450 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



TUBEROSE Polianthes tuberosa, to give it its scientific name. 

 Everybody knows the pure white sweet-scented flower so popular 

 for greenhouse decoration in spring. There is nothing to be said 

 against it on the ground of expense. The tubers can be pur- 

 chased in the autumn from first-class florists at from 2s. to 

 2s. 6d. a dozen. They are therefore as cheap as the ordinary 

 bedding hyacinths or tulips. This price refers to the African 

 variety ; the American or Pearl, which arrives in December, costs 

 just half the sum that it is necessary to pay for the African 

 kind. 



Do not put all your eggs in one basket in other words, do not 

 pot up all your tubers at the same time. Rather aim at attain- 

 ing a succession of bloom by potting at intervals of a few weeks. 

 This is a good rule to follow in regard to all bulbous and tuberous 

 plants intended for forcing. 



Nor do I think it wise, as is the practice of some growers, to 

 put more than one tuber in a pot. Tubers vary in size, and this 

 means irregularity both in the quality of the flowers and the time 

 of blooming. 



Clean, well-drained pots should be used invariably. A suitable 

 compost or mixture of soils can be obtained by using three parts 

 loam, one part leaf mould, and one part sand. Each tuber should 

 be trimmed as shown in the illustration if it has not already 

 been done by the florist and potted to about half its depth in 

 such a position that the top of the tall bulb is just above the 

 rim of the pot, which should be only half filled, thus leaving the 

 upper portion of the bulb exposed. 



The object of this method of planting is to allow the vacant 

 space to be filled with a rich top-dressing of well-manured mould 

 so soon as growth becomes active. 



The pots should now be treated just as the Roman hyacinths 

 and narcissi were dealt with that is to say, placed in a cold 

 frame and covered to a depth of four inches with cocoa-nut fibre 

 refuse. Water should be given at somewhat prolonged intervals till 

 root growth has started. Then as they are wanted for forcing they 

 should be brought into the warm greenhouse, where a minimum 



