for June. 1923 



153 



Can Narcissus Bulbs Be Grown In America? 



IN the Alay is'^ne ot the Gaddenek's CuKoMcr,!':, \\'ill- 

 iani H. de Graaff, well known narcissus Ijulb grower 

 of Holland, gave as his opinion that it will not be pos- 

 sible tu grow these bulbs successfully in this country for 

 commercial purposes. Since then our attention, has been 

 directed to some recent statements made by American 

 bulb growers, all of which prove interesting in that they 

 show that time alone will tell what may be accomplished 

 in America in the successful growing of narcissus and 

 other bulbs. 



A Florida bulb grower states that while it was at first 

 claimed that good bulbs could not be grown in America, 

 northern florists had to admit their mistake, when they 

 found that southern florists were cutting fine flowers from 

 bulbs of their own growing, and then advanced the plea 

 that while these bulbs were all right in the South, thev 

 would not force when put under glass in the northern 

 States. He claims that it has been shown, however, that 

 where Ijulbs can be grown as a Winter crop, dug in April 

 or ^lay, and given the required rest, they are ready to 

 bloom under glass or anywhere else from November 1 

 all through the Winter, just as imported bulbs do. Now 

 that it is admitted that southern grown bulbs will force 

 all right, he states it is argued that American growers can- 

 not begin to produce the supply used in this country by 

 the time the embargo a£;ainst the narcissus goes into efifect 

 in 1926. 



We think that the l-'lorida grower is a little too ojniniis- 

 tic when he states that while the possibility of producing 

 the necessary supply may sound big to a little man wdio 

 sits in an office, to the big American farmer it looks too 

 small to engage his attention, adding that the American 

 farmers have glutted the markets of the world with every- 

 thing to which they have directed their efforts. He 

 further states that he plants narcissus bulbs in rows two 

 feet apart so that he can cultivate with a hoe or small 

 tractor, (planting forty thousand bulbs to the acre) and 

 that it would only take about eighteen hundred acres to 

 produce this country's demand. He believes the bulbs he 

 is now growing coidd not do better anywhere in the world 

 than they do in his section ; he is growing Chinese Nar- 

 cissus, Paper White, C.irand Primo, Grand Soleil d'Or, 

 and Winter blooming gladioli. Nearly all these bulbs are 

 said by him to have been growing in his section for forty 

 years and are no longer an experiment, but no market 

 could be found for them as long as this trade was con- 

 trolled by the foreigners. 



A bulb grower of Texas writes of his experience in the 

 Rio Grande delta, stating that while one cannot grow 

 tulii>s there because they must have a period of cold rest, 

 he has taken once used narcissus and in one year had the 

 same number of marketable bulbs and about twice as 

 many small bulbs to grow another year. He planted 

 Easter lilies, securing wonderful stalks of flowers and one 

 marketable bulb the next Fall, and a lot of bulblets which 

 require from one to two years before they reach the 

 blooming size. He believes that the Rio Grande delta is 

 going to be the section of the United States where our 

 flowering bulbs wdiich do not require Winter dormancy 

 or shade will be grown, because the constant sunshine and 

 fertile soil give them a brilliant coloring, and a sturdv and 

 proliferous growth that will carry these qualities to the 

 North. 



A California bulb grower writes that the \vork of 

 growing bulbs in California must be largely experimental 

 until more definite results can be obtained and directs at- 



tention to the fact that in Holland, tulips, for instance, 

 niay thrive in one patch of soil whereas, almost within 

 hailing distance, there will be soil entirely unfitted for 

 tulip culture, and that this is true of other'bulbs. So we 

 can only learn after long experience just where bulbs can 

 be most successfully grown in this country. Narcissus 

 bulbs, he states, are only grown in about two provinces of 

 Holland, and the soil varies so in the different localities 

 tlrjt one place may be adapted to the growing of hvacinths 

 while ab )Ut a half mile away it is not "adaptable to 

 hyacinths, but excellent for growing daffodils. 



We quote David Griffiths, bulb specialist of the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry, from a recently published article : "'We 

 should keep firmly in mind that while there is no doubt 

 that we can grow successfully the complete line of nar- 

 cissus in this country, there is but little probabilitv of 

 accomplishing the fulfilling of our needs in the "next 

 twenty years."' \\'e feel that when that time arrives, 

 some of us will no longer be as interested, as we are to- 

 day, as to where narcissus bulbs can be successfully 

 grown. 



ON SEEDING LAWNS IN LATE SUMMER 



I READ the article "Seeding Lawns in Late Summer" 

 in the May issue, and wish to add a little comment for 

 your next issue. To my mind there is no question about it 

 that Spring not alone is not the best time for seeding 

 lawns, hut it is not the time at all. No lawn should ever 

 be started in the Spring for the simple reason that the 

 thin young stand of grass has no chance whatever to get 

 deep rooted enough to go through the trial season of hot 

 weather. The weeds will soon get the upper hand and 

 the result is waste of seed, waste of labor and lots of dis- 

 appointment to the prospective owner of this lawn-to-be. 

 Although I happen to be in the south at the present time. 

 I have built and cared for many a lawn in the north and 

 my argument applies to these as well. A well kept lawn 

 is. to my judgment, the outstanding feature of beauty 

 on any country place, no matter how large or how small 

 this place may be. A thorough cultivation ( for an entire 

 Summer) of the plot where you intend to build your lawn 

 is an absolute necessity, keeping down weeds as fast as 

 they appear. Incorporate in the soil a liberal supplv of 

 stable manure to begin with, and finally have your plot by 

 a heavy rolling, followed by a harrowing of the Scotch 

 type of harrow, ready by beginning of September. Bu}' 

 your seeds in separate quantities (not in mixture), sow 

 at the rate of 120 lbs. to the acre, two parts of Kentucky 

 ISlue Grass to one part Red Top, equal part of English 

 Rye grass and add five lbs. of White Dutch Clover, rake 

 in or use the same fine harrow again and roll heavy. Top 

 dress yonr stand of grass with bonemeal early next Springf 

 at the rate of 600-800 lbs. to the acre and apply during 

 the earlv Sumrner on a rainy day, 150 lbs. Nitrate of 

 Soda per acre. Your lawn is made, and permanent. I 

 have a lawn here on the estate (Great Falls, S. C.) now 

 going through its second Summer of 90-100 degrees 

 Fahrenheit lor five months or more and have the prettiest 

 green to be seen anywhere. The only thing necessary 

 besides mowing is a thorough drenching with water oc- 

 casionally and as we have a hydrant handy I do this with 

 the fire hose. I have not a weed worthwhile and not one 

 dandelion in this lawn today. 



Great Falls, S. C. Andrew Axdersen. 



