IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



most necessary work which they would naturally accom- 

 plish before they go to rest of perfecting their embryo 

 blooms for the following season. To do this they need 

 the help of their foliage, which should ripen away gradually 

 as the blossoms are formed in the centre of the corm ; and 

 in suddenly depriving the plant of its leaves we render it 

 incapable of carrying out this important process. 



The plants should, therefore, be kept slightly moist for 

 some weeks after the flower is faded, to allow of the natural 

 ripening of the foliage, which must not be allowed to droop. 

 But when the last particle of the leaf has turned brown 

 we must imagine that the rainy season is quite over, and the 

 intense dryness of the South African climate has set in, 

 so that our treatment of these plants will completely 

 change. The pots should then stand in the warmest, dryest 

 position we can give them, close under the glass roof of 

 a sunny greenhouse, or, failing that, in a warm corner of 

 the garden or the leads, with a piece of glass raised a 

 few inches above the pots to keep off rain and increase 

 the warmth of the sunshine. Not a drop of water must 

 now reach the corms for about six weeks, for without this 

 baking process (in June and half of July) the flowers, 

 although already formed, may fail to appear. 



About the middle of July the corms should be shaken out 

 of the soil and sorted, repotting the larger sizes, and placing 

 the smaller corms (which will not flower the following sea- 

 son) in a box of suitable size, with the same kind of soil, 

 &c., as the other, to grow to flowering size. About twelve 

 corms will fill a 5-inch pot ; this should be well drained, 

 and rather more than half-filled with a compost of good 

 rich loam, leaf mould, and sand, with a little soot and char- 

 coal, in small lumps. Place the corms an inch apart, with 

 their pointed ends upwards on this, and cover them with an 

 inch of the compost, leaving ample room for top-dressing 

 and water later on. The best place for the potted corms is 

 in the full sunshine in the open air, and they should not be 

 covered at all with ashes or anything. 



Very little water will be needed until the green points 



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