Flowers Every Day from Christmas till Easter—By I. M. Angell 
New 
York 
HOW SIX POTS OF BULBS PROVIDED FLOWERS WITHOUT INTERRUPTION FOR SIXTEEN WEEKS— 
A CAREFULLY PLANNED 
ie IS an easy matter to have continuous 
bloom from a few pots of bulbs if the 
right sorts are potted at the right time, and, 
more important yet, if they are brought into 
the light at the proper time. Some bulbs will 
respond to pushing for early bloom and others 
will not resent being held back for late bloom. 
Among the best sorts to force for extra early 
flowering are Chinese sacred lilies; Roman 
hyacinths; two polyanthus narcissi, Paper 
White and Double Roman. For slow forcing 
I can recommend crocus, tulip, Dutch hya- 
cinth and three of the narcissus tribe, poeti- 
cus, Van Sion and Empress. 
The six pots of bulbs that gave us unin- 
terrupted bloom from Christmas to Easter 
were all started during the month of October. 
The expense for the bulbs was less than 
seventy-five cents, yet we had a supply of 
flowers for house and table decoration that 
continued for sixteen weeks, as is shown 
below: 
Chinese lilies bloomed from Dec. 23rd to Jan. 12th 
Double Roman narcissus “ Jan. 13th “ “ 26th 
Grand Soleil d’Or-narcissus “ 22nd “Feb. 13th 
12th 
25th 
12th 
Crocus from Feb. 7th to March 
Van Sion narcissus <<) Marchy7thy toa) 
Princess Marianne tulip “ “23rd to April 
From this it is seen that throughout the 
whole winter bloom was not missed for one 
day, even. This succession was managed by 
bringing the pots into the light at different 
times according to the needs of the case. , 
Bulbs that are held back and brought to 
the light late in the season will reach the 
blooming stage in a shorter time than the 
same sort brought to the light earlier in the 
season. ‘Two or more bulbs of the same sort 
started in the same pot will make a much 
Roman hyacinth. 
bloom in ten weeks from potting. 
The easiest bulb to force. Will 
Flowers white 
better showing than bulbs of different kinds 
planted together. 
| Brought Time be- 
Bulb | Potted fa Licht Sa 
Chinese Wily seca eee Oct. 30th|/Nov. 13th) 40 days 
Donble Roman narcissus..| “ 1gth|Dec. 19th) 25. “ 
Grand Soleil d’Or narcissus| “ 5th) ““ 7th) 46 “ 
Oils poodbcosccopoosc00 Bisa) Sada] gy © 
Van Sion natcissus ....... “ 31st|Feb. 12th) 23 “ 
Princess Marianne tulip...| “ 31st\Mar. r1st\23 “ 
Chinese sacred lily.—F lowers white and 
yellow, an inch and a half across and six or 
seven to a stem. Each bulb sent up several 
stems. This opened the season with its first 
flower two days before Christmas and was in 
full bloom on New Year’s Day. We always 
raise Chinese lilies in water, though they will 
thrive planted in earth. The dish containing 
them was about four inches in depth and the 
bulbs were surrounded with pebbles in such 
a way that the roots would not raise them too 
high above the water, which should reach 
half-way up the side of the bulb. The dish 
was set in a dark place for a few days to en- 
courage root growth, but these bulbs take so 
prompt a start that the five to eight weeks of 
darkness prescribed for ordinary potted bulbs 
is impossible. From the start to the first bud 
was less than six weeks. 
Grand Soleil @Or narcissus—F lowers 
bright yellow with a cup of darker shade, 
several flowers toa stem. This is a close re- 
lative of the Chinese lily, almost a counter- 
part, except in color. Ours proved to be a 
satisfactory house plant. _ 
Crocus.—Colors yellow, white, purple, 
streaked and striped in great variety. These 
are great favorites with us, both outdoors and 
in. They are inexpensive and the corms are 
so small that a dozen can be planted in an 
ordinary flower pot and they make more show 
than many of the larger kinds. ‘The only un- 
satisfactory qualities exhibited were a ten- 
dency to mold if kept too damp and a faculty 
for attracting the aphis. The latter can be 
fought by applications of tobacco dust or tea. 
The time elapsed between the taking of the — 
two photographs, one on the day the pot was 
brought up from the cellar, and the other at 
the height of bloom was just two months. 
Over forty flowers were sent up from a dozen 
corms, costing ten cents. They were allowed 
eight weeks in the cellar to make roots. 
When they had been in the light for three 
weeks the leaves and buds were breaking 
through the sheath. The season of bloom 
lasted over a month. Under ordinary con- 
ditions the foliage is short, but through a 
mistake this pot was left in a subdued light 
too long after leaving the cellar and the leaves 
were drawn. 
Crocus bulbs should be carefully chosen; 
the first size, which ought to measure four 
inches around, will yield, under favorable 
circumstances, from six to one dozen flowers 
each. 
128 
SUCCESSION OF FLOWERS FROM BULBS POTTED IN OCTOBER 
Van Sion narcissus.—Color rich yellow 
large, very double flower. ‘This is one of the 
most desirable for forcing, both because it is 
unusually handsome and because it attains so 
good a size and quality when grown as an 
ordinary house plant. One month from the 
time the pot was taken from the cellar, it 
was in full bloom. It was kept in the cellar 
over three months, but the result was a 
vigorous root growth that sent up strong 
foliage and flowers. The roots were so ag- 
gressive that they lifted the soil too high in 
the pot. This could have been forestalled by 
leaving the soil loose instead of packing it. 
The plants continued to bloom over two 
weeks. 
Princess Marianne Tulips.—White with 
touches of pink. Most tulips are not always 
a success in our window garden, but the 
Princess Marianne never fails us. The 
flower is uncommonly large, measuring six 
inches across when fully expanded. ‘Tulips 
(like all other bulbs) must have a good 
root system before being brought to the light. 
A good mixture of soil for the potting is two- 
thirds good garden loam and one-third very 
old cow manure, with enough sand to make 
the mixture loose in texture. Stiff garden soil 
can be lightened with leaf mold. The bulbs 
must be so set that the tip just shows, and the 
soil should be well settled in the pots but not 
pressed too solidly, or the expanding roots 
will lift the bulbs out of position. Three or 
four tulips can be accommodated in a 5-inch 
pot. Before the pots are put away so that the 
bulbs may make roots the soil should be well 
moistened. Place in a cool dark situation, 
The Chinese sacred lily, grown in pebbles and water. 
Potted October 30th, in flower December 23rd 
