BULBS FOR BLOOMING INDOORS AND OUT 
M. COVERDELL 
Plans Which Bring Flowers While 
IHE season for potting bulbs for blooming 
in the house during the winter months 
feU? is October, and work may be continued 
on through November. 
The most popular varieties of house bulbs, and 
the easiest grown, are: Chinese Sacred Lily, 
Paper-white Narcissus, Calla, Hyacinths, and 
Amaryllis. The Tulip sometimes will prove a 
good bulb for winter blooming in the house, but 
is a little more difficult to handle. 
Regular bulb-pots, about five inches in dia¬ 
meter, are best suited to Callas, Hyacinths, and 
Amaryllis. Pebbles or broken bits of crock are 
placed in the bottoms of the pots, to promote 
ample drainage and a good garden soil fills the 
pots to within an inch of the top. A little sand 
in the soil is desirable and especially just under 
the bulb, as a cushion for it to rest on. If woods 
available, so much the better. 
For indoor growth the bulbs are set much shallower than in 
outdoor planting, the crown being left just above the surface 
of the soil in the pots, and the soil pressed down firmly around. 
The smaller bulbs do well with two or three bulbs to the pot; 
while the larger ones are placed singly. 
After thoroughly watering the planted bulbs, take the pots 
down to the cellar, where it is cool and dark. Here they rest and 
develop a vigorous root-system for producing blooms later. 
In from four to eight weeks, the first shoots will be up about 
an inch high and the bulbs ready to be taken up into the light 
and kept in a sunny window. Stir the surface of the soil fre¬ 
quently, and provide water practically every day— i. e., never 
let the soil get quite dry. 
With good care, the earlier bulbs often bloom by Thanks¬ 
giving, and the succession continues till Christmas, or even 
later. When the foliage wilts down, the bulbs may be stored 
away to be put outdoors later. For the Paper-white Nar¬ 
cissus and the Chinese Sacred Lily, use shallow vegetable 
dishes, piling pebbles, little rocks, sea-shells, or pieces of broken 
crockery and dishes around the bulbs to hold in an upright 
position, and to keep them 
the Snow Flies and in Early Spring 
All are planted in the fall, from September to 
November, depending on whether in Northern, 
Central, or Southern location. Narcissus needs 
early attention, and Tulips can be safely handled 
quite late. The Dutch bulbs come into blooming 
very early the following spring, such as the Cro¬ 
cus sometimes pushing their dainty coloring up 
through the late snows. Then in succession 
come the Daffodils and Hyacinths, the Early 
Tulips and latest of all the May-flowering Cottage 
and Darwin types. 
During the late fall and early winter, the 
bulbs planted in the garden are developing a 
vigorous root-system for sending forth plants 
next spring, and if set out too late, the growth 
' will be slow and undersized, with correspond¬ 
ing small, off-colored blooms. Therefore get 
earth is your bulbs as soon as possible, and plant them on arrival! 
from floating. A sprinkling of 
sand around the bulbs proves 
beneficial. Put one large 
Chinese Fily, or three Paper- 
white Narcissus in each dish. 
Place the bulbs so their 
crowns will reach just above 
the water-line, the dish being 
almost filled with water. Drop 
in a small chunk or two of 
charcoal to keep the water 
sweet, and be sure to replenish 
as it evaporates and is taken up 
by the bulbs. Place the dishes 
in a sunny window, and bloom¬ 
ing will begin in a few weeks— 
about the same time as with 
The Good Bulb Bed 
C HOOSE a good garden soil for the bulb bed, or dig one and 
fertilize it especially for the bulbs. Well-rotted poultry 
manure is best, and is thoroughly mixed with the soil. Fine 
stable-manure thoroughly rotted is also good, but it must not 
actually touch the bulb. Where available, a soil composed of 
fine sand, rotted leaves, and decayed wood is excellent. 
Have the bed in the open sunlight for best results. It is 
imperative that it be well drained. If the bulbs are planted in 
low, wet ground, they are sure to rot. Some growers raise 
the beds above the ground several inches. If this is done, the 
danger of damage from dry weather in dry sections is greatly 
increased, but prevention of setting in wet heavy soil is assured. 
The bulbs may be planted in long rows, borders, circular or ob¬ 
long beds, or in single clumps. 
In digging the bed, spade up and thoroughly pulverize the soil, 
leaving it in the bed. Use a rule to measure the depth for 
planting each bulb as it is set. Or (and this is the best method), 
the bed is spaded to a depth of ten inches, the soil being piled 
at the side. To encourage 
Deptk and Distance Apart to Set Bulbs 
itiii'-- 
Crocus, Snowdrop, and Scilla, 2 inches deep; 2 to 3 
inches apart. 
Jonquils and Tulips 4 to 5 inches deep; 6 inches apart. 
Hyacinths, 6 inches deep; 6 inches apart. 
TJarcissus (Daffodils) and Lilies, 5 to 7 inches deep; 
12 to 15 inches apart. 
drainage, the centre of the bed 
is rounded off two inches leav¬ 
ing the edges lower. An inch 
layer of rather coarse sand 
spread over the bottom of the 
bed.perfectsdrainage. The bot¬ 
tom of the bed is then leveled, 
with about an inch layer of 
fine soil. The bed is now ready 
for receiving the bulbs. 
A s 
the bulbs mentioned above. 
For Earliest Spring Blooming 
O F THE common, so-called Dutch bulbs, so readily grown 
outdoors and yielding a world of pleasure, the following 
are easily available and sure of results: Crocus, Snowdrop, 
Scilla, Daffodil, Tulip, Hyacinth, Narcissus, Lily. 
The Importance of Proper 
Setting 
t S EACH bulb is placed in 
the bed, a handful or two 
of fine sand soil is spread 
around so it will be easy for the roots to get started growing. 
The deepest-set bulbs having been planted first, several small 
stakes, with inch marks on them, are driven into the bottom of 
the bed, and by these the depth of other bulbs is gauged, a 
layer of dirt for covering being added as bulbs are set. If 
desired, the bed may be filled in, after the first deep bulbs are 
set, and holes dug as the other bulbs are set and covered. In 
this case, sprinkle fine sand in the bottom of each hole. 
99 
