TULIPA 



TULIPA 



1867 



Cultivation.— The production of large, perfect flowers 

 depends entirely upon a large supply of fibrous roots. 

 Size of bulbs is not nearly so important: a large bulb 

 ■cannot offset a deficiency of roots. 



For outdoor cultivation the bulbs should be set in 

 September to November in New York. They should be 

 planted before bard freezing weather comes. The soil 

 should be a sandy loam, well worked to a depth of at 

 least 12 inches, and enriched with leaf-mold and well- 

 rotted cow manure. Fresh manure of any kind should 

 never be used near bulbs of any sort. On heavier soils 

 Tulips can be successfully raised if extra care is given 

 to insure perfect drainage. Drainage is important under 

 all conditions. The bulbs will never prove satisfactory 

 in low, wet situations, and if there is danger from 

 standing water it is best to raise the beds several inches 

 -above the surrounding ground. 



Plant the bulbs 4 inches deep (to the bottom of the 

 bulbs) and from 4 to 5 inches apart, depending upon the 

 size of the plants. A handful of sand under each bulb 

 is recommended in soils that do not already possess a 

 preponderance of this material. The cushion of sand 

 allows the water to drain away rapidly and at the same 

 time insures the presence of an easily penetrable me- 

 dium for the young roots. Care should be exercised to 

 place all the bulbs at the same depth, as otherwise they 

 will not all bloom at the same time. When the ground 

 begins to freeze, cover the beds to a depth of several 

 inches with leaves, dry forest litter or other light ma- 

 terial. After danger of heavy frosts is past in spring 

 the beds should be uncovered, ami if the work of prep- 

 aration and planting has been well done the Tulips will 

 require little or no further care. In England many of 

 the beds of choice and delicate varieties of Tulips are 

 protected when in flower from heavy rains and hot sun 

 by means of light cloth screens, and are thus kept in 

 good condition for some time. 



For pot culture, a mixture of fine garden loam, two 

 parts to one of well-rotted manure (cow manure com- 

 posted for two years is best), mixed with enough clean 

 sand to make the mass easily friable, is most suitable. 

 If no loam is obtainable and a heavier-garden soil must 

 be used, one part of the latter will be sufficient, in 

 which case the addition of an equal proportion of leaf- 

 mold will be advantageous. From 3 to 5 bulbs, accord- 

 ing to size, to a 5-inch pot are effective. Fill the pots 

 lightly and press the bulbs into the soil, thus bringing 

 the base in close contact with the soil particles. Cover 

 the bulbs to the tip and press the soil firmly all around. 

 Water once freely and cover the pots entirely with soil, 

 leaves or litter, so that they will be out of reach of 

 frost, or place them in a dark cold (not freezing) cellar 

 or room uutil the bulbs have become well rooted, which 

 under ordinary conditions will require five or six weeks. 

 When the pots have become well tilled with roots — me 

 more the better— they are ready to be brought into the 

 house. For the first few days at least the tempera- 

 ture should be moderate and even, and the atmosphere 

 not too dry. Water freely but not to excess. Some of 

 the varieties — especially the white thin-petaled ones- 

 are said to resent over-watering very quickly. If raised 

 in living rooms greater care is necessary, as the atmos- 

 phere of a living room is drier than that of a green- 

 house. On cold nights the plants should be removed 

 from exposed places where they are liable to freeze, and 

 when the flowers appear they should not be allowed to 

 stand in the direct rays of the sun shining through a 

 window. Many of the handsomest flowers are thus 

 easily burned and wilted. Practically all of the early 

 single varieties are adapted to pot culture, especially 

 the Due van Thols when well rooted; otherwise they are 

 extremely unsatisfactory. For a succession, pot every 

 week or 10 days from September to December or pot 

 early and bring into the house at fortnightly intervals. 

 In potting avoid caking soil beneath the bulbs. 



Many of the early single varieties are adapted to 

 water culture. Fortius purpose use ordinary " hyacinth " 

 glasses and select only well-formed, solid, perfect bulbs 

 of fair size. Use rain water, and put in a little char- 

 coal to keep it pure. The bulbs must be placed so 

 that the base is just in contact with the water— not 

 immersed in it. Place them in a dark closet for 10 days 

 or a fortnight until the bulbs have become well rooted, 



then give them plenty of light and air. Avoid gaslight 

 as much as possible, and in cold weather protect them 

 from freezing. 



Propagation. — Tulips may be increased by the side 

 offsets, but these are not as constant as new bulbs 

 produced within the outer tunics by means of cut- 

 ting the old bulbs. Fig. 2592 shows a section of a 

 bulb with new inner bulb and outer offset in place. 

 The new bulb is completely inclosed in a sac which 

 afterwards becomes the outer dry, membranous tunic. 

 The pubescence, if any, may be found on the inside 



2592. Three leafy bulb-scales from young bulb, exhibit- 

 ing the homology of leaves and bulb-scales (X y z ). 

 At the right an old Tulip bulb, showing formation 

 of new bulb within the old, and flower stem at- 

 tached directly to root-crown. 



of this sac even in the earliest stages of growth. 

 The new bulb is attached to the base of the flower- 

 stem, immediately above the root-crown from which the 

 former proceeds directly upward. Each new bulb-tunic 

 (including the outer sac) is provided with a growing 

 tip, which often extends above ground into a leaf, each 

 one coming up within the other. Fig. 2592 shows the 

 separated leafy bulb-scales, and indicates the homology 

 of tunics and leaves. Sports among the offsets are at 

 present mainly depended upon for the production of new 

 varieties. These have been found susceptible to the 

 "breaking" process, though perhaps slower to respond 

 than the seedlings. Seed production is now practiced 

 only in exceptional cases. The production of hybrid- 

 ized varieties by crossing the oh! forms with some of 

 the newly introduced species is very likely a probability 

 of the near future. 



The Original Tulip. — The origin of the garden Tulip 

 seems to be lost beyond recovery. It is often said that 

 our garden Tulips are derived from Tulipa Gesneriana, 

 but this is an explanation which does not explain. It 

 merely means that in 1753, the year which is usually but 

 arbitrarily taken as the beginning of systematic botany, 

 Linna?us grouped all the garden Tulips he knew under 

 the name of Tulipa Gesneriana, But the Tulips of that 

 day had been cultivated for two centuries by Europeans, 

 and previously for an indefinite period by the Turks, 

 from whom, of course, we have no exact records. Fig. 

 2593. One might study wild Tulips in their native 

 places and compare them with descriptions without 

 being certain of. the original form which the Turks 

 brought from the wild, simply because of the lack 

 of records at the beginning. It is necessary to have 

 some scientific name for the garden Tulips. The most 

 one dare say is that the garden Tulips are chiefly refer- 

 able to T. Gesneriana and T. suaveolens, with the dis- 

 tinct understanding that these names do not represent 

 an original wild stock. 



Tulipa suaveolens requires explanation. This name, 

 which dates from 1797, stands for a kind of Tulip dis- 

 covered growing wild in southern Europe long before 

 that date. There is no proof that it was native; the proba- 

 bility is that it had escaped from gardens and run wild. 

 In 1799, it was distinguished from the other Tulips then 

 known by the fragrance of the flowers, the earliness of 

 bloom, slightly greater size and pubescent scape. From 

 the early records it appears that there were fragrant, 

 early-blooming flowers among the first Tulips received 



