choicest Crinums and a native of South Africa. Its flowers, produced in
umbels of from ten to twelve, are of a soft, delicate blush with a pink
bar through the centre of each petal. It is deliciously fragrant, and
the large bulb and handsome foliage much resemble C. ornatum. C.
erubescens is another rare tropical species, having umbels of as many as
a dozen lily-like flowers of a claret-purple outside and a soft pink
inside with filaments of dark red. It is a free bloomer of easy culture.
C. Capense rosea has the reputation of being the most easily grown of
any Crinum, and is quite hardy with protection as far north as St.
Louis. It is said to winter in the cellar like a Dahlia. Farther north
it should be given the same care in winter as other varieties. The
flowers are numerous—white flushed with rose with a pink stripe through
the centre, and more drooping than the flower in other species. C.
scabrum, often called Christ and the Apostles, having thirteen flowers,
produces an abundance of pale-green foliage beautifully waved and
crimped. It has usually two flower scapes at once, flowers much like the
old Annunciation Lily, but with a longer tube, so that the outer row
droops. The six broad petals are pure, sparkling white with a light red
stripe down the outside of each and a pink one on the inside. This is
one of the most desirable varieties. C. fimbriatum—Milk-and-wine Lily—is
much like C. Kirkii in habit and appearance, but smaller, the flowers
being but three or four inches in diameter, the foliage more erect and
sword-like.
[Illustration: SHOULD BULB OUTGROW ITS QUARTERS SHIFT INTO POT TWO SIZES
LARGER]
C. pedunculatum grows to a magnificent size, fine specimens averaging
six feet in height and width. Its flowers, of pure white with purple
anthers, are formed in umbels of thirty or more; the petals are narrow
and the flowers exquisitely fragrant. It has a queer stump-like bulb
which grows to an immense size, and is an evergreen, producing its
flowers at intervals through the year like C. Americana, which has also
pure white, fragrant flowers, the petals long and narrow. The latter,
when in bloom, throws up one immense spike in the centre of the foliage,
giving the plant the appearance of a great rounded bouquet. It is a
native of the Florida swamps, and should be grown in muck with
considerable moisture, blooming best when pot-bound. C. grandolia, or
augustum, is the finest of all the Crinums: one grown in Florida “with
leaves six feet long and correspondingly wide, with a crown of bloom the
size of a bushel measure.” Its umbels of flowers, thirty or more in
number, with broad petals eight inches long, make a magnificent display.
The buds are a purplish-red, the flowers, when open, a blood red
outside, and a delicate, satiny flush inside. The bulbs grow to an
immense size.
C. Kunthianum, another of the large-growing Crinums, is highly to be
recommended for amateur culture, being much more easily managed than
either ornatum or Kirkii. It is evergreen, and has broad strap leaves of
a bluish green that, in the house, are held erect, and for this reason
it presents the finest appearance of all Crinums. It throws up a tall
spike crowned with ten or twelve large, lily-like flowers of a rosy
white with crimson stripes through the petals.
The general treatment of Amaryllis is the same as for Crinums. Disturb
the roots as little as possible, and give as complete seasons of rest as
the plant seems to require. When it is apparent that they are trying to
rest they should not be forced to grow, but aided to sleep by judicious
withholding of water, tempering of the light, and the like. Evergreen
Amaryllis, like the Aulica platypetala, do not need these periods of
complete rest, but they need a partial rest, and as long as no new
leaves appear should be watered moderately and the roots left
undisturbed as long as possible. Remove all offshoots that have grown to
any size when the plant starts to grow and the top-soil is being
renewed, and pot them off in small pots an inch larger than the bulbs.
The number of fine hybrids have increased so rapidly of late years that
it is impossible to describe them separately, as many of them are flaked
and splashed with colour in a wonderful manner. Of the old-time
favourites it is doubtful if any excels the A. Johnsonii, and a
collection of Amarylli might well begin with this.
Tuberoses should be started in a warm place where they will not be
exposed to draughts or chills. Before potting, take a sharp knife and
remove all the old root and hard substance about the base, leaving but a
thin layer below the bulb. Unless this is done, growth will be either
delayed or prevented, as the new growth cannot push through this hard
substance. Pot singly in four-inch pots and keep moist and warm until
growth begins, when they may be given a position in a sunny window, and
encouraged to grow until time for planting out in the open ground, after
all danger of frost is past. If it is not desired to plant directly in
the open ground they may be shifted into six-or eight-inch pots and
plunged in the ground. They must be plunged to the brim, or over, and
will require more water than when growing in the ground. If they are
still blooming at the approach of frost they may be lifted and removed
to the house. Others that have been bedded out may be lifted, potted,
and brought in, and will bloom as freely, though not as quickly, as
those in pots. Disturbing the roots does not seem to interfere at all
with the process of bloom.
The double pearl Tuberose blooms but once, and it is hardly worth while,
unless one has much room and time, to try to bring the small bulbs
forward to the blooming stage, as they must be cultivated for two or
three summers and cared for for as many winters. The variegated leaved,
however, blooms from year to year, and should be taken up in the fall
and stored in a warm, dry place. This variety is single, but very
fragrant and pretty. Tuberoses do well in the Gladiolus bed, and their
pure white spikes are very attractive among the more brilliant flowers,
but they should be planted in clumps and not scattered among the
Gladioli.
Chapter _FOURTEEN_
Aquatics
There is special delight in the cultivation of aquatics, due partly to
the novelty of the work, and partly to the feeling of rest associated
with this particular branch of floriculture. One can rarely go into the
garden in the early summer without seeing something to do, a plant to be
trimmed, or a vine the wind has blown down, and always plants needing
water. When the lily pond is reached, be it natural or artificial, one
feels that here there is rest, for an established lily pond seldom needs
care. In small tanks the water must be renewed occasionally, but once a
week will be sufficient.
Probably the simplest way of constructing a lily pond where the lay of
the land and soil are favourable, is to mark out a desired area, remove
about two feet of soil and turn the cattle on it. With stiff clay soil
this will in a few months give a bottom sufficiently hard to hold water.
Spread several inches of muck and old manure on this prepared ground and
the place is ready for the water, which may be piped from a well or
supplied by a wind-mill. Such a pond has this advantage over one made of
cement, that semi-aquatic plants, such as Reeds and Bamboos, Japanese
Iris, Cardinal Flowers, and the native Flame Lily may find a place on
its banks and add greatly to the beauty of the pond.
When one is so fortunate as to have a little stream flowing through a
corner of the grounds it can be diverted to form a pond with sufficient
current to prevent stagnation, yet not enough to interfere with the
growing of water-plants. By selecting a low spot beside the stream very
little excavating will be necessary, and the nature of the soil and
force of the water will decide what, if any, barrier may be needed.
Should the stream be some distance from the house a shrubbery, hardy
perennials, and an occasional tree may lead up to the pond. If this is
so fortunately placed as to be on the north side of the grounds, so that
the sun lies on it when seen from the house, the effect will be greatly
heightened by a clump of evergreens on its northern shore, making a
background to arrest the eye and focus it on the lily pond. Where the
landscape is limited, a group of tall Bamboos is effective at this
point, and Japanese Iris may have a place in the foreground; Sagittarias
and ornamental grasses may also be used with good results.
[Illustration: WILD WATER FLOWERS FOR EDGING LILY-POND]
Where one lacks the advantage of natural conditions a cement pond is a
good substitute. It may be expensively constructed with piping for
water, drainage, etc., or it may be made at a cost of from five to
thirty dollars, according to size. Five or six by eight, or eight by ten
or twelve feet, will be found convenient sizes, as they will admit of
reaching the centre. The basin should be about two feet deep when
completed, and if of clay the soil should be wet and made as hard and
smooth as possible. If the soil is loose and sandy it will need a coat
of clay before applying the cement. This may be done by mixing the clay
with water to the consistency of mortar and applying in any convenient
way. Allow this to dry before using the cement. A neat curbing will
greatly improve the appearance of the pond.
When the cement is perfectly dry, place six inches of old, well-rotted
manure in the bottom of the basin, and cover with eight or ten inches of
muck. Make this smooth and level, and cover with one or two inches of
clean white sand to keep the water clear and sightly and prevent the
muck from rising to the surface. Fill with hose or watering-pot, letting
the pond overflow until the water is clear and the sand firm and smooth,
when it is ready for plants.
When a permanent bed of this kind is out of the question, a large zinc
tub, or half a hogshead, will make a small water-garden. These would
better be raised somewhat above the surface of the ground to protect
them from decay. Three small five-inch drain-tiles laid sidewise make a
good foundation, and a very pretty effect may be obtained by piling
rough stones around the tank. Fill in with earth and cover with vines
and plants suitable for a rockery. If a tall Bamboo, or even a fine
clump of Papyrus or Umbrella-plant can be grown on the north side, so as
to overtop the tank without shutting off the sunshine, it will add much
to the general effect. The Lily pond should have full sunshine, but be
protected from rough winds, as the leaves of large Lilies that stand
well above the water are easily injured. The Egyptian Lotus is the
finest of all Lilies suitable for growing in small ponds or tanks. These
plants should be purchased from growers, as they do not seed in this
country and the imported seed is uncertain. One plant is sufficient for
a tub or tank, as they increase very rapidly and do better when not
crowded.
One of these Lilies may be placed in the centre of a small pond of ten
feet or more, and other Lilies grouped around the sides. Hardy Nymphæas
may be planted in the soil of the pond, while the more tender
Zanzibarenses should be planted in twelve-inch pots and plunged in the
tank, as these are not hardy like the Nelumbiums, to which class the
Lotus belongs. Both the Egyptian and the American Lotus are quite hardy
in the open ground with a protection of rough litter and boards. An
interesting peculiarity of the Lotus, by which it may be distinguished
from other Lilies when quite small or out of bloom, is that water
splashed on the leaves always rolls up into little drops like
quicksilver instead of spreading over the leaves, as on Nymphæas and the
like.
[Illustration: WATER LILIES, WITH BACKGROUND OF BAMBOO AND NATIVE
GRASSES]
There are several varieties of Nymphæas suitable for amateur
cultivation—the Cape Cod Water Lily, with its large, cup-shaped flowers
of a lovely pink; T. Richardson, probably the finest white variety; our
native Nymphæas, and the lovely Zanzibar Lilies in blue and crimson.
These last are very easily raised from seed, which, if planted early in
February, will give bloom by July, and may be wintered in a warm, dry
cellar. In a cold, damp cellar they rot. If grown in tubs drain off the
water at the approach of cold weather, remove to the cellar and keep
merely moist. If grown in ponds it is better to plant them in pots,
which may be lifted and brought into the cellar for the winter. Into a
large bowl or crock put a few inches of rich soil, cover with clean
white sand and turn on tepid water until it runs clear. Sow the lily
seed on the surface of the water; it will go to the bottom when entirely
wet and be more evenly distributed than would be the case were it sown
on the soil and the water turned over it.
Through the clear water the whole process of germination may be watched.
In six days a thread-like sprout will have started from the swollen
seed; in six days more this thread-like shoot changes into a tiny
dart-shaped leaf; in another six a true leaf comes upon the scene, a
very small lily-pad, but giving promise of great performance.
When the dish becomes crowded transplant into other dishes, keeping
plants out of water as short a time as possible. When the nights are
warm—at least 60°—plant out in tubs or ponds. For the first year an
eight by ten foot pond may have a Nelumbium in the centre, two or three
Zanzibar varieties on either side, and pink and white Nymphæas at the
end. If the plants have done well reduce the number the second year.
Water Hyacinths are found interesting principally because they are more
or less of a novelty even at the South, having been introduced from
Venezuela about fourteen years ago. This plant has already proved itself
a nuisance in the Florida rivers, seriously interfering with navigation
and calling for appropriations from the Government for its destruction.
In house or garden cultivation the roots increase rapidly. A small plant
set in a tub in full sunshine in May will fill it by August. The leaves
form rosettes and expand at the stem into a sort of bladder that
supports the plant on the surface of the water. The roots trail in the
water until the plant is ready to bloom, when they enter the soil. The
flowers are a pleasing shade of lavender with a yellow centre and form
in spikes like a Hyacinth. Paris green must not be used in the water
where the Hyacinths are grown, but lumps of charcoal and a small
quantity of kerosene may be substituted.
[Illustration: A FULL BLOWN CAT-TAIL]
A few Water Poppies holding their bright yellow cups well above the
surface of the water are always attractive, and Parrot’s Feather
trailing over the sides of the tub gives a bit of tender green through
the summer, but the rockwork, with ferns and plants and a tall reed or
two, makes a much tidier appearance. The Papyrus—the plant from which
our first paper was made—is very effective and will grow wherever a
Canna thrives, though it prefers a low, damp soil. It must be wintered
in greenhouse or cellar. A well-developed clump will grow to a height of
ten feet. Several varieties of Bamboo, to be had from South Florida
nurseries, will do well in the North in summer and stand a considerable
degree of cold. Bambusa arundinacea is a magnificent quick-growing sort
from forty to sixty feet tall at maturity, and will stand considerable
frost. B. aurea and B. Metake are hardy with good protection at the
North. B. Metake is a handsome evergreen species of considerable
decorative value for indoor culture, growing six feet tall with large,
handsome foliage, while A. falcata is a pretty variety with the tiniest
of leaves. Bamboo requires an abundant water-supply, and is therefore
most suitable for the borders of natural ponds, or low, damp spots on
the grounds.
The objection raised to ponds is that they breed mosquitoes and malaria
and are likely to become offensive. So will anything that is neglected,
but there is not the slightest reason for the lily pond becoming a
nuisance in any way. A small amount of Paris green in the water—a
teaspoonful to an eight-foot pond—will keep it perfectly clear and sweet
and prevent the formation of green scum and moss, so offensive in
stagnant water, and the breeding of mosquitoes. Or a little charcoal and
kerosene will give the same results.
[Illustration: NATIVE PLANTS EDGING A NATURAL WATER GARDEN]
Chapter _FIFTEEN_
The Care of the Summer Rose-bed
The old-fashioned June Roses, with their long season of flowerless
bloom, hardly repay the trouble of raising. The hardy perpetuals and
hybrid Teas may now be purchased so cheaply that, even though a large
proportion of them should not survive the winter, a small outlay will
replace them. The thorniness of the old hardy June Rose adds greatly to
the labour of caring for them, and this alone would lead some to discard
them.
If, however, one clings to the old-fashioned Roses from economy or
sentiment, they should be grown to their fullest possibilities by
pruning, cultivation, and liberal mulching with coarse manure in the
fall, and lawn clippings in the summer. Pruning should be done late in
the winter or early in the spring before the sap begins to run. Remove
all weak and straggly branches, cutting back the new growth to the first
strong leaf-buds on the shoot. It is well to cut out the centres, as the
new growth will quickly fill the space and be stronger and better in
every way for the removal of the old wood. It will also leave less wood
and briers to collect and hold dead leaves and grass during winter,
which must be taken out, at the expense of bleeding fingers, in the
spring. Bushes which grow upright with little wood at the base are more
easily cared for. Only strong, new growths should be left, which will
break freely and give firm new wood, producing fine flowers. Breaking
means the starting of young leaf-buds at the axils of each leaf, which
sprout and form new branches. It is the new wood that bears the flowers,
so that its growth should be encouraged. The fewer shoots allowed to
grow the finer will be the flowers.
Cultivate thoroughly in spring and fall and give a heavy mulch of lawn
clippings during summer. Mulch heavily with coarse manure in the fall,
digging in the best of it in the spring. It is not necessary to give
winter protection, though it is best to wrap the tops with straw when
exposed to cold winds.
Hardy climbers should have all weak shoots removed, and branches that
are too long shortened. Thin out a part of the canes to give room for
air and growth, and remove all wood that has grown too hard to break, as
it will produce no new wood and is only an incumbrance.
For the summer rose-bed nothing equals the Hybrid Teas, which bloom from
June until frost. If young plants are purchased in the spring they may
be bedded out at once, if sent by express with the ball of earth about
their roots intact. If sent by mail it will be better to pot off in
three-inch pots, and set in a cool, rather shady place for a few days,
bringing gradually into the sunshine until they have become established,
when they may be turned out into the open ground without disturbing
their roots. If planted at once in the open ground, the more delicate
ones would be likely to perish.
Give the rose-bed a sunny, protected situation, using a soil of good
garden loam, clay, and old, well-rotted manure, made deep and mellow. If
the plants are the small mail-order size set one foot apart each way,
planting according to directions for transplanting, and make the soil
_very firm_ and _hard_ about their roots. Cultivate frequently, or mulch
with lawn clippings, working them in as they decay. _Liquid manure must
not be given until the plants are growing vigorously, when it may be
applied once or twice a week._ More plants are injured by the
injudicious use of fertilisers than in any other way.
If two-year-old plants are purchased, set from eighteen inches to two
feet apart each way. See that each plant has a zinc or wooden label
securely fastened to it, or, what is better, make a list in their
regular order, or a diagram of the bed in a note-book. This permanent
memorandum will enable you to be sure of the name of any particular
Rose.
Cut Roses with a liberal amount of the stem, and only enough pruning
will be needed to keep them in good shape and remove any weak growth. It
is a good plan to cut them down to a bud that will be likely to throw a
good shoot. Hardy Perpetuals or monthly Roses often fail to give more
than a few early spring flowers at the tips of the branches. If the
plants are in good condition, and the branches of some length, peg the
ends down to the ground with a clothes-pin or stick, as the tendency in
Rose growth is for new wood to start from the highest point. Bending the
end down brings the highest point at the middle of the branch, which
will then break and bloom.
Roses, especially the old hardy kinds, will often refuse to bloom,
though well cared for and sufficiently pruned. In such cases
root-pruning may be resorted to by cutting down on two sides of the
plant with the spade and severing a part of the roots. This will often
induce bloom when all other methods fail. Plants occasionally run to
roots as well to tops.
So many and varied are the insect enemies that a hardy Rose, with even
fair foliage, is rare during the season of bloom, unless ceaseless
warfare has been waged from the first swelling of the buds. Slugs, rose
thrip or hopper, and rose-bugs make the life of the rose-grower a
weariness. On this account alone I would recommend discarding the June
Roses in favour of the Teas, which are fairly free from these pests.
Their dark-green, healthy foliage is a striking contrast to the
worm-eaten, rusty foliage of the hardy Rose. The only weakness they show
is an occasional tendency to mildew, and this may be avoided by giving
an airy, sunny situation, setting far enough apart to insure free
circulation of air, and watering early that the foliage may dry before
the chill of night. The remedy is flowers of sulphur dusted over the
leaves.
[Illustration: TRAINING A CLIMBING ROSE]
Rose-slugs are small green worms that feed on the foliage, lying on the
under side of the leaves, which they roll around them or draw together
with a slight web. The remedy is to spray the under side of the foliage
with kerosene emulsion, or with hot water heated to 140°, being careful
to reach every part, or to go over the plant leaf by leaf, pinching the
leaves between the fingers and crushing them. The rose hopper, or thrip,
is a small, yellowish-white insect feeding on the under side of the
leaves, sucking their juice and causing them to turn yellow. The best
remedy is the whale-oil solution sprayed on the under side. For rose
bugs, or beetles, spraying with Paris green is quite effective, but it
must be used promptly, as the amount of injury they can do in a short
time is remarkable. After using an insecticide, the plants should be
thoroughly sprayed with clear water, and if treated with Paris green
label them, that no one may be poisoned by eating the rose-leaves. Roses
for pillows should not be gathered from plants that have had any kind of
poison used on them.
Roses kept in the house during winter are sometimes attacked with green
lice. They may be treated with tobacco in some of its forms, or with hot
water—dipping the entire plant in a pail of water heated to 130°. I
prefer the hot-water treatment, as it leaves the plant clean and
invigorated. Few, if any, plants are injured by it, and most are
benefited. Where there is any question of the effect on a particular
plant a single branch may be dipped as an experiment. It is difficult to
make any choice of Roses where all are so beautiful. American Beauty is
probably the most popular crimson Rose to-day. The Bride stands first
among the whites. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria is a most desirable hardy
white, and the new rose, Virginia R. Coxe—also offered under the name of
Gruss an Teplitz—is one of the most desirable reds; a profuse and
constant bloomer with loose-petalled, medium-sized flowers of the
richest scarlet, shading to glowing velvety crimson. Among the climbers
Mrs. Robert Perry is the finest, an immense, pure, creamy white, quite
hardy, and a free and constant bloomer, valuable for cut flowers.
If one has room for a hundred varieties it is easy to select that number
with the certainty that there need not be a poor Rose among the number.
[Illustration: A ROSE-COVERED BUILDING]
Chapter _SIXTEEN_
The Hardy Lily-bed