THE EASTER Ln.Y IN :N^0RTHEEN C:LTMATES, 



29 



Another aspect of the subject is the desirability of producing uni- 

 formity in seedlings, a much more difficult matter than to produce it 

 in the vegetatively propagated progenies selected from these seed- 

 lings. This also is being attempted. 



THE EASTER LILY IN BEDS AND BORDERS. 



No lily is more satisfactory for beds and borders than the Easter 

 iil3^ It is also well adapted in our middle latitudes for permanent 

 [)lantings. In spite of what has been said in previous pages about 

 the necessit}^ of making plantings so late that no top growth will 

 take place, in a permanent planting there is u wonderful adaptation, 



Fig. 14. — A selected lot of 110 stem bulblets forced ia order to determine their flower- 

 ing qualities. The smallest are iu the foreground. Three did not flower. The 

 average for the entire lot was 2J flowers per plant, one producing six flowers. 



and under ordinary conditions there is no more danger from forced 

 I'arly growth than with many other herliaceous perennials. 



In permanent plantings the stems should he allowed to function 

 until (luite late in the autumn. If they do not die down naturally 

 tliey can be alloAved to grow until killed by frost. It is seldom cold 

 enough for this, though, in the climate of Washington, D. C, before 

 the regular time of planting, about November 1. 



In permanent plantings it is advisable to allow the plants to set 

 seed. Observations seem to show that the stem functions longer in 

 autumn when a crop of seed is being produced than when the pods 

 have been removed. The late functioning of the old stem retards 

 activity in the next season's growth until the ground becomes too 

 cold for top growth to take place. 



