66 



IRISH GARDENING 



botanic gaidens and seedsmen to arrange their 

 seeds and print their lists in early aiitiann, but 

 nevertheless delay till after Christmas very 

 greatl}^ diminishes the value of the seeds Avhich 

 they eventually offer. 



Those who wish to have large numbers 

 of the Tulip species must be j)reiiared then to 

 raise them from seeds, and, if the j^rocess is 

 somewhat lengthy, the results give ample 

 compensation. 



Tulips are seldom found in rock gardens, and 

 yet there are numerous dwarf sjDecies which 

 succeed there admirably, and which, moreover, 

 in the well-drained, warm positions that every 

 good rock garden should afford, are more likely 

 to live on from year to year than in the damper, 

 colder soil of the average border. 



The first to flower is usually some form of 

 Tulipa biflora, which may open as early as the 

 end of February, and the small creamy white 

 star-shaped flowers with their yellow centres are 

 very welcome at that time. Of this species a 

 later and finer form comes from Afghanistan, 

 and a good bulb of this often produces a stem 

 which branches out into as many as five or six 

 heads. 



Other small species, which will flower in 

 March, may be obtained under the names of 

 pulchella, Lownei and polychroma, though 

 whether their claims to these names are justified 

 is still a matter of some uncertainty. A little 

 later comes T. dasystemon, which is allied to 

 T. biflora, and towards the end of April or 

 early in May we get T. Batalini, of a delightful 

 shade of pale primiose yellow, and T. linifolia, 

 with flowers of the most dazzling scarlet. Both 

 these species fortunately increase by offsets, and, 

 moreover, owing to the fact that they flower 

 late in the season, seeds are not so difficult to 

 obtain. There is therefore no reason why they 

 should be as rare as they have apj)arently become. 



The Avell-known T. clusiana, with its red- 

 backed outer segments and deep violet base, is 

 not unsuitable for cultivation in the rock garden, 

 where a place should also be found for the pink 

 Cretan T. saxatilis, which will flower more 

 readily in a confined stony root-run than in 

 the open border. 



T. sylvestiis, together with as many of its 

 numerous local forms as can be obtanied, should 

 be grown for its delightful scent, and the com- 

 plaint that this Tulip is a shy flowerer will not 

 be heard if the bulbs are lifted annually and 

 replanted late in autiunn. T. primulina from 

 Algeria is particularly worth growing for its 

 delightful scent. 



No one Avho has seen T. Kaufmanniana in full 

 flower in March is likely to remain long without 



it, and, though the typical flower is white Avith 

 a yellow centre, yellow and even scarlet forms 

 are not unknown. With this Tulip there also 

 grows wild in Turkestan the magnificent T. 

 Greigi, easily recognised by its brown-uiottled 

 leaves, a feature which is rare among Tulips, 

 though it is also found in one relative of T. 

 Greigi — namely, T. miclieliana. T. Greigi 

 seldom produces an offset, but T. Kaufmanniana 

 has the obliging habit of sending doMii droppers 

 to any dejDth below the surface, so that, when 

 you have apparently lifted all your bulbs and 

 replanted them elsewhere, you will be surpriscel 

 to see T. Kaufmanniana still in the olel position 

 in the following year. 



T. Fosteriana is another magnificent scarlet 

 Tulip from Central Asia, anel it is usually in 

 flower in Aj^ril with T. Eichleri from near 

 Bakue and T. ingens from Bokhara. 

 All are very elesirable, but they must be raised 

 from seeds if large numbers are to be maintained. 

 A little later, in early May, comes T. tubergeniana 

 from Turkestan with huge scarlet flowers. Still 

 later in May, or even in June, comes the scarlet 

 Armenian T. Sprengeri, one of the few Tulips 

 of which self-sown seeellings sometimes appear 

 in our garelens. 



No allusion has yet been made to the so-called 

 neo-tulips of Savoy anel Northern Italy, such as 

 Marjoletti, mauriana, strangulata, &c. The 

 mystery of their origin and the validity of their 

 claims to specific rank have been much eliscusseel, 

 but the truth would seem to be that they are 

 the elescendants of seedling plants which were 

 thrown out of gardens at the time of the Tulip 

 mania because their flowers Moulel not break 

 into the flames anel feathers which were then 

 demaneleel by the florists. 



Still more difficult is the epiestion of the origin 

 of our garden Tulips. When we remember that 

 Tulips were cultivateel by the Turks in Con- 

 stantinople early in the sixteenth century, we 

 cannot but realise the elifficulty of the subject, 

 anel it is moreover not improbable that a species 

 may have been used for hybrielisation Mhich 

 has subsequently become extinct in the wilel 

 state either because of the elemand for the bulbs 

 or because the locality has been brought 

 into cultivation. That there was a demand in 

 Turkey for Tulip bulbs as long ago as 1700 is 

 proveel by the fact that a French Ambassador 

 \\rote from Constantinople in 1720 that the 

 Granel Vizier hael in his garden as many as 

 500,0()() Tulips. 



Even if we cannot all grow Tulips on so large 

 a scale as this, we shall adel greatly to the interest 

 of our gardens in spring if Me cultivate and raise 

 from seed more of the Tulip species. 



