The Book of Bulbs

CHAPTER XV
GREENHOUSE AND STOVE BULBS

Achimenes – Alocasias – Amorphophalluses – Arisæmas – Arums – Begonias – Bomareas – Caladiums

Achimenes

The charming Achimenes is not so much grown as formerly, but it might well become more popular among those who have a warm greenhouse or stove in which to start the tubers, as before coming into bloom they may be taken into the conservatory, where their bright flowers will be much admired in pots, pans, or baskets. They may be planted in equal parts of peat and fibrous loam, with a small proportion of manure, from about the beginning of February until the end of April. They can either be started in the receptacle in which they are to flower or transplanted when an inch or two high, the latter being preferable. A night temperature of about sixty degrees is required, and they should have plenty of water and be regularly syringed to keep off red spider. The points may be taken out to make the plants more bushy. When they come into bloom they should be removed to the greenhouse or conservatory; while in bloom syringing should be suspended. Partial shade is also advisable. Withhold water gradually after flowering, and when the leaves are yellow place the pots in a dry place in a moderate temperature, leaving the tubers undisturbed until they are wanted for starting. There are many varieties, and mixed sorts can be purchased at a low rate.

Alocasias

These magnificent stove plants are much admired for their handsome, often variegated, leaves, and for their striking appearance. They like a compost of sandy loam and fibrous peat in lumps, with some sphagnum and small pieces of charcoal, keeping the soil and bulbs a little above the top of the pots, with a surfacing of cocoa-fibre or sphagnum. The pots can hardly be over-drained, and from a half to two-thirds full of broken crocks is a good proportion of drainage. They require a moist atmosphere and plenty of water while growing; a summer temperature of seventy-five to eighty-five degrees and a winter one of sixty to sixty-five degrees are suitable. A little liquid manure may be given at intervals. They are increased by division of the stem or rhizome, or by seeds. The following selection comprises some of the finest grown: – Chelsonii, cuprea, metallica, hybrida, Jenningsii, Johnstoni, macrorhiza variegata, scabriuscula, Sedenii, thibautiana, and zebrina.

Amorphophalluses

These are singular stove plants, allied to the Arums, but of most value for sub-tropical bedding. They must be kept dry and in a warm place in winter, and started in a moist atmosphere and a temperature of from fifty-five to seventy degrees. They are never likely to become popular for ordinary gardens, so that details would be unnecessary here. Campanulatus, Lacouri, Rivieri, and Titanum are the best known species.

Arisæmas

These singular, but not showy plants, require somewhat similar cultivation to the Arums, and may be grown in any heated greenhouse in rather light but rich soil. They should have plenty of water while growing. The best species are concinnum, about two feet high; curvatum, about four feet high, and both flowering in June; also galeatum, Griffithi, nepenthoides, and speciosa.

Arums

The greenhouse and stove Arums thrive in a warm, moist temperature, and are curiously interesting as well as worthy of being admired for the beauty of their foliage. Rich loam, a little sand, and some thoroughly rotted manure will grow them well. After flowering they may have the supply of water restricted so as to keep them at rest until spring, when they start into growth again. Among the most useful of the greenhouse species are sanctum or palæstinum, spectabile (half-hardy), and spirale.

Begonias

The great genus Begonia would, as regards even the tuberous or rhizotamous-rooted species alone, take up too much space, so that this brief reference must principally deal with the cultivation of the hybrid Begonias, which are for most gardens the most valuable of all. They are standing witnesses to the powers of the skilful hybridiser, and the perfection to which they have been brought makes any words of praise superfluous. Their value in the garden or under glass is self-evident.

The Begonia may be readily raised from seeds sown in January or February in a house with a temperature of about seventy degrees, and in pots or pans of fine, light soil. Some sow the seeds before watering, and then water with a fine rose; while others water before sowing and cover the seeds slightly with fine soil, covering the pans with a sheet of glass. After germination watering must be carefully attended to, and many have the best results from plunging the pans in water until it begins to rise through the surface. As soon as possible the young plants must be pricked off in a little heavier, but still free soil, and grown on until fit to put into small pots before transferring to larger ones. If properly grown they will bloom well the first year. Begonias are also propagated by division of the tubers, like potatoes; by cuttings stuck in pots in a bottom heat of about seventy degrees; and by leaf-cuttings on cocoa-fibre or sand.

They like a rich, but not heavy soil, either when in pots or when bedded out, and in the latter position, they should not have too dry a border or bed, and should be freely supplied with water in dry weather. The tubers must be lifted when frost cuts down the foliage and stored away in dry sand, although larger tubers may be stored without the sand if kept free from frost also. They ought to be started in a little heat before planting out, which may be done when the days and nights are warm, according to the district in which the garden lies. The growing of named tuberous Begonias is on the decrease, as so many excellent single or double flowered plants can be raised from seed of a good strain.

Bomareas

The Bomareas are among the most ornamental of our greenhouse climbers, but are less grown than their beauty deserves. They are allied to the Alstrœmerias, but are of climbing habit. They do best when planted out in the warm greenhouse or stove, but may also be grown in pots. They should have a compost of peat, sand, loam, and leaf-mould, and when in growth ought to have plenty of water, occasionally giving them some liquid manure. They can be grown from seeds or by division of the stems. Perhaps the following are as good as any in cultivation: —

B. Carderi, which has handsome rose-coloured flowers spotted with brown; oligantha, red and yellow; Shuttleworthi, vermilion, yellow, red, and green. Edulis has been longest grown, and has rose flowers tipped with green; the hardiest species is probably B. salsilla, with purple and green flowers. This is hardy in a few districts when other conditions are favourable.

Caladiums

Caladiums are among the most useful of stove perennial plants, and their adaptability to growing for table and room decoration adds much to their general value. The beauty of form and the fine colouring of their foliage place them high in the ranks of stove plants. A capital compost is made of turfy loam, turfy peat, and leaf-soil in equal parts, with a little well-rotted manure and some sharp sand. In March or earlier, if they have been long at rest, the tubers are started into growth in a temperature of not less than 60 degrees; when they have made growth, they may be placed in five or six inch pots, and the supply of water gradually increased until it is given freely, with alternate waterings of some liquid manure. They should be kept growing in a high temperature, and then hardened-off in a cooler part of the building preparatory to their removal to the conservatory. When the leaves begin to grow yellow, gradually decrease the water supply, and store for the winter in a temperature of not less than sixty degrees. Do not allow them to become entirely dry. A large number of hybrid Caladiums have been raised, and these, which will be found in the catalogues of leading nurserymen, have almost driven the original species out of cultivation.

CHAPTER XVI
GREENHOUSE AND STOVE BULBS

Clivias – Colocasias – Crinums – Cyclamens – Cyrtanthuses – Eucharises and Urceocharis – Eurycles

Clivias (syn. Imantophyllum)

The Clivias and Imantophyllums were formerly kept distinct, but are now combined by botanists, the name Imantophyllum being retained as that of a sub-genus. Both have long leaves in opposite rows and umbels of flowers, which are of various shades of yellow, orange, or scarlet. C. nobilis grows about a foot high, and has bright red-yellow flowers. Gardneri has fewer flowers (twelve to twenty in the umbel). Miniata is the only species belonging to the sub-genus Imantophyllum, and seedlings, or hybrids between it and the other species, have been obtained in considerable numbers. The catalogues of leading bulb dealers may be consulted for the varieties now in commerce. All are ornamental in pots or planted out in beds or borders in airy houses, with a temperature of from fifty to sixty degrees. In spring and summer they should have plenty of water, both at the roots and applied by means of the syringe. A rather lower temperature and less water are desirable in spring. They should have a soil composed of good fibry loam and peat in the proportion of about three of the former to one of the latter, with a little charcoal, bone-meal, and silver sand. C. miniata flowers in spring and summer, and the other species in winter and spring.

Colocasias

The Colocasias are very ornamental plants with large handsome leaves, and are related to and require the same culture as the Caladiums. There is considerable confusion in the nomenclature of these plants in gardens, and Caladiums are sometimes found named Alocasias or Colocasias, and vice versa. The principal species are antiquorum; its variety, esculentum (syn. Caladium esculentem), sometimes used in the south for sub-tropical effect, being planted out in June, and freely supplied with water; and odorata.

Crinums

We have already referred to the hardy Crinums, but this work would be imperfect without a few details about the stove species, among which are some plants of the highest types of floral beauty. These should have a good soil of fibrous loam, peat, a little sand, and charcoal to keep the compost sweet, as the plants require plenty of water while growing, C. campanulatum and C. purpurascens especially requiring this, as they do best standing in a pan of water. They are also greatly benefited by syringing overhead. After the flowering period is over water may be reduced. They need large pots or tubs, as they form fleshy roots which should be as little disturbed as possible. There are so many Crinums, that a short selection of well-proved, good species suitable for the stove is necessary. These are – amabile, three feet, red; asiaticum, two feet, white; campanulatum, one foot, red-purple; giganteum, three feet, white; Kirkii, one and a half feet, white, striped red; Macowani, two feet, pink; purpurascens, one foot, claret-red; and zeylanicum, three feet, white, striped red.

Cyclamens

The varieties of Cyclamen latifolium, or persicum, a plant which has yielded under cultivation so many beautiful flowers, are general favourites, and are so easy to cultivate that they are largely grown for the decoration of glass structures and rooms. There are several methods adopted for raising the fine plants so often seen nowadays, which are generally young specimens grown from seeds. The following plan is followed by many successful growers. The seeds are sown from the beginning of August to the end of November, in pans of fibrous loam, some silver sand, and a fifth of leaf-soil. They are placed in an intermediate house, or a temperature of about fifty-five degrees, and in a little shade until the seedlings have begun to appear, when they may be placed near the glass and pricked off when they can be handled. They may be grown on in a similar temperature during the winter, but a little increase may be given immediately after potting off in February or March into three-inch pots. They should be placed in frames turned towards the north for the summer, receiving a potting into five-inch pots in July, and being kept close for a few days afterwards. After taking indoors they must be near the glass, and syringed frequently to keep off red spider.

Corms which have flowered may be kept, and with careful treatment will flower again, although scarcely so freely as young plants. They may either be planted out in frames for the summer or plunged in their pots, repotting when they show sign of making fresh growth. The large-flowered varieties are very handsome, and the Papilio, or Butterfly-formed flowers, and those with crested blooms are also considerably appreciated by those who like new flowers.

Cyrtanthuses

The Cyrtanthi are among the neglected bulbs in ordinary gardens, but when bulbous plants once more take their proper place they will be more largely grown. The genus now includes Monella of Salisbury and Gastronema of Herbert, and the plants have either pendulous or erect tubular flowers, those having the latter being formerly called Gastronema. Like many other Cape Amaryllideæ, the Cyrtanthus requires to be kept dry in winter, but to be well supplied with water after starting into growth. Carneus and obliquus must not be dried off. Loam, peat, and sand form a suitable compost. They will grow in a greenhouse in summer, but should be kept in a stove during the winter months. The fragrant C. Mackenii, with white flowers, is pretty. Macowani, orange-scarlet, and sanguineus, bright red, are both fine species, and those desiring a larger number may grow albiflorus, white; carneus, bright red; obliquus, yellow; and odorus, red. Others are angustifolius, Huttoni, lutescens, smithianus, Tuckii, and ventricosus.

Eucharises and Urceocharis

The Eucharis is such a favourite with everyone that it is a matter of much regret that it has suffered in so many gardens from the ravages of what is known as the Eucharis mite (Rhizoglyphus Robini), which also affects other bulbs of allied character. There seems little doubt that this is brought about by errors in watering, as the Eucharis dislikes suffering from either too little or too much water. It should not have a season of rest from water, as many suppose, but should not be forced into flower more than twice in a year. Clibran's Eucharis Mite Killer, used as directed on the package, or a weak preparation of Kerosene Emulsion, are equally effectual, but the Emulsion should not touch the actual roots. So beautiful a plant is worth every attention, as we have nothing among other stove bulbs which can approach its pure white, elegantly formed flowers and dark-green foliage. The Eucharis likes a compost of two or three parts of good loam to one of leaf-mould or turfy peat, and a little charcoal to keep the compost sweet. It requires a temperature of from sixty to seventy degrees in winter, rising to seventy-five and eighty degrees in summer. Syringing overhead on bright days is necessary, and a little reduction in the temperature is desirable when the leaves are of full size. Six or eight bulbs may be placed in a ten-inch pot.

The most popular Eucharis is E. grandiflora (syn. amazonica); there is a fragrant variety of this named E. grandiflora fragrans, and others are E. g. Lowii and E. g. Moorei. Candida and Sanderi are also good species, and hybrid forms, named burfordensis and Stevensii, are also meritorious. The other species are bakeriana, elmetana (hybrid), Lehmanni, Mastersii, and subedentata. The hybrid Urceocharis, from the Eucharis and Urceolina, is cultivated in the same way.

Eurycles

The Eurycles is little known in private gardens, but the two species form interesting occupants of the stove or greenhouse, with their umbels of white flowers, and broad, heart-shaped or ovate leaves. E. amboinensis is a stove species about two feet high, flowering in March. The other, E. Cunninghami, likes a warm greenhouse. It grows about a foot high. One part leaf-soil to three of good loam, with a little sand, will grow them satisfactorily. After they have completed their growth water may be diminished, and finally withheld to allow them to ripen.

CHAPTER XVII
GREENHOUSE AND STOVE BULBS

Freesias – Gloxinias – Hæmanthuses – Hippeastrums

Freesias

Freesias, whose fragrant flowers are so acceptable, are so nearly hardy, that it might, perhaps, have been more consistent to include them among the half-hardy bulbs. They are, however, of so much more value when grown and flowered under glass that we may be pardoned for including them among greenhouse bulbs. They are very cheap, and increase so freely that they might be grown in far larger quantities. A five-inch pot will hold about a dozen of good-sized bulbs, and they may be potted at intervals from the beginning of August for a month or two. They like a light, but rich soil, with the addition of some leaf-mould and silver sand. A depth of an inch is generally recommended, but they are none the worse for being a little deeper. After planting, the pots may be watered and placed in a cold frame, plunged in cocoa fibre or ashes.

When some growth is made, they may either be removed to a frame with a moderate bottom heat, or taken into the place where they are to bloom. In a sunny window they may be brought nicely into flower as well as in a greenhouse. They like air, however, when possible. It is essential that they should have plenty of water while in growth. A temperature of about fifty-five degrees is suitable for blooming them in. After flowering, water should be gradually withheld; and when the foliage becomes yellow, the pots with their contents should be thoroughly roasted in the sun. Before repotting, it is desirable to sort them according to size. Some grow Freesias from seed, but they are so cheap, and make offsets so freely, that it is hardly worth the trouble to do so. The seeds are sown when ripe, and gradually grown on until they attain to flowering size. The best of the Freesias is F. refracta alba, but F. refracta, white and yellow, and F. refracta Leichtlini, with creamy-yellow flowers, are also grown.

Gloxinias

Gloxinias are so beautiful in their colourings, and are so ornamental, that it is no matter for surprise to find them in most gardens of importance. Nowadays, however, they are principally grown from seed instead of cultivating the old bulbs for successive seasons as was formerly practised. They are easily raised in this way, and the plants produced are more vigorous and floriferous than those produced by old bulbs, or by cuttings or leaves. They can be flowered in about six months from the time of sowing.

Fibrous loam or leaf-soil, mixed with sand and peat, will answer for the seed pans and for the after compost. Seed sown in January or February will give a succession of flower, and later sowings may be made for winter bloom. The seed should be thinly sown and covered with a sprinkling of fine soil. The pans ought then to be placed in a temperature of about 70 degrees, and shaded from strong sun. The young seedlings are very liable to damp off, and must be pricked out into other pans or pots as soon as possible. They will grow quickly in a moist warm house, and, when a fair size, may be repotted, giving a forty-eight size pot for the final shift. They can have then a temperature of sixty to sixty-five degrees. A little manure water is beneficial at intervals, but this, and a moist atmosphere, are prejudicial when the plants are in bloom.

Cuttings of the young shoots taken off when the old bulbs are started are easily struck in a propagating frame, and are afterwards potted and treated like young seedlings. When the leaves are firm, they may either be inserted in fine soil like cuttings with a portion of the petiole or footstalk, or by cutting through the midribs at several places and pegging down the leaves on cocoa fibre or sand in a close frame.

Old tubers of Gloxinias should be carefully stored in winter beyond the reach of frost, and started into growth in February in small pots in a temperature of about sixty-five degrees. Until they have fairly begun to grow they should have little water. Similar treatment is suitable for some of the other Gesneraceous plants, such as the Gesnerias.

Hæmanthuses

The Hæmanthus is a handsome and distinct-looking plant, but it is seldom that one meets with it in private gardens. Its usefulness is lessened by its handsome leaves appearing at a different time from the flowers, but this fault may be partly concealed by an arrangement of other plants about the pots containing the Hæmanthi. A few of the species can be grown in a cool greenhouse, but the greater number ought to be cultivated in a higher temperature. H. sanguineus is one of the easiest to grow and the writer has grown and flowered it yearly in a house from which frost was only excluded and where the temperature fell to near freezing point. For the greater number, however, a temperature of from fifty to sixty degrees in the growing season is best. After flowering they should have a short period of rest.

There are a number of very handsome species, among the best being abyssinicus, scarlet; cinnabarinus, red; incarnatus, flesh; insignis, orange-scarlet; Kalbreyeri, crimson; Katherinæ, deep red; natalensis, green, bracts, purple; puniceus, scarlet; and sanguineus, scarlet. Albo-maculatus, hirsutus, and virescens albiflos are the best whites.

Hippeastrums

Under their popular name of "Amaryllises," the Hippeastrums have for years been increasingly grown by those who desire to make their glass structures gay with bulbous plants which are distinct from the ordinary forcing bulbs of winter and spring. Their deserved popularity has been increased by the wonderful improvements which have been in progress for years among these plants which are naturally beautiful and have such brilliant colouring. Some of the original species are very handsome, but the seedling varieties and hybrids are superior to these. It is generally accepted that these improved Hippeastrums are largely due to the hybridisation of some of these species, but there is considerable doubt regarding the parentage of some of these reputed hybrids. However this may be, there can be no two opinions regarding the value and beauty of the plants themselves, with which greenhouses and stoves may be made gay for months at a time.

The greater number of the Hippeastrums are easily grown in a temperature of at least sixty degrees, although some even suggest five degrees less. They can, however, take more heat with advantage. This heat is required during the growing season, from February to September, after which they should be kept cooler, and only moist enough to keep the roots alive. During the growing period full supplies of water are required. They like a rather heavy loam, with some charcoal and crushed bones. They should be disturbed as little as possible, so as to avoid injury to their fleshy roots, and to prevent the necessity of re-potting, established bulbs may be top-dressed when being started into growth. Some manure water is beneficial, but not when the blooms show colour. Hippeastrums are increased by offsets taken off carefully when the plants are at rest, and also by seeds, which are sown in pots or pans in a temperature of about sixty-five degrees, the seeds having only a slight covering of the sandy soil which should form the compost. When old enough to handle, the seedlings can be placed singly in small pots and grown on in the heat suitable for the larger bulbs. As the newer Hippeastrums are very high priced where of good quality, this method of raising from seed is recommended. Plants have been flowered in about two years from seed. There are a good many species and it is only worth while to name such as Ackermanni, crimson; Equestre, orange; and vittata, all of which have given some fine varieties. With regard to the named varieties, we would recommend intending purchasers to consult the catalogues of the leading bulb-dealers, where there may be found varieties at all prices. Unnamed varieties may be obtained at a lower price, but it must be remembered that the newest and best named sorts are necessarily very expensive. Habranthuses are now included with the Hippeastrums and Zephyranthes.