HENDERSON'S BULB CULTURE. 



ir 



CALADIUM. 



A magnificent genus of greenhouse or hot-house 

 ornamental leaved plants, exhibiting a wonderful 

 variety and richness of coloring in their foliage. 

 They may be started into growth in April or May 

 in a temperature of 65 to 70 degrees. They grow 

 well in a light rich soil and require plenty of at- 

 mospheric moisture. In fall, when the foliage 

 shows signs of dying down, water must be gradu- 

 ally witheld till they are perfectly dry, after which, 

 they must be stored in a warm room or in the hot- 

 test part of the green-house for the winter. The 

 plant commonly known as Caladium esc7i/entujn 

 does not belong to this genus, but will be found 

 described under Colocasia. Dormant tubers may 

 be procured from November to April. 



CALLIPRORA. Pretty Face. 



A beautiful little Californian bulb, the bright 

 yellow drooping flowers of which are produced in 

 August on short scapes. It is not hardy north of 

 Washington, but will succeed well in a cold frame 

 or pit; or dry bulbs planted out in May will flower 

 the same season. It is very free flowering, and 

 remains a long time 111 bloom. Dormant bulbs 

 may be procured from September till May. 



CALOCHORTUS. Butterfly Tulip. 

 Mariposa Lily. 



A genus of very showy and beautiful half- 

 hardy bulbous plants from California, the 

 flowers of which somewhat resembling a Tulip 

 in shape, are of many brilliant colors, ranging 

 through various shades of white, lilac, blue, 

 crimson, yellow, &c, some being spotted, 

 veined, edged or tipped with gold. Planted in 

 May in the open border they flower in June and 

 July, and should be taken up in fall, carefully 

 dried and stored away for next season. They also 

 succeed admirably when grown in a cold frame, 

 and form very handsome specimens if grown six 

 or eight in a five inch pot. A friend in California 

 who has observed closely their manner of growth 

 in their wild state gives us his experience in their 

 cultivation. "Nearly all" of these Californian 

 bulbs grow in light shallow soils where an imper- 

 vious sub-soil is close to the surface. This insures 

 them abundant moisture during their growing 

 season, which is our winter and spring, while of 

 course the soil becomes perfectly dry in the sum- 

 mer. If planted in loose mellow soil, or if planted 

 shallow, they throw out a fleshy process from the 

 base which goes down to the sub-soil and the bulb 

 is formed there. In making the beds I therefore 

 put a layer of poor clayey soil at the bottom and 

 tramp it down till it is packed smoothly and solid. 

 On this I put a half inch of any light soil, not 

 sand or manure, a mixture of loam and leaf -mould 

 is best, and in this I plant the bulbs, resting them 

 on the solid sub-soil. They are then covered three 

 inches deep with good soil, which is packed firmly. 

 The beds have enough slant to give good drainage. 

 During the growing season they need a good deal 

 of water, several of the species grow where they 

 are wet till after blooming. A few weeks after 

 blooming they can be dried off. Handled in this 

 way I have found that all of the species of Bro- 

 diseas, Calochortus, Fritillarias, and Erythroniums 

 that I have tried, grow and bloom finely, They 

 all do best in the sunlight with the exception of 

 the Erythroniums which do best in partial shade 



and a soil composed principally cf leaf-mould. 

 Dormant Bulbs of Calochortus may be procured 

 from August to January. 



CAMASSIA. Wild Hyacinth. 



C. esculenta resembles the common blue Scilla 

 in appearance, but it is much larger, its leaves 

 being about a foot long and very narrow. It is 

 quite hardy and grows well in any good garden 

 soil, but thrives best in a sheltered partially shaded 

 situation. It flowers most freely when left several 

 years in the same place, and delights in liberal top 

 dressings of rich soil or well-rotted manure. Dor- 

 mant bulbs may be procured from September to 

 March. 



CANNA. Indian Shot. 



The French Cannas are doubtless the most use- 

 ful and effective plants used in ornamental garden- 

 ing. In addition to the tropical character of their 

 foliage their gorgeous spikes of crimson, yellow, 

 orange, or scarlet flowers are exceedingly showy, 

 and can be seen at a great distance. For groups 

 in front of shrubberies or for beds on lawns, or 

 grown in tubs for terrace or piazza decoration, 

 they are unsurpassed. The flowers are produced 

 in abundance from June to October, when the 

 plants may be lifted and flowered in the green- 

 house or conservatory till after Christmas. Dor- 

 mant roots can be procured from November to 

 May. 



CHIONODOXA. Glory of the Snow. 



A small genus of hardy bulbs, producing flower 

 spikes bearing ten to fifteen lovely Scilla-like flow- 

 ers of a beautiful intense blue with a white centre. 

 They are perfectly hardy, and may be planted as 

 an edging to a bed, or in clumps or masses in the 

 front of the shrubbery or herbaceous border, 

 where they are doubly welcome, flowering early 

 in the season with the snowdrops, and lasting a 

 long time in perfection. They will thrive well in 

 any good garden soil, and are admirable for pot 

 culture. Dormant bulbs may be had from Sep- 

 tember to December, but either for out-door plant- 

 ing or for forcing they should be planted as soon 

 in September as possible. 



CHLIDANTHUS. 



C.fragrans, the only species, is a very pretty 

 yellow-flowered bulbous plant from South Amer- 

 ica, which may be grown in the flower border dur- 

 ing summer and taken up in the fall and kept 

 dormant like a Gladiolus. It thrives well in a mix- 

 ture of sandy loam and leaf-mould, and flowers 

 in June. Dormant bulbs may be procured from 

 November to April. 



COBURGHIA. 



Very beautiful greenhouse bulbs of easy cul- 

 ture. The flowers are mostly scarlet, and are very 

 showy. They succeed best with a liberal admix- 

 ture of leaf-mould in the soil, and may be grown 

 and flowered in the open border, planting the dry 

 bulbs in May and taking them up in October. 

 Dormant bulbs may be procured from November 

 to June. 



COLCHICUM. Meadow Saffron. 



Very pretty, hardy bulbous plants with Crocus- 

 like flowers, which need only to be planted in com- 

 mon garden soil to succeed admirably. As the 



