October, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



245 



Do Not Forwt the Lilies 



OFTEN wonder why it is that we do 

 not see more of the lilies. Perhaps 

 it is because it is not known how - 

 S^asy it is to grow them, or because they 

 io not flower the same year the bulbs 

 ire planted, or possibly because the 

 bulbs are supposed to be too expensive. 

 Ls a matter of fact, they require no 

 lore care than other bulbs and many 

 )f them are quite hardy. It is true the 

 julbs do not bloom the first year, but 

 then few bulbs bloom the year they are 

 ^planted — planted early in the fall, how- 

 ever, some of the lilies can be brought 

 into bloom by November, whilst other 

 kinds will bloom the following summer. 

 Once planted they do not need to be 

 disturbed, so that although the initial 

 expense may seem a heavy one, it must 

 be remembered it has not to be incurred 

 every year. Although the bulbs cost 

 from ten to twenty cents apiece, the 

 great beauty, elegance, and fragrance 

 of the blooms a great deal more than 

 repays us for the outlay. 



Every garden should have one or 

 two groups of lilies. I have had oppor- 

 tunities that few, perhaps, have had, of 

 seeing all the best known lilies grown 

 to great perfection. To see them once 

 is to long for them ever after. 1 would 

 strongly advise all readers of The Can- 

 adian Horticulturist who possess nice 

 flower gardens to make a beginning 

 this fall and not to be shy about doing 

 so on account of an outlay of a dollar 

 or so. 



Regarding which kinds to gro\\-, each 

 has its own charm, and once one has 

 lived among them, as the wriler has, 

 one wants them all. For a beginning, 

 however, the safest way, perhaps, is to 

 get a fcAV of the hardiest kinds. I will 

 name a few of these as they occur to 

 me, and give a few hints on how they 

 were grown where I .saw them. One 

 of the hardiest of all the lilies is 

 lilium speciosum, albeit in appearance 

 so fragile. In addition to being a good 

 doer in the border, it does equally well 

 as a pot plant. There is a pure white 

 variety. Ask for lilium speciosum al- 

 bum — the bulbs of which are about 

 twenty cents each — not a prodigious 

 outlav. The purchase of five bulbs will 

 enal)lo one to put, say, three in the 

 srround and two in pots, tut a single 

 bnlb in a six-inch pot, or three in an 

 eight-inch pot, providing an inch or 

 two of drainage covered with a layer 

 of fibry compost and two inches of soil. 

 Place the bulbs on this and add enough 

 sand to surround them nearly Io their 

 apex. When the growth is six inches 

 hieh, fill up the vacant space in the pots 

 with compost for the stem roots to feed 

 on. The.se lilies, like auratum, produce 



B. C. Tillet, Hamilton, Ont. 



two kinds of roots, those fit the bottom 

 of the bulb and those at the top called 

 stem roots. The pots can be put either 

 in the glasshouse or in a window where 

 there is plenty of light and air. Read 

 carefully the hints given at the end of 

 these notes on cultivation and you will 

 be pretty sure to succeed, if you follow 

 them. 



Another of the hardy lilies is candi- 

 dnm. Be sure and get one or two bulbs 

 of this lily — sometimes called the ma- 

 donna lily; it has large pure white 

 blooms and is a great addition to a bor- 

 der, so much so that one might almost 

 say that no border seems complete with- 

 out it. These bulbs are usually ready 

 for mailing about Octoher 1st. The 

 bul'bs should be planted one to a six- 

 inch pot or three to an eight-inch pot. 

 This is not one of stem rooting species, 

 so the pot may be half-filled with com- 

 post and the bulb placed thereon and 

 filled up to within half an inch of the 

 rim. Use two parts loam, one of leaf 

 mould, and a little sand. The pots are 

 best kept in a cold frame nnlil the 

 growth begins and then put in a tem- 

 perature of a(bout 55 deg. Planted 

 early in the fall, the leaves will soon 

 apx)ear and the stems often bear as 

 many as twenty blooms. It cannot be 

 forced a second season. 



One of the most pop\ilar lilies for the 

 glass-house and window is lilium longi- 

 fiorum. It is one of the snow-white 



lilies, its distinguishing feature being 

 the long trumpet-like flowers eight 

 inches in length. It floAvers out of 

 doors in June and July and has the 

 advantage of being equally well suited 

 for either pot culture or the border. 

 Bulbs of this species are often "retard- 

 ed" by placing the bulbs in refriger- 

 ating chambei's ; thence it is possible by 

 potting at intervals of eight weeks to 

 have them in flower all the .year round. 

 No hard forcing is required, a temper- 

 ature of 40 to 50 degrees being suffici- 

 ent to bring these lilies into flower 

 eight weeks after potting. 



Bulbs of longiflorum, if not retarded, 

 should be potted early in the fall and 

 placed in the cold frame until the 

 growth begins. When the shoots are 

 three inches high, place them in the 

 glasshouse. Bul'bs which have been re- 

 tai'ded may be planted at any time, and 

 should be placed in the glasshouse at 

 once. 



Cultivation. 



The great secret with lily bulbs is 

 drainage. If this is properly secured 

 the rest is easy. Lilies like a rich soil. 

 To make a poor soil right for lilies, get 

 a little well-rotted stable manure, the 

 older the better. Throw into this some 

 good bone dust, and mix the manure 

 with good loam and leaf mould. All 

 these are easily procurable, and for a 

 few pots a wheelbarrowful should be 

 ample. The leaf mould from oaks is 



The Ions 



Irumpet-like flowers of Liillum L.onKifoliiim .make gUid ilio heart of the gardener 

 during June and July. 



