TIGRIDIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



891 



bulbs are better freed from the bulblets 

 of the previous season. In warm gardens 

 where the bulbs are left in the ground 

 all the winter, they should be well pro- 

 tected with ashes. Choose the sunniest 

 spot in the garden where there will be no 

 cutting winds, as these spoil the great 

 delicate flowers. A sandy loam lightened 

 and enriched by leaf-mould is the best to 



Tiarella cordifolia. 



ensure a strong and rapid growth. The 

 bed should have at least 18 in. of good 

 soil, and when this is dug up and allowed 

 to settle, plant the bulbs the second or 

 third week in April, 3 in. deep and 6 in. 

 apart, putting a little sharp sand round 

 each one. If a dry time sets in when the 

 foliage is half grown, the bed should be 

 well watered. From about midsummer 

 onwards till September, or even later, the 

 plants will be in bloom, and the stronger 

 the plants the more numerous will be 

 the flowers, and though the individual 

 flowers are soon over they afford a good 

 succession. In October the foliage turns 

 yellow as the bulbs ripen ; lift by No- 

 vember, bunch them, and hang in an airy 

 shed till dry. 



The best known species is T. Pavonia 

 from Mexico, a plant of many forms and 

 garden varieties differing in shape or 

 colour from the parent, with its large 



flowers 5 in. across, glowing _n scarlet and 

 orange. Among the most distinct varie- 

 ties are : 



T. PAVONIA VAR. GRANDIFLORA. Flowers 

 larger and brighter in colour, with fuller and 

 more rounded petals. Under this name I would 

 also include the names speciosa, splendens, 

 coccinea, and Wheeleri. 



T. P. CONCHIFLORA. Flowers with outer 

 segments yellow, heavily blotched with red at 

 the bases, and with inner segments similarly 

 variegated. The names canariensis or conchi- 

 flora grandiflora probably represent a form 

 differing slightly as regards brilliancy of colour, 

 but it is undoubtedly a seedling form of the 

 original T. conchiflora. Though the small 

 flowers of this kind are refined and beautiful, 

 the plant is rather weakly, increases slowly, 

 and is apt to perish. 



T. P. ALBA. Flowers nearly 6 in. across, 

 with sepals and petals of ivory whiteness, 

 heavily blotched at the bases with carmine-red. 



T. P. A. IMMACULATA. This is a sport 

 from alba, its name having reference to the 

 uniform snowy whiteness of the flowers, which 

 are without the conspicuous spots of other 

 varieties. Though normally pure white, the 

 flowers are sometimes tinted with pale green 

 or creamy-yellow. 



T. P. LILACEA. Flowers with rosy carmine 

 sepals and petals, the bases variegated with 

 white, a cross between T. Pavonia and T. 

 Pavonia alba. 



T. P. ROSEA. Flowers with rose-coloured 

 sepals and petals, the bases variegated with 

 yellow, a cross between T. Pavonia and 

 conchiflora. 



T. P. AUREA. A hybrid raised many 

 years ago between T. Pavonia and T. conchi- 

 flora, and uniting the robust vigour of the 

 first with the refinement and fine colour of the 

 second parent. The shade of yellow inclines 

 to orange, and the small central basin of the 

 flower is mottled with red, reddish-purple, 

 or chocolate. The flowers are freely produced, 

 and the plant is easy to grow and increases 

 rapidly. It is better known on the continent 

 than with us, and often under the name 

 T. Watkinsoni. Other varieties are flava, 

 with pale yellow flowers and a red-spotted 

 centre ; canariensis, a pale yellow form ; lutea 

 immaculala, soft yellow without spots ; and 

 carminea, a new and pretty shade. 



T. Pringlei comes so near T. Pavonia that 

 some authorities regard it as only another form 

 of that variable kind rather than a distinct 

 species. The flowers differ little save in the 

 shape and size of the sepals and petals, and 

 the way in which the various shades of scarlet, 

 crimson, orange, and brown that occur in the 

 flower, are blended. It is a plant of strong 

 growth, reaching 18 inches in height. North 

 Mexico. 



These comprise the varieties and synonyms 

 of the true Tigridias. The Beatonias, as the 

 small-flowered Tigridias were once named, 

 comprise a few species of botanical interest, but 

 not of importance. Those in cultivation are 



