CALOCHORTUS CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 
In California, the native state of most of them, it is the easiest possible 
thing to grow them well. And Californians, of all others, should cultivate 
the Butterfly Tulips, at once so beautiful and our own special pride. 
Let the bed be slightly raised to give the perfect drainage, which is the 
first requisite to success. If it slopes slightly to the south it is better. 
The bed should be filled to the depth of about ten inches with a light, 
loose soil. Do not use one in which there is manure — sandy loam suits the 
larger number of them. To keep the soil loose and porous, any loose 
material, such as small gravel and grit, spent tanbark, or pounded charcoal 
well mixed in, is a great help. 
November is the best month in which to plant, but in California Calo- 
chorti can be put in the ground as late as February and make a good 
growth. 
Plant about 2 to 3 inches deep, and as far apart each way. A little shade 
is a good thing. 
Only water when plainly needed, and after they have flowered dry off 
completely, and leave alone until fall. The lirst rams will start them into 
fresh growth and they do not need to be reset. 
CULTURE IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES 
Keeping the essentials that I have mentioned in view, the following 
from "Garden and 1^'orest," of July 7, 1897, written by J. R. Gerard, a 
successful amateur of Elizabeth, New Jersey, will give valuable cultural 
hints: "It is probable that many who have ventured to grow them have 
been disappointed in results, for the cultural directions of the catalogs 
are usually more or less incorrect. They often recommend cultivation in 
frames or other conditions which deter most growers from attempting 
their cultivation. My experience with all the species is that they are not 
tender nor at all diificult to flower in this latitude in the ordinarj^ garden 
border. Calochorti grow natural!}' in regions rainless in summer and 
where dormant plants waken into growth in the fall under the influence 
of moisture, but not necessarily of a high temperature. They arc hardy 
here without protection, but must be classed with those bulbs whose foliage 
will not always endure the rigor of our winter. The successful growths 
of such bulbs require that after being thoroughly ripened in the early 
summer they shall be kept perfect!}' dormant so late in the year that no 
foliage can appear above the ground until early in the ensuing spring. 
The simplest and safest procedure is to lift the bulbs after ripening foliage 
indicates dormancy, and store them in dry earth in a warm dry place, 
and plant out when the ground has lost its warmth, which in this locality 
is in November. Under such treatment they grow and flower well here 
even in soil too hard to work in dry weather, and with no other attention 
than that already suggested. Of course one does not plant bulbs in 
manured soil or soil rich in humus, which will hold water and ferment to 
their injur}'." 
CULTURE IN ENGLAND 
A successlul grower writes in London "Garden": "A large raised 
bed, formed in November, and sloping to the south, was composed of leaf 
mold and road grit in ecpial parts, wilii a similar portion of sharp sand. 
The bulbs were planted three inches deei), and the whole bed was covered 
with reeds to throw ofl^ the hcav}' rains and keep the soil open. Many 
young growths appeared early in January, and by the end of February 
nearly all^ were showing above ground. The reeds were then removed. 
In my opinion a good many failures to grow Calochorti may be attributed 
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