186 CALIFORNIA GARDEN FLOWERS 



in most places in California where they are commercially grown. But 

 the statement of Mr. Oliver has a wider significance in that it dem- 

 onstrates the length of the California growing season, which brings 

 a mass of flowers from the bulb within a year from the time it started 

 from a seed, and, of course, it does that because the winter months are 

 included in its open-air growing season. This is cited as a demonstra- 

 tion of the fact. In common garden practice, which will be described 

 later, these flowers are best grown from bulbs, which is the form in 

 which the florists offer them for sale. And such bulbs planted early 

 in the rainy season in proper places are the ones which bring the 

 Easter blooms in the open air. 



HINTS ON BULB GROWING. 



Although, as indicated, we have an ever-growing climate for bulbs 

 and therefore more latitude than those who have to work with short, 

 changing seasons, it is still true that great advantage pertains to doing 

 things at the right times and the right time to plant a bulb is just as 

 soon as the growing conditions, which best suit it, arrive. This is 

 what is meant by all exhortations to "plant early''; it is early for the 

 bulb, not by the calendar. For instance, by the ordinary use of the 

 calendar, January would be early and September would be late; but, 

 by the daffodil, September is early and January is late in fact very 

 late indeed, for then some of the same class will be in bloom from 

 early planting. Each group of bulbs of similar tastes has its own 

 requirement of conditions for activity, which may be the shooting of 

 roots or of flower-stems or of opening blossoms or of finishing its 

 growth by sending down food, for its own refreshment or the building 

 of its bulblets. Each bulb is therefore busy with making roots for 

 some time before one sees its leaves and busy making canned-food for 

 some time after its blossoms have faded. If it remains in the ground 

 for several years together, as most bulbs do successfully in our frost- 

 free soil, it will take care of its own growing season, but if one desires 

 to replant bulbs or to put in new bulbs from the dealers, it should be 

 done as nearly as possible at the time when that kind of bulb would 

 begin making roots if it had been undisturbed. Again, though the 

 planter has some privilege in the way of getting somewhat later 

 blooms by planting bulbs at different dates, he is apt to lose in con- 

 dition more than he gains in time, because the bulb will be disposed to 

 hurry to make up for lost time and will not have as good roots below 

 or as good bloom above as when it can take its full time to do its work. 

 Therefore it is better to plant about when it is natural for that bulb 

 to begin and rely, for a succession of fine flowers in the bulb beds, 

 upon the fact that some kinds of bulbs require more time than others 

 to make flowers, rather than to try to force an early bloomer to bloom 



