The Garden Magazine, August, 1922 



367 



5- 



6. 



7- 



warmer spot — about 50 degrees. Keep well watered until the 

 leaves are about three or four inches high; they are then ready 

 for more light and a temperature of about 60 degrees. The 

 leaves should be a deep, healthy green and growing rapidly, and 

 the bud by this time plainly visible. 



Now take the plants to a light window but do not place in the 

 sun. At the end of two days, they may be moved into the sun- 

 light and a temperature of 65 or 70 degrees. A good rule to keep 

 in mind as to heat for such plants is 

 the following — 40 degrees for root 

 growth, 50 degrees for stems and 

 leaves, 60 to 70 degrees for flowers. 



This very slow journey to heat and 

 sunlight is necessary if you would 

 keep the bud from blasting. More 

 flowers are spoiled because of haste at 

 this point than from any other cause. 

 And always must the plants have 

 plenty of water. 



If the bud seems too far down in 

 the stalk to bloom at the desired 

 time, it is proof that too much heat 

 has been given too soon. By placing 

 a stiff cone of paper over the whole 

 plant, the flower will be drawn up 

 quickly to the light. 



If the above directions be followed 

 carefully, success is certain and the 

 forcing of blooms may be so regulated 

 that flowers may be had at any time 

 desired during the winter. 



Last year I tried the experiment 

 of leaving three Hyacinths (single 

 varieties), two Daffodils, and two 

 Tulips in the trench from September ■lllllllllllllllllil 

 first to March fifteenth. When taken 



from the trench, the poor Tulips had sent up slender, pale shoots 

 a foot long in an endeavor to reach the light. They, of course, 

 did not bloom. The Hyacinths, too, had stretched up long necks 

 in an endeavor to get their heads above ground. By placing thin 

 supporting sticks in these pots, the plants were induced to 

 bloom in a half-hearted way. The Daffodils, however, had re- 

 mained almost normal in these adverse circumstances, like 

 dignified, old ladies who refused to be thrown out of their usual 

 placid routine. When brought through the various stages of 

 forcing, they responded as beautifully as though nature had not 

 been tampered with at all, thus proving just how easy it is to 

 grow them, and how readily one may regulate their blooming- 

 time. 



Nevertheless, I would not advise leaving them in the trench 

 for any such over-long period. The right way is to plant them 

 a week or two later than'usual, allowing the requisite time for 

 root growth, then delay bringing them into the sunlight and heat. 



;: t;_F 



STEPS IN FORCING BULBS 



Allow ten or twelve weeks for root 



growth. 

 Wash all pots and soak in water two 



or three hours. 

 Mix good garden soil with a little 



sand until mellow and crumbly. 

 Place bulbs firmly in this soil; do not 



screw into the ground. 

 Place potted bulbs in well-drained 



trench in the garden. 

 Have trench one foot deep and with m 



bottom of it covered with coal ashes. 

 Fill spaces around pots with straw, 



leaves, and earth until trench is filled. 

 Cover trench with straw, leaves, or 



boards when freezing weather comes. 

 Remove potted bulbs to dark cellar, 



bringing them very gradually to 



sunlight and warmth. 

 Rule for temperature — 40 degrees for 



root growth, 50 for leaves, 60-70 



for flowers. ■ 



10. 



In this way, with a little thought and care, new blossoms may be 

 had each week throughout the winter. 



Two More Ways — Water and the Attic 



A FASCINATING way in which to force these bulbs is to 

 grow them in water; Chinese Lilies, Hyacinths, and Paper- 

 white Narcissus being especially responsive to this method — an 

 easy one, although not quite as interesting as growing in a trench. 



Bulbs handled in this way are brought 

 to flower by the same procedure that 

 governs trench-grown plants: root 

 growth in the dark, and then brought 

 by gradual stages to the light. 



Preparations are simple: first, put 

 pebbles in a dish of water, keeping the 

 water slightly Jbelow the tops of the 

 stones. A few small bits of charcoal 

 will aid in keeping the water sweet. 

 Place the bulbs on the pebbles and set 

 away in a cool, dark, well-ventilated 

 closet until the roots get a good start 

 and the leaf-spikes are about an inch 

 high. Then proceed as directed and as 

 carefully as with trench-grown plants . 

 Bulbs forced in this way are parti- 

 cularly susceptible to drafts or to too 

 much heat. Many a well-formed bud 

 has failed to become a blossom be- 

 cause of having been placed too close 

 to a cold, drafty window. After bring- 

 ing to the light, all water-grown plants 

 should have fresh water added every 

 few days and two drops of spirits of 

 ammonia each week. 

 Ilillllllllllllllllll A third most interesting method 



of forcing Daffodils and Narcissus 

 is to grow them in the attic. To do this, plant the bulbs 

 as for trench-growing; water well, filling each saucer with 

 water; now place in a good-sized, corrugated paper box; cover 

 and set in a cold, dry attic. When freezing weather comes, 

 stand this box in a wooden one with hay or excelsior between. 

 With this protection the bulbs will be cold, but will not freeze. 

 Open the boxes and water the plants occasionally to keep the 

 earth from drying out. Cold, darkness, and water are the 

 three requisites of attic-culture as of trench growing. 



When the plants have pushed through the soil for about an 

 inch or so, bring them down to a dark, slightly warmer place, 

 a dark closet or pantry. Uncover but still keep them in the 

 box with plenty of water from below. When the leaves reach 

 a height of two or three inches, lift the pots out of the box in the 

 dark closet, gradually bringing them to the sun and a warmer 

 temperature as directed for trench-grown plants. I have had 

 attic-grown bulbs bloom with a beauty that is most inspiring. 



^A« 



