CHAPTER XIII 



R ETARDED LILIES 



THE forcing of plants into flower earlier than the period 

 of their natural flowering has always been practised by 

 the gardener, but it is only in recent years that the 

 opposite art of retarding plants so as to flower later 

 than their natural flowering season has been discovered, 

 and practised on a large scale. 



This retardation is effected by storing the plants in 

 refrigerators where a temperature only a little below 

 the freezing point is maintained. This is sufficient to 

 arrest active growth while not injuring the plants, and 

 nowadays numerous kinds of plants are thus retarded. 

 Among these are some of the Lilies, especially such as 

 L. longiflorum, auratum, and speciosum, so that one may 

 see in florists' shops during the autumn and onwards 

 till Christmas or later, beautiful flowering plants of 

 these lilies. 



The treatment of retarded Lilies requires care. In 

 the first place the bulbs are put in a cool cellar, where 

 they are gradually thawed, as any sudden change of 

 temperature is injurious. They are then potted in 

 ordinary way, and placed either out of doors or in a 

 part of the greenhouse, shaded from the full sun. They 

 soon grow freely and flower well in due course. About 

 three months is allowed from the potting to the flowering 

 period. 



Of the three species generally retarded L. speciosum 

 responds to the treatment most successfully, L. longi- 



85 



