190 



BULBS 



BULBS 



"Cape bulb " has lost its significance in this country. In 

 the present article, bulbs are treated under the follow- 

 ing general heads : hardy spring bulbs for design bed- 

 ding ; hardy bulbs in the herbaceous garden, mixed 

 flower border or lawn ; summer- and autumn-flowering 

 tender bulbs for spring planting ; bulbs for flowering 



287. Example of a rhizome Smilacina racemosa. 



in the house and greenhouse ; keeping dormant bulbs, 

 tubers, etc. ; hints on buying and selecting bulbs ; 

 catalogue of bulbs. 



HARDY SPRING-FLOWERING BULBS FOR DESIGN BED- 

 DING. The only bulbs adapted for geometrical beds are 

 Dutch hyacinths and tulips. It is not best to use both 

 in the same bed for really fine effects. While there are 

 hundreds of varieties in both hyacinths and tulips with 

 colors, gradations and variegations innumerable, yet for 

 this style of bedding only solid, bright, contrasting 

 colors should be used. This limits the selection in hya- 

 cinths to dark crimson, rose-red, pink, purple, blue, 

 lavender, white and yellow (the latter is seldom satis- 

 factory), and in tulips to dark blood-red, scarlet, rose, 

 blush-pink, yellow, white, and a bluish claret, which 

 last is seldom used. In ordering the bulbs for this style 

 of bedding, it is important to select kinds that bloom 

 at the same time and are of uniform height. The bulb 

 catalogues give this information; or, deal with a reliable 

 firm and leave the selection to them. In planting bulbs 

 in "design beds," it pays for the extra trouble to first 

 remove the soil to a depth of 6 inches, spade up the 

 lower soil, using well-rotted manure and plenty of bone 

 dust worked in. Then level off, smooth, and cover with 

 an inch of sand. This prevents the manure from touch- 

 ing the bulbs, allows the water to drain away from im- 

 mediate contact with them, thus removing causes which 

 may lead to their decay. Bulbs set in this manner on 

 the sand may be placed in their exact position, after 

 which the top soil is carefully replaced. It is a difficult 

 matter to set bulbs just 4 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches 

 apart with an ordinary trowel. The planter is almost 

 sure occasionally to chop off a piece of a neighboring 

 bulb or displace it. Bulbs planted in the manner ad- 

 vised, being all of an even depth, will flower uniformly; 

 often, when planted with a trowel, some bulbs will be 

 an inch too high and some an inch too low, which in 

 early spring makes considerable difference in the time 

 of blooming. Besides, when bulbs are planted with a 

 trowel or dibble, there is danger of "hanging" a bulb 

 occasionally, where it may perish on account of not 

 touching bottom. 



HARDY BULBS IN THE HERBACEOUS GARDEN, MIXED 

 FLOWER BORDER, OR LAWN. The mixed border is a 

 favorite place for most hardy bulbs. They should be 

 planted in little colonies here and there among the hardy 

 plants and shrubs ; and it is here that bulbs seem to 

 thrive and give the most pleasure. As spring ap- 

 proaches, the sombre winter browns and dull greens of 

 the deciduous and evergreen plants are suddenly trans- 

 formed into an unrivaled setting, studded with bril- 

 liantly colored and fragrant flowers, the contrasts being 

 exceedingly effective and cheery; and besides, from the 

 border one does not hesitate to cut a few flowers for the 

 house for fear of spoiling the effect, as would be the 

 case in formal bedding. Furthermore, bulbs seem to do 

 better and last longer in a border because the flowers 



are cut freely in bud or when just approaching their 

 prime, which is the best possible time for the benefit of 

 the bulb, for the efforts of any bulb to form seeds weak- 

 ens the bulb. A hyacinth bulb that matures seed is 

 virtually destroyed. Then, again, in an herbaceous bor- 

 der the bulbs are not disturbed. The foliage remains 

 uninjured until ripe, thus fulfilling its duty of re- 

 charging the bulb with new energy for the next 

 season's display. 



Bold clumps of the taller bulbous plants are 

 very effective on the lawn, where beds of one kind 

 should be isolated, and be given a position not too- 

 prominent nor too near. The object desired is a 

 mass of one color, which at a little distance is- 

 more striking on account of the contrast with the 

 surrounding green grass and trees. Among the 

 best hardy bulbous plants for this purpose are : 

 hemerocallis, such lilies as candidum, tigrinum, 

 speciosum and auratum; also dicentra, crown im- 

 perials, month retias, tritomas, peonies, Kaempferi 

 and Germanica irises, etc. 



Bulbs planted right in the sod on the lawn make 

 a very pleasing picture when in bloom in the early 

 spring. Make patches here and there of golden, 

 white and purple crocus, the little chionodoxas, 

 snowdrops, Scllla amoena, winter aconite, snow- 

 flakes, bulbocodium and triteleia. These grow, increase, 

 bloom and ripen the foliage before it is necessary to 

 use the lawn mower, so that the surface of the lawn in 

 summer is not marred. The bulbs may be dibbled in 

 when the ground is moist and soft during the fall rains, 

 but it is better to cut and turn back the sod here and 

 there, plant the bulbs under it, then press the sod back 

 again. 



For parks, groves and wild outlying grounds beyond 

 the closely clipped lawn, a very happy style of "natural- 

 izing" bulbous and other plants is coming much into 

 vogue. Such bulbs should be used as can be planted in 

 quantity, twenty-five to a hundred or more of a kind in 

 a patch, and only those should be used which are hardy, 

 and will flower and thrive and increase under neglect. 

 Fortunately, there are many bulbous plants that suc- 

 ceed even better in such rough places than in the prim 

 garden. Among them are hardy anemones, camassia, 

 convallaria, dicentras, erythroniums, funkias, certain 

 iris, liliums, poet's narcissus, Von Siori narcissus, tril- 

 liums, and numerous others. 



In regard to the preparation of beds for hardy bulbs, 

 planting and treatment, we can only generalize. De- 

 tailed directions suited to the different species, and also 

 varieties where treatment varies, will be found under 

 their respective headings in this Cyclopedia. As a rule, 

 well-rotted manure (mind that it is well rotted, not fresh 



Various types of bulbs and tubers. 



1. Tuberose. 2. Colocasia Antiquonun ( Caladium eseulentiim). 



3. Easter Lily. 4, Jonquil. 5. Gladiolus. 6. Lilium 



pardalinum. 7. Hyacinth. 8. Lily-of-the- Valley. 



and heating) should be liberally applied and dug into 

 the ground deeply. It must be where the long, feeding 

 roots can get at it, and yet not touch the bulbs, nor be 

 too near their base. This is easily accomplished by re- 

 moving a few inches of the top soil first, as described 

 under "Design Bedding," above. If it is impracticable to 



