The Weekly Florists' Review* 



July 1, 1909. 



Growing Easter Lily Bulbs at Saota Ana, Cal. 



COSMOS LADY LENOX. 



The only trouble with any variety of 

 cosmos seems to have been that it only 

 began to be of use when, by nature of 

 its constitution, it had to succumb to 

 frost. Many regretted that cosmos could 

 not have a longer season, even before 

 that most beautiful variety, Lady Lenox, 

 was introduced, and certainly they have 

 regretted it much more since then. 



Last fall I saw hundreds of plants of 

 this variety on one place in full bloom 

 when all others in the neighborhood had 

 long since been things of the past. This 

 was made possible by the erection of a 

 framework of slats all around the plants, 

 and the framework was covered with bur- 

 lap every evening, when indications 

 pointed to a frost. Not only were the 

 plants worth this labor for the flowers 

 for cutting, but also for the gorgeous 

 show they made while growing. 



D. M. 



FREESIAS. 



I want to plant freesias to use as cut 

 flowers for as long a season as possible 

 this winter. When should they be 

 planted and how should they be treated 

 after planting? How late can the bulbs 

 be planted to give good results! 



L. M. D. 



The earliest freesias usually arrive 

 about the middle of July. The bulbs 

 can be potted or placed in flats at once. 

 Many successful growers plant in 10- 

 inch and 12-inch pans, standing these on 

 shelves in carnation houses. A rather 

 sandy soil suits them. One containing 

 one-fourth rotted cow manure to three- 

 fourths fibrous loam will grow excellent 

 freesias. After the bulbs are placed in 

 the soil, stand the pots, pans or flats in 

 a coldframe, water well and cover with 

 dry moss or leaves, removing the cover- 



ing as the growths appear. The floor 

 of a light cellar is a good place to start 

 the bulbs. 



A flat thirty inches long, twelve inches 

 wide and four inches deep will hold 

 seventy-five to 100 bulbs, according to 

 their strength. 



Freesias can be planted in succes- 

 sional batches until October, at inter- 

 vals of three weeks. The earlier plant- 

 ed ones usually, however, produce the 

 finest spikes. To have them in flower at 

 Christmas or New Year, place the first 

 batch on a shelf in a house kept at 52 

 to 55 degrees at night about the end of 

 September. Later batches can be held 

 in coldframes until November, or even 

 later, if carefully protected. C. W. 



CALIFORNL^ LILY BULBS. 



Another Infant Industry. 



I was much interested in A. F. Am- 

 ling's account, in the Keview of June 3, 

 page 9, of his experience in growing the 

 lily bulbs he obtained from California. 

 I am in doubt as to whether he thinks 

 his poor results were caused by insects, 

 disease or merely poor quality of strain, 

 as might result from mixed seedlings. 



I flowered some 10,000 or more seed- 

 lings outdoors this year, here at Santa 

 Ana, Cal., and I have all types imagin- 

 able, in size, shape and substance of 

 flowers; in color of stem and in leafage, 

 as well as in general vigor. I note but 

 little, if any, of the so-called lily dis- 

 ease, but I have had serious trouble with 

 an insect pest, a mite that attacks the 

 root and bulb. I am inclined to think 

 that a part at least, and perhaps a great 

 part, of Mr. Amling's trouble was 

 caused by this minute insect, which bur- 

 rows in the tissue of the scales of the 

 bulb and causes more or less decay. I 

 reported this insect to the Department 



of Agriculture about a year and a half 

 ago, and through G. W. Oliver, of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, I learned that 

 Mr. Banks of the Bureau of Entomology 

 gave the name of it as Khizoglyphus 

 rizophagus and that it had been reported 

 as attacking onions in this state. I find 

 it occasionally in decayed portions of 

 bulbs of other plants, but I think that in 

 them it only follows up attacks of dis- 

 ease, while on lily bulbs it is decidedly 

 the aggressor, attacking the new, healthy 

 tissue freely and soon reaching the heart 

 of the bulb. 



Having no freezing weather here, soil 

 once infested by these pests seems to be 

 continuously occupied by them. Where 

 they come from I can only guess, but 

 think they are brought in by stable 

 manure. Upon land where no bulbs or 

 roots have previously been grown and 

 where no stable manure has been applied,, 

 I have no doubt healthy bulbs can be 

 grown, provided the seedlings have been 

 raised in clean soil in the seed beds. 



Methods of Culture. 



The seed ripens about September 1 

 and is sown immediately in beds of 

 proper soil, under the partial shade of a 

 lath frame or of canvas. They usually 

 germinate freely in three to six weeks. 

 With favorable \freather and good care, 

 they are ready to transplant in March 

 or April to the field. An acre of ground 

 will accommodate 40,000 to 50,000. Con- 

 siderable care in watering and cultivat- 

 ing is necessary to prevent the small 

 plants from becoming dormant during 

 the summer months, as it is their nature 

 to do. Therein lies the secret of getting 

 a large bulb in a short time. 



With continuous growth they aU 

 flower freely in May and June, twenty 

 months or thereabouts from the time of 

 sowing the seed, and the bulbs are then 



