594 



HORTICULTURE. 



May 4, 1907 



FORCING BULBS. 



By Paul F. Hichter before the Florist 

 Club of Philadelphia. 



Mr. Richter prefaced his remarks 

 •with the statement that he spoke from 

 the view point of the seedsman and 

 not from experience as a practical 

 florist. Speaking of lilies for Easter 

 forcing he said that the florist should 

 not buy small-sized bulbs as for some 

 reason or other the more mature or 

 aged bulbs seemed to outgrow any 

 sickly conditions. The most profitable 

 bulbs for forcing were, in his opinion, 

 the 7 to 9 sizes in Harrisii and the 

 9 to 10 sizes in Mutiflorum and 

 Giganteum. 



Many failures, he asserted, have 

 been traced to the fact that the bulbs 

 have not been thoroughly rooted. 

 Many growers make the mistake of 

 probably trying to get the very first 

 shipments that arrive in the country, 

 pot them up and get them in for 

 Christmas. This is hardly necessary 

 now-a-days, as very good cold storage 

 lilies may be had for this purpose. 



We have had occasion to observe 

 that lilies handled in the following 

 manner have bloomed most success- 

 fully, and have shown the least 

 tendency to disease. 



A small layer of well-rotted, cow 

 manure in the bottom of the pot is 

 very advantageous; the bulb is placed 

 on this and the pot filled up with 

 soil. After having been watered 

 thoroughly they should be placed out- 

 side, say until October first, (where 

 the bulbs have been potted in August) , 

 with a covering of sand, leaves, or 

 other litter on top o£ the pots to pro- 

 tect them from the sun. When they 

 are brought in, say in October, they 

 can be placed under the greenhouse 

 bench in a temperature of about 60 

 degrees, and left there until there is 

 room in the top, or until they are to 

 be brought into warmer houses to 

 force. 



Mr. Richter quoted as follows from 

 the statement of a successful grower as 

 to his method with Lilium giganteum, 

 9 to 11 size. 



"Upon rrrival of bulbs we pot at once 

 In 4 inch pots, using coarse • sott-coal 

 ashes for drainage in the bottom of pots, 

 and giving them a soil composed of sandy 

 loam and well enriched with about one- 

 thhd well-rotted horse or cow manure. 

 Pots are placed under a dry bench In 

 either a violet or carnation house, soaked 

 down with water very heavy, and after 

 two or three days we cover the pots with 

 two or three inches of ashes. When 

 Easter is early, as It was this year, we 

 place lilies on bench after January 1st, 

 giving them a temperature of 60 degrees 

 night and 70 degrees day for about ten 

 days, then 70 degrees night and 80 degrees 

 day until buds can all be counted. Dur- 

 ing this period we manure-water them 

 regularly once a week with the follow- 

 In liquids; One bushel fresh cow manure 

 and one 4 inch pot full of i.itrate of soda 

 to each 50 gallons of water. Spray the 

 foliage once a day (twice a day when 

 clear weather). We try to keep the 

 house moist otherwise by spraying the 

 walls and walks. It is also very important 

 to never allow the soil to get very dry, 

 and we never feed unless the soil is moist. 

 When the buds can all be counted 

 easily, we move them into houses wheie 

 we can get the temperature down gradu 

 ally, and finally mulch them with either 

 a little sheep manure or bone flour, 

 which will be sufficient feed until ready 

 for market." 



"Our experience with lilies, especially 

 Japan, has proven to us that the only 

 way you can get them good is to force 

 them quickly and not check them in 

 growth while temperature is kept high. 

 As the root action becomes such that 

 they can easily be knocked out of the 

 pots without disturbing the ball of earth, 



we shift them either into 5 inch or (i 

 inch pots according to strength of stock. 

 Drainage in the pot is also of great im- 

 portance when repotting is done. We 

 I se Nicoticide for fumigating." 



The cold storage lilies which are 

 now coming into great favor are con- 

 fined principally to the varieties of 

 Longiflorum, Multifiorum, and Gigan- 

 teum. The latter variety, however, is 

 much more desirable, as it seems to 

 stand forcing better than the other two. 

 Longiflorum is the next best, while 

 Multifiorum is probably the poorest, as 

 it is somewhat soft, probably due to the 

 fact that in the green state it is the 

 most free forcer of the Japan lilies. 



To obtain the best results, cold 

 storage bulbs should be potted imme- 

 diately upon being received. They 

 should be placed in a dark, cool place, 

 — probably under the bench of the pot- 

 ting house would be the best. They 

 should then be left there in a cool 

 temperature as much as possible, until 

 the pots are well filled with root 

 growth when they should be removed 

 to a greenhouse and started off at a 

 temperature of about 50 degrees to 

 .55 degrees, and kept thus until the 

 buds set, when the warmth may be in- 

 creased to 60 degrees or '65 degrees to 

 70 degrees. 



Cold storage lilies should commend 

 themselves to every lily grower, if it 

 were only for the reason that they can 

 be brought into flower in twelve weeks 

 from the time they are potted. They 

 require the sp.ace of the greenhouse but 

 a very short time, compared with what 

 is ordinarily required to bring the 

 fresh stock of lilies into bloom, the 

 saving being anywhere from two to 

 three months, thus saving both labor 

 and heat. 



Referring to Paper White narcissi 

 and Roman hyacinths he said that 

 failures are generally due to not allow- 

 ing sufficient time for forcing. He 

 emphasized the fact that it is abso- 

 lutely necessary to root all bulbous 

 stock in a most thorough manner be- 

 fore bringing it into bloom. 



Failures with tulips and hyacinths, 

 he said, are frequently the result of 

 unwise selection of varieties. For in- 

 stance, the Potterbakker tulips, which 

 'may be forced very successfully at 

 times, are in some years liable to go 

 blind. The Hollanders claim that this 

 is not a forcing tulip, and therefore 

 should not be used for that purpose. 

 There are a number of other sorts 

 which can not be counted upon to 

 bring the best success, such as Chrys- 

 olora. Duchess de Parma, and similar 

 varieties. In their catalogs most seeds- 

 men have the forcing tulips marked 

 with an asterisk or some other method, 

 and as the seedsmen takes his ex- 

 perience largely from the Hollander, it 

 is well sometimes, it not always, for 

 the florist to be guided largely by this. 

 As to Dutch hyacinths some persist 

 in buying Baroness von Thuyl, a 

 handsome white sort, but not at all 

 adapted to forcing for Easter. It has 

 a tendency to "cut its throat;" that 

 is, after the bud and stem have de- 

 veloped nicely, it seems to come to a 

 stand-still below the foliage while the 

 stem a little farther down simply rots' 

 off; what causes this I do not believe 

 has ever been determined. Of the 

 Narcissi, Alba Plena Qdorata, Poeticus, 

 and similar kinds, are wholly undesir- 

 able for forcing. 



He recommended the dielytra, or 

 Bleeding Heart as a good subject for 



Easter forcing. They cost very little, 

 require little attention to get them into 

 flower, and pay equally as well as any 

 Easter plant one could force. Also the 

 Spanish irises which remind one very 

 much of dainty little orchids. These 

 may be planted among carnations, and 

 will do very well. They bring a hand- 

 some price when cut, while the cost 

 of the bulbs is in the neighborhood of 

 $3.00 or $4.00 per thousand, and they 

 require no attention from the time 

 they are planted until they are cut. 



The hardy Japanese lilies, such as 

 auratum, album, rubrum, etc., while 

 they can not be brought in very well 

 for Easter, make an excellent lily for 

 selling in pots or for cut flower pur- 

 poses during the summer. They can 

 be potted up when they arrive from 

 Japan, say in October, and can be 

 brought into flower without a bit of 

 trouble by April or later as required. 

 They cost considerably less than Har- 

 risii and other Easter lilies, with which 

 however, they must not be confused as 

 they are not Easter subjects. 



PLANT IMPORTS AT NEW YORK. 



There were entered at the port of 

 New York during the week of April 

 23 to 29 inclusive, the following 

 plants; 



From Holland: It. P. Lang, 1 cs. plants; 

 McHutchlson & Co., 2 cs. do.; P. Ouwer- 

 kerk, 17 cs. trees; August Rolker & Sons, 

 1 cs. plants; Order, 8 cs. do.; Sundry For- 

 warders, 37 cs. plants, 18 tubs do., 4 cs. 

 trees. 



From Belgium: American Express Co., 

 14 tubs laurel trees; H. F. Darrow, 196 

 tubs laurel trees, 19 cs. plants; Chas. F. 

 Meyer, 2 tubs laurel trees, 13 cs. plants; 

 P. H. Petry & Co., 12 tubs laurel trees, 1 

 cs. plants; T. C. Pollock, 16 tubs laurel 

 trees, 6 cs. plants; August Kolker & Sons, 

 97 tubs laurel trees, 1 basket do., 48 cs. 

 plants; J. Ter Kulle, 16 tubs laurel trees, 

 5 cs. plants; Vaughan Seed Store, 80 tubs 

 laurel trees, 42 cs. plants; R. M. Ward & 

 Co., 16 tubs laurel trees; Sundi'y For- 

 warders, 194 tubs do., 107 cs. plants. 



Fmm France: Sundry Forwarders, 27 cs. 

 plants. 



Prom Germany: J. de Young, 4 cs. 

 plants; Sundry Forwarders, 10 cs. do., 1 

 cs. trees. 



Via Glasgow: H. E. Fish, 7 cs. plants. 



Via Liverpool: Sundry Forwarders, 4 cs. 

 plants. 



APPRAISER'S DECISIONS. 



On the protest of F. B. Vandegrift 

 against assessment of duties on mistle- 

 toe at the port of Philadelphia, the 

 Board of General Appraisers on April 

 22, ruled that mistletoe stems with the 

 natural berries attached are free of 

 duty as a crude vegetable substance, 

 under paragraph 617. 



Uaskets of wood shavings and bam- 

 ))0o strips are held dutiable as manu- 

 factures of wood, under paragraph 

 208. 



Assessment of duty on cycas and 

 beech leaves dyed and painted has 

 been aflirmed as proper under para- 

 graph 425 as ornamental leaves, etc. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Turkey Creek Nurseries, Barber- 

 Frink Co., Inc., proprietors. Catalogue 

 of oranges, pecans, grape fruit, figs, 

 etc., besides the usual list of hardy 

 fruits and ornamental trees and 

 shrubs. 



Robert Montgomery, Jr., who has 

 been with Schlegel & Fottler, Boston, 

 tor the past two years goes to Dreer's 

 Philadelphia seed store next week. 



