October, 1914 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



85 



successful bloom the second or third year, 

 but this is dependent wholly upon their 

 having found a spot to their liking. If 

 the blooms decrease in size and fewer 

 bulbs flower the second year, it can be 

 taken for granted that the bulbs are pro- 

 testing against their situation and it is 

 wiser to lift them and replant in the autumn. 

 This should be done when the foliage begins 

 to assume a limp and withered appearance. 

 A test of the fitness for lifting may be found 

 in trying to wind the flower stalk about the 

 finger; if this can be done roughly without 

 breaking the stalk, the bulbs may be taken 

 up at once. If summer flowering plants 

 are to be used where tulips are grown, the 

 bulbs may be carefully taken up as soon as 

 they are through flowering, leaving as 

 much earth as will adhere to the roots and 

 covering them again with soil in some out 

 of the way place to complete ripening. 



DAFFODILS 



.--Some of the daffodils, or narcissus, may 

 be grown in any soil or situation. The 

 white trumpet kinds prefer a little gritty 

 character in the earth they grow in, and 

 the blooms of all kinds last longer if a 

 position in partial shade may be given 

 them. In fact, many of the red-cupped 



kinds lose all their color in the full sun and 

 need such a situation to maintain their 

 striking beauty. Use no stable manure; 

 keep to the general fertilizer as suggested, 

 and if the red-cupped varieties do not seem 

 to show all the color they ought to have, 

 fork in lightly just after uncovering a 

 dressing of sulphate of potash — say, an 

 ounce to the square yard. 



Planting should be done as soon as the 

 bulbs can be obtained for the daffodil 

 particularly dislikes being out of the ground 

 very long. The closer one gets to the 

 poeticus sorts the more imperative is the 

 need for early planting, as these often make 

 new root growth before the old roots have 

 quite ceased to feed the bulb. 



Because of the varying sizes in the bulbs 

 no fixed rule can be given for the depth at 

 which the bulbs should be planted. Set 

 the largest ones six to eight inches apart, 

 the smaller four to five inches apart, and 

 cover the bulbs one and a half times their 

 own depth measured from the base to the 

 beginning of the "neck" of the bulb. In 

 very light soils add an inch more of covering. 



Daffodils should not be left in the ground 

 longer than three seasons without lifting 

 and dividing the bulb. Much depends 

 on the individual variety, and should it be 



Plant plenty of bul bs for spring flowers, the more there 

 are massed the better they look. This picture shows a 

 collection of Darwin and breeder tulips blooming in May 



noticed that some kinds do not flower well 

 the second season, try lifting the second 

 year and change the situation and character 

 of the soil if possible. In dividing care 

 must be taken not to break the base of the 

 bulb, and it is wiser to separate only those 

 offsets that appear quite loosely attached 

 to the mother-bulb. 



OTHER MISCELLANEOUS BULBS 



With the bulbous irises early planting is 

 advisable always, and some winter pro- 

 tection is necessary. The English irises 

 suffer most from wet weather during the 

 summer months, and it is safer to take 

 them up after ripening. The Spanish 

 kinds make leaf growth early in the fall, if 

 they have been left in the ground the second 

 season, and freezing of this foliage is the 

 most frequent cause of failure. 



Crocuses are also better for early plant- 

 ing, frequently failing to flower if they are 

 not in the ground when the top growth be- 

 gins, to show. Plant two inches deep to 

 the bottom of the bulb, and give them a 

 sunny position. 



Scillas of all kinds succeed best in the 

 shade, and need to be planted quite deep 

 in comparison with the size of the bulb. 

 Five inches is none too much. Give them 

 a rich soil, and allow them to go to seed if 

 a rapid increase is desired. 



Snowdrops, Chionodoxas, Grape Hya- 

 cinths, and the graceful Camassias should 

 be planted thickly to produce a good effect 

 and be covered three to four times their 

 depth. Avoid covering with too heavy a 

 material, if winter protection is given 

 them; cocoa-fibre is the ideal. 



Ixias, in named varieties, are not grown 

 as widely as they should be, partly because 

 their beauty is not appreciated and partly 

 because they are considered a bit too tender. 

 They will go through the severest weather, 

 nevertheless, if planted two inches deep and 

 covered first with six inches of cocoa-fibre 

 and then a cover of leaves. 



