THE CULTURE OF FLOWERING BULBS

Our popular flowering bulbs are obtained from many lands; they are

exceedingly diversified in character, and they bloom at different

periods of the year. Each variety has a value of its own, and answers to

some special requirement in its proper season under glass or in the open

ground. In the darkest winter days we prize the glow of Tulips and

Hyacinths for brightening our homes. And bleak days are not all past

when Aconites and Snowdrops sparkle in beds and borders. The Anemones

follow in March, and during the lengthening days of spring there are

sumptuous beds of Hyacinths, Narcissi, and Tulips. When high summer

begins to decline we have stately groups of Gladioli and many beautiful

Lilies in the shrubbery borders.



Not least among the merits of Dutch Bulbs is the ease with which they

can be forced into flower at a period of the year when bright blossoms

are particularly precious, and they are equally available for the

grandest conservatory or the humblest cottage window. They are

attractive singly in pots or vases, or they can be arranged in splendid

banks and groups for the highest decorative purposes. Another advantage

is that bulbs endure treatment which would be fatal to many other

flowers. They can be grown in small pots, or be almost packed together

in boxes or seed-pans; and when near perfection they may be shaken out

and have the roots washed for glasses, ferneries, and small aquaria; or

they can be replanted close together in sand, and covered with green

moss. Their hardiness, too, permits of their being grown and

successfully flowered without the least aid from artificial heat. Small

beds and borders may be made brilliant with these flowers, and the

number of bulbs that can be planted in a very limited space is somewhat

astonishing to a novice. Unlike many other subjects, bulbs may be rather

crowded without injury to individual specimens.



For the decoration of windows no other flowers can compare with Dutch

Bulbs in variety and brilliancy of colour. Some of them are not

particularly long-lived, and this need occasion no regret, for it

affords opportunity of making constant changes in the character and

colour of the miniature exhibition, which may easily be extended over

many weeks. And a really beautiful display is within reach of those who

have not a scrap of garden in which to bring an ordinary plant to

perfection. Unused attics and lead flats can, with a little skill and

attention in the case of bulbs, be made to answer the purpose which pits

and greenhouses serve for many of our showy plants. Some of the most

attractive flowering plants cannot be successfully grown in large

centres of population, but bulbs will produce handsome blossoms even in

smoky towns.



We do not recommend the attempt to grow bulbs in the actual

window-boxes. It is seldom entirely satisfactory. They should be treated

in the manner advised under the several varieties in the following

pages, and just as the colours are becoming visible, a selection can be

made from pots or boxes for crowding closely in the ornamental

arrangements for the window. When the first occupants show signs of

fading, others can be brought forward to fill their places, and this

process may be repeated until the stock is exhausted. Winter Aconites,

Snowdrops, Squills, and Glory of the Snow furnish the earliest display;

these to be followed by Crocuses, Tulips, Hyacinths, and the many forms

of the great Narciss family, until spring is far advanced.



The secret of their accommodating nature lies in the fact that within

the Hyacinth or Tulip every petal of the coming flower is already

stored. During the five or six years of its progressive life the

capacities of the bulb have been steadily conserved, and we have but to

unfold its beauty, aiming at short stout growth and intensity of colour.

Of course there is an immense difference in the quality of bulbs, and

they necessarily vary according to the character of the season. The most

successful growers cannot insure uniformity in any one variety year

after year, because the seasons are beyond human control. But those who

regularly visit the bulb farms can obtain the finest roots of the year,

although it may be necessary to select from many sources.



Such bulbs as Lilies, Iris, Montbretia, Hyacinthus, and Alstroemeria

suffer no deterioration after the first year's flowering. Indeed, it

will be the cultivator's fault if they do not increase in number and

carry finer heads of bloom in succeeding years. As outdoor subjects some

of them are not yet appreciated at their full value. Magnificent as

Lilium auratum and L. lancifolium must ever be in conservatories,

they exhibit their imposing proportions to greater advantage, and their

wealth of perfume is far more acceptable, when grown among handsome

shrubs in the border. Very little attention is needed to bring them up

year after year in ever-increasing loveliness.



Growing Bulbs in Moss-fibre.--A most interesting method of growing

bulbs is to place them in bowls and jardinieres filled with prepared

moss-fibre, and far better results for home decoration may be obtained

in this way than by using ordinary potting soil in vases, &c. For this

system of culture no drainage is necessary, and the bowls and vases

which are specially made for the purpose are not pierced with the usual

holes for the escape of water. The receptacles are non-porous and may be

placed on tables and columns, or they can be employed in halls and

corridors without the slightest risk of injury. The fibre is perfectly

clean to handle, odourless, and remains sweet for an indefinite period.



Vases of any kind may be used, provided they are non-porous, but the

bulbs to be planted in them should be of a suitable size. For quite

small jardinieres, white and purple Crocuses, Scillas, Snowdrops, and

Grape Hyacinths are available, also the smaller varieties of Narcissi.

Larger vases will accommodate Hyacinths, Narcissi, Tulips, &c. It is

better not to mix different kinds of bulbs in one bowl unless

simultaneous flowering can be insured. The specially prepared fibre

needs only to be moistened before use. Having selected suitable

receptacles for the bulbs to be grown, place a few pieces of charcoal at

the bottom of each bowl. Then cover the charcoal with one to three

inches of moistened fibre according to the depth of the bowl, placing

the bulbs in positions so that their tips reach to within half-inch of

the rim. The spaces between and around the bulbs to be filled with

moistened fibre, carefully firmed in by hand. The bulbs will require

practically no attention for the first few weeks and may be stood in a

warm, airy position, but on no account must they be shut up in a close

cupboard. If the fibre has been properly moistened there will be no need

to give water until the shoots are an inch or so long, but the fibre

must not be allowed to go dry, or the flower-buds become 'blind.' The

surface of the fibre should always look moist, but if too much water has

been given the bowl may be held carefully on its side so that the

surplus water can drain away. As the growth increases more water will be

required and all the light possible must be given to insure sturdy

foliage. This fibre also answers admirably instead of water for

Hyacinths grown in glasses, but care should be taken to fill the glasses

as lightly as possible with the compost; if crammed in tightly the root

growth is liable to lift the bulbs out of position.