NOTIMBEB 7, 1918. 



The Florists' Review 



13 



PLANTING BULBS OUTDOORS. 



Autumn Activities. 



While there have been long and vexa- 

 tious delays in the arrival of Dutch and 

 French bulbs this season, these are but 

 minor matters when we consider the 

 magnitude of the task our government 

 and its allies have had in furnishing 

 ship bottoms in sufficient numbers to 

 send across a ceaseless stream of men, 

 munitions and food supplies to the war 

 zone. While bulbs are later than usual, 

 they are, on the whole, in good condi- 

 tion. Of course the forcing stock needs 

 our first attention, but with this out of 

 the way, outdoor planting can be taken 

 in hand at once. I have found Novem- 

 ber to be a splendid month for this 

 work, as in November we have the 

 time needed to clear the beds and 

 benches of tender bedding plants, to cut 

 down hardy perennials and prepare 

 planting places for the hardy bulbs. 



Preparing the Beds. 



Avoid using any fresh stable or cow 

 manure in preparing bulb beds. It will 

 cause trouble every time. Let all ma- 

 nure be well decomposed and mixed 

 thoroughly with the soil. Break up all 

 hard lumps and get the soil in as mel- 

 low and well pulverized a condition aa 

 possible. This preparation pays in the 

 long run. Bulbs in such a rooting 

 medium always come more evenly and 

 steadily than those in soil prepared in 

 a haphazard way. Labor is scarce and 

 I think customers would be willing to 

 accept the most simple and at the same 

 time the most pleasing arrangements, 

 which means that beds of one color and 

 variety, or clumps of one shade, should 

 be planted, unless, perchance, a mixed 

 bed of tulips is preferred, and such 

 mixtures are really satisfactory. 



Tulips for Bedding. 



Tulips are the finest bulbs for bed- 

 ding. Among the early whites, Joost 

 Van Vondel, White Swan and White 

 Perfection are all fine. The first named 

 is the best of all. White Swan blooms 

 just ahead of the cottage and Darwin 

 varieties. Chrysolora and Mon Tresor 

 are splendid golden yellows. Prince of 

 Austria is a grand bedder. It is orange- 

 red and sweetly scented. Keizerskroon 

 but for its name would be more popular. 

 It is the best of the red and yellow 

 varieties and is always reliable. Cot- 

 tage Maid does nicely for the pink beds, 

 but Pink Beauty, while higher priced, is 

 far ahead of all other pinks. In fact, 

 it is in many respects the finest bedding 

 tulip we have. Vermilion Brilliant is 

 well described by its name. Sir Thomas 

 Lipton is a superb, deep scarlet tulip. 

 The foregoing are single varieties. 

 None of the doubles are of much value 

 for bedding. 



Late Tulips. 



Do not overlook the value of the late 

 tulips for bedding. They grow taller 

 than the early ones and are much more 

 lasting. Beds of mixed varieties look 

 well, but solid beds and clumps of one 

 color are more satisfying. Clumps 

 dotted in herbaceous borders are effec- 

 tive. They will flower far better the 

 second and third season than the first. 

 Try any of these Darwins: Clara Butt, 

 Mme. Krelage, Gretchen, Rev. H. Ew- 

 bank, Tarncombe Sanders, Glow, King 

 Harold and Pride of Haarlem. Many 

 of these Darwins have come in for 

 Memorial day in former years and in 

 this connection plantings of these May- 



VaVERY now and then a. weU- 

 ■9 pleased reader speaks the word 

 which is the means of bring;ing a 

 new advertiser to 



Such friendly assistance is thorousfhly 

 appreciated. 



Give us the name of anyone from 

 whom you are buyiogf not an adver< 

 tiser. We especially wish to interest 

 those selling articles of florist's use 

 not at present advertised. 



FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 

 530^ Caxton Bldg. Chicago 



flowering tulips, all of moderate price, 

 will be found to be a good investment: 

 Bouton d'Or, vitellina retroflexa, Ges- 

 neriana major, Gesneriana lutea, Pico- 

 tee, Golden Crown and Inglescombe 

 Pink. 



Hyacinths and Narcissi. 



Hyacinths and narcissi are of minor 

 value for bedding as compared with 

 tulips. Hyacinths have the advantage 

 of flowering earlier, but their lasting 

 qualities are not so good and they have 

 a most) unpleasant odor as they fade. 

 The singles are much better than the 

 doubles for bedding and one color to a 

 bed/-is the best arrangement. If in 

 rly spring blue forget-me-nots or 

 "^pansies are planted below white hya- 

 cinths, white pansies below blue hya- 

 cinths and yellow pansies below pink 

 or red hyacinths, the effect is enhanced 

 and when the hyacinth spikes are gone, 

 there is a good ground cover to bloom 

 until more tender plants are ready to 

 take its plac§. 



If, instead of planting narcissi in 

 beds, they are arranged in clumps or 

 long, narrow bands along herbaceous 

 borders, they look much more attrac- 

 tive. Do not depend on the large trum- 

 pet sorts only, for the medium and 

 short trumpet sorts are more graceful 

 and in nearly all cases more winter- 

 hardy and persistent. The most re- 

 liable of the large trumpet sorts are 

 Victoria, Princeps, Emperor and Glory 

 of Leiden. 



Points to Be Noted. 



Do not cover over bulb beds until the 

 ground is frozen hard. We want to 

 keep the frost in the soil and not to 

 exclude it. A thick covering of leaves 

 or other mulch given while the ground 

 is soft means that growths will continue 

 to push and when spring comes many 

 breakages will occur in removing the 

 mulch. Another point to consider is 

 that field mice will raise havoc with 

 bulbs, especially tulips, if the soil is 

 open below the winter covering. These 

 rodents are difficult to fight in the win- 

 ter, even when their presence has been 

 detected. 



PANSIES MAKE POOR GROWTH. 



I am having trouble with my pansies, 

 which are making poor growth. I have 

 no trouble with such things as radishes, 

 onions, lettuce, cabbage and tomato 

 plants, but the growth is short. I have 

 used stable manure and bone meal 

 freely, also lime. The soil is heavy 

 clay. We have used nitrate of soda, but 

 it makes the plants soft and light green 

 in color. The beds were covered last 

 winter and did not get much snow on 

 them. Can you suggest a remedy for 

 this trouble? C. W. H.— Mo. 



Pansies should grow well in stiff soil, 

 but will winter best if they are planted 

 in beds a yard wide, which are slightly 

 elevated. They would do better if your 

 clay soil was ameliorated by the use of 

 rotted horse manure, leaf-mold and 

 sand, the latter quite coarse. This would 

 make the soil more porous. The use of 

 bone meal I cannot recommend, and ni- 

 trate of soda will do your plants more 

 harm than good. It is all right for 

 plants outdoors or indoors suffering 

 from a lack of plant food, but not for 

 small seedlings. 



The use of lime in the fall, also plow- 

 ing up the land and leaving it rough 

 over winter for frost to pulverize and 

 sweeten it, is recommended. Do not 

 put any winter covering over your 

 plants until the ground is hard frozen. 

 Then apply a light coating of straw, 

 hay, littery manure or leaves, which 

 oanj^e held in position by brush or by 

 throwing a light coating of rotted ma- 

 nure over them, sufficient to prevent 

 them from blowing away. C. W. 



