132 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



Sativus has purple or yellow flowers. Speciosus, purplish 

 lilac, is one of the best of the autumn Crocuses ; and 

 zonatus, lilac and rose, is also lovely. 



Spring- flower ing Crocuses. Aureus is a good orange- 

 yellow species, and has many varieties, including white, 

 cream, primrose, and deep yellow. It has additional 

 interest for us as the parent of the popular Dutch yellow. 

 Biflorus has white flowers, and is not only pretty in 

 itself, but has a family of charming daughters. Another 

 fine species is chrysanthus, orange, which also has a long 

 list of varieties to its name. Fleischeri, white, with purple 

 feathering, is worth growing ; and at least as much may 

 be said of Imperati, a large, handsome and early-bloom- 

 ing species, purple within, buff outside. There are 

 several varieties of this splendid Crocus. Olivieri, orange ; 

 reticulatus, lilac and white ; Sieberi, lilac, a most charm- 

 ing early bloomer ; Tommasinianus, lavender ; vernus, 

 varying from white to purple ; and versicolor, striped, 

 are other good Crocuses. Vernus is the parent of the 

 Dutch white, striped, and purple. 



If the Crocus species are grown in pots, five corms (a 

 corm differs from a true bulb in not having visible scales) 

 may be placed equi-distant in a five-inch pot. The soil may 

 consist of loam, with a quarter of leaf mould and some 

 sand. The autumn bloomers should be potted or planted 

 in summer, the spring bloomers in autumn. The pots 

 should be covered with cocoa-nut fibre refuse until roots 

 have pushed freely in the soil, when they may be put in 

 the greenhouse and exposed to light. If planted on 

 rockwork, pockets of loamy soil should be prepared for 

 them, and they may be buried an inch deep. 



Cheap Dutch Crocuses. The following are a few 

 good varieties of Dutch Crocus : Maximilian, lavender ; 

 Mont Blanc, white ; Purpurea grandiflora, blue ; and Sir 



