•^98 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Japanese Lilies 



MANY bulbous plants can be used to 

 advantage in winter, while others 

 should be started in the early winter 

 months to present the most pleasing 

 appearance in the beginning of summer. 

 Amateur flower growers can frequently 

 obtain surplus stock of Japanese lilies 

 as late as January, but it was advisable 

 to obtain them earlier. As a rule the 

 experienced grower of bulbs purchases 

 his Japanese lilies late in November or 

 in December. 



In every case good, sound, solid bulbs 

 must be procured. Some interesting 

 information concerning tlieir growth was 

 furnished The Horticulturist recently 

 by Mr. Wm. Hunt, of Guelph. They 

 should be set singly in six or seven inch 

 pots as soon as they arrive. A light and 

 fairly rich loam potting soil is recom- 

 mended. Perfect drainage is essential. 

 After being potted, a liberal watering 

 should be given, and the pots set in a 

 room with a temperature of 55 to 65 

 degrees. Success is common in ordinary 

 window conditions. For the next two 

 or three weeks scanty watering is all 

 that is required. It is well, however, 

 to keep the soil moist. 



When top growth is well commenced 

 the supply of water should be increased, 

 and under no conditions should the pots 

 be allowed to become dry. The leaf 

 growth should be well sprinkled at least 

 once or twice every week. When a 

 height of ten or twelve inches is reached 

 the plants will grow to one side or break 

 off at the base if they are not carefully 

 staked. If the soil is in right condition 

 no liquid fertiUzer is required. The 

 addition of fertilizers causes too rank 

 growth and often induces disease. Suf- 

 ficent extra nourishment is obtained 

 from the bulb. 



When warm weather comes the beauty 

 of the garden can be greatly increased 

 by setting these Japanese lilies outside. 

 About June 1 they can be taken out of 

 the pots and put in some well- protected 

 place, where the wind will not have a 

 chance to destroy the plants. Special 

 care must be given to the staking after 

 they are set out. In many cases they 

 are not taken from the pots. The pots 

 are plunged to the rim. When handled 

 in this way bloom will come by July or 

 August. If started before January the 

 plants will flower earlier in the summer. 



The three best varieties for ordinary 

 culture are Lilium speciosum rubrum, 

 red ; Lilium speciosum albun;, white ; and 

 Lilium speciosum auratum, golden band- 

 ed lily. The rubrum is hardy and most 

 easily grown. With most growers it 

 gives better satisfaction than the other 

 varieties. 



This plant is not without its enemies. 

 The most common insect pests are green 

 fly and red spider. The plants can be 



protected from injury by the green fly 

 by frequent dusting with finely powdered 

 cigar. The red spider is easily kept in 

 check by liberal sprinklings of clear 

 water. 



XHree Crops of Roses 



* W. Hunt, O.A.C., Guelph 



I was pleased to read in the Sep- 

 tember Horticulturist the interest- 

 ing notes on the rose bush owned 

 by Mrs. A. Thompson, of Erin, Ont., 

 and of its producing the two crops 

 of blossoms in one season. The rose 

 bush mentioned is in all probabiUty 

 an old-fashioned rose known as"Setina." 

 supposed to be a sport from the well- 

 known old Bourbon rose "Hermosa." 

 The rose Setina is known in and 

 around Toronto as Mansfield's Seed- 

 linfr nr, nt Icasl , the two were con- 



A Sample of the Bloom 



sidered to be identical about 30 years 

 ago, when it was very commonly grown 

 as a greenhouse trelUs rose, being 

 under greenhouse treatment, of a semi- 

 climbing habit. In color it is more of 

 a rose pink, a shade darker than Her- 

 mosa, and has a delicious perfume 

 that Hermosa has not. 



I have a small bush of the Setina 

 rose growing in my flower border at 

 Guelph, that at the time of writing, Sep- 

 tember 10, has a few buds on it. The 

 parent plant of this one was taken to 

 Hamilton by me from Toronto in 1880, 

 and planted in a warm border facing 

 the south. It flowered, as stated, in 

 June and again in the fall, and I re- 

 member one particularly mild winter, 

 picking a fairly good rosebud from it 

 on Christmas day. The plant was 

 never artificially protected in winter 



and, although the tips of growth were 

 killed back, it sprang up strong every 

 spring from down near the ground. 

 The bush in Guelph was struck from 

 a small branch accidentally broken 

 from the parent plant in early summer, 

 and stuck in the ground in the open 

 border. This plant has had no pro- 

 tection given it, except by the snow, 

 for the past three years. 



I am almost certain the rose men- 

 tioned as growing at Erin is the variety 

 known as Setina, and I am pleased to 

 find it is hardy so far north. I should 

 Hke at some time to see a few leaves 

 or a bloom from the bush in question, 

 as I consider it a very valuable rose 

 for outdoor cultivation, being a fairlv 

 good flower in substance, size, and color, 

 and dehciously perfumed, as well as 

 an ever-blooming and hardy nature; a 

 very useful, pretty, free-blooming sum- 

 mer rose. 



Note — Since the article on the rose 

 that bloomed twice appeared in the 

 September issue of The C.\nadian 

 Horticulturist, a third blossoming 

 took place, a bloom of which was 

 received at our oflice. A cut illustrat- 

 ing it is pubhshed on this page. Besides 

 the foregoing remarks by Mr. Hunt, 

 The Canadian Horticulturist re- 

 ceived the following letter from Mr. 

 Francis Wayland Glen, of Brooklyn, 

 N.Y., a gentleman who at one time was 

 closely allied with horticultural interests 

 in Canada. He is a life member of the 

 Ontario Fruit Growers' Association. 



"When I resided in Oshawa," he 

 writes, "I always had three crops of 

 General Jacqueminots, Crested Moss and 

 White Moss. The plants were upon 

 their own roots. 



"As soon as the June roses were past 

 their prime, I cut the plants down to the 

 ground and grew new wood. When that 

 wood was 23^ feet high, I pinched the 

 top off, and that forced the canes to 

 send out new branches, upon which I got 

 fine clusters of roses in August. Then I 

 repeated the process and had a third 

 crop. This crop I had to protect against 

 early frosts. 



"In the fall, I again cut the bushes 

 down to the ground. I gave them a 

 coat of compost from spent hotbeds; 

 then covered them with leaves. 



"My roses were superior in size, in 

 beauty of color and in foUage. I never 

 lost a plant." 



A popular and satisfactory plant for 

 the house is the Rubber Plant, Ficus 

 elastica. It is tough and thrifty, yet 

 there is a limit to its endurance ; it does 

 not like gas. The Rubber Plant will 

 stand a fairly low temperature where 

 the air is pure. Do not give too much 

 water, and keep the plant in the light. 

 Keep the leaves free from dust and in- 

 sects by sponging with soapy water. 



