916 



LILIUM 



LILIUM 



throughout the winter. A second favorable feature is 

 the production of an unusually large number of flowers 

 from each bulb, and a third, the large size of the flow- 

 ers. It is practically impossible to obtain uniform and 

 good stock of the true variety from Bermuda at the 

 present time. 



The propagation and general management are not 

 unlike that given other bulbs of its class. It is multi- 



1279. Lilium Philaaelphicum (X%). 



plied by offsets, in which the variety is prolific, a bulb 

 sometimes producing as many as fifty. When first in- 

 troduced, the stock was increased from the bulb scales, 

 and from cuttings of the stem before the plant had 

 bloomed. 



The Easter Lily is not difficult to grow under glass, 

 if one has strong and healthy bulbs. The perplexity in 

 its culture, of which one sometimes hears so much, is 

 due to the fact that bloom is usually wanted at definite 

 seasons, as New Year's, Easter, Decoration Day. Now, 

 the time at which any bulbous plant will bloom depends 

 to an important extent on the age, size, freshness and 

 degree of maturity of a given bulb. Each bulb is to a 

 great degree a law into itself. This explains why it is 

 so difficult to secure uniform bloom at a definite time. 

 The dates of potting and shifting which give satisfac- 

 tory results one season may give unsatisfactory results 

 the following season. What the gardener does, there- 

 fore, is to start his bulbs early, and then retard or force 

 them by varying the temperature, as the crop and occa- 

 sion may demand. He grows them in pots, so that he 

 may shift them from house to house. 



In common with all hardy or spring-blooming bulbs, 

 Easter Lily bulbs should be kept cool until roots have 

 formed, when they may be brought into heat for flower- 

 ing. Secure the bulbs as early as possible. Place your 

 order in early summer. You will do well if they are re- 

 ceived in early September. Keep them moist: if they 

 become dry and shrivelled, much of their vigor is lost. 

 There are three leading commercial grades, measured 

 by the average circumference in inches of the bulbs, 

 the 5-7's, 7-9's, 9-11's. The 7-9 is usually the most ser- 



viceable and economical grade for the commercial florist. 

 It is best to put them into small pots (usually 4 in.) to 

 form roots, and to transfer them, when growth has be- 

 gun, to the pots in which they are to bloom. Handling 

 them at first in small pots saves labor, economizes room, 

 and may give stockier plants. By growing them in pots, 

 the plants may be shifted from cool to warm parts of 

 the house, thereby insuring greater uniformity of sea- 

 son ; and all diseased plants are readily detected and 

 easily discarded. 



In September or October, then, the bulbs are firmly 

 potted. If the soil is rather heavy, set the bulb on a 

 cushion of sand (see Fig. 290, p. 192). The top of the 

 bulb should be about level with the surface of the soil. 

 The best earth is one which is light and rather fibrous, 

 devoid of clay. A good potting soil (see Potting) will 

 answer. The 5-7 and 7-9 sizes may be put in 4- or 4%- 

 inch pots, and the 9-11 in 5-inch. Plunge them in a 

 frame in the open, covering with sifted coal ashes or 

 excelsior; or put them in a cool cellar. Here they may 

 remain (in New York) until the 10th or 15th of Decem- 

 ber. Protect them from very severe weather and from 

 beating rains. By early December they should have 

 made good balls of roots, and a little top growth. Bring 

 them in, and shift into 6-inch or 7-inch pots, one bulb 

 in each. For decoration, 3 to 5 small bulbs may be put 

 in 8- to 10-inch pots, choosing bulbs of equal strength 

 in order that the bloom may be simultaneous. None of 

 them will need transferring again. For early results for 

 cut-flowers, it is customary to put the 5-7 bulbs at first 

 into 5-inch pots and to put them at once on the benches, 

 keeping them rather cool for a time. Flowers may then 

 be secured for the holidays. 



Keep them cool. A carnation temperature suits them 

 well until they begin to bloom, when a higher tempera- 

 ture is desirable. Start with a night temperature of 45 

 to 50, increasing to 60. If the flowers begin to open 

 too soon, remove to a cooler house which is partially 

 shaded, where they may be retarded as much as two 

 weeks. If they are too late, give more heat. The elec- 

 tric light run at night will hasten the bloom percepti- 

 bly. Rarely can more than 80 or 90 per cent of a crop 

 be made to bloom simultaneously, Following are the 

 dates of a crop which was forced for Easter (at Cor- 

 nell) : 



October 9. Bulbs received and potted, and plunged in 

 frames. 



December 11. Brought into house. 



December 12. Shifted to permanent pots, and plunged 

 in a bed in a house having night temperature of 50. 



February 5. First buds seen; some of the pots trans- 

 ferred to a warmhouse (temperature for tomatoes). 



March 20. Plants in bloom in warmhouse. 



April 15. Easter. Plants in full bloom in coolhouse. 



Give Easter Lilies plenty of light. Keep down the 

 aphis by fumigating with nicotine vapor once a week. 

 If the bugs get a start, give them a little very weak 

 tobacco water. Stake the plants when about 2 feet high. 

 A good plant from a 7-9 bulb should have 3 to 5 flowers 

 open at once, and 1-3 buds. After flowering, the bulbs 

 are practically worthless. They may be planted in the 

 border and may give a few flowers that season; and if 

 well protected they may give some satisfaction for sev- 

 eral seasons. If the bulbs are to be planted in the bor- 

 der, ripen them up in the pots by gradually withholding 

 water. In rare cases they have been forced again the 

 second winter, but the attempt is not to be advised ex- 

 cept for experiment. 



All the above remarks are intended for the true 

 Easter or Harrisii Lily. Lately L. longiflorum itself 

 has come into use for greenhouse work. R is usually 

 more uniform, of lower growth, and a neater plant. I 

 does not force so well, however, and is usually difficult 

 to get for an early Easter. It should be in pi'ime for 

 Decoration Day. Some of these Longiflorums come 

 from Bermuda and others from Japan. The Bermuda- 

 grown Lilies are less reliable than formerly. It is prob- 

 able that Cuba and the southern parts of the U. S. will 

 grow the stock in time. L. H. B. 



The genus Lilium is distinguished by having flowers 

 with the perianth of 6 distinct segments, deciduous, 

 clawed, the claws usually distinctly grooved; stamens 



