ON THE CULTURE OF LILIUM JAPONICUM, &C. 179 



ARTICLE IV. 



ON THE CULTURE OF LILIUM JAPONICUM, &c. 



BY W. GRIFFITH, ESQ., BAYSWATER. 



I AM of opinion that with many plants they only display proper- 

 ties and beauties in proportion to the care bestowed in their 

 cultivation, and this principle is of very extensive application. The 

 Hydrangea, for instance, as it is seen in common-place culture is 

 scarcely deserving of notice, but place it under favourable cir- 

 cumstances, and it becomes not only interesting, but even to a 

 degree, beautiful. 



I recently saw a number of plants at Gusmenbury Park, in so 

 vigorous and healthy a state that I was quite struck with their 

 beauty, among them was an equal proportion of fine blue and rose 

 coloured heads more than a foot in diameter. The same might 

 be said of many other old inhabitants of our gardens and green- 

 houses, who, with every particular of beauty and elegance to 

 recommend them, have been suffered to dwindle away, merely to 

 allay a thirst for novelty ; I do not condemn the introduction of 

 new plants, on the contrary, I would encourage it to the utmost, 

 but I certainly do think that the indifference with which many 

 plants are passed over merely because they are " old," is very 

 much to be regretted. 



It is my intention to describe the mode of culture by means of 

 which I have grown the Lilium Japonicum L. longiflorum to a 

 state of great beauty. The mode of culture I pursue, is, when 

 the leaves and seed (if any) are fully matured, water is gradually 

 withheld till the plants are brought to a state of perfect rest; this 

 rest is indispensable in the cultivation of all bulbous rooted plants, 

 as it tends to strengthen those properties which are to form the at- 

 tractive beauties of the plant the succeeding season. The bulbs 

 being thus matured are placed in pots in a cool dry situation 

 beyond the reach of frost, where they remain till the middle of 

 January. They are then brought into the greenhouse, and mode- 

 rately supplied with water for a fortnight. By that time tbey 

 are in a fit state to be re-potted, which is done in the following 

 manner. The bulbs are taken out of the pots, and the dry mould 

 and offsets carefully removed. They are then re-potted accord- 

 ing to their size, the largest in pots six or eight inches in diameter. 

 The soil I use is about half turfy peat, a quarter of sandy peat, 



