BULBOUS PLANTS. 



3il 



^- nutans -the common 

 Blue-bell or Wood Hya- 

 cinth—has many beautiful 

 varieties, none so lovely 

 as the pure white, which 

 is one of the best of all 

 hardy bulbs. There are 

 also white, pink, and very 

 deep blue sorts — aU good. 

 S. patula, S. cemua, are 

 names by which the forms 

 of this species are cata- 

 logued. 



S. peruviana may be taken 

 as the type of several spe- 

 cies and varieties, having 

 a tuft of broad foliage, 

 and producing large and 

 dense clusters of flowers 

 in summer, varying from 

 blue to rose, and white. 

 These are noble plants 

 when well grown, but they 



only acquire perfection in 

 warm light soils. The 

 names Cupanii, ciliaris, 

 Hughii, and others, be- 

 long to the same group, 

 all beiug natives of South 

 Europe. S. Peruviana is 

 a misnomer, the plant 

 being European, not a 

 Peruvian plant. 

 S. sibirica — perhaps the 

 most popular of all the 

 Squills— ia the earliest to 

 bloom, and its deep blue 

 flowtrs are welcome in 

 spring, either out of doors 

 or in the green- house, for 

 happily it may be grown 

 to perfection in pots. 

 This is the hardiest of all, 

 and withstands rain, wind 

 and even snow, remaining 

 a long time in bloom. 



Among other Scillas to be found in gardens in 

 open borders are Lilio-hyacinthus, hyacinthoides, and 

 amethystiita, but these are only suitable for collec- 

 tions. There are numerous tender kinds, but they are 

 not -worth pot-culture. 



Culture.— The hardy Scillas are all of simple cul- 

 ture, and are not at all fastidious as to soil or posi- 

 tion, as they thrive in sun or shade, in light soil 

 or in stifi. They grow, however, to the greatest 

 perfection in a warm, deep, sandy loam, in an open 

 yet sheltered situation. S. bifolia deserves the sun- 

 niest border in the garden, and so does dbirica, but 

 being hardier, it will grow anywhere. The Spanish 

 Squill and the Blue-bell varieties thrive in shade 

 or sun, and if fine spikes are required they must 

 be liberally treated, that is, the soil should be well 

 enriched. The bulbs should be planted in autumn, 

 moderately deep so as to be out of harm's -way of 

 severe frost. After being once planted well, they 

 should not be disturbed for at least three or four 

 seasons. Scillas look well anywhere, whether it be 

 in lawn-beds, on margins of shrubberies, rockeries, 

 or by woodland walks. S. sibirica is commonly 

 forced into early bloom, as early even as Christmas, 

 if treated like Hyacinths and Tulips. 



-All the Squills are increased by separating the 

 bulblets at lifting-time. 



Sparaxis. — This genus, like the Ixia, Babiana, 

 and Tritonia, comes under the general term of Cape 

 bulbs, all being nearly-related members of the great 

 Iris family, and require much the same cultural 

 treatment. Although the varieties of Sparaxis in 

 catalogues are so numerous, the genus is really a 

 small one, there being but three species. The first 

 is bulbifera, rather an attractive plant, but not so 

 handtome as the other two, S. grandiflora and S. 

 tricolor. From these the numerous varieties have 

 sprung, and even of wild varieties described by bota- 

 nists there are some half a dozen forms. S. grandi- 



flora has large open flowers about two inches across, 

 and most richly coloured with yellow, deep rose, and 

 deep crimson, and tricolor is similar. The following 

 dozen sorts comprise a good coUectiou :— 



Alba, white. 



Amelina, pale yellow. 



Bulbifera, deep yellow. 



Behoata, yellow. 



Garibaldi, crimson and yel- 

 low. 



Josephina, white and yellow 



Lady Carey, white, blotched 

 with purple. 



Lutea, sulphur-yellow. 

 Macula ta, white, purple, and 



yellow. 

 Pavonia, white and deep 



:^urple. 

 Tricolor, scarlet, marbled 



with crimson. 

 Victor Emanuel, red and 



3 ellow. 



S. pulcherrima.—TMs plant is very diflerent' from 

 the others, and though it is commonly called a 

 Sparaxis, it strictly belongs to the genus Dierama. 

 It is, indeed, a beautiful plant, one of the most re- 

 markable of all bulbs, and different from all other 

 plants. It has leaves like an Iris ; its flower-stems 

 are very slender, and from five to eight feet high, 

 and rise in a gracefully arching manner like the tail 

 stem of a Grass. The flowers are like bells, about 

 two inches in length, and these droop prettily from 

 the stem at intervals of a few inches ; the usual 

 colour is rose-purple, but there are deeper and very 

 much paler varieties. It lasts a long time in flower 

 during the summer months. Though a Cape plant, 

 it may be grown in the open air with us, provided it 

 is planted at the foot of a warm south wall, in a 

 light well-drained soil, in autumn, and protected 

 during winter. S. Thtmbergii is not so attractive. 



Sprekelia formosissima {Jacobean Lily). — 

 This handsome AmaryUis-hke bulb is known in 

 gardens under the name of Amaryllis formosissima. 

 In early summer, usually about May,' it sends up its 

 flower-stem before the leaves. The stems are about 

 a foot high, each bearing a curiously-shaped flower 

 some six inches across, having spreading narrow 

 sepals of a deep crimson. It is highly attractive in 

 flower, and endures a considerable time iii beauty. 

 After flowering it develops its leaves, and when 

 these are perfected the bulbs require to be thoroughly 

 ripened, and afterwards lifted, or otherwise kept dry 

 till spring. The bulbs are procurable in autumn, 

 and may be potted at once, and kept drj', or pre- 

 served in sand during winter, when they may be 

 potted about February or March, but still kept dry 

 until flower-stems appear, about a month afterwards. 

 It may be obtained in flower several weeks before the 

 usual time by gently forcing the bulbs, and these 

 forced bulbs will flower again in autumn after per- 

 fecting their growth if planted out. The bulbs of 

 Sprekelia will also flower readily if placed in glasses 

 in rooms as Hyacinths are. They may be planted 

 out afterwards to perfect their growth. It is hardy 

 enough to bear being planted out of doors, and bulbs 



