BULB CULTURE FOR THE AMATEUR 



T 



HE culture of bulbs indoors is one of 

 the most delightful pastimes in winter 

 and there is nothing in floriculture which so 

 well repays the lover of flowers for the mon- 

 ey invested, arid for the time and care spent 

 upon them. By having the right varieties, 

 and by forcing them properly, flowers may 

 be obtained from the latter part of Nov- 

 ember until spring. 



The mistake has often been mad-e by those 

 who have written on bulb culture for the 

 amateur, that too much stress has been laid 

 on the kind of soil in which the bulbs are to 

 be grown, and definite proportions of sod, 

 manure, leaves, and soil have been recom- 

 mended without giving any alternative to 

 the intending planter. The difficulty in 

 cities of obtaining these ingredients has no 

 doubt deterred many people from growing 

 bulbs who would have done so if it had 

 been made plain to them that they could 

 have good success without preparing the 

 soil in the exact way laid down. The bulb 

 has within it the future flower, which was 

 formed during the previous spring; it has 

 -Iso f6od and energy stored up in it ready 

 to be used when 'the right conditions are 

 brought about, which are : first, moisture 

 to produce roots,- and then sunshine and 

 heat to develop the leaves and flowers. 

 While the bulb does, no doubt, take up plant 

 food from the soil when forced, roots and 

 moisture are of far greater importance. 

 A soil should first of all be porous, so that 

 air is admitted freely to the roots ; a soil 

 which becames compact and hard is the 

 poorest kind. It should also retain water 

 fairly well, and for this reason it is well to 

 have some humus, which is supplied by 

 rotted leaves, rotted manure, or rotted sod. 

 Good loamy garden soil is quite satisfactory 

 without the addition of any fertilizer, but 

 if it is soil that becomes compact, it is ad- 



visable to add a little coarse sand to make 

 it more porous. Where soil is difficult to get 

 excellent results have been obtained by 

 using pure building sand for this purpose, 

 which, being coarse, is porous, and does not 

 become compact. This must not, however, 

 become confounded with the ordinary fine 

 sand, which is not satisfactory. 

 PLANTING. 



The bulbs should be planted as soon as 

 received, or not later than the middle of 

 October. As a good root system is very 

 essential, the earlier the bulbs are planted • 

 the better, as most bulbs take from six 

 weeks to two months or more to fill the pots 

 with roots. Successive plantings are not 

 recommended, as the bulbs lose vitality the 

 longer they are out of the ground. 



Hyacinths succeed best in five-inch pots, 

 or if pans are used, several bulbs- may be 



"it'^d in one pan. Three tulips in a five 

 or six inch pot are very satisfactory. Most 

 of the narcissus also succeed well with 

 three bulbs in a six-inch pot, but some of the 

 larger bulbs are more satisfactory with one 

 bulb in a five inch pot. Seven or eight 

 freesia bulbs may be planted in a six-inch 

 pot with good success, and other small bulbs 

 in the same way. 



To plant the bulbs, put a piece, or several 

 pieces, of broken pot or charcoal, or even 

 coal clinkers, in the bottom of the pot or 

 pan with soil, and shake it down by striking 

 the bottom of the pot against something, 

 but avoid pressing down the soil in the pot 

 before planting the bulb, as if the soil in the 

 lower part of the pot is firm, the bulb will 

 be forced out of the pot when it begins to 

 root. Now, place the bulb or bulbs on the 

 surface of the soil, making certain to have 

 the right side up, and press down until the 

 upper side of the bulb is on a level with the 

 surface of the soil, then firm the soil about 



* Extract from the special bulletin on Bulb Culture recently issued by the Ottawa Horticultural Society, and mentioned elsewhere in 

 this issue. 



435 



