214 



HORTICULTURE 



September 6, 1919 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



Private gardeners and commercial 

 florists alike are just beginning to ap- 

 preciate the possibilities of the Regal 

 lily. It has been shown by experi- 

 ments that this splendid lily is readily 

 forced and that no difficulty is found 

 in having it in full bloom in pots for 

 Easter. It is not at all improbable 

 that within a few years the Regal lily 

 will be a very common Easter plant. 

 It may never take the place of the so- 

 called Easter lily because many peo- 

 ple have a prejudice in favor of white 

 flowers for Easter decorations, but 

 there is every probability that it will 

 have a wide sale. Many people who 

 now associate white lilies with Easter 

 will soon learn to appreciate the 

 beauty and lasting quality of this 

 flower, even though it carries a warm 

 color. 



That the Regal lily can be forced 

 much earlier than has # been done so 

 far is the opinion of the gardeners 

 who know it. Mr. William Anderson, 

 superintendent of the famous Bayard 

 Thayer estate at Lancaster, has a 

 large number of these lilies potted up 

 now and hopes to have them in flower 

 by Christmas. They have already 

 started growth, and there seems to be 

 no reason why Mr. Anderson's hopes 

 should not be realized. Certainly these 

 lilies would make a most desirable 

 addition to the Easter decorations of 

 many homes. 



The commercial promise of the 

 Regal lily lies partly in the ease with 

 which it is grown even from seeds. It 

 multiplies rapidly and getting a large 

 stock is only a matter of a few years. 

 It flowers from seed in five years. 



to been seen in Franklin Park in Bos- 

 ton, and there is a large planting on 

 the Bayard Thayer estate in Lancas- 

 ter, Mass. 



After all this plant does not seem 

 to have lived up to the mark which 

 was set for it at first. Its habit is 

 rather straggling, so that it does not 

 work in well with other shrubs or in 

 the hardy border. Its chief merit lies 

 in the fact that its blossoming sea- 

 son comes at a time when flowers tor 

 cutting are not very numerous. It is 

 true that the flowers are rather 

 somber when seen indoors, but if used 

 discreetly they are effective, espe- 

 cially in large rooms. The form 

 known as magnifica is undoubtedly 

 the best. 



Usually it is not difficult to carry 

 the plants over the winter if they are 

 mounded eight inches or a foot with 

 earth. They will die back almost to 

 this point and should be cut off there. 

 The new growth springs up quickly 

 and flowers the same season. 



As a matter of fact it is a very 

 simple matter to grow the Buddleia 

 from cuttings or from seeds. It is 

 not because of any tenderness that its 

 popularity is waning, but simply be- 

 cause it has not proved quite as val- 

 uable a plant as was hoped and ex- 

 pected at first. This criticism does 

 not apply, however, to Buddleia 

 asiatica, the winter flowering species. 

 This i» one of the most desirable 

 plants for forcing in the greenhouse 

 and is worth greater- attention than 

 has yet been given it. 



Mr. Anderson above mentioned, who 

 is known as one of the most success- 

 ful private gardeners in the eastern 

 states, has found it a good plan to 

 force lilies for indoor use two seasons 

 without repotting. The second year 

 the lilies make a tremendous growth 

 and fill the pots with roots. When the 

 flowers bloom they an: superior in size 

 and number to those of the first year. 



A few years ago a great many beds 

 of Buddleia of different species were 

 to be found growing in New England. 

 Now these plants have almost disap- 

 peared from public parks and from 

 most gardens as well. The intensely 

 cold winter of 1917-1918 was too much 

 for them. One or two small beds are 



GROWING CALLA LILIES. 

 1 would like to obtain some informa- 

 tion concerning callas. I have some 

 large plants which have been growing 

 since last fall, having been repotted 

 last June. Can I take these plants 

 now and give them a rich soil and 

 larger pots and expect flowers this 

 winter? H. L. C. 



Answer. Much increased interest in 

 the growing of callas is now being 

 shown, which is natural with the high 

 prices of the true lilies. The matter 

 is discussed fully and lucidly by Will- 

 iam Scott in his excellent book, "The 

 Florists' Manual," as follows: 



"Remember one important thin;;. 

 and that is that the calla comes from 

 northern Africa, and does not want to 

 be starved in a cool greenhouse. There 

 are several ways of growing them. To 



begin with, they propagate easily from 

 offsets, which you can take off when 

 repotting the plants in the fall. Some 

 plant them out, but if they have much 

 root room they grow too rampant and 

 the flowers are too large to be useful. 

 "In early May our houses are too 

 crowded to keep the callas on the 

 bench, and they are taken outside and 

 laid down where they can be covered 

 in case of a sharp frost. The top 

 withers away and for a few months 

 the root is dry. In August we shake 

 off all the soil and start them grow- 

 ing again in 5-inch or 6-inch pots, keep- 

 ing them in a frame as long as there 

 is no danger of frost, and in winter 

 give them a light house where it is 

 not less than 60 degrees at night. Al- 

 though almost an aquatic, the soil 

 should be in such condition that the 

 water passes through it freely. For 

 soil use three-fourths of course loam 

 and one-fourth of decomposed cow 

 manure. They want lots of syringing 

 and fumigating, for thrips and red 

 spider trouble the leaves. 



"If you want to raise some speci- 

 mens that will require a 9-inch or 10- 

 inch pot and bear three or four flowers 

 at one time, select some of your 

 strongest plants in May and plant 

 them out two or three feet apart in 

 a deep, rich soil, where you can water 

 them copiously in dry times. They 

 lift easily at the end of September and 

 will make great plants. 



"The small offsets or bulblets that 

 come off the corm in August can be 

 potted in 2-inch pots and in May 

 shifted into 5-inch and plunged in a 

 frame. They want a copious supply 

 of water during summer. It is re- 

 markable the strong flowering plants 

 you get from these little bulblets in a 

 tew months. As previously said, the 

 calla, when planted out and given lib- 

 eral space for root growth, is inclined 

 to grow very strong and give few flow- 

 ers in the dark days. In the bright 

 days of spring you will get lots of 

 flowers from these beds, but the flow- 

 ers are often unwieldy in size. Grow- 

 ing a good strong corm in a 6-inch or 

 7-inch pot during winter in a bright, 

 warm house will be found as practical 

 and profitable as any method. 



"The calla tubers will bear resting 

 or allowing the soil in pots or beds 

 to become perfectly dry. Those grown 

 in pots are usually placed outside in 

 .Tune on their sides so that the soil 

 may become dry. The top withers 

 and they are kept in this state till 

 early September, when they should be 

 shaken out, given new soil and started 

 growing, and will soon flower. For 

 this seemingly unnatural rest they are 

 not in the least any the worse in 

 health or vigor." 





