THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



253 



J^lolnerB. 



CULTIVATION OF THE AMARYLLIS. 



BY HER1IA^'^ SIMMERS, TOROSTO. 



I 



fHIS vai-iety of bulbous-rooted 

 plants, is not as common as the 

 merit of the flowers should cause 

 it to be, mainly because the subject has 

 not been given that prominence which 

 it should have considering the rather 

 easy culture with which they may be 

 reared. Therefore with the hope that 

 the result may be different, I will give 

 a few practical suggestions for their 

 successful culture. 



Amaryllis formosissima is a variety 

 which, though not the most beautiful 

 in flower, has nevertheless the advan- 

 tage of giving the successful amateur a 

 taste for growing the more beautiful, 

 as well as the more expensive varieties. 

 A. formosissima is treated in precisely 

 the same manner as that described 

 under the heading of Hyacinth, with 

 this difference, that a somewhat freer 

 application of liquid manure is re- 



quired, on account of the bulb being 

 larger, and of the number of flower 

 stems which are thrown up from a 

 single bulb. Its flowers are of a 

 beautiful red, exhibiting a play of 

 golden gleams in the sunshine. They 

 ai'e scentless. 



Amaryllis vallotta purpurea is the 

 common dark red Amaryllis usually 

 seen in the amateurs collection, and 

 growing with a vigour from year to 

 year, which, with the careful amateur, 

 may be made to bloom with a lai-ger 

 amount of success than the pi'ofessional 

 is able to bring them to. Some speci- 

 mens I have seen have as many as five 

 to eight flower stems, and the bulb, 

 having been grown from year to year, 

 has been fully nine to twelve inches in 

 in circumference. They are easily 

 propagated by the side shoots being 

 broken off, and planted separately in a 



