236 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Mat, 1909 



Save Your Easter Lily Bulbs 



ALMOST everybody throws away the bulbs 

 of Easter lilies that have been forced as 

 soon as the flowers have lost their beauty. For 

 the commercial grower no other course is worth 

 while, but for the person who has only a few bulbs 

 — perhaps only one — a relief from the general 

 run of August flowers can be had by allowing the 

 bulbs to dry off in the pot until May, and by plant- 

 ing in the garden or border the chances are that 

 they will bloom in about three months. The blos- 

 soms, of course, will not be so numerous or quite 

 so large as at Easter, as forcing always weakens 

 the stock. 



The two bulbs that I began the experiment 

 with in 1907 produced five blossoms between them 

 the first summer and four the second. The third 

 summer there was no bloom, but the half dozen 

 shoots indicated as many new bulbs, and I am 

 wondering if any of them will wax strong enough 

 to flower this year. 



My two 1907 bulbs gave about the same result 

 the first summer, but met with an accident the 

 second. Of the 1908 bulbs only one came up, 

 and that one, although most vigorous, developed 

 no buds. The net result of the six bulbs has, 

 however, been sufficiently satisfactory to pay 

 many times over for the few minutes that the 

 experiment cost. 



Connecticut. H. S. Adams. 



Lilies That May Be Planted in 

 Spring 



AFTER many years of experience we are con- 

 vinced that wrong planting is responsible 

 for most of the failures in growing lilies. Never 

 make the mistake of planting swamp lilies in sand 

 and alpine lilies in a swampy place. 



Before considering the preparation of the soil 

 it would be well to consider the preparation of 

 the bulbs. Spring planting should be avoided if 

 possible, but as most of our lily bulbs are imported 

 and cannot be had before spring it follows that 

 they are much weakened by being out of the 

 ground so long and by being planted in the cold, 

 wet soil of spring. 



However, we have found it an excellent practice 

 to get the imported bulbs as early in winter as 

 they can be had. We pack them in sphagnum 

 moss that is just damp — not wet — and place 

 them in a cool cellar free from frost, leaving them 

 there until we are ready to plant. When sphag- 

 num cannot be had soil will do, but care must be 

 taken that it does not get too much water. 

 This nursing process is very important as it 

 seems to restore to the bulbs a large portion of 

 lost vitality. Nine out of ten will come on and 

 grow well. If the bulbs were originally sound, 

 they come out plump and hard and ready to 

 begin growth at once. 



The soil must be made mellow and rich. With 

 close, hard soil below, a lily may linger a year or 

 two and then starve out. It does not feed from 

 above or from the side, but from below; therefore, 

 the sustaining elements and conditions must be 

 placed below the bulb. It is therefore important 

 to excavate to a depth of three feet — four is 

 better — and if the bottom will not let water pass 

 through it readily, drainage must be provided. 

 The excavation may be filled with equal parts of 

 leafmold, or rotted sod, and coarse gritty sand. 

 If stable manure is used it should be well rotted 

 and worked in at the bottom. Under no circum- 



stances should the bulbs come in contact with it, as 

 it is apt to cause canker. A heavy coat of wood 

 ashes may be worked into the soil at the top of the 

 bed with much benefit; it will not only discourage 

 grubs but will supply all the potash required. 

 We plant without regard to sun or shade. 



After the bed is prepared it may be left for a 

 few days to compact itself, after which it is ready 

 for planting, which should never be done when . 

 ' the ground is wet enough to be pasty. In planting 

 we use a trowel for the large bulbs, making open- 

 ings fifteen inches apart and deep enough so that 

 large bulbs will have about nine inches of soil 

 over them when covered. Lilium tenuifolium and 

 other small bulbs may be covered with six inches 

 of soil. The bed when finished should be ten 

 inches above the path; in a year's time it will settle 

 to the garden level. 



It is a very bad practice to cut away the tops 

 as soon as they have done flowering, as it will 

 surely weaken the bulbs. We give newly planted 



The swamp lily, Lilium jiardalinum. blooms about 

 the middle of June 



lilies a little winter mulch the first year and a 

 summer mulch of short grass cuttings. 



The swamp lilies, L. Canadense, superbum, 

 pardalinum and Parryi do not require so deep a 

 preparation, and do well in a moist, well-drained 

 soil to which a liberal quantity of leafmold has 

 been added. 



New York. E. Huftelen. 



Growing Easter Lilies in the 

 United States 



FROM one-half to three-quarters of the Easter 

 lily bulbs brought into this country are more 

 or less diseased and do not produce vigorous plants. 

 This is believed to be largely due to the fact that 

 in Bermuda, where almost all of these bulbs come 

 from, careful selection is not practised, and that 

 the land where these bulbs are grown has been 

 given over to their cultivation year after year with 

 no change of crop. So many American gardeners 

 have been unsuccessful in raising plants from these 

 bulbs that they are anxious to produce their own 

 supply; but the question is, where to do it? 

 Should American growers be able to produce 

 Easter lily bulbs, giving them the same treatment 

 that they get in Bermuda, the bulbs would be 

 placed on the market a little later than if imported, 



but the majority of gardeners would not mind this 

 delay provided the bulbs were free from disease 

 and would produce strong, vigorous plants. 



Are Your Tulips Diseased ? 



THE following letter has been received from 

 Mr. Polman-Mooy, a very large bulb-grower 

 of Haarlem, Holland: 



"The many complaints that have been re- 

 ceived during the last few years through the seeds- 

 men and the trade generally, both in this country 

 (Holland) and in Germany, as to the tulips in the 

 beds of parks and private gardens failing to bloom, 

 and in many places failing to grow altogether, 

 now justify me in giving the results of our trials 

 and investigations in this direction. We have 

 for more than three years been making extensive 

 trials, based upon the discoveries of Dr. H. 

 Klebahn at Hamburg, who not only succeeded 

 in finding the cause of the tulip disease but also 

 the fact that it makes its appearance in two dis- 

 tinct forms caused by two fungi, viz., Botrytis 

 parasiticus and Sclerotium tuliparum. 



"Usually the disease caused by the botrytis 

 shows itself in the early spring by the non- 

 appearance (or by their very backward and sickly 

 appearance) above ground of the first tulip sprouts, 

 and upon lifting such diseased bulbs the cause of 

 it (in the shape of numerous small black fungi, 

 about the size of a pinhead, or, in the case oi Sclero- 

 tium tidiparum, by larger dark brown fungi) can 

 easily be detected adhering to the old bulb or 

 what is left of it. Under favorable circumstances 

 (viz., in a damp atmosphere) these fungi "seed" 

 very freely in the spring and thus cause a very 

 rapid infection of the soil or the surrounding 

 tulip plants. As these fungi will retain their 

 vitality for at least two years in the ground, it is 

 not surprising that some soils are so badly infected 

 that tulips will not grow in them. 



"These fungi could be easily killed by an appli- 

 cation of some disinfectant, such as the timber 

 preservatives containing creosote. But experience 

 has proven that the cure is as bad as or worse than 

 the disease, because for several years it will make 

 the ground so treated unfit for any vegetation. 



"The only practical plan, therefore, is to lift 

 out any of the bulbs that show signs of the disease, 

 together with the surrounding soil, at the earliest 

 possible moment in the spring, taking great care 

 that none of it is spilled and that all is completely 

 destroyed by burning. If this is not done with 

 very great care it had better not be done at all, 

 as the slightest spilling of the infected ground will 

 only cause- more spreading of the germs." 



Lilium Canadense likes a moist, well-drained soil, en- 

 riched by a liberal quantity of leafmold 



