HENDERSON'S BULB CULTURE. 



23 



of leaf-mould and sand. Their peculiar shaped 

 flowers are marked red, black and yellow, and 

 when trained on a bailoon-trellis make a fine ap- 

 pearance in the greenhouse in spring. They 

 should be planted any time from October to 

 January, and when started placed in a light, cool 

 place near the glass and the training attended to 

 daily. After the leaves have turned yellow, water 

 should be withheld and the tubers allowed to rest 

 to be planted again when growth is visible. Dor- 

 mant tubers may be procured from September to 

 January. 



TUBEROSE. (Polianthes.) 



This pure white, perfectly double, delightfully 

 fragrant flower, invaluable for bouquets or 

 wherever cut flowers are in demand, is too well 

 known to need any description. It delights in a 

 strong, rich, deep, well drained, warm soil ; ma- 

 nure, heat and water are essential to its perfect 

 development. For cultivation in the open border 

 the bulbs should be planted about the 1st of June 

 (the offsets having been previously removed and 

 planted separately to produce flowering bulbs for 

 next season), covering the bulb about one inch 

 with soil. No other care is needed than that usu- 

 ally given to garden plants. Tuberoses, if started 

 in heat in damp moss or pots and planted out 

 about June 20 when the ground is warm, 

 will flower three or four weeks earlier than the 

 dry bulbs planted in the open ground, thus 

 lengthening the season considerably. Forcing 

 Tuberoses for winter is a rather difficult operation, 

 and the demand for the cut flowers does not justify 

 the trouble and expense. A fujl description is 

 given at page 186 of " Practical Floriculture," 

 to which we would refer the reader. Tuberose 

 bulbs may be had at any time from November to 

 June. 



TULBAGHIA. 



A small genus of greenhouse evergreen tuber- 

 ous perennials, of which T. viol ace a is the best 

 known and most interesting. Its flowers, which 

 are of a violet-purple color, are produced in um- 

 bels, somewhat like those of the Agapanthus, to 

 which it is closely allied. It grows well in a com- 

 post of sandy loam and leaf -mould and flowers in 

 id arch. 



TULIPS. 



Tulips are so well known that no recommenda- 

 tion is needed to encourage their cultivation. 

 Nothing can surpass the brilliant and charming 

 effect produced by the judicious planting of these 

 in beds of well selected colors and varieties, and 

 grown in this way, or planted in clumps or lines 

 of distinct, colors in association with Narcissus, 

 Hyacinths, and other spring flowers, or as broad 

 marginal lines in front of shrubbery borders, their 

 effect when in bloom is strikingly beautiful. Oc- 

 tober and November are the best months for 

 planting, and to grow them to perfection the bulbs 

 should be planted about five inches apart and 

 three to five inches deep in well-prepared beds, 

 dug at least a foot deep with a liberal dressing of 

 well decayed manure added. Fresh, coarse ma- 

 nure is injurious. If the ground is hea^- a good 

 proportion of leaf -mould and sand should also be 

 incorporated. In planting designs to color, it is 

 advisable to remove the soil entirely to the depth 

 o: £roe inches and press the bulbs into lines 



drawn to represent the design, and then cover with 

 the soil to the depth of three inches at the sides 

 rounding off the bed to about five inches in the 

 centre to prevent water standing on them in the 

 winter. Generally speaking, the single flowered 

 varieties are by far the most brilliant and showy 

 for out-door planting, although, perhaps, indi- 

 vidually not so massive and rich in appearance or 

 so durable as the double-flowered sorts. Before 

 winter sets in a good covering of rotted manure is 

 advisable, which will protect them slightly and 

 act as a mulch in spring. After flowering, as soon 

 as the stems of the Tulip turn yellow and the 

 leaves begin to dry, they may be taken up and 

 put in a cool, dry place. When dry, thoroughly 

 clean off the old skin and dirt and put in paper 

 bags ready for planting out again in October. 

 When planted in beds, however, it is often neces- 

 sary to remove them to make room for other 

 plants before the bulbs are properly ripened. In 

 this case they should be carefully taken up, as 

 they are very brittle at the neck at this stage, and 

 " heeled in " in some slightly shaded place until 

 the foliage is quite withered. They may then 

 be cleaned and stored, as above. Tulips are now 

 also extensively grown in pots with from three to 

 twelve bulbs in each, and make fine specimens for 

 the greenhouse or conservatory ; they are also 

 forced very extensively for cut flowers during the 

 winter and spring months. The method of cul- 

 ture is identical with that of the Hyacinth and 

 Paper White Narcissus, which see. Dormant 

 bulbs may be procured from September to Feb- 

 ruary. 



TYDJEA. 



Very distinct plants of the Gesnera family, pro" 

 ducing a long and brilliant succession of flowers of 

 the most diverse shapes and gay colored markings. 

 They are valuable for winter flowering, as by 

 starting them early or late they will bloom at any 

 season. They succeed admirably under the same 

 treatment as the Achimenes which see. 



URCEOLINA. Urn Flower. 



A small genus of handsome summer-blooming, 

 Peruvian bulbs with showy yellow, red or green 

 flowers, thriving well m the greenhouse in a com- 

 post of rich, sandy loam and leaf -mould. They 

 succeed well, planted out in the open border in 

 May, to be taken up in fall and kept over winter 

 like Tigridias, which see. 



VALLOTA PURPUREA. Scar- 



borough Lily. 



An evergreen bulb from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 producing its splendid spikes of scarlet blossoms 

 (not purple, as the name implies) in August, and 

 occasionally at other periods. It does best with 

 ordinary pot culture, requiring liberal waterings, 

 except for a few months in winter. The bulbs 

 should not be often separated, but occasionally 

 shifted into larger pots when they become tho- 

 roughly root-bound. Too frequent shifting is 

 injurious to this bulb, they do much better when 

 pinched, and it is not an uncommon occurrence to 

 see twenty to twenty-five flower spikes with five to 

 eight flowers each at one time from a ten inch pot of 

 bulbs. They may fee grown successfully in the 

 border and dried off in winter like the Gladiolus, 

 except that they should be taken up after a slight 



