BULB GROWING: SELECTION OF VARIETIES, ETC. 



Cloth of Gold ; of the blue or purple, 

 Baron Brunnow ; and of the striped, 

 Albion and Sir Walter Scott. 



Scilla Sibirica and Glory of the Snow, 

 are equally hardy, and may be planted 

 and treated in the same manner as snow 

 drops. They bear a mass of richly col- 

 ored flowers, which are valuable for 

 cutting, as well as being effective for 

 edges, or in clumps of a hundred or 

 more. 



Hyacinths are less hardy than those 

 already mentioned, hence mulching is 

 essential for winter protection, unless 

 the bulbs are planted very deeply. For 

 natural effect no better place can be 

 found than groups in miscellaneous 

 border, intermingled with other plants. 

 Where the soil is heavy plant about 

 three inches deep, but for light loam 

 five inches is better. They may be left 

 in the bed for two or three years, but 

 each season will become less brilliant, 

 as the finer and more delicate specimens 

 die, leaving only the coarser and less 

 desirable ones. A better way is to re- 

 plant in some out-of-the-way place 

 immediately after flowering, and when 

 leaves decay take up, dry a few days, 

 and keep in a cool cellar until ready 

 for autumn planting. Propagation is 

 more difficult that with smaller sorts, 

 and unless one has considerable time, 

 it is better to procure at least a few 

 bulbs each year, directly from dealers, 

 who in turn purchase them in Holland, 

 where most of our bulbs are grown. 

 Propagation may be accomplished by 

 making two or three cross-cuts in the 

 base about one-fourth through, from 

 which off-sets are formed. These are 

 separated, planted in nursery rows, and 

 treated as old bulbs two or three years, 

 when they are planted in beds or bor- 

 ders. The many varieties represent 

 more than a dozen distinct shades of 

 color, which should be kept in separate 



masses or distinct sections of formal 

 beds ; for example, a row of reds next 

 the edge of a bed or border, with blue 

 in the center and white midway be- 

 tween, and intermediate colors for other 

 rows. Both single and double varieties 

 should be represented. For natural 

 effect the former are especially desirable, 

 as the heads are less compact, and in- 

 dividual blossoms appear more graceful. 

 Roman Hyacinths, with their many 

 elegantly spreading flower stalks, are 

 hardly less desirable than for forcing. 



If one of these three forms is to be 

 omitted, let it be the double, there being 

 little choice between the other two. 



The Giant Hyacinth (Galtonia can- 

 dicans) was suggested to me by Pro- 

 fessor Trelease, who had noted it at the 

 Arnold Arboretum in Boston, as per- 

 fectly hardy and very ornamental. It 

 attains a height of five or six feet, the 

 solitary spike bearing from twenty to 

 thirty flowers, which appear in summer. 

 It is considered a valuable addition in 

 places where plants of its size are 

 wanted. 



Tulips are planted in the same manner 

 and given the same general treatment 

 as hyacinths, except that they are set an 

 inch shallower, as the bulbs are smaller ; 

 now are they taken up and replanted 

 during the summer. When convenient, 

 plant in a place partially shaded, as the 

 flowering season will be considerably 

 lengthened. Protection from the hot 

 sun may also be afforded by spreading 

 a light canvas three or four feet above 

 the plants. Double varieties continue 

 longer in bloom ; otherwise they are 

 inferior to single sorts, and as the flower- 

 ing season can be lengthened, as pre- 

 viously mentioned, by different modes 

 of treatment, I would omit double sorts 

 unless planting for variety. The Due 

 Van Thol varieties are equally as valua- 

 ble in garden culture as for forcing, and 



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