Spring Flowering Bulbs Planted in tKe A\it\iinn 



W. T. Mocoun, Horticulturist, Central E^xperimental Farm. Olta-wa 



SEPTHMHHR is the month in which 

 to plan a. 1(1 plant for next spring. 

 The best plants to furnish attractive 

 and abundant bloom in the garden at that 

 time are the spring flowering bulbs, the 

 ■ most useful of which are the snowdrops, 

 crocuses, scillas, hyacinths, narcissi, 

 and tulips. A judiciously chosen selec- 

 tion of these will give bhxam from the 

 time the snow goes until the month of 

 June. 



A spring flowering bulb may be de- 

 scribed as a fleshy, underground bud, 

 from which roots develop in the autumn 

 and leaves and flowers in the spring. 

 The plant grows rapidly in spring, pro- 

 duces leaves and flowers and dies down ; 

 the roots wither up and the bulb then 

 becomes dormant until new roots are 

 made in early autumn. During this 

 period of growth the flowers for the next 

 season are formed in the bulb, and 

 sufficient food and energy are stored up 

 in it to cause rapid development when 

 the proper time and conditions come. 

 With this knowledge of the character 

 of bulbs and that the flowers are already 

 formed in them before they are planted, 

 it can be easily understood that large, 

 well-developed bulbs are more likely to 

 give better results than small ones; 

 when buying this should be taken into 

 consideration. 



Bulbs do best in loamy, well-drained 

 soil. They will rot in soil not well -drain- 

 ed in a wet summer. A sandy loam is 

 better than a clay loam . The soil should 

 be dug to a depth of 1 2 to 15 inches and 

 well-rotted manure worked thoroughly 

 into it the previous spring, if possible. 

 If applied in the fall, the manure should 

 be buried below where the bulbs will be 

 after planting, as when pure manure 

 comes in contact with the bulbs they 

 are liable to rot or become diseased. 



While the bulb contains the future 

 flower and considerable energy, this 

 energy will not be exerted to the full 

 unless the bulb is well rooted before 

 winter sets in. For this reason the 

 bulb should be planted early enough to 

 have a good root system before winter. 

 Very often the cause of poor flowers in 

 the spring is lack of roots. If planted 

 during the latter part of September or 

 early in October, bulbs will have ample 

 time to get well rooted before winter. 

 If through any cause planting is delayed 

 until late in October or November, the 

 soil should be heavily mulched with 

 straw, strawy manure or leaves, to pre- 

 vent the soil from freezing early, and 

 thus give the bulbs a chance to make 

 roots for some time longer than they 

 would if not mulched, but late planting 

 is seldom satisfactory. 



The depth of planting and distance 



apart oi the bulbs will depend on the 

 size of the bulb. Tulips, narcissi and 

 hyacinths should be planted from four to 

 six inches deep, measuring to the bottom 

 of the bulb, and about the same distance 

 apart. Snowdrops, crocuses, squills or 

 scillas, should be planted from two to 

 three inches deep and about two inches 

 apart. If the soil is clayey or if there is 

 manure not well mixed with it, it is ad- 

 visable to put a little sand under each 

 bulb to prevent rotting. 



Bulbs are more effective in masses or 

 clumps than in single rows. While 

 tuHps and hyacinths are usually planted 

 in beds (their place to be taken by 

 annuals later on), and are most effective 

 when used in this way, they may be used 

 with good effect in small clumps dotted 

 through the perennial border. By this 

 method of planting there need be no 

 large bare places in the border without 

 bloom after the bulbs have done flower- 

 ing. 



In addition to its value in keeping out 

 frost while roots are developing in the 

 early part of winter, a mulch is verv 

 beneficial in affording the bulbs some 

 protection from the changes of temper- 

 ature in winter and is especially useful 

 when there is no snow on the ground. 

 As soon as the snow goes in spring the 

 mulch should be gradually removed, as 

 tulips especially make early and rapid 

 growth and may be broken if left to 

 grow through the mulch. 



VARIETIES RECOMMENDED 



There are so many fine-named varieties 

 of tulips, narcissi and hyacinths that it 

 is rather difficult to choose a few to 

 recommend which will combine all the 

 desired characteristics and be cheap 

 enough to be bought by the average 

 person. The following fist, however, 

 is a good one: 



TULIPS — EARLY SINGLE 



Chrysolora, height 11 inches, golden 

 yellow; Keizerskroon, 14 inches, crim- 

 son-scarlet, with broad yellow margin; 

 Joost Van Vondel, 10 inches, crimson, 

 flaked with white, flowers large; 

 Joost Van Vondel (white), 10 inches, 

 pure white, large flowers; Proserpine, 

 12 inches, rich rosy carmine; Vermilion 

 Brilliant, 10 inches, bright vermilion : 

 Couleur de Cardinal, 1 1 inches, bronze 

 scarlet ; Cottage Maid, 9 inches, white, 

 bordered with rosy pink ; Duchesse de 

 Parma, 13 inches, orange red, with broad 

 yellow edge; Thomas Moore, 14 inches, 

 orange, sweet scented; Van Der Neer, 

 10 inches, violet; Standard Silver,- 10 

 inches, white, feathered with crimson. 



TULIPS — LATE SINGLE 



Retroflexa,mediumheight, pure yellow, 

 reflexed petals, graceful; Macrospila, 



medium height, brilliant scarlet, wit^ 

 black and yellow base, sweet scentecl ; 

 P'ulgens, tall, crimson-scarlet with yel- 

 low base ; Golden Crown, medium height , 

 golden yellow, edged with crimson ; 

 Snowdon (Le Candeur), medium height, 

 pure white, becoming suffused with pink ; 

 Parisian Yellow, tall, bright yellow, 

 pointed petals, graceful: La Panachee, 

 medium height, cherry crimson, flaked 

 with white, variegated foliage; Picotee, 

 tall, waxy white, with faint pink edge ; 

 Goldflake, tall, bright orange scarlet, 

 flaked with yellow, sweet scented ; .Spa- 

 thulata, tall, rich crimson-scarlet, blue 

 black base; Maid of Holland, medium 

 height, cherry red, striped with yellow, 

 sweet scented; York and Lancaster, 

 (Shandon Bells), medium height, white 

 with a deep margin of rose. 



TULIPS — EARLY DOUBLE 



Maxima, medium height, pure 

 Couronne d'Or, medium height, 

 yellow; Helianthus, medium 

 red and yellow; Imperator Rub- 

 medium height, crimsfjn-scarlet ; 

 , medium height, blush pink; 

 Crown, medium height, purplish 



Alba 

 white ; 

 orange 

 height, 

 rorum, 

 Murillo 

 Purple 

 red. 



TULIPS — LATE DOUBLE 



Mariage de ma Fille, tall, white, feath- 

 ered with cherry crimson ; Rose Pompon, 

 medium height, pale yellow, well flaked 

 with pink; Yellow Rose, medium height, 

 golden yellow, sweet scented ; Pasony 

 Rose, medium height, scarlet; Over- 

 winner (Belle Alhance), medium height, 

 blue violet, feathered with white; Ad- 

 miral Kinsbergen, medium height, 

 brownish violet. 



TULIPS — PARROT 



Cramoisie BrilHant, medium height, 

 deep crimson; Lutea Major, medium 

 height, golden yellow ; Perfecta, medium 

 height, yellow„ feathered with scarlet. 

 Darwin Tulips, mixed. Bizarres, mixed. 

 Byblooms, mixed. 



NARCISSI 



Emperor, large trumpet, yellow; 

 Horsefieldi, white perianth and yellow 

 trumpet; Sir Watkin, sulphur yellow 

 petals, large yellow cup. tinged with 

 orange, sweet scented : Barri Conspicua, 

 pale yellow petals, cup orange scarlet, 

 sweet scented ; Poeticus Omatus, peri- 

 anth pure white, cup margined w-ith 

 scarlet, sweet scented ; Poeticus, perianth 

 pure white, cup orange scarlet. Other 

 good varieties are: Bicolor Grandis, 

 Albicans, Wm. P. Milner, Minnie Hume. 



The following varieties are less hardy, 

 and need to be replaced from time to 

 time. They are, however, cheaper, and 

 owing to their great beauty are well 

 worthv of cultivation : Obvallaris, Golden 



