BULBS AND TUBERS HALF-HARDY SPECIES 63 



rather different treatment. The essential point with these is 

 the summer roasting while the bulbs are at rest. A hot 

 shelf near the glass, where they will not get a drop of 

 water, is the most suitable position as soon as the leaves 

 have died down. At the end of August or in September, for 

 they are somewhat uncertain, the flower scapes begin to show, 

 coming before the leaves, therefore one must be prepared 

 with good greenery to group with them. These gorgeous 

 Amaryllids, crimson, scarlet, and cherry-pink, according to 

 their species, are amongst the most valuable of autumn 

 flowers for the greenhouse. The pretty little N. undulata, 

 with pale-pink crimped petals, though not showy, is very 

 attractive, and the flower-heads of all the kinds are long- 

 lasting. The flowering, however, depends not only on the 

 care taken of the bulbs in summer, but of the foliage, and 

 herein lies the difficulty of growing Nerines without a good 

 working greenhouse or frame devoted to such things as must 

 be kept from frost. Out of flower, they are not particularly 

 ornamental, but leaf growth must then be encouraged, and 

 they must be kept growing all through the winter. 



One difference between the treatment of Nerines and most 

 other bulbs is that they resent re-potting. It is better to 

 leave them alone until by natural increase the bulbs burst 

 their pots. A good top-dressing in early autumn is all that 

 they ask for. One of my most pitiful garden experiences is 

 connected with Nerines, of which I happened to have a 

 good store of finest species. They were left during my 

 absence from home in a vinery at rest in which were some 

 broken panes of glass. The pots were first soaked with rain 

 then came a severe frost and then bulbs were hard frozen 

 treatment from which they never recovered, and the whole 

 batch was lost. This is mentioned as a warning that where 

 Nerines are grown and they are worth growing suitable 

 winter quarters, safe from frost, must be found for them, but 



