October, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



237 



Winter and Spring Flo\vcring Bulbs 



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



OCTOBER is the month for potting 

 bulbs for indoor flowering, also for 

 planting them out of doors for 

 spring flowering. A few pots of white 

 Roman hyacinths, Dutch hyacinths. 

 Paper \'\'^hite narcissus, as well as some 

 of the Trumpet and Double Flowering 

 narcissus, will help to keep the window 

 bright from Christmas until Easter. Pot 

 the bulbs in good potting soil with a 

 sprinkling of sand mixed in it. Water 

 them well, put them in a cool cellar, and 

 cover them an inch in depth with sand, 

 fine soil, or coal ashes. Water this 

 covering also, if dry, sufficient to well 

 moisten it. Let the bulbs stay in the 

 cellar for three or four weeks, or until 

 they have developed a good root system. 

 Bring them into the window as required 

 before top growth is over two inches in 

 height. 



By making two or three pottings at 

 intervals during the month and bring- 

 ing them into the light gradually as 

 wanted, a succession of these useful 

 flowers can be had all the winter. In 

 potting bulbs, the top or apex of the 

 bulb should be just under the surface 

 of the soil. The bulbs can be placed 

 almost close together in the pots, half 

 an inch of space between them being 

 sufficient. Dutch hyacinths can be plant- 

 ed singly in a five inch pot. 



The main points in the successful pot 

 culture of bulbs are to first develop a 

 good root system before top growth 

 starts, and to keep the soil moist from 

 the time they are potted until they are 

 thrniif?-h flowering. 



Tulips, Dutch hyacinths and narcissi 

 should be planted about four inches deep 

 in good garden soil. Avoid digging in 

 strawy manure when digging the 

 ground. Well rotted barnyard manure 

 should be used if any. This is best dug 

 in below the bulbs so as not to come in 

 direct contact with them. Roman hya- 

 cinths are of no use for planting out of 

 doors as they are too tender to endure 

 the winter frosts. They are, however, 

 excellent for pot culture indoors. 



Crocus, Scilla, Chionodoxa, Leucojum 

 vernum. and Snowdrop are dwarf grow- 

 ing bulbs. These are useful for plant- 

 ing near the margins of flower beds. 

 All of them can be planted about three 

 inches deep, and be put only an inch or 

 so apart. No flower garden should be 

 without a few of these useful pioneers of 

 spring flowers to brighten up the sur- 

 roundings before the summer flowers 

 appear. 



Home of R. H. Gould, Spadina Ave., Toronto 



Uedal Winner in the 1910 Street Improvement Competition held by the To- 

 ronto Hortioultural Society. 



Wintering Roses 



W. G. McKendrick, Terent*, Ont. 



I used to tie up each rose in the beds 

 m the fall in a bundle of straw or bul- 

 rushes and heavily manure the bed. I 

 tried one fall four beds without manure 

 or straw but drew the earth up around 

 the stems of the roses from four to six 

 inches, and they came through the win- 

 ter in good shape. Since then I have not 

 used manure as it holds a soggy mass 

 around the roots of the roses that win- 

 ter better if they are kept dry and well 

 drained. A little loose straw or strawy 

 manure ji'st enough to keep the ground 



shaded so that 

 it will not thaw 

 and freeze off 

 and on through 

 the winter, 

 would help the 

 roots. 



The compar- 

 atively modern 

 plan of earth- 

 ing up roses 

 from four to 

 six inches is a 

 simple and ex- 

 cellent one. 

 The non-con- 

 ducting proper- 

 ties of this 

 slight covering 

 are surprising 

 in a very se- 

 vere winter, 

 when no sound 

 wood is to be 

 seen above the 

 earth covering ; 

 beneath it the 

 shoots will 

 nearly always 



be found uninjured. 



I tie the stem of each climbing rose 

 in a bundle to the fence a foot or two 

 above the ground and shade from the 

 sun with a little straw, though some that 

 are left quite exposed for years are in as 

 good condition as those I tie up. Climb- 

 ing roses that are planted or transplant- 

 ed late in the fall should have straw 

 tied to them to keep off the hot sun in 

 the spring as the sun will evaporate the 

 sap in the shoots before the feedikig 

 roots can get to work to replace this sap 

 and the roots shrivel up as a result. 



The Lovely Phlox 



A. K. Geodmta, LL.B., Ttronto, Ont. 



Abundant and familiar, beautiful and 

 magnificent the phlox (meaning a flame 

 in allusion to its brilliant flower), a weed 

 in the untrodden wilds of North Amer- 

 ica, in the days of good Queen Bess, is 

 now grown generally in our gardens. 

 With good culture and good varieties 

 the flower heads may be a foot long and 

 nine inches through, the individual 

 flowers being as large as fifty cent 

 pieces. The annuals are grown from 

 seed as asters, though they may be pro- 

 pagated by cuttings in the autumn. 



It is best to plant the phlox a foot 

 apart. The perennial phloxes, both 

 early and late blooming, are propagated 

 by division in winter and spring, cut- 

 tings or seed. They thrive in ordinary 

 soil, but do not like a cold, adhesive, 

 undrained clay ; they favor light soil and 

 Hve water in summer. The flowers are 

 borne on the top of stems, but to insure 

 large panicles it is necessary to have 

 strong shoots, consequently the use of 

 liquid manure is advised. By judicious 

 arrangement, bloom may be had from 

 July to November with growth possibly 

 three to four feet high. 



The following is a list of phloxes re- 

 commended for suburban gardens, ex- 

 perience seems to point to the fact that 

 phloxes are not suitable for small city 

 gardens, as they take up too much 

 room. 



"EAELT SUMMER" 



Attraction, white with a crimson eye; 

 Fantasy, pink, suffused crimson ; James 

 Hunter, rose. 



"LATE SUMMER" 



Atala, rose with a white centre ; Co-, 

 quelicot, orange; Etna, scarlet, all three 

 feet high. 



"DWARF" 



Vivid, brilliant ro.se; Grandiflora, 

 pink, crimson eve ; Newry Seedling, 

 white, rose eye. 



The uncertainty of next season's 

 blooming, and the care required during 

 the surnmer, make it unprofitable to 

 carry primrose plants over. Start new 

 plants or purchase new ones from your 

 florist next season. 



