in a few months give a bottom sufficiently hard to hold water. Spread several inches of muck and old manure on this prepared ground and the place is ready for the water, which may be piped from a well or supplied by a wind-mill. Such a pond has this advantage over one made of cement, that semi-aquatic plants, such as Reeds and Bamboos, Japanese Iris, Cardinal Flowers, and the native Flame Lily may find a place on its banks and add greatly to the beauty of the pond.
When one is so fortunate as to have a little stream flowing through a corner of the grounds it can be diverted to form a pond with sufficient current to prevent stagnation, yet not enough to interfere with the growing of water-plants. By selecting a low spot beside the stream very little excavating will be necessary, and the nature of the soil and force of the water will decide what, if any, barrier may be needed. Should the stream be some distance from the house a shrubbery, hardy perennials, and an occasional tree may lead up to the pond. If this is so fortunately placed as to be on the north side of the grounds, so that the sun lies on it when seen from the house, the effect will be greatly heightened by a clump of evergreens on its northern shore, making a background to arrest the eye and focus it on the lily pond. Where the landscape is limited, a group of tall Bamboos is effective at this point, and Japanese Iris may have a place in the foreground; Sagittarias and ornamental grasses may also be used with good results.
WILD WATER FLOWERS FOR EDGING LILY-POND
Where one lacks the advantage of natural conditions a cement pond is a good substitute. It may be expensively constructed with piping for water, drainage, etc., or it may be made at a cost of from five to thirty dollars, according to size. Five or six by eight, or eight by ten or twelve feet, will be found convenient sizes, as they will admit of reaching the centre. The basin should be about two feet deep when completed, and if of clay the soil should be wet and made as hard and smooth as possible. If the soil is loose and sandy it will need a coat of clay before applying the cement. This may be done by mixing the clay with water to the consistency of mortar and applying in any convenient way. Allow this to dry before using the cement. A neat curbing will greatly improve the appearance of the pond.
When the cement is perfectly dry, place six inches of old, well-rotted manure in the bottom of the basin, and cover with eight or ten inches of muck. Make this smooth and level, and cover with one or two inches of clean white sand to keep the water clear and sightly and prevent the muck from rising to the surface. Fill with hose or watering-pot, letting the pond overflow until the water is clear and the sand firm and smooth, when it is ready for plants.
When a permanent bed of this kind is out of the question, a large zinc tub, or half a hogshead, will make a small water-garden. These would better be raised somewhat above the surface of the ground to protect them from decay. Three small five-inch drain-tiles laid sidewise make a good foundation, and a very pretty effect may be obtained by piling rough stones around the tank. Fill in with earth and cover with vines and plants suitable for a rockery. If a tall Bamboo, or even a fine clump of Papyrus or Umbrella-plant can be grown on the north side, so as to overtop the tank without shutting off the sunshine, it will add much to the general effect. The Lily pond should have full sunshine, but be protected from rough winds, as the leaves of large Lilies that stand well above the water are easily injured. The Egyptian Lotus is the finest of all Lilies suitable for growing in small ponds or tanks. These plants should be purchased from growers, as they do not seed in this country and the imported seed is uncertain. One plant is sufficient for a tub or tank, as they increase very rapidly and do better when not crowded.
One of these Lilies may be placed in the centre of a small pond of ten feet or more, and other Lilies grouped around the sides. Hardy Nymphæas may be planted in the soil of the pond, while the more tender Zanzibarenses should be planted in twelve-inch pots and plunged in the tank, as these are not hardy like the Nelumbiums, to which class the Lotus belongs. Both the Egyptian and the American Lotus are quite hardy in the open ground with a protection of rough litter and boards. An interesting peculiarity of the Lotus, by which it may be distinguished from other Lilies when quite small or out of bloom, is that water splashed on the leaves always rolls up into little drops like quicksilver instead of spreading over the leaves, as on Nymphæas and the like.
WATER LILIES, WITH BACKGROUND OF BAMBOO AND NATIVE GRASSES
There are several varieties of Nymphæas suitable for amateur cultivation—the Cape Cod Water Lily, with its large, cup-shaped flowers of a lovely pink; T. Richardson, probably the finest white variety; our native Nymphæas, and the lovely Zanzibar Lilies in blue and crimson. These last are very easily raised from seed, which, if planted early in February, will give bloom by July, and may be wintered in a warm, dry cellar. In a cold, damp cellar they rot. If grown in tubs drain off the water at the approach of cold weather, remove to the cellar and keep merely moist. If grown in ponds it is better to plant them in pots, which may be lifted and brought into the cellar for the winter. Into a large bowl or crock put a few inches of rich soil, cover with clean white sand and turn on tepid water until it runs clear. Sow the lily seed on the surface of the water; it will go to the bottom when entirely wet and be more evenly distributed than would be the case were it sown on the soil and the water turned over it.
Through the clear water the whole process of germination may be watched. In six days a thread-like sprout will have started from the swollen seed; in six days more this thread-like shoot changes into a tiny dart-shaped leaf; in another six a true leaf comes upon the scene, a very small lily-pad, but giving promise of great performance.
When the dish becomes crowded transplant into other dishes, keeping plants out of water as short a time as possible. When the nights are warm—at least 60°—plant out in tubs or ponds. For the first year an eight by ten foot pond may have a Nelumbium in the centre, two or three Zanzibar varieties on either side, and pink and white Nymphæas at the end. If the plants have done well reduce the number the second year.
Water Hyacinths are found interesting principally because they are more or less of a novelty even at the South, having been introduced from Venezuela about fourteen years ago. This plant has already proved itself a nuisance in the Florida rivers, seriously interfering with navigation and calling for appropriations from the Government for its destruction. In house or garden cultivation the roots increase rapidly. A small plant set in a tub in full sunshine in May will fill it by August. The leaves form rosettes and expand at the stem into a sort of bladder that supports the plant on the surface of the water. The roots trail in the water until the plant is ready to bloom, when they enter the soil. The flowers are a pleasing shade of lavender with a yellow centre and form in spikes like a Hyacinth. Paris green must not be used in the water where the Hyacinths are grown, but lumps of charcoal and a small quantity of kerosene may be substituted.
A FULL BLOWN CAT-TAIL
A few Water Poppies holding their bright yellow cups well above the surface of the water are always attractive, and Parrot’s Feather trailing over the sides of the tub gives a bit of tender green through the summer, but the rockwork, with ferns and plants and a tall reed or two, makes a much tidier appearance. The Papyrus—the plant from which our first paper was made—is very effective and will grow wherever a Canna thrives, though it prefers a low, damp soil. It must be wintered in greenhouse or cellar. A well-developed clump will grow to a height of ten feet. Several varieties of Bamboo, to be had from South Florida nurseries, will do well in the North in summer and stand a considerable degree of cold. Bambusa arundinacea is a magnificent quick-growing sort from forty to sixty feet tall at maturity, and will stand considerable frost. B. aurea and B. Metake are hardy with good protection at the North. B. Metake is a handsome evergreen species of considerable decorative value for indoor culture, growing six feet tall with large, handsome foliage, while A. falcata is a pretty variety with the tiniest of leaves. Bamboo requires an abundant water-supply, and is therefore most suitable for the borders of natural ponds, or low, damp spots on the grounds.
The objection raised to ponds is that they breed mosquitoes and malaria and are likely to become offensive. So will anything that is neglected, but there is not the slightest reason for the lily pond becoming a nuisance in any way. A small amount of Paris green in the water—a teaspoonful to an eight-foot pond—will keep it perfectly clear and sweet and prevent the formation of green scum and moss, so offensive in stagnant water, and the breeding of mosquitoes. Or a little charcoal and kerosene will give the same results.
NATIVE PLANTS EDGING A NATURAL WATER GARDEN
Chapter FIFTEEN
The Care of the Summer Rose-bed
The old-fashioned June Roses, with their long season of flowerless bloom, hardly repay the trouble of raising. The hardy perpetuals and hybrid Teas may now be purchased so cheaply that, even though a large proportion of them should not survive the winter, a small outlay will replace them. The thorniness of the old hardy June Rose adds greatly to the labour of caring for them, and this alone would lead some to discard them.
If, however, one clings to the old-fashioned Roses from economy or sentiment, they should be grown to their fullest possibilities by pruning, cultivation, and liberal mulching with coarse manure in the fall, and lawn clippings in the summer. Pruning should be done late in the winter or early in the spring before the sap begins to run. Remove all weak and straggly branches, cutting back the new growth to the first strong leaf-buds on the shoot. It is well to cut out the centres, as the new growth will quickly fill the space and be stronger and better in every way for the removal of the old wood. It will also leave less wood and briers to collect and hold dead leaves and grass during winter, which must be taken out, at the expense of bleeding fingers, in the spring. Bushes which grow upright with little wood at the base are more easily cared for. Only strong, new growths should be left, which will break freely and give firm new wood, producing fine flowers. Breaking means the starting of young leaf-buds at the axils of each leaf, which sprout and form new branches. It is the new wood that bears the flowers, so that its growth should be encouraged. The fewer shoots allowed to grow the finer will be the flowers.
Cultivate thoroughly in spring and fall and give a heavy mulch of lawn clippings during summer. Mulch heavily with coarse manure in the fall, digging in the best of it in the spring. It is not necessary to give winter protection, though it is best to wrap the tops with straw when exposed to cold winds.
Hardy climbers should have all weak shoots removed, and branches that are too long shortened. Thin out a part of the canes to give room for air and growth, and remove all wood that has grown too hard to break, as it will produce no new wood and is only an incumbrance.
For the summer rose-bed nothing equals the Hybrid Teas, which bloom from June until frost. If young plants are purchased in the spring they may be bedded out at once, if sent by express with the ball of earth about their roots intact. If sent by mail it will be better to pot off in three-inch pots, and set in a cool, rather shady place for a few days, bringing gradually into the sunshine until they have become established, when they may be turned out into the open ground without disturbing their roots. If planted at once in the open ground, the more delicate ones would be likely to perish.
Give the rose-bed a sunny, protected situation, using a soil of good garden loam, clay, and old, well-rotted manure, made deep and mellow. If the plants are the small mail-order size set one foot apart each way, planting according to directions for transplanting, and make the soil very firm and hard about their roots. Cultivate frequently, or mulch with lawn clippings, working them in as they decay. Liquid manure must not be given until the plants are growing vigorously, when it may be applied once or twice a week. More plants are injured by the injudicious use of fertilisers than in any other way.
If two-year-old plants are purchased, set from eighteen inches to two feet apart each way. See that each plant has a zinc or wooden label securely fastened to it, or, what is better, make a list in their regular order, or a diagram of the bed in a note-book. This permanent memorandum will enable you to be sure of the name of any particular Rose.
Cut Roses with a liberal amount of the stem, and only enough pruning will be needed to keep them in good shape and remove any weak growth. It is a good plan to cut them down to a bud that will be likely to throw a good shoot. Hardy Perpetuals or monthly Roses often fail to give more than a few early spring flowers at the tips of the branches. If the plants are in good condition, and the branches of some length, peg the ends down to the ground with a clothes-pin or stick, as the tendency in Rose growth is for new wood to start from the highest point. Bending the end down brings the highest point at the middle of the branch, which will then break and bloom.
Roses, especially the old hardy kinds, will often refuse to bloom, though well cared for and sufficiently pruned. In such cases root-pruning may be resorted to by cutting down on two sides of the plant with the spade and severing a part of the roots. This will often induce bloom when all other methods fail. Plants occasionally run to roots as well to tops.
So many and varied are the insect enemies that a hardy Rose, with even fair foliage, is rare during the season of bloom, unless ceaseless warfare has been waged from the first swelling of the buds. Slugs, rose thrip or hopper, and rose-bugs make the life of the rose-grower a weariness. On this account alone I would recommend discarding the June Roses in favour of the Teas, which are fairly free from these pests. Their dark-green, healthy foliage is a striking contrast to the worm-eaten, rusty foliage of the hardy Rose. The only weakness they show is an occasional tendency to mildew, and this may be avoided by giving an airy, sunny situation, setting far enough apart to insure free circulation of air, and watering early that the foliage may dry before the chill of night. The remedy is flowers of sulphur dusted over the leaves.
TRAINING A CLIMBING ROSE
Rose-slugs are small green worms that feed on the foliage, lying on the under side of the leaves, which they roll around them or draw together with a slight web. The remedy is to spray the under side of the foliage with kerosene emulsion, or with hot water heated to 140°, being careful to reach every part, or to go over the plant leaf by leaf, pinching the leaves between the fingers and crushing them. The rose hopper, or thrip, is a small, yellowish-white insect feeding on the under side of the leaves, sucking their juice and causing them to turn yellow. The best remedy is the whale-oil solution sprayed on the under side. For rose bugs, or beetles, spraying with Paris green is quite effective, but it must be used promptly, as the amount of injury they can do in a short time is remarkable. After using an insecticide, the plants should be thoroughly sprayed with clear water, and if treated with Paris green label them, that no one may be poisoned by eating the rose-leaves. Roses for pillows should not be gathered from plants that have had any kind of poison used on them.
Roses kept in the house during winter are sometimes attacked with green lice. They may be treated with tobacco in some of its forms, or with hot water—dipping the entire plant in a pail of water heated to 130°. I prefer the hot-water treatment, as it leaves the plant clean and invigorated. Few, if any, plants are injured by it, and most are benefited. Where there is any question of the effect on a particular plant a single branch may be dipped as an experiment. It is difficult to make any choice of Roses where all are so beautiful. American Beauty is probably the most popular crimson Rose to-day. The Bride stands first among the whites. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria is a most desirable hardy white, and the new rose, Virginia R. Coxe—also offered under the name of Gruss an Teplitz—is one of the most desirable reds; a profuse and constant bloomer with loose-petalled, medium-sized flowers of the richest scarlet, shading to glowing velvety crimson. Among the climbers Mrs. Robert Perry is the finest, an immense, pure, creamy white, quite hardy, and a free and constant bloomer, valuable for cut flowers.
If one has room for a hundred varieties it is easy to select that number with the certainty that there need not be a poor Rose among the number.
A ROSE-COVERED BUILDING
Chapter SIXTEEN
The Hardy Lily-bed
There is no better investment for the garden than a bed of hardy Lilies, which should be started in the fall as early as the bulbs may be had. This is often later than is desirable, but the matter is entirely beyond control. The best that can be done is to get orders for foreign-grown bulbs placed early in the fall. It is not necessary to wait for the new catalogue, as the old will give the varieties and approximate cost. The main thing is to get in the order early that it may be filled promptly when the bulbs arrive. Orders received last are filled last. This means not only considerable delay, but second choice in bulbs; the first-comers secure the best, the last must take the cullings.
Having ordered your bulbs, proceed at once to make your beds. Better results are obtained by planting Lilies in beds with fibrous-rooted plants, hardy shrubs, and perennials that do not need frequent disturbing. The Lily is very impatient of moisture, and water standing around the roots in winter is absolutely fatal. A raised bed of Peonies affords favourable conditions, provided there is sufficient room between the plants for the Lilies to increase from year to year, as once planted they should not be disturbed. If the Lily-bed is to be by itself an angle of a building, or a portion of the grounds protected by trees, or adjacent shrubbery, on the west and north, should be chosen. Such a site, if well drained, will give good results. The bed should be dug deep and mellow, and enriched with old, well-rotted manure. Strict attention must be paid to this point—only old, well-decomposed manure must be used. The bed should be sufficiently rounded to shed water. Lilium candidum will be ready to ship in August, and should be planted as soon as received. All Lilies are greatly injured by exposure to air, and if it is necessary to keep them out of the ground for any length of time they should be well wrapped in tissue-paper, or otherwise protected. The Japanese protect their great auratum Lily bulbs from the air by encasing them in a ball of clay before starting them on their long journey to the far West. Candidum Lilies make a fall growth of leaves, and must be planted early; no other Lily is as hardy and satisfactory with us as this. They should be planted four inches deep and a foot apart each way, that they may have room to increase, and left undisturbed for years. The soil may be made very rich with manure, but none of it should touch the Lily bulbs. Make a hole of sufficient depth and size, put an inch or more of sand on the bottom, place the bulbs on this and fill up with the sand, packing it closely all around the bulb.
Of the Japanese Lilies, rubrum is most easily grown here and should be planted eight to ten inches deep. Planted deep they are not injured by thawing and freezing, but when too near the surface the frost often throws the bulbs out of the ground. Lilies are not injured so much by freezing as by sudden and frequent thawings.
As long as the rubrum is doing well it should not be disturbed, but if it suddenly fails to grow and bloom the bulbs should be taken up when dormant, and cleansed. Remove all decayed scales and look for worm-nests, which are usually the source of the trouble. Ants sometimes make nests in the Lily bulb in the spring, and cause the top to decay. When this occurs it should be lifted, cleaned, and reset in a place free from ants. The greatest care must be exercised in cleaning bulbs not to injure the sound scales, as that will only induce further decay.
All the speciosum Lilies are exceedingly beautiful. L. Album is one of the finest; its reflexed flowers are a clear, sparkling white with a green band through the centre of each petal, and a peculiar glistening appearance, as though covered with water. It is one of the most easily grown of the speciosum family. S. Roseum is another handsome variety, white flushed with rose, and with dull crimson spots on the white ground; while S. rubrum has large reflexed petals of frosted white, heavily bearded and spotted with rich crimson, with many glistening points of white. Aside from the speciosum Lilies there are many other fine Japanese Lilies, the auratums easily leading in size and beauty. While Krameri is a tube-shaped Lily of a soft pink; longiflorum has lovely trumpets of pure white; the wonderful Lilium giganteum, six to ten feet high, sends up immense clusters of twelve to twenty creamy white flowers, with purple throat. Washingtonianum is another tall variety bearing large clusters of delicate white flowers spotted with black, and the grand and rare Brownii shows a chocolate-purple outside with a creamy interior. The list is long, but with a generous planting of well-selected varieties a succession of bloom may be had from the first blooming longiflorums and candidums in June until auratum and the late speciosums cast their ivory petals in September.
The general treatment of all is the same: deep planting, keeping the manure from actual contact with the bulbs by packing in sand; well-drained soil and the presence of fibrous-rooted or perennial plants near enough to absorb the surplus water from the soil. During the hot weather, give a heavy mulch of lawn clippings brought well up around the stems, and water as needed. If planted deep they will hardly require staking, as the stalks send out surface roots which not only afford nourishment, but also act as a brace to the plant and hold it firmly in its place.
A PORTION OF THE GROUNDS PROTECTED BY SHRUBBERY IS THE PLACE FOR THE LILY-BED
A heavy mulch of old manure and rough litter should be given in the winter, and the bed protected with leaves and evergreen boughs, or anything that will shed water.
Spring-planted bulbs rarely do well. It is better to plant after severe cold weather sets in than to wait until spring. As long as the ground can be worked they may be planted safely, but they should be set eight or ten inches deep. I have planted them late in December—when the ground had to be broken with an axe—and have had excellent success.
The planting of hardy Lilies should be done on a scale limited only by one’s means and the ground at command. A few new and rare sorts should be added every year. In this way a magnificent collection will, in time, be acquired, as they increase very rapidly under favourable conditions, and the larger the clumps of one kind the finer the effect, so that each variety should be given abundant room to spread and develop.
It is often stated that Lilies left to themselves place their bulbs near the surface. Such bulbs are the small ones that form on the blossom stalk above the main bulb, and lie near the surface from force of circumstances. The main bulb sends its offshoots deep in the ground, as in the case of our native Lilies, which are almost impossible to dig. Especially is this the case with the native Flame Lily, the bulb of which I have never been able to reach with a trowel. Travellers in Japan report various native Lilies growing in forests among the interlacing roots of the trees, quite out of the reach of any small tools. There the auratum Lily grows on wooded hillsides where the drainage is perfect, and the falling leaves give a deep mulch at all times, and supply the best of nourishment, leaf-mould, and the roots of the trees absorb all superfluous moisture.