342 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  52,  1897. 
CROCUSES. 
I  woulj  revert  to  Colchicum  fasciculare,  which  was  mentioned 
in  “Hardy  Flower  Notes  ”  in  the  Journal  of  March  4th  (page  176). 
Mr.  Baker,  with  his  uniform  courtesy  and  kindness,  lost  no  time  in 
deciding  the  question  submitted  to  him  and  in  communicating  with 
the  writer.  From  his  reply  it  appears  that  we  are  to  regard  the 
charming  little  Colchicum  received  a3  C.  fasciculare  as  C.  bulbo- 
codioides,  M.B.  (C.  montanum,  Linn.,  ex  parte).  Mr.  Baker  says 
that  Boissier  separates  fasciculare  as  a  species,  but  that  he  “  cannot 
make  more  of  it  than  a  variety  of  montanum,  distinguished  by  its 
very  numerous  flowers  with  very  narrow  segments.”  The  writer  is 
personally  under  an  obligation  to  Mr.  Baker  not  only  for  this  state¬ 
ment  but  also  for  the  information  that  this  Meadow  Saffron  is 
found  near  Aleppo. 
The  same  notes  also  contained  a  reference  to  some  selected 
varieties  of  Crocus  Imperati,  a  valuable,  beautiful,  and  compara¬ 
tively  cheap  early -flowering  species  of  Crocus  not  nearly  so  well 
known  as  it  ought  to  be.  As  may  be  supposed,  these  selected 
varieties  are  more  highly  priced,  and  they  are  again  mentioned  for 
the  purpose  of  sparing  the  purses  of  some  who  might  desire  to 
possess  them.  The  writer  is  indebted  to  the  Rev.  C.  Wolley-Dod 
for  the  information  that  imported  corms  of  this  Crocus  from  Italy 
yield  flowers  varying  not  only  in  colour  but  in  time  of  flowering. 
The  purchase  of  some  from  an  Italian  firm  entirely  confirmed  this, 
and  not  only  are  there  flowers  among  this  lot  of  several  shades  of 
the  purplish  colour  which  has  few  counterparts  in  its  season  among 
the  genus,  but  also  blooms  of  the  varieties  known  as  longiflorus. 
Some  of  these  are  quite  as  deep  in  colouring  as  one  bought  as 
C.  Imperati  longiflorus  purpureus,  and  there  are  also  late-blooming 
forms  without  the  black  stripes  on  the  fawn  colour  of  the  exterior 
which  are  commonly  present  on  this  Crocus. 
One  bought  as  C.  Imperati  longiflorus  unicolor  is  of  this  class, 
and  could  be  duplicated  among  the  imported  flowers.  These 
selections  are  useful  for  those  who  wish  a  clump  of  exactly  the 
same  appearance  and  blooming  all  at  once.  However,  the  difference 
in  price  is  very  great,  as  the  typical  Imperati  can  be  bought  in 
this  country  at  from  2s.  6d.  to  5s.  6d.  per  100,  and  these  varieties 
cost  from  6d.  to  9d.  each,  which  makes  them  about  50s.  to  75s. 
per  100.  Even  with  a  liberal  discount  for  a  quantity  the  difference 
is  enormous.  This  is  a  Crocus  which,  like  the  well-known  Dutch 
florists’  varieties,  should  be  planted  in  generous  numbers.  If 
planted  in  large  clumps  a  quantity  of  Crocus  Imperati  of  the 
mingled  varieties  would  be  very  pleasing,  giving  flowers  some 
seasons  from  New  Year’s  day  until  well  on  in  March. 
Distinct  enough,  however,  to  plant  by  itself,  and  not  dear  at 
last  year’s  price  of  about  6d.  each,  is  C.  Imperati  albidus,  sometimes 
offered  as  C.  I.  albus  and  albiflorus.  This  is  almost  pure  white,  but 
the  interior  has  a  few  pale  purple  lines  and  the  exterior  is  feathered 
with  black.  It  is  one  of  the  coveted  flowers  with  which  the  writer 
has  had  to  exercise  some  patience,  and  upon  which  money  was 
spent  when  it  was  higher  in  price  than  now,  only  to  lose  it  before 
coming  into  flower.  One  can  only  hope  that  the  better  fortune 
recently  experienced  may  be  continued,  and  that  in  years  to  come 
we  may  still  be  rewarded  by  the.  sight  of  its  pretty  blooms  *pread 
out  almost  flat  in  the  sun.  This  does  not  always  come  to  cheer  us 
in  the  first  months  of  the  year,  but  when  it  does  come  there  are 
flowers  to  re»pond  to  its  advances,  flowers  whose  beauty  is  not  to 
be  measured  by  thoir  size. — S.  Aknott. 
BOUVARDIAS  FOR  PROFIT. 
“  Not  much  profit  about  Bouvardias,”  will  be  the  ejaculation 
of  some  of  my  readers  who  have  not  succeeded  in  growing  them 
satisfactorily,  and  they  will  be  right.  They  are  profitable  under 
certain  conditions  only.  If  it  is  a  question  of  sending  so  many 
boxes  of  cut  flowers  to  Covent  Garden,  Manchester,  Glasgow, 
Birmingham,  Bristol,  and  other  glutted  centres,  then  there  is  little 
or  no  profit  attached  to  the  undertaking.  My  first  season  with 
Bouvardias  on  a  large  scale  proved  this.  We  were  fairly  successful 
in  flowering  the  plants  of  good  market  varieties  through  the  late 
autumn  and  winter  months ;  but  3d.  and  4d.  per  dozen  sprays  is 
not  enough  It  was  not  a  “losing  game,”  but  other  plants — 
Carnations  for  instance — would  have  paid  us  much  better. 
At  6d.  per  dozen  sprays  they  pay  very  well,  or  say  6d,  per 
plant  the  first  year,  and  about  9d.  the  second  season.  Let  me, 
however,  warn  beginners  not  to  rush  headlong  into  Bouvardia 
culture  on  the  strength  of  my  estimate,  or  they  may  meet  with 
disappointment.  It  is  not  everyone  who  can  grow  them  success¬ 
fully  ;  and  another  question  is,  Where  are  the  best  prices,  or  those 
stated,  to  be  obtained  ?  Not  in  any  open  market,  or  of  many 
florists  on  a  large-  scale,  as  these  latter  are  onlv  too  well  “  posted 
up’’  as  to  the  current  prices  at  which  they  can  get  all  flowers  in 
season.  We  sell  to  the  smaller  florists,  more  especially  those  doing 
a  good  trade  with  buttonhole  bouquets  and  the  like,  and  who  are 
always  glad  to  have  boxes  of  suitable  mixed  flowers  at  reasonable 
prices.  They  readily  pay  6d.  per  dozen,  and  get  rid  of  fairly  large 
quantities  too.  Bouvardias  ought  certainly  to  be  cultivated  by 
those  who  do  a  retail  as  well  as  wholesale  trade,  and  in  this  case 
Is.,  sometimes  Is.  6d.  per  dozen  are  made  of  the  sprays  or  trusses. 
We  will  first  determine  which  are  the  varieties  of  Bmvardia 
best  adapted  to  market  culture  and  then  enter  into  cultural  details. 
The  single  flowering  varieties  are  very  pretty,  and,  as  a  rule,  most 
floriferous.  Unfortunately  they  do  not  last  well,  and  are  going 
out  of  favour  accordingly.  B .  Humboldti  corymbiflora  is  perhaps  the 
most  beautiful  variety  in  cultivation.  It  belongs  to  the  jasminoides 
type  (fig.  72),  and  produces  trasses  of  long  tubular,  pure  white, 
sweet  scented  flowers  freely  in  the  autumn  and  up  to  midwinter. 
The  habit  is  compact  and  good,  and  it  transplants  readily.  This 
variety  it  is  which  we  frequently  see  most  effectively  in  wreaths, 
crosses,  and  bouquets.  The  flowers  do  not  last  long.  Purity,  a 
comparatively  new  form  of  Humboldti,  possesses  all  its  good 
qualities,  and  in  addition  the  flower  tubes  are  shorter  and  stronger. 
Mrs.  Robert  Green,  a  salmony  pink  variety  with  compact  trusses, 
proves  to  be  very  popular  with  the  ladies,  and  as  the  plant  is  of  a 
robust,  floriferous  habit  of  growth  a  few  of  it  may  well  be  grown. 
President  Cleveland  is  the  best  single  scarlet  I  know,  this  having 
superseded  elegans,  while  Vulcan,  crimson,  and  Vreelandi,  white 
tinged  with  pink,  are  also  good. 
The  bulk  of  our  plants,  for  reasons  already  hinted  at,  are  of 
double  flowering  varieties.  Alfred  Neuner  (fig.  72),  white,  and 
President  Garfield,  pink,  are  in  most  demand,  and  the  be»t  to  grow 
extensively,  while  Victor  Lemoine,  scarlet,  may  well  be  given  a  trial. 
Whites,  in  the  case  of  either  single  or  double  flowering  varieties, 
should  always  predominate  to  the  extent  of  three  to  one,  as  there 
are  so  many  more  ways  in  which  these  can  be  employed. 
When  I  commenced  Bouvardia  culiure  for  the  markets  six 
dozen  well-grown  plants  set  with  flower  trusses  were  purchased 
from  a  London  firm  in  the  autumn.  The  flowers  sold  from  these 
paid  for  the  plants,  and  we  had  a  stock  to  propagate  from.  I  may 
also  be  allowed  to  add  that  newly  rooted  plants  in  thumb  pots  will 
soon  be  offered  by  specialists  at  cheap  rates,  and  these  can  be 
grown  to  a  serviceable  size  by  the  autumn.  After  the  plants  have 
been  cut  over  once  it  seldom  pays  a  market  grower  to  keep  them  on 
the  chance  of  cutting  a  few  late  trusses.  The  space  can  be  better 
employed,  and  the  plants  seldom  produce  good  cuttings  in  quantity 
unless  rested  for  a  month  or  so.  If  the  plants  have  been  flowered 
in  a  temperature  of  55°  to  60°  place  them  in  cooler  quarters  for  a 
time,  but  those  flowered  in  a  warm  greenhouse  need  not  be  moved 
out  unless  the  room  they  occupy  is  wanted  for  other  purposes.  In 
either  case  give  much  less  water  than  previously,  but  they  must 
have  enough  to  keep  the  wood  plump  and  the  roots  alive. 
Supposing  cuttings  are  desired  a  light  pruning  or  a  mere  topping 
may  follow  this  rest,  and  the  plants  early  in  February  be  trans¬ 
ferred  to  a  Cucumber  house  or  other  warm,  moist  quarters, 
syringing  them  frequently.  They  will  quickly  break  strongly,  and 
according  as  the  shoot*  attain  a  length  .of  2  inches  take  them  off 
with  a  heel  of  old  wood  attached  ;  or,  if  a  large  number  of  cuttings 
are  desired,  the  young  shoots  may  be  allowed  to  grow  to  a  length 
of  3  to  4  inches  and  the  tops  be  taken  off  and  rooted,  while  more 
cuttings  will  be  quickly  produced  on  the  reserved  portions.  For 
the  cuttings  fill  well  drained  5-inch  pots  with  a  mixture  of  fine 
loam  and  leaf  soil  in  equal  parts,  with  sharp  sand  added.  Fix  the 
cuttings  firmly  round  the  sides  of  these,  and  plunge  the  pots  in  a 
brisk  bottom  heat  and  clo*e  frame. 
Kept  uniformly  moist,  and  carefully  shaded  from  bright  sun¬ 
shine,  roots  should  form  in  about  three  weeks,  when  they  ought  to 
be  taken  out  of  the  frames  and  arranged  on  a  staging  or  bed  in  heat. 
Top  early,  and  when  breaking  afresh  place  the  plants  singly  in 
2|  inch  pots,  using  soil  as  recommended  for  the  cuttings.  Young 
plants  must  still  be  kept  growing  in  heat  and  a  light  position. 
Top  them  again  when  the  shoots  are  2  to  3  inches  long,  and  soon 
after  shift  into  5-inch  pots.  For  this,  the  final  shift,  use  rough 
fibrous  loam,  or  the  best  procurable,  at  the  rate  of  two  parts  to  one 
of  leaf  soil,  with  a  little  finely  decayed  manure,  sand,  and  small 
charcoal  added,  and  pot  firmly.  At  this  period  of  their  growth 
they  may  be  arranged  on  a  bed  of  ashes  in  shallow  pits  or  frames. 
They  should  be  kept  somewhat  close  for  about  a  week,  watered 
sparingly  till  fresh  roots  have  formed,  and  be  syringed  once  or 
twice  daily.  Bushy  plants  may  be  formed  by  topping  the  plants 
as  often  as  forward  enough,  ceasing  towards  the  middle  of  August. 
Another  good  method  of  growing  strong  flowering  plants  is  to 
top  twice,  and  instead  of  persevering  with  this  topping  peg  down 
the  growths  carefully  to  the  soil.  This  causes  strong  sucker 
growths  to  ipring  up  in  the  centre,  and  which,  if  left  to  their  full 
length,  branch  and  flower  freely — a  more  continuous  supply  of 
bloom  being  had  in  this  way. 
