Bulbs for May Planting— By W. E. Pendleton, 



A "ROUND-UP" OF ALL THE TENDER BULBS FOR SUMMER BLOOM THAT 

 ARE PLANTED IN THE GARDEN AFTER DANGER OF FROST IS PAST 



Pennsyl- 



THE dahlia has more shapes, colors, and 

 varieties than any other plant here 

 mentioned. Heretofore, dahlias have usually 

 been planted about May 15th near New 

 York and May 20th near Boston, but in the 

 June 1905 Garden Magazine, page 236, 

 Mr. L. Hudson advises postponing planting 

 until June 1st or even as late as July 1st. 

 The reason is that our summers are usually 

 hot and dry, and early-planted dahlias are 

 likely to be caught by July drought and 

 checked so badly (especially in heavy soil) that 

 they will give few blooms in August and none 

 in September. It is better to give up the idea 

 of early August bloom and concentrate on 

 September effect, when the dahlia shows 

 are held. 



However, in a cool, wet season, early- 

 planted dahlias do better than late-planted 

 ones and therefore it is wise to plant a few dah- 

 lias in May for insurance and for the early 

 bloom. 



The expense and care, as well as the un- 

 sightliness of stakes, can be avoided by 

 pinching off the early shoots so as to get a low- 

 branching, bushy growth. The dahlia 

 ought to be sheltered from high winds, for 

 its succulent stems are easily broken. 



The glory of the tigridia is the spotting 

 of its flowers — a charm that defies descrip- 

 tion or illustrations. The names tigridia 

 and tiger-flower refer to this characteristic. 

 So does the name of the dominant species 

 (Tigridia Pavonia), which indicates that its 

 markings suggest those of a peacock. The 

 blossom is said to open like a shell, whence 

 the commonest name of all — shellflower. 



The tigridia has gladiolus-like foliage. 

 The lower halves of the three large segments 

 of the flower make a sort of cup, while the 

 upper halves spread horizontally. The 

 spreading part of the flower was originally 

 orange-red, purple, or yellow, while the 

 spots blended together all the colors of the 

 rainbow, but we now have lilac — and rose- 

 petaled varieties, light blue, crimson, and 

 even a pure white flower without any spots. 

 The tigridia has even larger flowers than 

 the gladiolus (often four inches, some- 

 times five or six) but it belongs to that large 

 section of the Iris family, whose individual 

 flowers last only a single day. But there is a 

 good succession of them. The principal 

 blooming period is July and August, and the 

 best colors are developed during dry weather. 



Plant the corms four to six inches apart 

 and two or three inches deep. The plants 

 grow one and one-half to two and one-half 

 feet high. The corms cost five to eight cents 

 each, or forty to sixty cents a dozen. 



I believe more money is spent on the canna 

 than on the dahlia. It probably ranks second 

 only to the geranium as a bedding plant. The 

 canna has some advantages over the dahlia. 

 The foliage is more refined, not coarse; there 

 is no four-lined plant bug to destroy the buds; 



it blooms abundantly and incessantly from 

 early in July until frost. It is probably the 

 easiest of all bulbs to keep over winter. 



Because the canna gives more for the 

 money than any other spring-planted bulb, 

 it is enormously overdone. A canna bed in 

 the middle of a lawn makes the grounds 

 seem smaller than they are, and introduces 

 a tropical note which will never harmonize 

 with a northern landscape. The canna 

 belongs close to the house because its lines 



The devil's iongue (Amorphophallus Rivitri) flowered 

 in an ordinary saucer and later planted in soil to 

 maKe its growth. It has a strong disagreeable odor. 

 232 



are stiff and architectural. It is also proper 

 to put cannas in a secluded spot, where one 

 makes a specialty of formal flower beds for 

 private home enjoyment. 



The most beautiful cannas, because of 

 their fluted petals, are the orchid-flowering 

 kinds. They also have the largest flowers 

 and must be shaded from the midday sun. 



A canna bed seven feet across costs about 

 two dollars, or if you begin with a fifteen-cent 

 bulb and divide the plants carefully, you 

 will have material enough for such a bed at 

 the beginning of the third season. After 

 April 1 st, the seedsmen send out growing 

 plants instead of dormant roots, which cost 

 about twenty-five cents each instead of 

 fifteen. 



A good-natured rivalry often springs up 

 among neighbors to see who can raise the 

 biggest caladium leaves and it is one of the 

 few plants that is not spoiled by mere bigness. 

 The bigger the better, for rapid growth brings 

 a more attractive texture and color. 



Get bulbs a foot or more in circumference 

 worth thirty-five cents each instead of the 

 little seven-centers. Then give the bed a 

 six-inch mulch of well-decayed manure. 

 Finally, provide an abundance of water for 

 it is a moisture-loving species. 



Follow these hints and you will get plants 

 six to ten feet high, with leaves four feet 

 long and three feet wide. If you beat this 

 record, send us a photograph, with measure- 

 ments and details of culture, to The Garden 

 Magazine for the "Record-Breaking 

 Achievements," which are an annual feature 

 of the Christmas number, and you will get 

 a check for five dollars. 



The correct name of the caladium is 

 Colocasia antiquorum, var. esculentum. Its 

 prototype is a native of India, but the variety 

 we cultivate for ornament is a native of 

 Hawaii and Fiji, where its bulb furnishes 

 "taro," a starchy food from which "poi" is 

 made. 



The latest novelty in this line is New 

 Century, the following description of which 

 is toned down from the catalogues: "A new 

 species from Central America, with leaves 

 three to five feet long and two to two and one- 

 half feet broad, of leathery texture and 

 metallic lustre. Flowers twelve to fifteen 

 inches long, creamy, fragrant, produced all 

 summer." 



The genus Oxalis, which includes the wood 

 sorrel, is noted for the beauty and variety 

 of its leaves. Two summer-blooming kinds 

 that are said to be very dainty for edging 

 walks and flower beds are the four-leaved 

 oxalis (O. tetraphylla, but known to seedsmen 

 as O. Deppei), and the wooly-stamened 

 oxalis (O. lasiandra). The former has four 

 leaflets, sometimes three; the latter five to 

 ten. The flowers of the first are lilac to 

 deep rose, the latter rosy crimson. They 

 grow a foot high. Bulbs cost only fifteen 



