Fall Bulbs, Tulips, Hyacinths, Crocus, Scillas, and the Like

The first hard frost in September—about the 20th inst. at the North—is usually followed by a few weeks of mellow fall weather. If one has been so fortunate as to have saved Cannas, Caladiums, and other tender bulbous plants by night protection or by turning the hose on very early in the morning before the sun reaches them, they will grow and ripen well in these last warm days. These sudden falls of temperature usually find the gardener unprepared, and unless water is at hand plants will be cut down by frost. When this happens remove, with a sharp knife, the frozen portions, and consign to the compost heap. If allowed to remain, these not only give the yard a most untidy appearance, but the decay is likely to extend to the bulbs. The plants may then be left to ripen in the ground for several days, according to the weather, or the necessity of preparing the ground for other plants.

Dig all roots to be saved on a warm, sunny day, and dry in the sun for several days if the weather is fair and warm. Cover with blankets at night or leave them on the floor of a sunny room until the earth about their roots is dry, pack in boxes of dry earth or sand, and store in a dry, frost-proof cellar.

Dahlias and the common tall Canna are easily wintered in a warm, dry cellar. The large Orchid-flowered Cannas are much more difficult to winter, and are very apt to dry-rot under the most favourable circumstances. I have found laying on the ground (under the steam-pipes where they are run outside the cellar) and covering with dry earth a very good way of handling them. They should be examined occasionally, and if they seem too dry sprinkle with water. If the Caladium bulbs show any decay of the centre-shoot all the decayed parts should be pulled off down to sound tissue. Parts of Cannas broken in digging should be removed with a sharp knife. Where there is but a small quantity of roots, shave off the dirt and wrap the tuber in tissue-paper. Store on a shelf in a closet, or other convenient frost-proof place. There is no more uncertain root to carry through the winter. Florists often lose their entire stock by decay or dry-rot, and were it not for this the Canna would soon become a drug on the market, and only novelties have a sale.

Dahlias are much more easily wintered, doing well in any cellar that will keep potatoes in first-class condition. All roots wintered in cellars should be placed on elevated shelves or tables away from the low temperature of the floor—on a swinging shelf, if the cellar is frequented by rats and mice.

Gladioli will keep perfectly if stored in flour-sacks and hung from a beam or post near the ceiling. Montbretias may be wintered in the same way.

When the Cannas, Caladiums, and other summer plants are out of the way the beds may be prepared for the fall planting of bulbs for early spring blooming. The vacant foliage-beds on the lawn offer the best place, as the bulbs will have played their part and passed on by the time these are needed again for the summer occupants.

If the beds have been lowered owing to limited water-supply haul on a few wheel-barrow loads of very old manure and earth, and mix thoroughly with the soil, raising them sufficiently to shed water. If permanent bulb beds are preferred (which may be planted with annuals in the summer) choose an exposure slanting toward the south, if possible, as this will insure earlier flowers. See that the soil has good natural drainage, or, if this is lacking, supply it by excavating to a depth of eighteen to thirty inches, and placing several inches of broken stone or crockery in the bottom for drainage. Return the soil to the bed, making it mellow and fine. The earlier the bulbs are planted the more roots will be started before the ground freezes, but late fall or winter planting, providing the ground is not frozen, is preferable to spring planting. Spring-planted bulbs rarely amount to anything, having lost much of their vitality by being so long out of the ground.

A bed facing the south is warmer and earlier than any other, hence it is sometimes liable to a set-back—if not actual injury—from a sudden sharp frost after the plants have started in the spring, and the litter should not be wholly removed until it is entirely safe to do so. An ideal bed for early bulbs would be one on the south side of the house, sloping slightly toward the south, with a frame around it somewhat higher at the back, over which a canvas attached to hooks could be drawn on cold nights and days. The frame should be made so that it could be readily lifted on the approach of warm weather.

Hyacinths, Tulips, and Narcissi look far better when planted each in a bed by themselves, as they are not at all in harmony. Plant Hyacinths seven inches apart and four inches deep, either in beds of vivid colours without other order than a regular distance apart, or according to some colour arrangement or geometrical design. Tulips should be planted four inches apart each way and four inches deep. A good arrangement is to draw lines across the bed forming squares—four inches for Tulips, seven for Hyacinths—and set a bulb at each corner. The centre of the square may be filled with Crocus or Scillas, which will have finished blooming before the larger flowers are out. Only Tulips of the same height and season of bloom should be set together.

Scillas and Crocus together make a bed that can hardly be surpassed in bulb planting. The effect is best where only the white Crocus is blended with the blue of the Scillas.

Protect the bulb beds with rough manure, leaves, and evergreen boughs during winter. Remove the protection gradually in the spring, and leave the finest of the manure to enrich the soil.

When through blooming in the spring, and the foliage has ripened, the bulbs may be lifted, dried, and stored away in a cool place until fall. All these bulbs increase rapidly, both by multiplying and by seed. Neglected beds of Tulips seem to multiply and perpetuate themselves indefinitely, but the new plants will be found to be all from seed, as the Tulip forms its new bulbs at the base of the old, and if they were not frequently taken up and reset they would grow so deep in the ground that all the strength of the plant would be exhausted reaching the surface, and there would be no bloom. The seedlings make robust plants, and do not deteriorate materially.

The seed formation of the Crocus is very interesting. If dug a few weeks after its season of bloom is over, under the ground, below the blossom, the stem will be found to have expanded into a long chamber or cell as large around as a lead-pencil and an inch or more in length. Open this and it will be found full of exquisite pink pearls; these are the seeds. As they ripen they become nearly black, the cell bursts, and the earth receives them. The Scilla lengthens its flower-stems until they lie on the ground, forming large seed-pods filled with white pearls. When the plants are taken up, if these little seeds are saved the stock will increase much more rapidly.

The beds are often wanted for other plants before the foliage has had time to ripen. In that case the bulbs may be lifted and heeled-in, in some out-of-the-way place, until ripe, care being taken to preserve the seed-pods. Heeling-in means digging a shallow trench, laying in the roots of the plants in a row, and covering them with earth. They must be lifted when ripe and not allowed to grow.

A pretty way to grow the Scilla, Crocus, and Snowdrop is to scatter them on the lawn in the grass, planting singly or in clumps. Lift the sod with the trowel and slip the bulbs under, right side up, leaving them to care for themselves. Plant hundreds in this way; they will be through blooming by the time the grass needs cutting.

The various varieties of Narcissi should be planted in permanent beds or borders, where they need not be disturbed except as it is necessary to divide them. They should be set four inches deep and twelve inches apart each way, that they may have room to increase. The new bulbs of Narcissi form in a cluster around the old, and unless allowed to develop freely will not bloom. If set the proper distance apart they will need to be taken up but once in four years. Do not wait for them to show signs of a crowded condition, but move on schedule time, and keep them blooming continuously. All the Narcissi, except the Polyanthus, are hardy, and all are lovely—especially the large trumpet sorts. Emperor and Empress, Horsfieldi, and Sir Watkin are especially good in the open grounds. Poeticus, P. ornatus, Alba plena, Odorata, and Von Sion all make beautiful borders.

There are a few other bulbs for fall planting that are hardy all over the country. The Chionodoxa, Glory of the Snow, is a recent introduction from Asia Minor. Like the Scilla it is blue, a rare and desirable colour in spring flowers. Winter Aconite, with its tiny, golden-yellow flowers, the first of the spring; Wood Hyacinths, Dog-tooth Violets, Fritillarias, Crown Imperials, and Snowdrops are all worth a place.

The bulbs advertised by the seedsmen as hardy in a temperature like that of Philadelphia may not prove hardy in Canada, Michigan, Northern Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Dakota, and this must be borne in mind when purchasing same. The safest way, when in doubt, is to address a letter of inquiry to the dealer offering the plants, in regard to suitability for your particular climate.

Bulbs for winter blooming. I have come to the conclusion that almost anything will grow and blossom if given the proper care. For the amateur, whose only field is the sitting-room window, it is better to undertake only those varieties with which one may be sure of success under ordinary care, as the Hyacinth, Narcissus, Scilla, Crocus, Anemone, Ornithogalum arabicum, and Freesia. These are absolutely sure bloomers, and much more reliable in the matter of producing flowers than a Geranium. In selecting Hyacinths the single will generally give better satisfaction than the double, and there should always be a generous proportion of white among the colours selected. Alba superbissima, Baroness Van Thuyl, and La Grandesse are among the best whites; Norma gigantea, Roi des Belges for pinks and reds; Ida is the best yellow; and Czar Peter and Grand Lilas the best blues.

Among the Narcissi nothing finer than the large trumpet varieties could be desired: Horsfieldi, with its yellow trumpet and snow-white perianth; Sir Watkin, or the Giant Welshman, as it is sometimes called; Empress and Emperor and the clustered Paper White are all exquisite; and the old double Von Sion is most effective in the window-garden.

Hyacinths and Narcissi require the same treatment: Pot as early in the fall as they can be obtained, using good compost and sufficient broken charcoal to insure good drainage; fill to within an inch of the top with the soil, using a four-inch pot for a single bulb or a six-inch one for three bulbs. Place the bulb with the tip slightly above the surface of the soil, label plainly with name and date of planting, and set away in a dark box in the cellar for six weeks or more, or until the pot is well filled with roots; this can be ascertained by turning the ball of earth out of the pot. If the earth is not well covered with roots return to the box for a few days longer. If there is sufficient root growth place in a warm, sunny window in a temperature of about 70°. When first potted they should be well watered, and thereafter kept merely moist, but on bringing to the light and heat they should have water in the saucer most of the time. When the flowers are fully expanded they may be moved into a cooler, less sunny window, where they will remain in perfection much longer.

Anemones give beautiful winter blossoms and require practically the same treatment as Hyacinths. The bulbs are placed an inch and a half below the surface. They are queer, shrivelled-up little things, with roots which fill up surprisingly after being in the damp soil. When up and growing they require abundant water and sunshine. Keep the saucer full of water all the time; failure in this respect means blasted buds. As Anemones give a succession of flowers they must be left in the window until through blooming. Tulips, Crocus, and Scillas should be potted and placed out of doors where they will not be disturbed, covered with earth and left until freezing weather, when they should be stored in the cellar like other bulbs. It is well in placing bulbs out of doors to set the pots in beds of coal-ashes to prevent the entrance of worms into the soil. They may be covered with ashes instead of earth, the object being to give them the benefit of the frost.

A half dozen Scillas planted in the centre of one of the large round gourds and surrounded with a border of white Crocus makes a very pretty show, and will come into bloom in about three months from the time of planting. The Ornithogalum is an effective flower, and quite sure to bloom, but requires a rather high temperature, as it is of slow development.

Freesia bulbs deteriorate very rapidly once they are out of the ground, and should be ordered early and potted as soon as received. Plant a dozen in a five-or six-inch pot, and set at once in a warm east window, as these do not need to go to the cellar. The leaves and stalks are very tender, and will require support, and this is the greatest objection to the Freesia. Ashes in the soil will counteract this tendency somewhat, and the wire carnation supports are very neat and satisfactory.

Alliums, which have the same defects, require the same treatment.

The varieties of Oxalis are usually started in a sunny window, as they require a strong light. Like the summer bloomers, they increase rapidly and need considerable root room. The Bermuda Oxalis is lovely in a gourd hanging-basket; indeed, a hanging-basket, or bracket, is the only suitable arrangement for it, as it loves to droop and spread itself, and requires abundant room for its wealth of golden flowers. When through blooming it should be allowed to ripen its foliage. It may then be set in the cellar, or a cool place, until September, when the bulbs should be shaken out of the pot and repotted; one bulb to a four-inch pot.

Bulbs of hardy plants may be ripened off, and in the spring planted out in the open ground, where they will bloom the following spring, but are valueless for forcing in the house.