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POPULAR GARDENING. 



February, 



Oxalis— The Summer Blooming. 



ELDER'S WIFE, DANSVILXE, NEW YORK. 



Nearly every one, I think, is acquainted 

 with the winter-blooming Oxalis and very 

 cheerful little plants they are, with their 

 pink or white blossoms and Clover-like 

 leaves. They are not at all difficult to grow 

 demanding only a warm, sunny place, and 

 are content with soil, drainage and watering 

 such as suits other plants. 



But I write more especially to say 

 a good word for the other, and I 

 think less known class, the summer 

 bloomers. I have grown four or five 

 varieties of these for several year.s, 

 and like them very much as edgings 

 of beds, etc. The bulbs are small 

 and require planting quite closely to 

 form a close unbroken line of foliage, 

 above which is borne the clusters of 

 blossoms, resembling those of the 

 winter blooming class, excepting, I 

 think, that the individual flowers are 

 larger but the clusters smaller. 



One variety has three-parted foliage 

 and is a robust grower; of these there 

 are two colors, a pale purplish pink 

 and white, while all the varieties with 

 which I am acquainted have a pale 

 green throat. I do not know the 

 name of these two sorts as they were 

 sent to me unnamed and I have been 

 unable to find them sufficiently de- 

 scribed in the catalogues to be cer- 

 tain. If anyone can tell me the name 

 of these and a large flowered variety 

 1 shall mention later on I will esteem 

 it a great favor. 



Oxalis Deppli of this class is a shy 

 bloomer, having pale, scarlet blos- 

 soms, but its greatest beauty is the 

 four-parted foliage marked with a 

 zone of bright maroon; it is well 

 worth cultivating for that alone, if it 

 never-bloomed at all. O. Lasiandra 

 has nine-parted foliage which looks 

 like a little parasol; opening in sun- 

 shine and closing at night and in 

 cloudy weather. The flowers are a 

 beautiful rose pink. 



Another still more beautiful variety 

 has the bulbs covered with a dark 

 colored skin or husk like a Tulip 

 bulb, the leaves all rounded, three- 

 parted, and of a lovely shade of green. 

 They do not spring directly from the 

 bulb, as do the other kinds, but have 

 a creeping stem. The flowers are not 

 m clusters, are large as a dime and 

 bright pink in color. 1 have tried it 

 as a summer bloomer, but the dry weather 

 perhaps did not agree with it, as it seemed 

 stunted and small, but in pots for winter it 

 has been a grand success. 



I once purchased a packet of Oxalis seeds 

 in mixture; these I covered in a box and 

 soon had a quantity of little plants. These 

 bloomed when very small, and among them 

 were several with bronzy brown foliage and 

 yellow flowers; this is of creeping habit and 

 is not bulbous. It makes a very pretty mat 

 out of doors in, summer, or is pretty as a 

 bracket pot trailer in winter, grows readily 

 from seeds. This I think is O. tropieoloides. 



The summer blooming class with bulbous 

 roots require only common garden cultui-e, 

 planting out when other summer bulbs are 

 planted, and digging and storing for winter 

 as in the case of the Gladiolus. 



long, having a delicious perfume resembling 

 Hawthorne and lasting in full beauty for 

 quite a month. The leaves are long and a 

 bright, shining green. For aquaria there 

 could be no more suitable plant. 



We grow ours in a vessel filled one third 

 its depth with soil composed of common 

 garden soil, a little well decayed cow ma- 

 nure and charcoal. The tubers are then 



harmoniously with all other flowers if a 

 little care be used. 



The Heliotrope is also of much value for 

 bedding, if planted m full sunlight and 

 given a rich soil; cultivate the ground about 

 them, and not let them suffer for water,and 

 immense trusses of delightful blossoms will 

 result. The leaves of Heliotropes are easily 

 turned black by gas or Tobacco smoke, but 

 if the foliage is well sprinkled before 

 fumigating, they will not be injured. 

 Of many beautiful varieties, the 

 best may be mentioned as follows: 

 Queen of Violets, is a good bedder, 

 the color being deep violet purple 

 with large white eye; White I^ady, 

 also known as Md. Blomage and 

 Snow Wreath, is fine for the green- 

 house, foliage large and strong, with 

 very large trusses of almost pure 

 white blossoms; Albert Delaux, is a 

 grand novelty which probably will 

 be quite popular on account of its 

 beautiful foliage, which is golden yel- 

 low, marked with bright green, and 

 the flowers deep lavender, making a 

 fine contrast of foliage and bloom. It 

 is good for beddingand free flowering. 



A Fine Pond Lily, Aponogeton Dis- 

 taoliyon. 



E. ORPET PASSAIC CO., N. J. 



This beautiful Cape Pond Lily is deserv- 

 ing of cultivation by all who can find room 

 in winter for a vessel in which to grow it. 

 The flowers are pure white produced in a 

 curiously two branched scape about 4 inches 



FINE POND LILY: APONOGETON DISTACHYON 



gently pressed into the soil and water poured 

 on and in a few days growth commences. 

 Flowers are produced with the first leaves 

 and it only needs to add a can or two of 

 fresh water every week till in May when the 

 growth shows signs of ceasing. The water 

 is then allowed to dry up and the tub placed 

 in a cool place till fall when fresh soil is 

 added and the tubers replanted. 



Seeds are produced freely. These sink 

 and germinate in about six days and speed- 

 ily form plants large enough to bloom. It 

 is a pity the blooming season of Cape plants 

 cannot be reversed, that one might enjoy 

 them in summer and store in winter, but in 

 the case of this plant it is not easily done. 



Thie Culture of Heliotrope. 



G. BASTING DIEMER. 



The Heliotrope is a favorite of the window 

 gardener, and indeed no collection of plants 

 would be quite complete without it. The 

 great charm lies in the rich perfume, 

 though the flowers themselves are entitled 

 to no small consideration as they are useful 

 in floral work, although the range of color 

 is only in the varied shades of purple, 

 lavender, lilac, and white, for they blend 



On Growing the Auratum Lily. 



JOHN LANE. ABLATEUR FLORI.ST, CUICAGO, ILL. 



Two years ago I called upon florist 

 Mr. A., and asked him how to grow 

 as fine Auratums as he had last year, 

 my own not being satisfactory, "Pot 

 them .John, pot them." " But is there 

 no special directions as to when and 

 how to pot them, and the after treat- 

 ment?" "No, just pot them." 'Twas 

 in February I potted them. 



Thinking that Mr. A. did not care 

 to give away secrets, I bought a plant, 

 took it home and examined how it 

 had been potted , I found good drain- 

 age, covered with moss, and the pot 

 filled with heavy loam, in which con- 

 siderable coarse sand and some peat 

 had been mixed, and the bulb about 

 the mitldle of the pot with more soil 

 above than below it, I also found two 

 sets of roots, one set seemingly per- 

 ennial, large and fleshy, from the 

 bottom of the bulb, another set an- 

 nual, smaller and flbrous-like from 

 the flower stalk just above the bulb, 

 apparently one set for preserving the 

 life of the bulb, the other for the 

 support of the stem and for the pro- 

 ducing of flowers. 

 Here was new teaching. I had read cata- 

 logues, papers, and some books, little of 

 which agreed with what I gleaned from the 

 pot. I procured some good imported bulbs, 

 placed one inch of cinders ijroken finely, 

 (worms don't like such), in eight-inch 

 pots, covered with moss, to keep the soil from 

 settling below. Then with prepared heavy 

 loam having some coarse sand mixed there- 

 with, under and about the bulb, just cover- 

 ing it, firmly packed about the sides to close 

 up the scales of the bulb into a solid mass. 

 Then as the finer roots above appeared to 

 require a finer and richer soil I added about 

 one third of rich, light or peat-like soil to 

 the already prepared soil and filled the pots, 

 packing lightly, and placing on the damp 

 cellar floor to await spring time, the three 

 lots of December, .January and February, 

 all being potted in the same way. 



I gave no water to the potted bulbs until 

 I saw the stem above the soil, then I moved 

 them to the greenhouse and gave water 

 moderately until the flower buds had formed, 

 then gave water more freely for a time until 

 the flowers were out. Then I called my 

 friend Mr. A. to see my Auratums, ".John, 

 you beat me, I never had such fine Lilies, 

 how did you make them so grand ?" "I just 



