TULIPS CARPETED BY ARABISTULIPS CARPETED BY ARABIS
TULIPS CARPETED BY ARABIS
The most valuable Tulips for early work are the early Dutch varieties, many of which are very beautiful and embrace much variety of colour. The varieties of Duc Van Thol and Pottebakker are largely used for early bloom, but other good varieties are Bacchus, Canary Bird, Keizerskroon, Mon Tresor, and Proserpine. Following these are the popular Artus, Cottage Maid, Crimson King, and many others. As, however, almost all the bulb-dealers give the blooming periods in their lists, it would only take up space unnecessarily to detail them. A special selection of the best for pot work or for forcing would include such varieties as the Duc Van Thols, Couleur de Cardinal, Globe de Rigaut, Keizerskroon, the Pottebakkers, Royal Standard, and Samson, all reliable bloomers where they are properly cultivated.
Double Tulips last a little longer in bloom, but they do not lend themselves so well to the decoration of the garden, and many people do not care for their rather heavy-looking blooms. Good varieties for pots and forcing are Artus, Brutus, Duchess of Parma, Proserpine, Rose tendre, Thomas Moore, and Van der Neer. For bedding there are Cramoisie superbe, La Candeur, Murillo, Rex Rubrorum, and Titian, besides a number more. Variegated leaved Tulips are pretty in beds, even before the blooming time, but they are not much grown in this country.
The "Cottage Garden" Tulips grow yearly in favour, and they deserve it because of their beauty and their general hardiness, which enables the greater number to be permanent border flowers. There are a great many of much beauty, and a brief selection is necessarily incomplete. It includes the curious acuminata, Didieri, elegans, Faerie Queen, flava, Gala Beauty, gesneriana, Golden Beauty, Golden Crown, ixioides, macrospila, maculata, Picotee, retroflexa, sylvestris major, vitellina, and York and Lancaster.
The beautiful species of wild Tulips give much variety, and among the desirable plants may be named Batalini, biflora, clusiana, Greigi, kolpakowskiana, Korolkowi bicolor, Leichtlini, linifolia, ostrowskyana, persica, præcox, Sprengeri, and violacea. Many of these are capital for the rock-garden.
The Parrot Tulips are also showy in the rock-garden or for hanging baskets, where the large, fantastic flowers droop over and look very curious with their strange colouring and laciniated petals. They are rather unreliable bloomers.
The Darwin Tulips are very effective and beautiful flowers. They belong to the breeder class of the florist's Tulips, but are of a strain with more brilliant self-colours than the ordinary breeders. They are good growers, and promise to do well as border flowers.
The English florist's Tulip, while very fascinating in its way, is not of so much value for the garden as the self-coloured forms, and there are a good many details to be followed by those who wish to cultivate it as it deserves. These will be found in Mr Bentley's work, already mentioned. These English Tulips are divided into three classes with rectified or variegated blooms, as well as another, which consists of what are known as "Breeders," which, like the others, have a stainless base, but have not developed the markings of the other classes. Bizarres have a yellow ground and yellow base, of various shades, with orange, scarlet, crimson, black, or brown markings on the ground; Byblœmens have a white base and ground, the latter being marked with black, violet, purple, and lilac to lavender; while the Roses, which have a white base and ground, have the markings of pink, rose, scarlet or crimson.
Zephyranthes
Zephyranthes, or Amaryllis Candida is the only really hardy member of this genus in British gardens which are not specially favoured with a mild climate, and it will seldom prove a permanent success unless planted in dry soil in front of a greenhouse or stove and exposed to the sun. It has beautiful white flowers in autumn, and should be planted about three inches deep in spring.
Acidantheras — Albucas — Alstrœmerias — Androstephiums — Besseras — Boussingaultias — Bravoas — Cypellas — Dahlias — Galaxias — Geissorhizas and Hesperanthas
Acidantheras
The only species of Acidanthera which has been introduced hardy enough to be classed with half-hardy bulbs is A. bicolor, a pretty plant with spikes of whitish flowers with the lower segments spotted purple. It may be grown outside in a warm border if treated like a half-hardy Gladiolus, or better, under glass as recommended for the Ixia.
Albucas
Only a few of the Albucas, which come near to the Ornithogalums, deserve cultivation; these can be grown outside in warm districts alone, on a raised bed of rather light soil, in a sunny position, protected in winter by a layer of litter. They are, however, better in the greenhouse or frame. Aurea, yellow; fastigiata, white; and Nelsoni, white, are the best in cultivation. They bloom in summer, and may be planted three inches deep in autumn.
Alstrœmerias
Apart from the hardier Alstrœmerias, which may also advantageously be grown in frames or in cold greenhouses, there are several others which are pleasing occupants of frames and cool greenhouses, from which severe frosts are excluded. The least hardy of all is A. caryophyllæa, which should always have a little heat, and does best in a warm greenhouse or stove. Eminently suitable for the frame or the greenhouse without heat are the charming pelegrina, white or yellow, striped with rose, and with a yellow spot on its segments; and its white variety, alba, a lovely thing. Then there are Errembaultii, a pretty hybrid, white, spotted purple; pulchra, purple, white, and yellow, with red spots, and brasiliensis, with its reddish yellow flowers spotted with brown. At one time these were more grown, and a renewed demand would bring many other species into cultivation. A light rich soil is suitable for all, with plenty of water while growing but very little afterwards.
Androstephiums
These are pretty bulbous plants resembling the Brodiæas, and hardy if planted six or seven inches deep, but better grown in a frame. They like a sunny position and a light soil. The species are breviflorum and violaceum.
Besseras
Few people know the Bessera, which is a pretty little bulbous plant from Mexico, bearing some resemblance to the Scillas, but having bright scarlet or scarlet and white flowers. It grows from one and a half to two feet high, and may be treated similarly to the Babianas. It is one of the many half-hardy bulbs which might be more widely cultivated with advantage.
Boussingaultias
B. baselloides is a rather pretty trailing plant which gives clusters of white flowers in late autumn. In a few districts it is hardy, but it ought usually to have the protection of a frame in winter, or to have its tuberous roots stored in sand until spring, when it may be planted about three inches deep. It likes a rich, but light soil.
Bravoas
Bravoa geminiflora, the only one of the three species in cultivation, is hardy in warm places in the south, but for most gardens its proper treatment is that of a frame bulb. It has beautiful orange-red, drooping flowers in July, on stems from one and a half to two feet high. It likes a light, sandy soil, and may be planted about three inches deep in autumn.
Cypellas
These are pretty plants allied to the Iris, and well suited for growing in pots in the greenhouse as well as for frame cultivation. They may also be planted out in spring, and lifted in autumn and potted. They like a light, sandy soil, and may be planted two inches deep in pots, or three inches if in a frame. In the latter it is well to give them a little covering in frosty weather. They may be raised from seeds or increased by offsets. Cypellas grow from one to three feet high. The most desirable are Herberti, yellow; peruviana, yellow, spotted red-brown; and plumbea (syn. Pohlia platensis), lead-coloured, with a tinge of yellow in the centre.
Dahlias
The Dahlia is too extensive a subject to permit of its being fully considered in the limits of this work, but, without entering upon particulars regarding the various sections and varieties of the flower, it may be helpful to give a few broad cultural details for the benefit of those who grow the flower to a limited extent. It is a plant which must have generous treatment, and to give this it is essential that the ground should be deeply prepared by digging, and thoroughly manured with well-decayed manure. The plants may be put out as soon as danger from severe frost is past, and they should be allowed plenty of room. For exhibition purposes from five to six feet apart will be found a suitable distance. The plants should be staked immediately, and covered at nights when there is a prospect of a cold night occurring. Pots filled with moss or hay may be placed on the top of the stakes and examined regularly for earwigs. When the plants begin to make growth, the soil ought to be well mulched with half-rotted manure. Watering should never be neglected, and as the plants grow they must be properly tied to the stakes. Thinning and disbudding are necessary to secure the largest possible blooms for exhibition flowers. These may also require to be shaded and protected from bad weather. When the plants are destroyed by frost in autumn, they may be cut down to within six inches of the surface of the soil, and, after leaving them in the ground for a few days, lifted and stored out of the reach of frost. Dahlias are propagated by seeds, division of the tubers, and by cuttings, the two last being the only way of propagating named varieties. Seeds are sown in pans or pots in March under glass. When the young plants can be handled, prick them out into small pots and grow under glass until large enough to plant out in the beds. Old tubers may be divided if a portion of the crown with an eye or bud is attached to each piece. These must be put into small pots and grown on for a short time. Cuttings are easily struck from February to August. In spring the old tubers are placed in heat with the crowns above the soil, and the shoots taken off when about three inches long, and struck in heat in single pots of light soil. Cuttings taken off in summer and rooted in small pots, form good "pot roots" for planting out in spring.
Galaxias
Few people grow these pretty little bulbous plants, which do well in a frame with some protection in winter, although, perhaps, even better in pots in a cool greenhouse. They bloom in May, the clusters of flowers being almost stemless. Graminea has yellow flowers, and the other species, ovata, has purple-violet blooms. They belong to the Irids. A sandy peat is the soil they prefer.
Geissorhizas and Hesperanthas
These are closely related to each other, and require practically the same cultural treatment. The Geissorhiza is a pretty little plant, but both it and the Hesperantha seem a little more tender than the Ixia and do best with greenhouse treatment. They may be potted and grown in the way recommended for Ixias under glass. Both have loose spikes of flowers. They bloom in May or June.
Practically the only Geissorhiza grown in Britain is G. rochensis, a charming thing, with Tyrian blue flowers with crimson blotches, but alba, white; and violacea, light blue, are also procurable; while a demand for them would probably bring out humilis, yellow; purpureolutea, purple-black and yellow; secunda, red, rose, and white, with a number of others from South Africa.
The Hesperanthas are even less grown, but one may meet with graminea and pumila, white, and pilosa, rose, out of the twenty-six or so species known. Their drawback is that they flower in the evening.
Gladioli — Ixias — Sparaxises — Babianas — Morphixias — Tritonias
Gladioli
Although there are some districts in which the greater number of the Gladioli may be grown as hardy bulbs and left in the same position for years without removal, in the vast majority of British gardens they are more satisfactorily treated as half-hardy, and are lifted and replanted annually. They are less liable to disease, and less apt to be injured by frost in severe winters. Those, however, who wish to establish them permanently, will do well to plant rather deeper than is usually recommended—say, eight inches from the crowns to the surface of the soil.
The general cultivation of Gladioli is very simple. They may be grown well in any good loam, enriched in autumn by a supply of properly rotted animal manure being dug in deeply. In the case of the pretty early-flowering Gladioli, which are often satisfactory when permanently planted, they are put into the ground in late autumn, and protected with a layer of two inches of dry litter or cocoa-nut fibre. The greater number of the species, like the exquisite hybrid Gladioli, may be planted in April or early May. The corms should be about six inches deep, and are best planted by means of a trowel to form the holes, unless the soil has become too solid, in which case it ought to be forked over before planting the corms. For exhibition they may be planted about six inches apart, but for border decoration they look well in groups of three or five at a closer distance. Many charming effects may also be produced by planting Gladioli in beds, with a groundwork formed by a low plant of contrasting or harmonising colours. Other good effects may also be made by arranging them with other tall flowers. Gladioli should be staked early, and it is desirable to put in sticks when the corms are planted, unless they are in a position where the long stakes will look unsightly. In this case short sticks may be placed where the proper stakes are afterwards to go, so as to avoid injuring the corms when inserting these. They should be timeously secured with roffia or other soft material. Spikes of bloom intended for exhibition ought to be shaded and protected from the weather by a glass fronted box, with the lower portion of the glass shaded by whitening or canvas as the lower blooms open. When the leaves become yellow the corms may be lifted and, after drying slightly in a cool airy place, be stored free from frost until planting time.
The leading section of Gladioli is that formed by the gandavensis varieties, charming hybrids, which through a long period have been constantly improved until their almost perfect flowers have been produced. Even the best of the present day are being gradually superseded by novelties, and a selection of a few would only mislead. Named varieties procured from reliable firms will all give satisfaction, and seedlings of great beauty can be bought at a moderate price, and will often give flowers suitable even for exhibition. The scarlet G. brenchleyensis is indispensable for garden decoration.
The Lemoinei section, from G. purpureo-auratus and gandavensis varieties, is also very important, though it is not so perfect in form as the gandavensis flower. These Lemoinei varieties are characterised by fine blotches on some of the segments. They are slightly hardier than the preceding. These are still being much improved.
The nanceianus section comprises a number of very showy flowers, particularly suited for garden decoration or for cutting for large vases. The plants are tall, and the blooms are of great size. The Childsii varieties are also very effective plants in the garden, and are of fine colours. Several new hybrids are at present in course of improvement and will, in time, add much to the beauty of our gardens.
The species are not much grown, but there will be found among them a number of very pretty plants, which only await a demand to be readily obtainable. I have only space to refer to such as alatus, cardinalis, galeatus, hirsutus, dracocephalus, præcox, ringens, Saundersii, psittacinus, purpureo-auratus, and tristis, as all being interesting and not devoid of beauty of their own.
The hybrid Gladioli, as well as the species, make good pot plants which may be treated in a similar way to such bulbs as Hyacinths. Named varieties are propagated by offsets, by division of the corms, each portion having an eye attached, and by "spawn," the cormlets at the base of the corms which are grown on until they reach flowering size. Gladioli are also raised from seeds, sown in pans, or in the open ground in spring.
Ixias, Sparaxises, Babianas, Morphixias, and Tritonias
For convenience of treatment, these pretty and useful bulbs may well be grouped together. They are possessed of brilliant colouring, and few things are prettier or attract more attention than beds of these flowers. They are also lovely pot plants, and can be well grown in the cool greenhouse or conservatory. In some places they are hardy and may be left without much attention, but, as a general rule, they need the little care now recommended to bring them to perfection. For their cultivation, a bed with a south aspect, of rich, light loam, raised six inches above the level of the garden, is to be preferred, special care being taken that the drainage is perfect. The bulbs should be planted from October to January, at a depth of from three to four inches, and about three inches apart. If the foliage does not appear until spring, a little dry litter is all the protection required, but should it pierce through the soil earlier, a mat or two may be placed over the bed in frosty weather. When the foliage dies down after flowering, the bulbs may be lifted and dried off. For pot work, from five to six bulbs are enough for a five-inch pot, and loam, leaf-mould, and silver sand form a good compost. The best time to plant in pots is from September to December, and the soil should be slightly moist, but not so wet as to be adhesive. After making the compost firm about the bulbs, place the pots, plunged in cocoa-fibre or ashes, in a cold frame until the plants appear, when water may be given very moderately, and the lights kept off in all favourable weather. When the plants have made some growth, remove the pots to the greenhouse or conservatory, keeping them near the glass and giving a sufficiency of water.
The Ixia, or African Corn Lily, is a charming plant, with long racemes of brilliantly coloured flowers, whose dark centres add much to their beauty. Mixed varieties can be bought very cheaply, and will give many beautiful flowers. Bulb dealers also offer named collections at moderate prices. Azurea, blue; Beauty of Norfolk, yellow; Conqueror, yellow; crateroides, bright scarlet, and a capital thing; Donnatello, scarlet; erubescens major, rose-carmine; Excelsior, crimson-scarlet; magnificum, yellow; nitens, magenta; Queen of Roses, rose; viridiflora, a charming thing, with sea-green black-centred flowers; and White Queen, pure white, with crimson centre, are all desirable. Morphixias are now included by botanists with the Ixia. They bloom rather later. The varieties of paniculata should be grown. Sparaxises are equally beautiful, but are of dwarfer habit. Among the most useful is S. tricolor, which has scarlet flowers with a yellow centre. The others are not so much grown under name as formerly, as mixed varieties are cheaper, and give good flowers. Fire King is bright with its scarlet and black flowers, with a yellow centre, and Angelique, white; Garibaldi, crimson; Lady Carey, white, blotched purple; maculata, white, purple, and primrose; Queen Victoria, white, yellow, and black, are all good.
Babianas are also very beautiful with their dwarf habit, plaited hirsute leaves, and their self-coloured or strongly contrasted flowers. Apart from the species, of which there are upwards of twenty, there are a number of named varieties. Atro-cyanea, purple-blue and white; and rubro-cyanea, blue and crimson, are both varieties of B. stricta. Others worth growing are:—Attraction, blue; General Scott, lavender; Hellas, yellow; Julia, white and blue; speciosa, mauve; and villosa, blue. The plant called S. pulcherrima is Dierama pulcherrimum, which is named among hardy bulbs.
The Tritonias now include Montbretia Pottsii, but the plants, forms of T. crocata, generally known in gardens by the former name, more resemble the Sparaxis in their habit than the popular Montbretia of modern times. They are grown like the Ixia, but are rather more tender, and do best if kept indoors in winter. They bloom later than the Sparaxis, and differ in their leading colours, these being buff, rose, salmon, and orange. Good forms and varieties are amœna, yellow; Bella, blush; crocata, bright orange; elegans, orange-cerise; Eleonore, buff; and speciosa, orange-scarlet. Mixed varieties can be bought cheaply.
Ixiolirions — Moræas — Ornithogalums — Oxalises — Phædranassas — Pancratiums — Tigridias — Zephyranthes — Cooperias
Ixiolirions
Few people seem to grow the Ixiolirions, which are pretty summer blooming bulbs with umbels of lilac or blue flowers on stems about a foot high. This is unfortunate, as they are of pleasing appearance, though it is to be regretted that they are among those troublesome bulbs which are almost hardy, yet not absolutely to be depended upon in our climate. If planted in the open, this ought to be done in spring, and the bulbs lifted in autumn, and stored in dry sand, but it is more satisfactory to grow them in a frame or cool greenhouse in pots of loam, leaf-soil, and sand. There are two species—montanum and kolpakowskianum, the latter having a smaller bulb and shorter segments. The variety tataricum is considered a separate species by some botanists.
Moræas
Moræas are charming plants resembling the Irises, and are of bright colours, and generally very fragrant. They should either be grown in a frame with some winter protection, or in a cool greenhouse or conservatory planted out in rather sandy soil or in pots. Out of some sixty species, there are few not worth growing, but corms of only a limited number are purchasable in the ordinary course, and the best of these are named as a guide. They are often found about six inches high, but frequently grow much taller. Edulis has bluish-white flowers; iridioides, white, spotted yellow; papilionacea, pale-blue, spotted dark-blue; spathacea (syn. Dietes Huttoni), yellow; and tricuspis, greyish yellow and brown. Robinsoniana, also called Iris robinsoniana, needs a greenhouse, and has white flowers and handsome leaves with the habit of Phormium tenax. The genus now includes the Vieusseuxias and Dietes, which are sub-genera.
Ornithogalums
It is singular that the half-hardy Ornithogalums are so little grown, as they are very easily managed in a frame or unheated greenhouse, and will even do in a warm border in the south. They like a light soil and a sunny position, and to be well ripened after flowering. The prettiest of the half-hardy species are O. aureum, yellow; O. arabicum, white with almost black centres, a very effective plant; and the pure white O. revolutum They may be planted about three inches deep.
Oxalises
The tender Oxalises or Wood-Sorrels, are deserving of more attention from those who have sunny frames or unheated greenhouses, or even a sunny window, where these flowers can open, for all are sun-lovers. They like a light, rather sandy soil and may be planted in autumn or early spring about two inches deep. They are too numerous to detail, but I may name the following as all worth growing, although the list might be considerably extended. Arenaria, violet-purple; articulata, mauve; Barrelieri, yellow; elegans, purple; hirta, red; valdiviensis, yellow; variabilis, white or red; and versicolor, white and red. Those named among the hardy bulbs can also be grown under glass.
LILIUM AURATUMLILIUM AURATUM
LILIUM AURATUM
Phædranassas
Although generally grown as greenhouse bulbs, the Phædranassas, or Queen Lilies, may be grown in mild districts as frame bulbs, by cultivating them in rather heavy soil, keeping them as dry as possible in winter, and covering the glass of the frame with some canvas or a mat. Some succeed with them in the open, but they there need a position below a south wall and to have some protection in times of severe frost. They are also suitable plants for the greenhouse, where they can be grown in pots and rested in winter. They have umbels of pretty, reflexed flowers, and grow about one and a half feet high. The most suitable for frame cultivation are chloracea, yellow, and sweet-scented; schizantha, vermilion, yellow, and green; and ventricosa, yellow. They may be planted in spring about five inches deep in a frame, or six inches if in the open.
Pancratiums
Although the two Pancratiums named below are hardy in the milder parts of these islands, it is more prudent to treat them as plants which need frame cultivation throughout the greater portion of Britain. A warm, sunny border under a south wall is the place for them in the open garden, and in frames it is desirable to give them a similar position. They should be planted with the neck about a foot deep in the open and two or three inches less when in a frame. They belong to the Amaryllis family and have charming white flowers. The hardiest and most easily grown is P. illyricum, but P. maritimun has finer flowers. They like a light soil, and plenty of water while in growth.
Tigridias
Tigridias are among the most brilliant of summer bulbous plants, but though they have been established in some southern gardens, they are not generally hardy in Britain. The greater number in cultivation are varieties of T. Pavonia (syn. grandiflora) and these are very beautiful, their only fault being the short time the flowers last. The type has scarlet petals and a yellow, crimson-spotted cup, but there are a number of varieties ranging from white, through almost rose to lilac, pale yellow and orange yellow. Immaculata alba, Immaculata lutea, and the new "Nankin" are among the latest introduced. Van Houttei (Hydrotænia Van Houttei) has brown and yellow flowers and is rather more delicate, and should have a frame or greenhouse. Violacea and Pringlei should have similar treatment. All may be potted and grown in a greenhouse if desired. Plant in April or May.
Zephyranthes
Reference has already been made to Z. Candida among hardy bulbs. A few others may now be mentioned for frame or cold greenhouse cultivation. These are strangely neglected by amateurs, as their pretty crocus-like flowers are exquisitely beautiful when open. Generally speaking, I should recommend their being grown in pots in the greenhouse, where they can have a sunny position near the glass. The best of those known for the frame or cold greenhouse are Andersoni, which grows about four inches high, and has yellow or coppery flowers about May; Atamasco, white, tinted pink, grows about nine inches high, and blooms about the same time; carinata, rose, about one foot high, and flowering in May; gracilifolia, about a foot and a half high and blooming about January; rosea, six inches high and flowering in May; and versicolor, rose and white, about six inches high. These Zephyranthes like a turfy loam with a little sand and well decayed manure or peat. They are propagated by offsets and should be repotted occasionally. The night-blooming Cooperias require similar cultivation.
Achimenes — Alocasias — Amorphophalluses — Arisæmas — Arums — Begonias — Bomareas — Caladiums
Achimenes
The charming Achimenes is not so much grown as formerly, but it might well become more popular among those who have a warm greenhouse or stove in which to start the tubers, as before coming into bloom they may be taken into the conservatory, where their bright flowers will be much admired in pots, pans, or baskets. They may be planted in equal parts of peat and fibrous loam, with a small proportion of manure, from about the beginning of February until the end of April. They can either be started in the receptacle in which they are to flower or transplanted when an inch or two high, the latter being preferable. A night temperature of about sixty degrees is required, and they should have plenty of water and be regularly syringed to keep off red spider. The points may be taken out to make the plants more bushy. When they come into bloom they should be removed to the greenhouse or conservatory; while in bloom syringing should be suspended. Partial shade is also advisable. Withhold water gradually after flowering, and when the leaves are yellow place the pots in a dry place in a moderate temperature, leaving the tubers undisturbed until they are wanted for starting. There are many varieties, and mixed sorts can be purchased at a low rate.
Alocasias
These magnificent stove plants are much admired for their handsome, often variegated, leaves, and for their striking appearance. They like a compost of sandy loam and fibrous peat in lumps, with some sphagnum and small pieces of charcoal, keeping the soil and bulbs a little above the top of the pots, with a surfacing of cocoa-fibre or sphagnum. The pots can hardly be over-drained, and from a half to two-thirds full of broken crocks is a good proportion of drainage. They require a moist atmosphere and plenty of water while growing; a summer temperature of seventy-five to eighty-five degrees and a winter one of sixty to sixty-five degrees are suitable. A little liquid manure may be given at intervals. They are increased by division of the stem or rhizome, or by seeds. The following selection comprises some of the finest grown:—Chelsonii, cuprea, metallica, hybrida, Jenningsii, Johnstoni, macrorhiza variegata, scabriuscula, Sedenii, thibautiana, and zebrina.
Amorphophalluses
These are singular stove plants, allied to the Arums, but of most value for sub-tropical bedding. They must be kept dry and in a warm place in winter, and started in a moist atmosphere and a temperature of from fifty-five to seventy degrees. They are never likely to become popular for ordinary gardens, so that details would be unnecessary here. Campanulatus, Lacouri, Rivieri, and Titanum are the best known species.
Arisæmas
These singular, but not showy plants, require somewhat similar cultivation to the Arums, and may be grown in any heated greenhouse in rather light but rich soil. They should have plenty of water while growing. The best species are concinnum, about two feet high; curvatum, about four feet high, and both flowering in June; also galeatum, Griffithi, nepenthoides, and speciosa.
Arums
The greenhouse and stove Arums thrive in a warm, moist temperature, and are curiously interesting as well as worthy of being admired for the beauty of their foliage. Rich loam, a little sand, and some thoroughly rotted manure will grow them well. After flowering they may have the supply of water restricted so as to keep them at rest until spring, when they start into growth again. Among the most useful of the greenhouse species are sanctum or palæstinum, spectabile (half-hardy), and spirale.
Begonias
The great genus Begonia would, as regards even the tuberous or rhizotamous-rooted species alone, take up too much space, so that this brief reference must principally deal with the cultivation of the hybrid Begonias, which are for most gardens the most valuable of all. They are standing witnesses to the powers of the skilful hybridiser, and the perfection to which they have been brought makes any words of praise superfluous. Their value in the garden or under glass is self-evident.
LILIUM CANDIDUMLILIUM CANDIDUM
LILIUM CANDIDUM
The Begonia may be readily raised from seeds sown in January or February in a house with a temperature of about seventy degrees, and in pots or pans of fine, light soil. Some sow the seeds before watering, and then water with a fine rose; while others water before sowing and cover the seeds slightly with fine soil, covering the pans with a sheet of glass. After germination watering must be carefully attended to, and many have the best results from plunging the pans in water until it begins to rise through the surface. As soon as possible the young plants must be pricked off in a little heavier, but still free soil, and grown on until fit to put into small pots before transferring to larger ones. If properly grown they will bloom well the first year. Begonias are also propagated by division of the tubers, like potatoes; by cuttings stuck in pots in a bottom heat of about seventy degrees; and by leaf-cuttings on cocoa-fibre or sand.
They like a rich, but not heavy soil, either when in pots or when bedded out, and in the latter position, they should not have too dry a border or bed, and should be freely supplied with water in dry weather. The tubers must be lifted when frost cuts down the foliage and stored away in dry sand, although larger tubers may be stored without the sand if kept free from frost also. They ought to be started in a little heat before planting out, which may be done when the days and nights are warm, according to the district in which the garden lies. The growing of named tuberous Begonias is on the decrease, as so many excellent single or double flowered plants can be raised from seed of a good strain.
Bomareas
The Bomareas are among the most ornamental of our greenhouse climbers, but are less grown than their beauty deserves. They are allied to the Alstrœmerias, but are of climbing habit. They do best when planted out in the warm greenhouse or stove, but may also be grown in pots. They should have a compost of peat, sand, loam, and leaf-mould, and when in growth ought to have plenty of water, occasionally giving them some liquid manure. They can be grown from seeds or by division of the stems. Perhaps the following are as good as any in cultivation:—
B. Carderi, which has handsome rose-coloured flowers spotted with brown; oligantha, red and yellow; Shuttleworthi, vermilion, yellow, red, and green. Edulis has been longest grown, and has rose flowers tipped with green; the hardiest species is probably B. salsilla, with purple and green flowers. This is hardy in a few districts when other conditions are favourable.
Caladiums
Caladiums are among the most useful of stove perennial plants, and their adaptability to growing for table and room decoration adds much to their general value. The beauty of form and the fine colouring of their foliage place them high in the ranks of stove plants. A capital compost is made of turfy loam, turfy peat, and leaf-soil in equal parts, with a little well-rotted manure and some sharp sand. In March or earlier, if they have been long at rest, the tubers are started into growth in a temperature of not less than 60 degrees; when they have made growth, they may be placed in five or six inch pots, and the supply of water gradually increased until it is given freely, with alternate waterings of some liquid manure. They should be kept growing in a high temperature, and then hardened-off in a cooler part of the building preparatory to their removal to the conservatory. When the leaves begin to grow yellow, gradually decrease the water supply, and store for the winter in a temperature of not less than sixty degrees. Do not allow them to become entirely dry. A large number of hybrid Caladiums have been raised, and these, which will be found in the catalogues of leading nurserymen, have almost driven the original species out of cultivation.
Clivias — Colocasias — Crinums — Cyclamens — Cyrtanthuses — Eucharises and Urceocharis — Eurycles
Clivias(syn.Imantophyllum)
The Clivias and Imantophyllums were formerly kept distinct, but are now combined by botanists, the name Imantophyllum being retained as that of a sub-genus. Both have long leaves in opposite rows and umbels of flowers, which are of various shades of yellow, orange, or scarlet. C. nobilis grows about a foot high, and has bright red-yellow flowers. Gardneri has fewer flowers (twelve to twenty in the umbel). Miniata is the only species belonging to the sub-genus Imantophyllum, and seedlings, or hybrids between it and the other species, have been obtained in considerable numbers. The catalogues of leading bulb dealers may be consulted for the varieties now in commerce. All are ornamental in pots or planted out in beds or borders in airy houses, with a temperature of from fifty to sixty degrees. In spring and summer they should have plenty of water, both at the roots and applied by means of the syringe. A rather lower temperature and less water are desirable in spring. They should have a soil composed of good fibry loam and peat in the proportion of about three of the former to one of the latter, with a little charcoal, bone-meal, and silver sand. C. miniata flowers in spring and summer, and the other species in winter and spring.
Colocasias
The Colocasias are very ornamental plants with large handsome leaves, and are related to and require the same culture as the Caladiums. There is considerable confusion in the nomenclature of these plants in gardens, and Caladiums are sometimes found named Alocasias or Colocasias, andvice versa. The principal species are antiquorum; its variety, esculentum (syn. Caladium esculentem), sometimes used in the south for sub-tropical effect, being planted out in June, and freely supplied with water; and odorata.
Crinums
We have already referred to the hardy Crinums, but this work would be imperfect without a few details about the stove species, among which are some plants of the highest types of floral beauty. These should have a good soil of fibrous loam, peat, a little sand, and charcoal to keep the compost sweet, as the plants require plenty of water while growing, C. campanulatum and C. purpurascens especially requiring this, as they do best standing in a pan of water. They are also greatly benefited by syringing overhead. After the flowering period is over water may be reduced. They need large pots or tubs, as they form fleshy roots which should be as little disturbed as possible. There are so many Crinums, that a short selection of well-proved, good species suitable for the stove is necessary. These are—amabile, three feet, red; asiaticum, two feet, white; campanulatum, one foot, red-purple; giganteum, three feet, white; Kirkii, one and a half feet, white, striped red; Macowani, two feet, pink; purpurascens, one foot, claret-red; and zeylanicum, three feet, white, striped red.
Cyclamens
The varieties of Cyclamen latifolium, or persicum, a plant which has yielded under cultivation so many beautiful flowers, are general favourites, and are so easy to cultivate that they are largely grown for the decoration of glass structures and rooms. There are several methods adopted for raising the fine plants so often seen nowadays, which are generally young specimens grown from seeds. The following plan is followed by many successful growers. The seeds are sown from the beginning of August to the end of November, in pans of fibrous loam, some silver sand, and a fifth of leaf-soil. They are placed in an intermediate house, or a temperature of about fifty-five degrees, and in a little shade until the seedlings have begun to appear, when they may be placed near the glass and pricked off when they can be handled. They may be grown on in a similar temperature during the winter, but a little increase may be given immediately after potting off in February or March into three-inch pots. They should be placed in frames turned towards the north for the summer, receiving a potting into five-inch pots in July, and being kept close for a few days afterwards. After taking indoors they must be near the glass, and syringed frequently to keep off red spider.
Corms which have flowered may be kept, and with careful treatment will flower again, although scarcely so freely as young plants. They may either be planted out in frames for the summer or plunged in their pots, repotting when they show sign of making fresh growth. The large-flowered varieties are very handsome, and the Papilio, or Butterfly-formed flowers, and those with crested blooms are also considerably appreciated by those who like new flowers.
Cyrtanthuses
The Cyrtanthi are among the neglected bulbs in ordinary gardens, but when bulbous plants once more take their proper place they will be more largely grown. The genus now includes Monella of Salisbury and Gastronema of Herbert, and the plants have either pendulous or erect tubular flowers, those having the latter being formerly called Gastronema. Like many other Cape Amaryllideæ, the Cyrtanthus requires to be kept dry in winter, but to be well supplied with water after starting into growth. Carneus and obliquus must not be dried off. Loam, peat, and sand form a suitable compost. They will grow in a greenhouse in summer, but should be kept in a stove during the winter months. The fragrant C. Mackenii, with white flowers, is pretty. Macowani, orange-scarlet, and sanguineus, bright red, are both fine species, and those desiring a larger number may grow albiflorus, white; carneus, bright red; obliquus, yellow; and odorus, red. Others are angustifolius, Huttoni, lutescens, smithianus, Tuckii, and ventricosus.
Eucharises and Urceocharis
The Eucharis is such a favourite with everyone that it is a matter of much regret that it has suffered in so many gardens from the ravages of what is known as the Eucharis mite (Rhizoglyphus Robini), which also affects other bulbs of allied character. There seems little doubt that this is brought about by errors in watering, as the Eucharis dislikes suffering from either too little or too much water. It should not have a season of rest from water, as many suppose, but should not be forced into flower more than twice in a year. Clibran's Eucharis Mite Killer, used as directed on the package, or a weak preparation of Kerosene Emulsion, are equally effectual, but the Emulsion should not touch the actual roots. So beautiful a plant is worth every attention, as we have nothing among other stove bulbs which can approach its pure white, elegantly formed flowers and dark-green foliage. The Eucharis likes a compost of two or three parts of good loam to one of leaf-mould or turfy peat, and a little charcoal to keep the compost sweet. It requires a temperature of from sixty to seventy degrees in winter, rising to seventy-five and eighty degrees in summer. Syringing overhead on bright days is necessary, and a little reduction in the temperature is desirable when the leaves are of full size. Six or eight bulbs may be placed in a ten-inch pot.
The most popular Eucharis is E. grandiflora (syn. amazonica); there is a fragrant variety of this named E. grandiflora fragrans, and others are E. g. Lowii and E. g. Moorei. Candida and Sanderi are also good species, and hybrid forms, named burfordensis and Stevensii, are also meritorious. The other species are bakeriana, elmetana (hybrid), Lehmanni, Mastersii, and subedentata. The hybrid Urceocharis, from the Eucharis and Urceolina, is cultivated in the same way.
Eurycles
The Eurycles is little known in private gardens, but the two species form interesting occupants of the stove or greenhouse, with their umbels of white flowers, and broad, heart-shaped or ovate leaves. E. amboinensis is a stove species about two feet high, flowering in March. The other, E. Cunninghami, likes a warm greenhouse. It grows about a foot high. One part leaf-soil to three of good loam, with a little sand, will grow them satisfactorily. After they have completed their growth water may be diminished, and finally withheld to allow them to ripen.
Freesias — Gloxinias — Hæmanthuses — Hippeastrums
Freesias
Freesias, whose fragrant flowers are so acceptable, are so nearly hardy, that it might, perhaps, have been more consistent to include them among the half-hardy bulbs. They are, however, of so much more value when grown and flowered under glass that we may be pardoned for including them among greenhouse bulbs. They are very cheap, and increase so freely that they might be grown in far larger quantities. A five-inch pot will hold about a dozen of good-sized bulbs, and they may be potted at intervals from the beginning of August for a month or two. They like a light, but rich soil, with the addition of some leaf-mould and silver sand. A depth of an inch is generally recommended, but they are none the worse for being a little deeper. After planting, the pots may be watered and placed in a cold frame, plunged in cocoa fibre or ashes.