October, 1922 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



205 



I 



Bulbs for Bloom in the House 



C. B. Alden, Toronto 



BULBS for winter bloom in the house 

 may be grown by anyone who will 

 give attention to certain details, 

 easily learned and easily practised. For 

 bloom at Christmas and New Year's, the 

 bulbs should be potted about the middle 

 of October. 



For house culture, the species and 

 varieties diflfer in some cases from those 

 used for outdoor bloom in spring. Not 

 only should the varieties be carefully 

 selected but good, sound, firm bulbs of 

 the best quaUty should be obtained. 

 Soft, spongy, ill-shapen bulbs are of little 

 use to produce strong flower spikes. 

 Cheap bulbs are usually very disappoint- 

 inj^. Mixed collections also usually should 

 •-■ avoided, as oftentimes many of the 

 irieties in collections are useless or not 

 anted. Named varieties give the best 

 results, especially in Dutch hyacinths. 

 A good selection of types of bulbs for a 

 beginner is: First, white Roman hya- 

 cinths; second, named Dutch hyacinths; 

 third, narcissi in variety. Tulips and 

 crocuses do not give as good results under 

 pot culture as those recommended, but 

 are worth trying. 



Best Bulbs for Forcing 



ALTHOUGH the pink, rose and blue 

 shades of Roman hyacinth make a 

 pleasing variation in color effect, 

 the white-flowering variety is the best, 

 being freest and earliest in blooming. 

 Roman hyacinths should be planted 

 three in a five-inch pot, or jardiniere, to 

 be most effective. Unless single bulbs 

 are extra good and large, the effect is 

 slim and disappointing. 



The selection of Dutch hyacinths is 

 largely a matter of personal taste in colors 

 and shades. All named varieties are 

 usually of standard excellence. They 

 look well planted one bulb in the centre 

 of a four or five-inch pot, and equally 

 well in groups of three, five or seven, in 

 bulb pans or jardinieres. If planted in 

 groups, there should be about two inches 

 of space between each bulb. The single- 

 flowering varieties usually give the best 

 results. The following Ust of singles and 

 doubles is merely suggestive, there being 

 many other varieties just as good, old 

 and new; Single white, Grande Vedette, 

 Grand Vanquer, La Grandesse; single 

 red or rose, Gertrude, Moreno, La Vic- 

 toire; single blue, Queen of the Blues 

 (Ught), King of the Blues (dark); double 

 white, Flevo, La Tour d'Auvergne; 

 double red or rose, Koh-i-iNoor, (semi- 

 double), President Roosevelt; double 

 blue, Bloksberg, Laurens Koster. 



Most varieties of narcissi, which in- 

 clude the daffodils, are suitable for pot 

 culture. Among the double ones, Von 

 Sion, or what is generally known as the 

 EngUsh daffodil, ranks first in value. 



Narcissus alba plena odorata and N. in- 

 comparabihs are other good ones. The 

 single, or trumpet, narcissi afford an al- 

 most endless selection of varieties for in- 

 door culture. Among the best are 

 Golden Spur, Horsfieldi, Princeps and 

 Poeticus ornatus. A pot or two of jon- 

 quils, a type of narcissus, must not be 

 omitted, their delightful fragrance making 

 them especially worth while for culture 

 in the home. 



The bunch, or polyanthus, narcissi are 

 also very acceptable, the early paper 

 white being one of the best on account 

 of its earliness. Gloriosa is another good 

 variety of this type. The Chinese sacred 

 lily is a favorite variety of the bunch 

 narcissi. 



Growing Bulbs in Glass 



GROWING bulbs in glasses is a very 

 old method. One cannot do better 

 in this article than to quote the 

 practise advised by W. E. Groves, Hamil- 

 ton, whose advice on floriculture is al- 

 ways so welcome to readers of The 

 Canadian Horticulturist : 



"It does not matter whether spring or 

 rain water is used, as long as it is pure and 

 clean. Glasses for the purpose are speci- 

 ally made to hold the bulb, which should 

 not quite touch the water. It is wise to 

 give the dark treatment for a short time 

 as recommended for pots, to facilitate 

 root action and hold back leaf growth. 

 When brought to light, follow the same 

 treatment as would be given for pot 

 culture. A little more care needs to be 

 taken to avoid extremes of temperature. 

 It is easily seen that with the roots in 

 water, changes of temperature are more 

 likely to affect growth than would be the 

 case with the plants in pots. Both for 

 pot and glass culture cool treatment pro- 

 duces a firmer spike, which is likely to 

 last longer than if it were forced." 



Bulb Culture in the House 



VERY rich soil is not required for 

 the pot culture of bulbs. Four 

 parts well-rotted sod and one part 

 barnyard manure or cow manure, with a 

 one-eighth part of fine sand mixed in, 

 make a good compost, but it is not always 

 readily available, unless perhaps it might 

 be obtained of a florist or at a seed store. 

 If not available, take some good, light, 

 loamy garden soil, and mix with it some 

 pulverized dry cow manure, four parts 

 of soil to one of manure. One quart of 

 fine bone meal mixed with a half bushel 

 of soil also will make a fair compost. If 

 the soil is heavy, include a little fine, 

 sharp sand as already recommended. 

 When used for potting, the soil should be 

 fairly dry. 



No broken crockery or broken pots, 



charcoal and so on, need be used in pots 

 for bulbs. Care should be taken, however 

 that all poLs, boxes or pans used should 

 have holes in the bottom sufficient for 

 drainage. 



When potting the bulbs, first fill the 

 pot or box from one-haK to two-thirds 

 full — according to size of bulbs — with the 

 soil and press the soil down slightly. 

 Then place the bulbs in position at 

 proper distances apart, so that the top 

 of the bulb is about an inch below the 

 top, or rim, cf the pot or box. It may be 

 necessary to take the bulbs out and add 

 more soil, or remove some, perhaps, be- 

 fore the bulbs can be placed at the proper 

 depth. When the latter point is assured, 

 fill the pots loosely full, level to th^ brim, 

 then press the soil fairly firm around the 

 bulbs until the surface is about half an 

 inch below the edge of the pot, leaving 

 the surface quite level. 



Give the pots sufficient water to moisten 

 well all the soil. Two waterings may be 

 necessary for this purpose. Then stand 

 the pots away in a cool, damp, dark place, 

 in a temperature of from 40 to 50 degrees. 

 To secure good roots from the bulbs, this 

 temporary storage in darkness is most 

 important. It is the one "secret" of 

 success in growing bulbs indoors. A 

 cellar floor on a close cupboard or box 

 will suit for the purpose. 



In the chosen place for storing, the pot 

 should be buried in sand, sawdust or dry 

 soil. Pack the material closely around 

 the pots and cover them to the depth of 

 an inch or two. The pots seldom require 

 water again until rooted, unless the 

 place they are in is very warm or dry. 

 To root well, bulbs usually take from three 

 to six weeks, according to species. This 

 securing of good roots before bringing 

 the bulbs to the window is absolutely 

 necessary to ensure the best flowering 

 results. 



Bringing Bulbs to the Light 



AFTER the pots have been in cool, 

 dark quarters for four or five weeks, 

 they should be examined. If their 

 delicate white roots appear through the 

 holes in the bottoms of the pots, the 

 bulbs are ready for placing in the light. 

 If no roots are showing, a closer examina- 

 tion is necessary. This is best done by 

 taking the pot in both hands, one at the 

 bottom and one flat across the surface 

 of the soil, with the fingers conveniently 

 inserted between the top growths, and 

 then turning the pot upside down and 

 striking the edge or rim, of the pot on a 

 solid table or other subject. The pot will 

 then separate from the ball of earth and 

 can easily be removed. If the bulbs are 

 well rooted, they are ready for bringing 

 to the light. Place the pot over the ball 

 of earth while the latter is still inverted 

 and then restore to the proper position. 

 If not well rooted, place back in storage 

 and examine again a week or so later. 

 Examining the roots of bulbs is a deli- 



