December, 1916. 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Flowers that Brighten the Home 



291 



•l 



• I 'HE most useful and satisfactory 

 I class of plants for brightening the 

 home in winter are winter flower- 

 ing bulbs. To secure a succession of 

 bloom, a number of these should have 

 'been potted during October and No- 

 vember, as suggested in an article in 

 The Horticulturist in the October issue. 

 '■■' It is not too late, however, now to pot 

 up a number of these if it has not al- 

 ready been done. As a rule, good bulbs 

 from surplus stock can be obtained as 

 late as the middle of December from 

 the seed stores, especially if the bulbs 

 have been kept in a cool place. 



By putting three bulbs in a five inch 

 flower pot in ordinary potting soil of 

 white roman hyacinths, paper white 

 narcissus, or two or three bulbs of the 

 Von Sion, Bicolor Empress, Emperor, 

 Golden Spur, Poeticus Elvira, or al- 

 most any of the numerous kinds of nar- 

 cissus or daffodil biil'bs, good results 

 may be obtained until the outdoor bulbs 

 commence to flower in springtime. 

 Pot the bulbs in loamy soil, either from 

 the garden or from underneath sod. 

 Jjighten it up with one-sixth part of 

 sand and add about two pounds of pul- 

 verized sheep manure, or as a substi- 

 tute about one pound of fine bone meal 

 to each half bushel of the soil men- 

 tioned. If some leaf soil (black soil 

 from the bush) can be obtained, a little 

 of this may be added. The j^ulverized 



W. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph 



sheep manure and 'bone meal can usu- 

 ally be purchased at seed stores. Dry 

 cow manure gathered fi^om the pasture 

 or field also makes one of the best fer- 

 tilizers to mix with soil for pot plants. 

 Potting Bulbs. 

 Pot bulbs so that the top of the bulb 

 is just under the surface of the soil. 





The Dutch Hyacinth IV Innocence. A 

 white hyacintli for the window. 



fine 



Primula Obconlaca. The leaves and flowers of 



this plant contains an irritant poison. The leaves 



should be handled as little as possible. This 



is one of the best window plants 



The surface of the soil should be half 

 an inch below the top of the pot for 

 water space. Pack the soil fairly firml^^ 

 around the bulbs. Water them well once 

 to moisten all the soil, then set the pots 

 away in a cool, dark place for four or 

 five weeks or longer to develop a root 

 system. When good roots have started 

 their ends can usually be seen protrud- 

 ing through the aperture in the bot- 

 tom of the pot. Or the pot may be in- 

 verted and the plant carefully removed 

 and examined without disturbing the 

 root system or removing any of the 

 soil. T.he soil should not be disturbed 

 around the roots of bulbs after they 

 have once started. Bring the pots into 

 the light when good roots have formed. 

 Keep the soil moist, not too wet, from 

 the time the bulbs are potted until they 

 are out of flower. By bringing a few 

 pots at a time into the window, a suc- 

 cession of bloom can be had at little 

 expense and trouble. The main point 

 in 'bulb growing indoors is to secure a 

 good root system before top growth 

 starts. Dutch Hyacinths are among the 

 best bulbs for late growing. One bulb 

 in the centre of a five inch pot will be 

 found satisfactory, treated as recom- 

 mended for the other bull)s mentioned. 

 Good drainage is necessary for bulbs. 

 Freesias. 

 Freesias are useful winter flowering 

 plants grown from bulbs. A'bout six or 



seven bulbs of these may be put in a 

 five inch flower pot, potted in the same 

 way and the same kind of soil as the 

 other bulbs mentioned. The pots oi 

 freesias, however, must be set in the 

 window at once as soon as potted, and 

 not put in the dark. Water them well 

 once, then do not give them too mucli 

 water until they have started to grow 

 well. Support them with stakes and 

 twine or green raffia. 

 Bermuda Buttercup (Oxalis luteum). 

 A good bulbous rooted plant best 

 grown in a hanging pot or basket is 

 Bermuda Buttercup. Bulbs can be had 

 at seed stores. Plant bulbs in the soil 

 mentioned, about an inch apart, and do 

 not give them too much water until 

 well started into growth. After this 

 stage they require plenty of water at 

 the roots. The toi>s should be sprayed 

 with water occasionally, or the leaves 

 dipped in water every week or ten days 

 to keep down red spider. These bulbs 

 will make a great showing in the win- 

 dow. The pink flowered Oxalis roses 

 and white flowering Oxalis alba are 

 also good bulbous roote.d pot plants for 

 the window. The leaves of these plants 

 are sold as shamrock leaves and are 

 always in great demand for St. Pat- 

 rick's Day. 



Dallas (Richardia Ethiopica). 



Callas should help to brighten up the 



Narcclssus Poetecus Elvira. This Is equally 



good for growing indoors or for setting out for 



spring flowering. 



