1 70 Commercial Gardening 



used by florists, and the prices realized by growers are often remunerative 

 although the bulbs cost 30s. or more per 1000 at first. Several fine 

 hybrids have been raised of late years, and there are now soft-yellow, 

 orange, and pink varieties obtained from crossing refracta with the pink 

 form known as Armstrongi. The American growers have a fine variety 

 called "Purity", which they grow in hundreds of thousands. It is prob- 

 ably identical with the best forms of alba. The following extract on 

 Freesia culture is taken from The Bulb Book (J. Weathers). 



CULTIVATION. "The bulbs should be obtained as early in August as 

 possible, and the pots in which they are to be placed should be well drained 

 with a layer of crocks over the bottom. Although Freesias will grow in 

 any light rich soil, that which appears to suit them best is a compost of 2 

 or 3 parts fibrous loam, 1 part leaf soil, and 1 part peat, with a little silver 

 sand or grit. Some growers add a little well-decayed cow-manure, but 

 sometimes the plants are a failure when this is the case. Others use no 

 manure from the cow or horse, and obtain excellent results from loam, 

 peat, leaf soil, and sand. The bulbs should be placed about 1J-3 in. from 

 each other in the pots (three to five bulbs to a 5-in. pot), and should 

 be covered with about 1 in. of compost. This should be pressed down 

 fairly firm with the fingers, and afterwards gently watered to settle it. 

 The bulbs thus potted should be placed in a cold frame on a moist bed 

 of ashes or cinders, or even out-of-doors in a sheltered corner, covered 

 with coconut fibre or fine ashes. When growth has well started and 

 the leaves are 3-4 in. above the soil, a few slender twigs or sticks should 

 be inserted round the rims of the pots to keep the foliage from toppling 

 over. Some judgment is required in watering, care being taken not to 

 give too much on the one hand, or too little on the other. The quantity 

 given will depend largely upon the activity or otherwise of the growth. 

 On the approach of frost, say about the end of September or early October, 

 the plants must be taken from the cold frame in which they were started 

 and transferred to a greenhouse with a temperature of 50 to 60 F. All 

 the bulbs need not be brought in at once, and where a succession of blossom 

 is required in winter and spring, it will be necessary to have batches in 

 several stages of development. As the flowers wither they should be 

 cut off (unless seed is required), and by gradually lessening the supply 

 of water to the roots the leaves begin to fade and the bulbs may be left 

 resting in the pots until the following August or September. 



" FREESIAS FROM SEEDS. The Freesia is one of the few bulbous plants 

 that is not only easily raised from seed but comes into blossom well within 

 a year after the seeds are sown. Seedling varieties are now becoming 

 popular. It must, however, be remembered, that one cannot guarantee 

 any particular variety coming " true " from seed, and many inferior forms 

 may also be anticipated. Where any special variety is required it can 

 only be kept true by propagating it from offsets from the older bulbs. 



" To raise Freesias from seed, a rich sandy compost should be prepared 

 by passing some fibrous loam, leaf mould, and sand in about equal pro- 



