HARDY BULBS
Tulips--Zephyranthes
TULIPS
It is a matter for regret that the true beauty of the Tulip has been so
long obscured by the manner of its planting in stiff lines or beds,
where the flowers stood in almost regimental array, with little but
their own foliage to tone down the superfluous brilliancy of the mass
of colour. It is emphatically a flower which requires association with
other plants to show its true value. Grown in bold clumps in the mixed
border, or in irregular groups among the rougher grass, it gives a much
better effect. Individually, the Tulips are very beautiful, and their
value in pots is of a high degree. Of course those who grow the English
florist's Tulip ought to continue to grow them in beds and in lines, so
that they can be protected from frost and shaded readily from strong
sunshine. For ordinary gardens, however, an informal grouping will be
the most satisfactory and pleasing. The species are very varied in
their character, and many of the dwarfer are delightful rock-garden
plants. A good, loamy soil is suitable for all classes of Tulips, but
where it is heavy a little coarse sand may be placed about the bulb. It
is well to plant comparatively early, from the beginning of October to
the end of November being the most suitable time. In gardens subject to
late frosts, it is better to plant in November than in the earlier
month. Three or four inches is the depth generally recommended, but on
light soil an additional inch may be given. Six inches apart is a good
distance at which to plant the bulbs for ordinary effect. The English
florist's Tulip ought to have a good loamy soil, the bulbs being
planted three inches deep and four apart in lines. The end of October
to the middle of November is the best time, but the bulbs should never
be planted unless the soil is in a good working condition. Some litter
should be put over the beds in severe frosts, and an awning erected
over them at the blooming-time to preserve the flowers from rain and
strong sun. There are a number of details connected with the florist's
Tulip and its cultivation which cannot be given in the space of this
work, but Mr Bentley's little pamphlet, entitled "The English Tulip,"
will give all necessary information not to be found here. The florist's
Tulip can be grown in a border, but its effect there is not so good as
that of some of the self-coloured flowers.
The early Tulips are the most prized for pot-culture, but the others
may be used also, although not generally so amenable to forcing. They
should be planted at the rate of from three to five bulbs in a
five-inch pot, according to the size of the bulbs. After planting, the
pots should be plunged in ashes or cocoa-fibre until they have made
root-growth, when they may be brought in as required and subjected to
gentle forcing. Watering must be carefully attended to at this time.
When a number of flowers are required for jardinettes, etc., the Tulips
may be grown closely together in boxes. When they show colour, they may
be lifted with roots intact, and planted in moss in the receptacles in
which they are required.
[Illustration: TULIPS CARPETED BY ARABIS]
The most valuable Tulips for early work are the early Dutch varieties,
many of which are very beautiful and embrace much variety of colour.
The varieties of Duc Van Thol and Pottebakker are largely used for
early bloom, but other good varieties are Bacchus, Canary Bird,
Keizerskroon, Mon Tresor, and Proserpine. Following these are the
popular Artus, Cottage Maid, Crimson King, and many others. As,
however, almost all the bulb-dealers give the blooming periods in their
lists, it would only take up space unnecessarily to detail them. A
special selection of the best for pot work or for forcing would include
such varieties as the Duc Van Thols, Couleur de Cardinal, Globe de
Rigaut, Keizerskroon, the Pottebakkers, Royal Standard, and Samson, all
reliable bloomers where they are properly cultivated.
Double Tulips last a little longer in bloom, but they do not lend
themselves so well to the decoration of the garden, and many people do
not care for their rather heavy-looking blooms. Good varieties for pots
and forcing are Artus, Brutus, Duchess of Parma, Proserpine, Rose
tendre, Thomas Moore, and Van der Neer. For bedding there are Cramoisie
superbe, La Candeur, Murillo, Rex Rubrorum, and Titian, besides a
number more. Variegated leaved Tulips are pretty in beds, even before
the blooming time, but they are not much grown in this country.
The "Cottage Garden" Tulips grow yearly in favour, and they deserve it
because of their beauty and their general hardiness, which enables the
greater number to be permanent border flowers. There are a great many
of much beauty, and a brief selection is necessarily incomplete. It
includes the curious acuminata, Didieri, elegans, Faerie Queen, flava,
Gala Beauty, gesneriana, Golden Beauty, Golden Crown, ixioides,
macrospila, maculata, Picotee, retroflexa, sylvestris major, vitellina,
and York and Lancaster.
The beautiful species of wild Tulips give much variety, and among the
desirable plants may be named Batalini, biflora, clusiana, Greigi,
kolpakowskiana, Korolkowi bicolor, Leichtlini, linifolia, ostrowskyana,
persica, præcox, Sprengeri, and violacea. Many of these are capital for
the rock-garden.
The Parrot Tulips are also showy in the rock-garden or for hanging
baskets, where the large, fantastic flowers droop over and look very
curious with their strange colouring and laciniated petals. They are
rather unreliable bloomers.
The Darwin Tulips are very effective and beautiful flowers. They belong
to the breeder class of the florist's Tulips, but are of a strain with
more brilliant self-colours than the ordinary breeders. They are good
growers, and promise to do well as border flowers.
The English florist's Tulip, while very fascinating in its way, is not
of so much value for the garden as the self-coloured forms, and there
are a good many details to be followed by those who wish to cultivate
it as it deserves. These will be found in Mr Bentley's work, already
mentioned. These English Tulips are divided into three classes with
rectified or variegated blooms, as well as another, which consists of
what are known as "Breeders," which, like the others, have a stainless
base, but have not developed the markings of the other classes.
Bizarres have a yellow ground and yellow base, of various shades, with
orange, scarlet, crimson, black, or brown markings on the ground;
Bybloemens have a white base and ground, the latter being marked with
black, violet, purple, and lilac to lavender; while the Roses, which
have a white base and ground, have the markings of pink, rose, scarlet
or crimson.
ZEPHYRANTHES
Zephyranthes, or Amaryllis Candida is the only really hardy member of
this genus in British gardens which are not specially favoured with a
mild climate, and it will seldom prove a permanent success unless
planted in dry soil in front of a greenhouse or stove and exposed to
the sun. It has beautiful white flowers in autumn, and should be
planted about three inches deep in spring.