USEFUL GREENHOUSE PLANTS 165 



white fragrant bells are always welcome. The retarded crowns alluded 

 to are those that have been kept in a refrigerator until long past their 

 flowering period, and consequently they grow and flower quickly when 

 placed under favourable conditions. For the earliest flowering the best 

 are Berlin crowns, while the Dutch clumps are preferred for later bloom- 

 ing. The last are in the shape of a rounded mass of roots and soil 

 thickly studded with flowering crowns, and all that is needed is to pot 

 them, place in the greenhouse, and keep well supplied with water. 

 Good home grown clumps are quite as satisfactory as the imported ones. 



Gladiolus. The early-flowering Gladioli are very pretty in the 

 greenhouse, as if half-a-dozen bulbs are potted in a six-inch pot, in the 

 same soil as recommended for Hyacinths, &c., they will flowjer in early 

 summer. The best are : The Bride, pure white, which in many places 

 is grown in thousands for cutting from ; Adonis, orange-scarlet, blotched 

 white ; Colvillei, rosy-purple ; Delicatissima, white-blotched crimson ; 

 Emperor William, purplish-scarlet ; Prince Albert, salmon-scarlet ; Queen 

 Victoria, deep red, marked white. 



Crinum Moorei has huge club-shaped bulbs and spikes of white 

 flowers borne in August. The plants will stand for years in the same pot, 

 and flower every season ; they may be placed out of doors when spring 

 frosts are over until the flower spikes make their appearance. 



Freesia. A charming group of greenhouse flowers, very fragrant, 

 and now that their culture is better understood, becoming more popular. 

 The pure white flowers, except for a yellow stain in the centre, are borne 

 in branching panicles. The best bulbs are grown in the Channel Islands, 

 and reach here in the dormant state early in August. They should be 

 potted at once, eight bulbs in a pot five inches in diameter. Two-thirds 

 loam to one-third leaf-mould and a little silver sand will suit them 

 thoroughly. In potting keep the bulbs well covered with soil, that is 

 to say, half an inch of soil over the top of the bulb. While growing 

 they need a light and airy position in the greenhouse, where they will 

 bloom about March. After flowering they must be supplied with water 

 until the leaves turn yellow, and when dormant shake them quite free 

 from the old soil, sort the bulbs, and again pot them. 



Ixias. Crocus-like bulbs that push up tall wiry stems, terminated 

 by spikes of bright-coloured blossoms. One of them, Ixia viridiflora, 

 always attracts attention, as the flowers are of a beautiful metallic green 

 with a dark centre. Ixias should be potted half-a-dozen in a five-inch 

 pot in early autumn. 



Lachenalia. Small growing bulbs that require to be potted in 

 August, and will flower in the spring. They are very pretty either 

 grown in pots or in suspended baskets. The best are : L. aurea, yellow ; 

 L. Nelsoni, rich golden yellow; L. pendula, red and yellow; and L. 

 tricolor, green, red, and yellow. Nelsoni is the one to select ; its flowers 

 are produced on a sturdy stem, and are quite butter yellow. 



Lilium. The best Lilies for greenhouse culture are L. longiflorum 

 and its varieties, notably Harrisi, all of which have pure white, long, 

 trumpet-shaped flowers; L. auratum in its several forms; and L. 

 speciosum, of which there are both white and coloured kinds. The 



