22 



The Florists^ Review 



Ski'tembkk 1. I!t21 



ill}; can l)i' (loiic at any season it' suit- 

 alilc moisture conditions for t;erinina- 

 tion arc inaintuiiUMi. It" seed is ])lante(l 

 outdoors, it sliould l)e sown in late au 

 tuiiin for sprin;,' j;erniinat ion. 



I'or f^eriuination in tlats, tlie usual 

 i-oiii|iost of loam, sand and leaf-mold, 

 with a very little well-rotted manure, 

 is [ireferred. (iood success lias Ijeeii 

 (ditaiued with a variety of potting .soils, 

 even with (|uite lieavy clays anu'liorated 

 with a little sand and ruhhisli. 



The Itest ])ractice in sowing; the seed 

 is III till the Hat to the projier dejith and 

 strike the surface t(» a level. The seed 

 is then scattereil over this surface aTid 

 jiressed down rather tirmly with a ]iiece 

 (p1' liniird. The -wlKde is then co\'ered 

 with one eij^liili to oiii' fourth ol' an 

 iiirh (if tine soil sprinkled <i\cr the toji. 

 In iiiitdoor jdantings it is liettei' to ]iut 

 the seed three-fourths to one inch deep. 



Handling the Seed Flats. 



'I'ci the experienced ]ilantsmaii the 

 ImsI direction that can lie jjiven on tlie 

 suliject of liaiidlint; is, ''Keep the flats 

 ill jiroper condition for jjermination. ' ' 

 This condition does not difl'er for most 

 seeds. Moisture should lie ke]it at the 

 sinla<e constantly, liut j^ood ])rovision 

 for ilrainayc slioulil he made, so that 

 the soil will nev(>r liecoiue wat er logfjed. 



It it is not jiossihle to keeji the siir 

 i',i<-e ]ir(i]ierly moist without it. a pane 

 of ;^l;iss can he laid over each tlat, but 

 it the moisture conditions of the green- 

 house are as they should he this is not 

 necessary. It will he all the better not 

 to have had the ;;l;iss on when the 

 ]il;ints bej,'iii to come throujih. for at 

 this time, especially if the ]ilantin{,'s are 

 thick, moisture and ;ieration must be 

 c;iiefully watched lest damping; otT oc 

 ciir. 



The tlats after jiermination are ]irefer- 

 ahly ke]it ratlier dry. \V;iterinf; sliould 

 be c<ipious, with jirovision for rapid 

 dr;iiiiajie, but at comparatively infre 

 i|UeMt iiiterv:ils, so that the seedlines 

 and the surface of the soil will not lie 



too wet. Cliiy seed p.'ins can be used, in 

 which ease it will not be, necessary to 

 wet the yountj foliage at all for a time. 

 The time it takes for tlie seed to 

 come uji will vary greatly With condi- 

 tions. The first lot of seed produced in 

 these experiments ripened in June. It 

 required six or seven weeks to germi- 

 nate when sown immediately after be- 

 ing g;ithered. The sjanie seed jdantcd 

 the following January came up in three 

 weeks. 



Potting the Seedlings. 



The exact stage of growth at which 

 I'lastiT lily seedlings should be jiotted 

 may v.ary considerably. Usually it has 

 been the ])ractiec to transfer them to 

 L'-inch pots when the second leaf was 

 fairly well developed, althougli tliis lias 

 been done frequently when the first loaf 

 was well straightened out. It does not 

 7nake much difference which practice is 

 followed. At wliatever stage they are 

 transferred, the plants seem to stand 

 still for about three weeks after potting, 

 •and until the roots get out to the sides 

 of tlie pot the top growth is always 

 next to nothing: but after this the dc- 

 \elopmeiit is rajdd. 



There is an oiiportnnity for the devel- 

 (ij)meiit of a business in the y^roduction 

 of L'-le.'ived or 3-leaved seedlings, to be 

 furnishecl to florists or others to grow- 

 either in ]H)ts or in the open ground. 

 Such seedlings miglit be sold either di- 

 rectly from the seeil flats or, ;ifter being 

 established, from a first sliift. The 

 l>lants are as easily transported in the 

 1 -leaved to .3 leaved stage as at any 

 other time. They have been shipped 

 from Washington, D. C, to California 

 in mail packages several times, and have 

 .irrixed in ]>erfect condition. 



Transfer to the Field. 



If the seed of the Easter lily is sown 

 .laniiary 1 and the seedlings are potted 

 in eaily March, tliey will lie ready to go 

 into the open ground in late April or 

 earlv Mav, or when thev will be safe 



Easter Lilies Grown from Seed in this Country* 



from any inclement weather. They are 

 then knocked out of the pots and jdant- 

 ed without disturbing the ball of earth. 

 There seems to be no checking of 

 growth, the plants taking hold of the 

 ground with no loss of time. 



When handled as stated, the 2-inch 

 pots are well tilled with roots by the 

 time the plants go into the fleld. It is 

 therefore possible to knock the plants 

 out and carry them to the field in flats, 

 from which they are set with a trowel. 



Conditions in the Field. 



The experience of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry with these lilies has 

 been restricted to a heavy, retentive 

 clay soil, ameliorated by the use of 

 some sand and plenty of rough stable 

 manure. None of these stocks have as 

 yet been grown on sandy soil. 



The seedlings have usually been set 

 out in 3-foot beds tive to eight inches 

 apart each way, which seems to afford 

 ample space. Between the beds a 1 fl- 

 inch path has been left', which is also 

 ample; a IL'-inch ]iatli might be suffi- 

 cient. ■ 



After planting, it is desirable to work 

 ;i little jnulcli of some suitable material 

 between the plants to assist in prevent- 

 ing the ground from baking, preserving 

 moisture and keeping the soil cool. For 

 tliis purpose sand and si>ent manure 

 from sweet-potato bods, old manure, and 

 even fresh strawy manure have boon 

 used. The care of these plantings dur- 

 ing the summer has consisted in keeping 

 down the weeds by hand and watering 

 during dry weather. In well prepared 

 soil, mulched with some debris, hand 

 wooding is not a serious matter. 



Development During the Summer. 



Lily plants sot in the field from 2-inch 

 jiots in late April or early May will be- 

 gin to throw up scattering stems in 

 July, and some blooms will .appear 

 late in the month. These early flower- 

 ing forms will be short, few-flowerod, 

 and in general disappointing. As the 

 season advances the stems become 

 longer and bear a large number of 

 flowers, but never are the plants in the 

 field as tall as those in the greenhouse, 

 although they often reach a height of 

 twenty four inches or more. When the 

 time for frosts arrives there will be 

 plenty of jilants showing either flowers 

 or liuds to the number of three to seven, 

 .md in r.aro instances as many .as a, 

 dozen. Possibly twenty five per cent 

 will have flowered, and the earliest will 

 be maturing their seed, but most of the 

 plants, nearly seventy-fivt> per cent of 

 them, will be in the form of Ijirge 

 rosettes of basal leaves and pl:mts 

 which have started to form stems. 



Repotting from the Field. 



Before there is danger of se\ cro 

 frosts in autumn the lily seedlings 

 should be repotted for winter flowering. 

 The minimum temperature to which 

 they should be subjocteil outdoors is 

 about 28 degrees. 



The Jilants can he dug conveniently 

 with a spading fork, ordinary care be- 

 ing used not to bruise them. Most of 

 the soil is taken off the roots and thev 

 are laid loosely in boxes, to bo trans- 

 ferred to the p.Mcking she<l. Here within 

 three or four days they are jiut into the 

 smallest-sized pots into which they will 

 go. Most of them, though, will have to 

 go into 6-inch pots, for the reason that 

 on account of the large root system they 

 [Continued on paRe 70.] 



