The winter blooming varieties are admirably adapted for hanging-pots,
and being cheap and very easy of cultivation, they ought to be in every
dwelling. There are one hundred and fifty known varieties, though our
catalogues rarely name half-a-dozen. Some are strictly winter bloomers,
others flower only in summer, and some blossom the year round. The
_floribunda_ varieties belong to this class of perpetuals. _Ortgiesi_
also, which is a wonderful bloomer, and on account of its erect growth,
is admirably adapted for pot culture. It is a new and somewhat rare
species from Brazil. It often grows eighteen inches high, and in good
form. The upper side of the leaf is rich olive green, and the under side
bright violet purple. The flowers are quite small, yellow, and borne in
clusters. The special beauty is in the foliage.
_Floribunda alba_ and _rosea_ have tuberous roots. The foliage is very
strong, and the clusters of bloom are borne on long foot-stalks starting
directly from the tuber. A single small tuber will often have a hundred
open flowers at a time. They are from one-half to three-quarters of an
inch in diameter. This variety can be obtained and planted at any time
of the year. It is admirably adapted for baskets or a hanging-pot.
_Oxalis acetocella_ is the true shamrock of Ireland. Flowers are white,
borne on stalks two to four inches high. _Versicolor_ is a winter
bloomer; color white, with bright pink margins to the petals; requires
sunshine; the flowers will not expand in cloudy weather. _Floribunda_
has no such freaks, but smiles in the storm, as well as the sunshine. A
lady writing to Mr. Vick becomes enthusiastic over her Oxalis. She says:
"The sixth of last October I planted a bulb of _Oxalis versicolor_, and
it is just beginning to bloom. And oh! what lovely flowers; delicate and
perfect in form, pure white, with just the faintest tinge of yellow in
the center, and beautiful crimson stripes on the outside. The plant also
is of a very graceful habit, bearing its tuft of small leaves, and
clusters of flowers on the top of a short, slender stem. It seems
strange that so small a bulb can produce such beautiful flowers."
Of _Bowii_ she thus writes: "A year ago last October I planted a bulb of
_Oxalis Bowii_ in a small bed. The bulb was so very small that I did not
believe the flowers could amount to much, but was soon most agreeably
disappointed. Such a mass of flowers on one small plant I had never seen
before, and such large, bright-colored flowers! Many stopped to admire
it, and ask its name. It continued to produce a mass of flowers the
entire winter and part of the spring, until the sun became very hot.
From this one bulb I obtained eight, which I wrapped in paper and kept
in a dry place. About the first of August they commenced growing, and so
I planted them, and the first of September they were in full bloom,
though the flower grew large as the days became less hot, until they
were nearly as large as Petunias. The soil in which they grew was mostly
sand and rich surface earth from the woods, and I sometimes watered them
with weak soap-suds."
Mr. Vick, to whom we are indebted for the most of our information on
this subject, says that this variety has large, thick, fleshy leaves,
and large, bright, rose-colored flowers, the largest, indeed, of any of
the cultivated kinds.
In his illustrated article he gives an engraving of one named _Cernuus
plena_, the flowers of which resemble double Portulacas; erect, borne in
clusters. We regret that he gives no reference to this variety whatever.
It must be a rare sort, probably not in the market here.
A Talk About Lilies.
"CONSIDER THE LILIES."
Thus spake one wiser than Solomon, even He whose hand created and
beautified the Lilies with a glory surpassing that of the greatest of
Israel's kings.
This department of the Floral kingdom is too vast for us to explore; we
can only make a selection of a few of the numerous varieties for
consideration, gathering our information from the various sources at
hand, and adapting it to our present use.
The Lily is the rival of the Rose, and by many is considered far
superior. They certainly are far more easily cultivated. They are hardy,
elegant, gorgeous sometimes, and sometimes of snowy purity. Many of them
are of exquisite fragrance. There are early and late bloomers, and one
can have these desirable flowers in succession for several months, by a
right selection. The earliest bloomers are the _Pomponiums_, natives of
Siberia, and are perfectly hardy. The _Lancifolium_ or _Speciosum_ is
the autumn blooming Lily, native of Japan. _Lancifolium Album_, a fine
sort, with pure white petals and a pea-green stripe, very fragrant.
_Lancifolium Rubrum_, and _Roseum_, though catalogued separately, are
the same with different shadings. Some purplish crimson, others a faint
blush of rose. Some have a red stripe, others a dark dull green, but all
are specially recommended. _Lancifolium Punctatum verum_ is a late
bloomer; color, clear white with soft rose spots and green stripes.
Finest of the species, _Lancifolium Praecox_; flowers white with a
purplish-blush at the tips. _Lancifolium Monstrosum_ or _Corymbiflorum
rubrum_, bears its crimson flowers in large clusters. Grows to a great
size.
The Lancifolium Lilies are of special value for their hardiness and
varied beauty, and their cheapness places them within general reach.
They are classed under the head of MARTAGONS, or TURKS CAP.
[Illustration]
_Auratum Imperial_ is the Golden-banded-Lily of Japan which has become
so extensively known and popular since its introduction from Japan by
Mr. Gordon Dexter. It was first exhibited in July 1862, at the
Massachusetts Horticultural Exhibition. It first bloomed in England same
year. It was for sometime considered too tender for the Canadas and New
England states, but it proved to be hardy. We have had ours twelve
years, and give it only a slight protection. The petals of the Auratum
are snowy white with a golden band running down the center of each, and
freely spotted on the sides with deep carmine red. They are very
fragrant. Being of somewhat slender growth, they need support. It does
best in a warm sandy soil that has been well manured and dug deeply. It
is easily propagated from the scales of the bulbs, each scale producing
a small bulbet. They should be planted in a box about a foot deep, in
good friable soil about three inches deep, and one inch apart. Sink the
box in some out of the way place in the garden, and water frequently. In
a short time small bulbs will be found forming on the base, which
rapidly grow, and must be transplanted out the second year in the bed;
the third or fourth year it will bloom. The little bulbets which form on
the mother bulb blossom a year earlier. They should be renewed in the
fall, after the foliage is dead. Plant in a bed about four inches deep,
and let them remain undisturbed for two years; then they are large
enough to bloom and should be transplanted into a permanent bed, if
required.