A NEW DISCOVERY FOR THE LILY LOVER 



Easter Lilies can be Raised to Flowering Size in an Ordinary Greenhouse 

 in as Short Time as the Common Perennials for the Open Border 



jHOUSANDS of enthusiastic gardeners whose green- 

 houses flourish with Easter Lilies, regularly buy im- 

 ported bulbs that they might just as well have had 

 all the satisfaction of growing. In gardening circles 

 it has been so long tacitly accepted that Easter Lilies could 

 only be grown from im- 

 ported bulbs that we have 

 become accustomed to rely 

 on the outputs from For- 

 mosa for the type (Lilium 

 longiflorum) or from Ber- 

 muda whence comes the 

 very popular Lilium Harrisi 

 (variety eximium). But 

 this recognized "fact," like 

 a good many others of a 

 limiting nature, could not 

 stand against real garden- 

 ing enthusiasm; and it has 

 been shown that the Lilies 

 can be raised from seed in 

 this country. 



Of late years Lilies have 

 become increasingly pop- 

 ular and while maintaining 

 all their predominance at 

 Easter time they have also 

 become a very general all- 

 the-year favorite. But as 

 their popularity has in- 

 creased it has been noticed 

 with apprehension that the 

 imported stock became 

 more and more prone to 

 disease. 



The discover)' and proof 

 that the Easter Lily can be 

 grown from seed in this 

 country is therefore a very 

 significant event, especially 

 as the home grown plants 

 are more healthy and 

 stronger than their impor- 

 ted rivals. 



The first effort at home 

 production was made some 

 years ago by Mr. George 

 W. Oliver in the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture green- 

 houses at Washington. 

 Recently the work has been 

 taken up by the Depart- 

 ment of Floriculture at 

 Cornell, Mr. C. L. Chien 

 and Mr. A. R. Betchel 

 carrying out some very exact investigations under the direc- 

 tion of Professor E. A. White, with the result that now we 

 can have Lilies whenever we want them. 



THE little seedling Lilies are grown on under just the same 

 cultural conditions as when Lilies are grown commercially. 

 The flowers are hand pollinated and cross fertilization is essen- 

 tial. When the stigma is fertilized by pollen from the same 

 flower the resulting seeds are not only few in number but those 



IN BLOOM FOR THE SECOND TIME IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS FROM SEED 



Few attempts to raise bulbous plants from seed are ever made by the 

 amateur, yet few things will yield returns as substantial within a year 

 and a half as these five great fragrant blossoms topping the sturdy stalk 



that are obtained are weak and the plants sickly. Of all plants 

 in the garden none are more easily hand pollinated than Lilies 

 because the parts are so large and conspicuous. Pods mature 

 in about two months. Seeds are sown in October in a soil 

 to give good drainage— one-third garden loam, one-third leaf 



mold, and one-third sharp 

 sand — in well drained flats. 

 The seeds are covered 

 lightly with a mixture of 

 leaf mold and sand and 

 the flats covered with glass 

 and set in a temperature 

 of 55 degrees. 



In six weeks there will 

 be a vigorous crop of seed- 

 lings and in three months 

 they may be potted off into 

 two and one-half inch pots 

 in a mixture of one-half 

 finely sifted garden loam, 

 and one-half leaf mold. 

 The plants are kept cool 

 and somewhat shaded dur- 

 ing the spring and sum- 

 mer when growth is slow. 

 A bulb forms during the 

 summer, and during the 

 periods of experimenting 

 at Cornell they were twice 

 repotted so that by Octo- 

 ber they were in six-inch 

 pots. At that time a few 

 actually began to flower — 

 one flower to a stem. 

 These were cut and the 

 plants repotted. New 

 growth immediately starts, 

 and another flower stalk 

 by April bears three or 

 four flowers, strong and 

 sturdy — sometimes five 

 and six flowers. And after 

 all eighteen months is not 

 a long time from seed to 

 such a crop of flowers. 



Easter Lilies Are Hardy! 



IN ADDITION to the 

 1 Cornell experiments 

 that show us that we can 

 have Lilies indoors when- 

 ever we want them, there 

 are being carried on at 

 Washington investigations 

 that promise information and opportunities of even greater 

 value and significance. Already they have led Mr. David 

 Griffith of the Department of Agriculture, who is in charge 

 of the work, to declare that as outdoor garden flowers Easter 

 Lilies " go through both our severely cold and severely warm 

 winters perfectly; and that when properly handled there is no 

 more danger from winter injury than there is with Tulips, 

 Narcissus, or Hyacinths." 



The most important single feature of this proper handling is 



105 



