September, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



215 



Indoor Culture of Dutch Bulbs 



Rev. Jas. Fletcher, Whitby, Ont. 



I 



DUTCH bulbs possess many advan- 

 lagcs for indoor culture. They arc 

 inexpensive and of less trouble 

 tiian other house plants, as they can be 

 stored away in the cellar when not in 

 bloom. Thffy stand cold which would 

 destroy other plants. They can be de- 

 pended upon to bloom when other plants 

 are scarce, and in beauty and fragrance 

 they are not excelled by flowers of any 

 other class. 



CULTURE 



Their culture is simple, but there are 

 certain principles which must be observ- 

 ed, or failure will be the result. They 

 must have suitable soil if you wish to 

 have bulbs for future use. Some of them 

 as hyacinths and narcissi, when grown 

 in water give good bloom, but the bulbs 

 are of no use afterwards. The soil us- 

 ually recommended for potting bulbs is a 

 compost consisting of leaf mold, sand, 

 and well rotted cow manure in equal 

 parts. Good garden soil, well enriched. 

 answers the purpose very well, but ther<r 

 must be no fresh manure in it or it will 

 rot the bulbs. 



After blossoming is over the ibulbs 

 may be put away in some retired place, 

 secure from frost, and sparingly watered 

 until the foliage has died down, after 

 which they had better be planted in the 

 flower garden, and fresh bulbs used in 

 the house for next year's bloom. 



Tor the window, tomato cans in which 

 holes have been made, or boxes, are bet- 

 ter than earthenware pots, as they give 

 more root room, and are not so likely to 

 dry out rapidly in our heated rooms. 



nRAINAGE 



To ensure good drainage, place an 

 inch of broken crockery, pebbles or sim- 

 ilar material at the bottom of a five inch 

 pot, cover with moss or other material to 

 keep the earth from clogging the holes, 

 fill up with potting soil, and place the 

 bulbs in the soil, so that the crowns are 

 about level with the top. Eight or ten 

 crocus, four or five tulips, two or three 

 hyacinth or narcissus bulbs may be placed 

 in such a pot. Then water well and let 

 drain before putting away. 



The most important part of the treat- 

 ment is to place the pots in a cool, dark 

 cellar, and keep them there until the 

 roots have completly filled the pots. 

 This will be from six to ten weeks for 

 crocus, tulip and Dutch hyacinths. 

 Roman hyacinths and narcissus do not 

 take quite so long. Do not try to hurrv 

 them by bringing them to the light or 

 heat, as they will resent it by giving 

 you poor bloom, or none at all. When 

 roots appear at the bottom of the pot 

 they are ready to be taken up. 



If the cellar is moist, they will not pe^d 



watering again until taken up ; if dry, 

 water sparingly. If the cellar is damp, 

 it is not suitable, as they are likely to 

 rot. The coolest place you can find is 

 the best place for them. They will stand 

 light frost without serious injury. 



Wherever kept they must be gradually 

 accustomed to the light, placing then 

 for several days in partial shade, and 

 not bringing them to the sunlight until 

 the foliage is strong enough to endure 

 it. Most living rooms in the winter are 

 too warm for the successful growth of 

 bulbs ; our sleeping rooms suit them bet- 

 ter. The cooler they are kept the finer 

 will be the bloom and the longer it will 

 last. I.nte planted bulbs do not require 

 so long a time in the cellar, as roots are 

 formed more rapidly. By careful man- 

 agement a continual succession of bloom 

 may be secured from Christmas until 

 Kaster. 



A Wild Flower Garden 



R. S. Haod, Gait, Ont. 



I enclose you a snapshot of my wild 

 flower garden. It is situated on the north 

 side of the kitchen. The house projects 

 eight feet past the kitchen, which makes 

 a very suitable place for it as it gives a 

 north eastern exposure. The bed is eight 

 feet wide by sixteen feet long. It is filled 

 with plants brought from the woods and 

 swamp, and planted by myself. It has 

 taken some years to get the collection 

 together. It is and has been a source of 

 pleasure to others and to myself, and 

 not by any means the least of the pleas- 

 ure is the fact that it makes a nice corner 

 at our home. 





Mr. Hood's Wild Flower Girden 



All the plants are strong and healthy, 

 and have large foliage. They have taken 

 very kindly to their new home. Occas- 

 ionally during the summer I give them a 

 treat in the shape of a little stimulant, 

 to which they respond very generously. 



There are over two hundred trilliums. 

 Their blooms were exceptionally large 

 last spring. Included also are five varie- 

 ties of ferns (one fine specimen of the 

 maiden-hair variety), three varieties of 

 lady slippers, thirty-five of the large yel- 

 low slippers, twelve of the small yellow 

 variety, and twenty one of the tall or 

 showy slipper. The top of the rack or 

 slip of several was a beautiful shade if 

 pink, others white. One of the showy 

 variety had three flowers on one stem, 

 six had two, and the rest one each. 



There are thirty-eight lilies, ranging 

 in height from two feet to six feet. One 

 has twelve dear little graceful blooms on 

 it. Others have from one to ten. I have 

 also several plants of Jack-in-the-pulpit, 

 blood root, violets, hepatica, false Solo- 

 man seal and May apple. Every one to 

 his or her own taste, but the little wild 

 flower garden is my favorite. 



When spraying, do it thoroughly. 



Horticultural Poisibiliti^i of the Far North. A Yukon Qorden Photographed in August 



