6 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 2>76 



from bulbs in dififerent quantities to determine the effect on growth ot the 

 lily plants. In one group of bulbs, 10 to 12 scales were removed from 

 each bulb in one lot; 15 to 18 scales from those in another lot; and 20 to 

 25 scales from those in a third lot. The removal of 10 to 18 loosely at- 

 tached scales apparently had no harmful effect; but when 20 to 25 scales 

 w^ere removed from the bulbs, growth of the plants was considerably 

 retarded. 



Soils and Fertilizers 



The preparation of any type of soil for flower culture is merely a ques- 

 tion of either amending the nature of the soil to meet the desired cultural 

 conditions, or regulating the cultural methods according to the nature of 

 the soil. A soil which contains sufficient quantities of organic matter 

 to insure adequate moisture conditions over a reasonable period of time 

 and is properly balanced with fertilizers, is generally adaptable to a wider 

 range of cultural practices than a soil which does not meet these require- 

 ments. The soil used for forcing lilies should be well drained yet contain 

 enough fiber to maintain an even supply of moisture. With soils that 

 are too porous considerably more attention will need to be given to water- 

 ing the plants, particularly when high forcing temperatures are used. A 

 good fibrous loam that will grow carnations or other flower crops can be 

 used satisfactorily for lily bulbs. Lilies in experimental tests have been 

 observed to grow equally well in soil amended with different quantities 

 of well rotted manure, German peat, or sand. Even the soil in which the 

 bulbs were packed for shipment, when used alone as a potting medium, 

 has grown good lily plants. 



Soils that are well supplied with plant food elements prior to the pot- 

 ting of bulbs should, as a general rule, need very little additional plant 

 food during the forcing periods. The extent to which bulbs will need to 

 be given fertilizer is dependent upon a number of factors. One, of course, 

 is the degree of soil fertility prior to potting, and another is the nutrient 

 condition of the bulbs themselves. Since the bulb is a storage organ for 

 foods necessary to sustain a certain amount of growth of the plant, cultural 

 conditions under which they are grown in the field will, in part, deter- 

 mine the forcing capacity of the bulbs. It is reasonable to assume that the 

 size of the bulb should be a relatively good index in determining the degree 

 to which the plants should be fed during the forcing period. Because of 

 their greater food storage capacity, 8-10 and 9-10 inch bulbs should, on 

 the average, require less fertilizer than smaller bulbs, such as 7-9 inch. 

 However, some tests were made at Waltham in 1936-37 to determine to 

 what stage a lily plant could be grown on foods stored in the bulb by 

 planting 8-10 inch bulbs in sand without fertilizer. Bulbs so treated pro- 

 duced plants 12 inches tall with an average flower count of 4 per bulb, 

 which was only slightly below the production of flowers by plants grown 

 in soil. The results of this test indicate that added soil nutrients increase 

 stem length and size of the blooms as well as developing all buds which 

 have initiated in the bulb. It is often claimed by growers that some 

 particular cultural method will result in a larger number of buds; but if 

 only enough bud tissue is present in a bulb for four flowers, that bulb 

 will not produce five or six flowers. 



The stem length and growth of lily plants can be better regulated by 



