550 



HORTICU LTl) RE 



April 28, 1906 



Lachenalias 



The genus Lachenalia belongs to tin:' lily family, and 

 lias about fort; ill natives of South Africa. All 



the - no! showy and therefore many of them 



are nol common in cultival ion. 



Most of the private gardeners know the common 

 species of lachenalias. but after all they are not grown 

 very much and this is rather surprising as they have 

 lasting qualities while in flower that few plants possess. 

 To last three months iu good condition is no uncommon 

 thing if they are watered properly. Mechanical water- 

 ing or yet the hose would make quick work of them. 



In this country the bulbs are very expensive and I 

 never could understand why this is so as there are few 

 bulbous plants that increase so quickly as lachenalias do. 



Some day some 

 shrewd florist will 

 take hold of this 

 plant and push it 

 as a novelty. In 

 a window where 

 the sun shines 

 most of the day- 

 there isn't a more 

 lovely plant than 

 this is. And when 

 it will be recalled 

 that the very best 

 lachenalia 

 we have and which 

 is also a hybrid 

 was raised by a 

 m i n i s t e r, Rev. 

 John Nelson, ir- 

 itis window, there 

 need be no sur- 

 prise that I should 

 recommend it as 

 a valuable win- 

 dow plant. 



The cultivation 

 of lachenalias is 

 very simple and 

 they can be grown 

 by any person. If 

 the plants are 

 wanted for Christ- 

 mas holidays the 

 lir-t hatch of 

 bulbs should be 

 potted in July 

 For a succession 

 Si itember. 



Lachenalia. 



■ 'hi planting in August and 



We grow them in shallow pans winch are eight inches 

 in diameter using plenty of drainage which keeps the 

 ,vee1 and □ goi d condition. 



omposl consists of good loam, sheep manure. 

 leaf mold and rough -and. 



After 1 1 i have flowered and the teaves begin 



i yellow i lace the plants on a shelf where 



they i bundant light to ripen up the foliage and 



bulbs. T left in the soil in the pans during 



the summer and are tin ,• 1 aeked, thus imital ing 



nature as far as possil en potting time comes 



the v. | the soil where thc\ 



have been resting and cording to size. Ail 



the large bulbs are selected and potted up into pans. 

 In this way they give more uniform trusses of flowers 

 than if the large and small were grown together. The 

 small bulbs are grown in boxes and they make good 

 flowering bulbs by the following year. Just after they 

 are potted one good watering may be given with the 

 good old-fashioned watering pot which will settle the 

 soil. They will require very little water after this until 

 growth begins. Place them in a cold frame where they 

 can get plenty of light and air. They can stay in the 

 frame until frost sets in then they can be removed to 

 the coolest house and placed in a position where abun- 

 dant light can be procured. The light makes the 

 plants more stocky and the flower spikes are stronger 



and rrquire no 

 staking. The 

 eaves are very 

 'asily disfigured 

 f cold draughts 

 strike them. 



A small pinch 

 of Clay's fertilizer 

 makes s. great im- 

 provement on the 

 plants if given 

 just as the flower 

 spikes begin to 

 show. 



One of the best 

 and moit uniform 

 growers is Lach- 

 enalia Nelsonia, 

 which is shown in 

 t h e photograph. 

 It has golden 

 yellow flowers 

 which are pro- 

 duced in racemes 

 eight or nine 

 inches high. 



L. tricolor is 

 one of the com- 

 monest species and 

 the flrwers are 

 made up of three 

 colors, bright 

 green, red and 

 yellow. 



L. peudula is a 



strong growing 



and longer flower 



flowers are deep 



kind. It has larger bulbs and leaves 

 stems than the above kinds. The 

 purple, red and yellow. 



Acacias 



The genus A a ia has a species membership 

 running up in the hundreds, most of them produc- 

 ing yellow infi and largely from Australia, 

 yet, notwithstanding tl r effectiveness, they are less 



