USEFUL GREENHOUSE PLANTS 315 



not be drawn too tightly, as the stems swell and lengthen 

 rapidly, hence they will be soon crippled unless constantly 

 attended to, whereas if ample room be allowed, no damage 

 will result. The little, pure white Roman Hyacinths which 

 are grown in Italy and the South of France, reach this country 

 at the end of July and in August, and if potted early they will 

 flower in November and December. 



A practice now much in vogue is that of growing bulbs in ornamental 

 bowls filled with fibre instead of soil. As the bowls are for the most part 

 glazed and watertight, the difficulty is to maintain the fibre or whatever 

 rooting medium is employed in an even state of moisture. Owing to 

 this the flowering of bulbs in fibre is not as a rule so uniformally successful 

 as when they are grown in pots of soil in the ordinary way. Of bulbs 

 that flower later in the season than those above mentioned may be named 

 the early-flowering GLADIOLI, of which half a dozen bulbs may be potted 

 in a six-inch pot. They will flower in early summer. A few good kinds 

 are : The Bride, pure white, much grown for cutting ; Adonis, orange- 

 scarlet, blotched white ; Colvillei, rosy-purple ; delicatissima, white, 

 blotched crimson ; Emperor William, purplish-scarlet ; Prince Albert, 

 salmon-scarlet ; and Queen Victoria, deep red, marked white. 



Lilies. The best Lilies for greenhouse culture are Lilium longi- 

 florum, whose long silvery trumpets, with their delicious perfume, are 

 always admired ; Lilium auratum, the golden-rayed Lily of Japan ; and 

 Lilium speciosum, represented by varieties with different coloured flowers. 

 These should all be potted at the latest by the end of January, and grown 

 on until the flowering season in a good light position in the greenhouse 

 with plenty of air. Flowers of these Lilies may be had all the year round, 

 and the way they are obtained outside of the normal season is to retard 

 the bulbs in refrigerators, so that they do not start into growth. When 

 removed from their cold quarters they commence to grow when placed 

 under favourable conditions, and flower about three months afterwards. 



Of plants other than bulbs that are particularly valuable for the 

 greenhouse must be noted 



The Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis), which is a universal 

 favourite. In order to obtain flowering examples early in the season 

 it was at one time the practice to subject them to considerable heat, 

 but as the crowns are now retarded in the same way as the Lilies above 

 referred to they can now be obtained at almost any season without 

 difficulty. 



Spiraeas. The feathery plumes of Spiraa japonica and the nearly- 

 related kinds are always admired, while the fresh green deeply-cut 

 leaves are also handsome. Spiraeas give but little trouble, providing 

 they have ample supplies of water when growing. The newer pink 

 forms Queen Alexandra and Peach Blossom afford a pleasing variety 

 to the others. 



Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) is very ornamental 



