BULBS FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 



267 



and the South of France reach this country in July, and 

 if soon potted will flower with little trouble in November 

 and December, when they are particularly valuable. The 

 bulbs of these are small, and should be put three in a pot 

 or grouped in some way. 



A selection of the best Hyacinths is herewith given : 

 Single Red : Baron Van Tuyll, Cavaignac, Challenger, 

 Charles Dickens, Countess of Rosebery, Duchess of 

 Albany, General Pelissier, Gigantea, King of the Belgians, 

 Koh-i-Noor, La Superbe, Lord Wellington, Macaulay, 

 Norma, Queen of Hyacinths, Robert Steiger, Von 

 Schiller, Vurbaak. Double Red : Bouquet Royal, 

 Empress of India, Grand Conquerant, Lord Beaconsfield, 

 Lord Wellington, Noble Par Merite, Prince of Orange, 

 Princess Louise, Sans Souci, The First, Venus de 

 Medicis. Single White : Alba maxima, Avalanche, 

 British Queen, Duke of Clarence, Grand Vainquer, 

 Grande Vedette, Grandeur a Merveille, King "I the 

 Whites, La Grandesse, LTnnocence, Madame Van der 

 Hoop, Miss Nightingale, Mont Blanc, Queen Victoria, 

 Snowflake, White Perfection. Double White : Bouquet 

 Royal, La Grande Duchesse, La Tour d'Auvergne, 

 L' Adorable, Lord Derby, Prince of Waterloo, Princess 

 Louise. Single Blue : Argus, Captain Boyton, Celestial, 

 Charles Dickens, Czar Peter, Duke of York, General 

 Gordon, General Havelock, Grand Lilas, Grand Maitre, 

 King of the Blacks, Leonidas, Lord Derby, Prince of 

 Wales, Sir E. Landseer, William I. Double Blue: 

 Blocksberg, Charles Dickens, Crown Prince of Sweden, 

 Duke of Norfolk, Laurens Koster, Lord Raglan, Prince 

 Albert, Sir Joseph Paxton, Thomas Moore. Single 

 Yellow : Anna Carolina, Bird of Paradise, City of 

 Haarlem, Ida, King of the Yellows, Obelisk, Primrose 

 Perfection, Sovereign, Sybil. There are a few double 

 yellows, but they are unsatisfactory. 

 IxiaS. — Cape bulbs that are almost hardy if planted in a 

 warm, well-drained border, but at the same time they form 

 beautiful objects in the greenhouse in April and May. 

 The wiry upright stems reach a height of I Sin. to 2ft., 

 the upper half being studded with very showy blossoms 

 over I in. in diameter. The Crocus-like bulbs should be 



IXIA. 



potted half-a-dozen or so in a 5m. pot, in a compost con- 

 sisting of loam, leaf mould, and sand. They should be 

 potted in early autumn, and grown on in a cool part of 

 the greenhouse. The different Ixias are verv useful in a 

 cut state. The varieties vary in colour from white to 

 crimson, and in most of them the centre of the flower 

 is ol quite a distinct colour from the rest. In one variety, 

 viridiflora, the flowers are of a beautiful metallic green, 

 with a black centre. 

 Laehenalia. — A large class of small-growing bulbs, some 

 of which are extremely beautiful and very popular, while 

 many are of only botanical interest. They are besi potted 

 in August in the soil above recommended for the Ixias, 

 and like them should be put several in a pot. After this 

 is done, and the pots placed in the greenhouse anil kepi 

 fairlymoist, the young leaves will soon push above ground, 

 and the plants will continue to grow throughout the 



LACHENALIA. 



winter, flowering early in the spring. The Lachenalias 

 are also suitable for growing in suspended pots or 

 baskets. The best kinds are : L. aurea, yellow ; L. Nelsoni, 

 rich golden yellow ; L. pendula, red and yellow ; and L. 

 tricolor, green, red, and yellow. L. Nelsoni should be 

 preferred to the others. 

 Lilium. — The Lily family is an extensive one, but the 

 number of those suitable for growing in pots for the 

 greenhouse is limited, yet some of the most beautiful occur 

 amongst them. The best are L. auratum and its 

 varieties platyphyllum with huge saucer-shaped blooms, 

 rubro-vittatum, which has a crimson band down the centre 

 of each petal, and Wittei, in w hich the flowers are of a 

 clear unspotted white with golden bands. L. longiflorum 

 and its varieties, of which the best known is Harrisi, 

 which is usually grown under the name of Lilium 

 Harrisi, and as such is the most popular of all Lilies. 

 L. nepalense, greenish yellow, marked purple. 

 L. speciosum, known also as L. lancifolium. Of this 

 there are many forms, the best being album, white; 

 Krsetzeri, white ; Melpomene, rich crimson ; roseum, 

 pink ; rubrum, pink, spotted red ; and L. sulphureum, 

 large trumpet-shaped creamy yellow blossoms. 



Lilies should be potted as early as possible, but 

 imported bulbs of some kinds reach this country much 



