October, 1914 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



89 



fertilizer, allowing a teacupful to a half- 

 bushel of soil. One part of leafmold or com- 

 post from rotted sods to two parts each of 

 loam and sand should be used with the bone 

 meal, to provide humus. When the pots 

 are ready to set away, the soil should be 

 within an inch of the rim. 



Bulbs in bloom look much better in 

 groups than planted singly. When the 

 dimensions of the pot will allow, from four 

 to a dozen should be together, according to 

 the size of the bulb. It takes from four to 

 sLx of the Roman hyacinths to make a satis- 

 factory show, and less than six or eight 

 crocus are hardly worth while. SLx, eight, or 

 a dozen tulips should bloom together. If 

 the bulbs touch, no harm is done. When 

 potting, scoop out a place for each in the 

 soil, adapted to its size, and 

 set it in, filling in the soil and 

 pressing it firmly against 

 the sides of the bulb. In 

 the case of hyacinths, the 

 top of the bulb should be 

 left just above the soil. 

 Tulips, narcissus, and crocus 

 should be covered an inch. 

 Firm the earth around 

 above them. 



When bulbs are pressed into 

 the soft earth in the pots, as is 

 often advised, the soil is left loose 

 around them and is made firm be- 

 neath, and frequently the roots, on 

 forming, push the bulb up instead 

 of penetrating the earth, as they 

 should do. 



After the bulbs have been potted, 

 water them thoroughly. It is well 

 to cover the surface of the soil with 

 sphagnum moss, as this tends to 

 conserve the moisture. 



planted in good soil in the open ground or in 

 a coldframe and mulched as when in pans. 

 During a January thaw, they may be taken 

 up carefully and potted. The better way, 

 however, is to place them in pots at once, as 

 otherwise the roots run some risk of mutila- 

 tion. 



CONCERNING ROOT GROWTH 



Most writers state that eight weeks' time 

 will be required for satisfactory root-growth. 

 In my opinion, three months is little enough 

 for some. A period of four is better if the 

 place of storage is cool enough to permit so 

 long a stay. The production of long spikes 

 and fine flowers largely depends on the 

 making of good and plentiful roots, and this 

 takes time, and must occur before top- 



and 



WHERE TO STORE THE BULBS 



Place the pots in a cool, dark 

 place. A cellar where the mercury 

 does not rise above 60 degrees will 

 serve. A lower temperature is still better 

 for most, and is necessary for tulips and 

 crocus. Set them in the darkest corner and 

 lay boards or a piece of old linoleum or some- 

 thing similar over the tops of the pots to ex- 

 clude all light. If mice are given to sur- 

 reptitious visits, weight the coverings. 

 Once in a while inspect the bulbs, and if 

 the soil is dry enough to crumble when 

 stirred, water well. If moist, it needs no 

 water. Too much moisture at this time 

 breeds decay. If the cellar is too warm, a 

 cool, dark closet may be utilized. 



The bulbs may be left out-of-doors. A 

 shallow pit may be dug in a shady place, 

 and they may be set into this, with ashes 

 beneath them, the rims of the pots being 

 a few inches below the general level. After 

 the ground freezes, they must be covered 

 with some straw or a mulch of leaves, held 

 in place with boards; and as the weather 

 becomes colder, the covering must be made 

 heavier. Where field-mice are troublesome, 

 an upstairs porch is a good place for the 

 bulbs. The pots may be set in a box and 

 protected as described. The bulbs may be 



Seventy-five per cent of the failures with bulbs are due to forcing 

 the top before the roots have made growth. High temperatures are 

 fatal. Look for roots protruding through the hole in the bottom of 

 the pot. Then it is safe to begin with forcing 



growth begins if the blossoms are to be 

 satisfactory. Light and heat cause the 

 bulbs to sprout like onions kept in too warm 

 a place, wherefore the need of darkness and a 

 low temperature. 



THE SECOND STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT 



The bulbs must not be too suddenly 

 introduced to a higher temperature and a 

 greater amount of light. 



When they have been in the dark three 

 months, it is well to bring them forth at 

 intervals of two weeks, two or three pots at 

 a time. You may begin to do this at the end 

 of eight weeks. A great deal depends on the 

 temperature of the cellar or closet where 

 they are stored. Bulbs differ, too, in the 

 rapidity of their root-growth. Roman 

 hyacinths are likely to be sufficiently ad- 

 vanced at the end of six or seven weeks. 



When the pots are full of roots, sprouts 

 will push up from the crown of the bulb. 

 When these shoots are about an inch high, 

 it is safe to remove the pots to a warmer and 

 lighter situation. But they should not be 

 placed in direct sunshine at this time. The 



light should be subdued. Some claim that 

 when the flower buds begin to develop they 

 must have full sunlight for perfection of 

 color and bloom, and cite narcissus as a 

 special case. But last winter my double 

 narcissus, Van Sion, were brought from a cool 

 closet to a window having a good light but 

 no direct sun ; they were then set on a table 

 opposite curtained windows, shaded by a 

 porch, with the only strong light coming in 

 from small north windows. Yet their color 

 could not have been better. Hyacinths, too, 

 are never placed by me where the sunshine 

 will fall directly upon them. If at a west 

 window, it is at once shaded by drapery 

 when the sun is shining in from that side. 

 A north window, with the curtains pushed 

 back, and nothing outside to obstruct 

 the fight, is really preferable. 



COMMON CAUSES OF FAIL- 

 URE 



If the temperature of the 

 room to which the bulbs 

 are brought is rather high, 

 the development of the 

 spikes and the flowers upon 

 them will not be as fine as if it 

 were lower and their growth con- 

 sequently less rapid. A tempera- 

 ture of 55 degrees at first, followed 

 by one of fifty degrees after the 

 flowers have developed in form and 

 color is what is best for most bulbs. 

 The crocus, like tulips, should never 

 have more than 40 to 45 degrees of 

 heat at any time. 



The high temperature of our living- 

 rooms is the reason for the swift passing 

 of these lovely winter-flowering bulbs. 

 Apartments where a thermometer 

 would not register seventy degrees are, 

 I fear, greatly in the minority. 



Too sudden a jump to higher temperature 

 and to strong light is another cause of the 

 stemlessness of hyacinthsalreadymentioned. 

 The flower spike should emerge through the 

 neck of the bulb with its buds folded tight 

 and flat against it. Brought to a bright 

 light at first, the buds swell and open out 

 prematurely under the stimulating influence 

 of the sun, and get stuck in the narrow gate- 

 way. It is always well to place a cone of 

 pasteboard or heavy paper, with about an 

 inch of the apex cut off, over each pot of 

 hyacinths. The flower spikes will "draw 

 up" toward the little patch of light above their 

 heads, just as seedlings do when grown under 

 unfavorable conditions, and the passage 

 will be made in safety, with good long stems 

 assured. The cone must be removed when 

 the stem can be seen below the buds. The 

 application of the cone is not necessary with 

 other bulbs, though experimenting with 

 daffodils and tulips, I found it helpful, 

 placed for a few days, in promoting vertical 

 growth and long stems. 



In the hot, dry atmosphere ot our homes, 

 these bulbs are sometimes afflicted with a 

 plague of aphides which appear from nobody 

 knows where. Dishes of water evaporating 

 on registers or radiators will help to make 

 the air moist. Tobacco is both an insecti- 



