Beautiful Bulbous Plants Part 9

=SPARAXIS.=--The plant best known under this name has been already described as _Dierama pulcherrima_ at p. 71. The Sparaxis proper are little known plants, the best known being (i) _grandiflora_, which grows 1 to 2 feet high, and has bell-shaped flowers of deep violet-purple in April and May. There are many colour variations of this species (including a white one), several of them having a deeper coloured blotch at the base of the petals. (ii) _Tricolor_, resembles grandiflora in appearance, but has rich orange-red blossoms with purple-brown blotches on the yellow base of the petals. There are also several forms of this species with white, rose, or purple flowers, all having a yellow centre with distinct blotches at the base of the petals.

These South African plants require the same treatment as _Dierama pulcherrima_ or the Ixias (see p. 89). They like warm sheltered spots in the mildest parts of the kingdom, and when well-grown are very showy and useful for cutting.

PLATE 29. ZEPHYRANTHES ATAMASCO (106) ORNITHOGALUM ARABIc.u.m (107) ORNITHOGALUM NUTANS (108)

=SPREKELIA formosissima= (_Jacobaea Lily_).--A fine Mexican plant, with roundish bulbs 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and narrow strap-shaped leaves 12 to 18 inches long. In the open air the irregular bright crimson blossoms, each about 6 inches across, appear about August, and never fail to attract attention.

Unfortunately, the Jacobaea Lily, of which there are a few colour variations, can scarcely be considered as perfectly hardy in the mildest parts of the British Islands. It often flowers, however, when the bulbs are planted out about the end of May or early in June, when danger from frost is practically over. The flowers often appear before the foliage, but the bulbs should not be lifted in autumn for storing until the leaves show signs of withering. New plants are secured from offsets.

=STERNBERGIA.=--Charming plants, with roundish bulbs about 2 inches in diameter, and strap-shaped leaves, which are in their prime sometimes with the blossoms, as in _S. lutea_, and sometimes long before the latter appear, as in _S. macrantha_. The bulbs should be planted in spring, 5 or 6 inches deep, in rich and well-drained sandy loam and leaf-soil. When in bold clumps the flowers present a charming sight, either in the gra.s.s, rock-garden, flower border, or margins of thin shrubberies. All kinds have beautiful crocus-like yellow flowers as shown in Plate 33. _S. lutea_ (fig. 119), variously known as the "Winter Daffodil" and "Yellow Star Flower," is considered to be the "Lily of the Field" mentioned in the Scriptures. It blooms in September and October, the yellow flowers nestling amongst the leaves. There are several forms of it, differing chiefly in the size of the blossoms and width of the leaves. _S. macrantha_ (fig. 120) is a still finer species, with flowers much larger than those of _S. lutea_, with which they appear in autumn.

Other species are _colchiciflora_, the bulbs of which are only about an inch in diameter, and the pale-yellow sweet-scented flowers appear in autumn. _S. Fischeriana_ also has bright golden-yellow blossoms, but differs from its relatives in producing them during the spring months--February onwards--instead of in the autumn.

=TECOPHILaeA cyanocrocus.=--This distinct and charming Chilian plant, popularly known as the "Chilian Crocus," has fibrous-coated corms and narrow wavy leaves. The beautiful Violet-scented, funnel-shaped flowers of a brilliant blue, with a white centre, appear in March and April, borne in loose trusses. (See Plate 12, fig. 50.) The variety _Leichtlini_ differs in having deeper blue flowers than the type, and without the white centre.

In the milder parts of the kingdom the Chilian Crocus may be grown in the open air in warm sheltered spots, such as on a south border at the base of a wall or fence. Rich sandy loam and leaf-soil is a good compost into which the corms may be planted, 6 to 9 inches deep, about September. In winter it may be necessary to give protection with litter, bracken, &c., in the event of severe frosts or continuous cold rains.

The plants are most readily increased by offsets.

=TIGRIDIA Pavonia= (_Peac.o.c.k Tiger Flower_).--There are several species of Tiger Flowers, but the one here mentioned, and its several varieties, are the most useful for the out-door garden. They have bulbs 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter, and plaited Gladiolus-like leaves. The blossoms, however, one of which is shown on Plate 30, fig. 110, are of exceptional beauty and brilliance amongst bulbous plants, and although they do not last a long time individually, they nevertheless follow each other so rapidly that the plants are scarcely ever without flowers during the summer months. The coloured picture will convey a far better idea as to the colouring and blotching of the flowers than any printed description.

There are other varieties of _T. Pavonia_ besides the one shown on the Plate. Perhaps the best are _grandiflora_, very large and brilliant; _conchiflora_, yellow blotched with purple; _Wheeleri_, deep red; and _alba_, pure white spotted with purple.

The Tiger Flowers are natives of Mexico, and therefore cannot be grown successfully in the open air in all parts of the kingdom. In the mildest parts, however, the bulbs may be left in the ground during the winter months, care being taken to protect them with leaves, litter, &c., during severe weather, or from heavy cold rains. In less favoured spots, where they nevertheless blossom out of doors in summer, the bulbs may be taken up about the end of October when the foliage has withered, and they may then be stored in frost-proof places in sand until the following April or May. Whenever the bulbs are lifted the offsets should be detached to increase the stock. The warmest, most sheltered, and sunniest spot in the garden is obviously the best place for Tigridias.

In addition to this the soil should be a well-drained sandy loam enriched with old cow-manure and leaf-soil. During active growth, and especially in the hot dry seasons, it is necessary to keep the plants well-supplied with water, otherwise the results are likely to be the reverse of satisfactory.

=TRITONIA.=--This genus contains a handsome group of plants with fibrous-coated corms, like those of a Gladiolus, but much smaller. The plants formerly known as Montbretia are now also included in this genus, but the corms in some cases (e.g., _M. crocosmiaeflora_) have slender creeping rhizomes, from which new corms are developed by the end of the season. The leaves are more or less like those of a Gladiolus, but somewhat narrower, and often curved, while the showy blossoms are borne in slender graceful spikes, that are very useful for cutting.

Only a few species and their numerous varieties are cultivated in the open air, being either ma.s.sed in bold clumps in the ordinary flower border or rockery, or as beds by themselves in the gra.s.s. Being natives of South Africa, warm, sheltered, and sunny situations, and a light loamy soil, enriched with leaf-soil or well-decayed manure, naturally suit them best. Although perfectly hardy in all except the bleakest parts of the kingdom, the kinds mentioned below are best taken up and replanted each year or two in the spring time. It is not, however, essential to lift the corms in the autumn and store them in sand except in very cold parts where protection would be troublesome perhaps. A glance at the drawings on p. 26 will show the reader that offsets are freely produced, and in this way the kinds are most easily propagated.

The kinds most suitable for open air culture are: _T. crocata_ (formerly known under the names of _Ixia_ and _Gladiolus_) grows about 2 feet or more high, having broadly sword-shaped and curved leaves, and spikes of yellow or orange-coloured blossoms in June and July. There is a good deal of variation in the colour, some varieties being much paler or darker than others, and spotted with red, yellow, or brown.

_T. crocosmiaeflora_, better known as _Montbretia_, is a graceful and popular garden plant, really a hybrid between _Crocosma aurea_ (see p.

67) and _T. Pottsi_. It grows 2 to 2-1/2 feet high, and resembles a small Gladiolus in foliage. The brilliant orange-red blossoms appear in great profusion from July onwards to October or November, and are always attractive when grown in bold ma.s.ses. There are numerous varieties of it--one, _Etoile de Feu_--being shown on Plate 27, fig. 102; others being _Germania_, _Globe d'or_, &c.

_T. Pottsi_, also better known perhaps as a Montbretia, grows 3 to 4 feet high, having narrow tapering sword-like leaves, and bright yellow funnel-shaped flowers suffused with red. They are borne in gracefully nodding spikes from August onwards, and exhibit great variation in colour and markings according to the many varieties that are now in commerce. The plant known as _Tritonia aurea_ is described in this work as _Crocosma_ (see p. 67).

PLATE 30. CRINUM MOOREI (109) TIGRIDIA LILACEA (110)

=TULBAGHIA violacea.=--A pretty little South African plant with narrow leaves and slender spikes of violet-purple flowers, as shown in Plate 32, fig. 113. This species seems to be hardy in the Thames Valley and milder parts, but must be grown in large quant.i.ties to produce anything like an effect. It grows well in ordinary well-drained garden soil.

=TULIPA= (_Tulip_).--Although the days of the ridiculous Tulip craze of the seventeenth century have happily pa.s.sed away, the love of Tulips has increased by leaps and bounds, and thousands are now cultivated where formerly dozens or hundreds were tolerated. Whether grown in lines or circles in formal beds, in irregular clumps in the flower border or rock-garden, or naturalised on gra.s.sy banks, Tulips const.i.tute one of the most pleasing and brilliant features in the garden during the spring and early summer months. Indeed, one can hardly imagine what the garden would be like at this period of the year without the beauteous forms and glorious tints of the Tulip. The well-known brown-coated bulbs, 1 to 2 inches in diameter, are now so cheap that they come within the reach of the most modest purse, and there is no reason why Tulips should not be found in every cottage garden in the kingdom.

The culture of the Tulip is quite as easy as that of the common Daffodil. There is one important difference, however, between the Tulip and the Daffodil. While the latter likes partial shade, the Tulip enjoys plenty of sunshine, and shelter from bleak winds. Any good garden soil that has been deeply dug, and enriched with well-decayed manure some time previous to planting will produce fine blossoms. In the open air the bulbs should be planted about 4 inches deep, and not more than 6, even in bleak localities, as a safeguard against frost. The best time for planting is from the beginning of September to the end of October, and care should be taken when planting formal beds to see that the lines are perfectly straight, and the bulbs buried at a similar depth throughout. To secure the latter result a blunt dibber may be used, marked at the required depth with a cross-piece nailed on, or a piece of hoop iron that can be slid up or down to any particular depth. In this way, and by planting each bed with the same variety, uniformity in height, colour, and period of flowering will be secured. In vacant s.p.a.ces in the flower border and rock-garden, such formality would be out of place, and in such positions mixed Tulips produce a more natural effect.

Although effective in themselves, the beauty of Tulips is greatly enhanced by planting them in beds that are already carefully arranged with such plants as Wallflowers, Polyanthuses, Primroses, Pansies, or Violas, Dwarf Saxifrages, Double White Arabis, (_A. albida flore pleno_), Yellow Alyssum (_A. saxatile_), Forget-me-Nots, Aubrietias, and such like plants that blossom about the same period and make an effective screen to hide the ground between the blue-green leaves of the Tulips. In arranging combinations, it is as well to have the Tulips and carpet plants arranged so that the colour of the one shall be quite distinct and in lively contrast with that of the others.

Thus White Tulips may have Yellow Arabis, Primroses, Polyanthuses, &c., beneath them. On the other hand, red Tulips should not be mixed with red Wallflowers, although they look remarkably effective with yellow ones.

And so on, more or less in accordance with the principles laid down at p. 38.

For the benefit of those who take up their Tulip bulbs each year (when the flowers have withered being usually the earliest period for this operation) it may be as well to mention, that the bulb that is lifted about midsummer, is not the same as that planted in autumn. Indeed it is quite a new bulb altogether, and, as a rule, contains all the elements necessary for the production of leaves and blossoms the following season. The Tulip bulb planted in autumn is used up in the formation of leaves and flowers, that are produced in early summer. Whence then comes the bulb that is taken out of the soil when the flowering period is over? It has been made out of the raw material that has been a.s.similated by the leaves under the influence of sunlight. Very often there is more than sufficient food for the formation of a large flowering bulb, in which case the surplus food is converted into offsets at the base of the large bulb. These offsets, if planted and grown on for two or three seasons in specially prepared beds of light soil, will develop into flowering bulbs. They should, therefore, never be thrown away as useless.

=Seedling Tulips.=--Besides offsets (some of which drop several inches below the parent bulb, and are called "droppers.") Tulips may also be raised from seeds if one has the requisite patience and convenience.

When seeds are required, the old plants must of course be left in the soil until the seed capsules have thoroughly ripened. The seeds should be sown very spa.r.s.ely in drills, in carefully-prepared beds of light soil, and may be left undisturbed for about five or seven years, until the first flowers appear. Of course weeds must be kept down regularly, and to facilitate this operation, the seed beds should not be more than 4 or 5 feet wide, and the drills quite a foot apart.

The first flowers of a seedling Tulip are called "Breeders" or "Mother Tulips" and are of one colour throughout, although the seeds may have been saved from beautifully pencilled or flaked blossoms. When a "breeder" Tulip develops markings of a different colour, it is said to "break" or "rectify." Such rectified flowers are then divided into two groups, (_a_) those with a pure white centre, base, or ground, and (_b_) those with a pure yellow centre.

The white centred flowers (_a_) are again divided into (i) _Roses_, the flowers of which are various shades of pink, rose, scarlet, crimson, cerise, &c., and (ii) _Bybloemens_, the flowers of which display various shades of lilac, lavender, violet, purple, brown, purple-black, &c.

The yellow-centred flowers (_b_) are called _Bizarres_, with various shades of orange, scarlet, crimson, purple-black, brown, &c. These various cla.s.ses of "rectified" Tulips have the petals either "feathered"

or "flamed." A "feathered" Tulip has the petals beautifully pencilled and feathered round the edges only; while a "flamed" Tulip differs in having bright streaks, bands, or flames of a distinct colour shooting up the centre of each petal from the base, and forking out towards the pencilled and feathered margins.

Only specialists in what are called the "florist's Tulip," however, take a keen delight in drawing these distinctions.

There are some hundreds of varieties of Tulips enumerated in nurserymen's catalogues, but it is unnecessary to grow many of them to make an effective display. The following--arranged according to the predominating colour--may be regarded as a good selection for planting in the open ground in autumn:--

=Single Varieties for Planting Out.=--_Red, Scarlet, Crimson, and Pink._--Artus, Bacchus, Belle Alliance, Couleur de Cardinal, Crimson King, Duc Van Thol, Pottebakker, Proserpine, Rose Luisante, Rose Gris de Lin. _Orange, Brownish, and Terra Cotta._--Cardinal's Hat, Duc Van Thol, Leonardo da Vinci, Prince of Austria, and Thomas Moore.

_Yellow._--Bouton d'Or (Plate 9, fig. 37), Canary Bird, Chrysolora, Gold Finch, Golden Crown, Mon Tresor, Pottebakker, and Yellow Prince. _White or Blush._--Albion (or White Hawk), Jacht van Delft, White Swan, Grand d.u.c.h.ess, Joost von Vondel, La Reine, Immaculee, and Pottebakker. _Purple and Violet._--Moliere, Purple Crown, President Lincoln. _Red, Pink, Rose, or Violet, with White._--Bride of Haarlem, Cottage Maid, Couleur ponceau, Standard Royal, Wapen van Leiden, Picotee (Plate 9, fig. 36).

_Red and Yellow combined._--Brutus, d.u.c.h.esse de Parma, Keizerskroon.

=Double flowered Tulips.=--_Scarlet and Crimson combined._--Imperator Rubrorum, Rex Rubrorum, Rubra maxima. _Pink and Rose._--Couronne des Roses, Murillo, Raphael, Rose d'Amour, Salvator Rosa. _White._--Alba maxima, Grand Vainqueur, La Candeur, Rose blanche. _Red and Yellow combined._--Duc Van Thol, Gloria Solis, Tournesol, Princess Alexandra.

_Orange or Yellow._--Tournesol, Yellow Rose, Miroir.

=Parrot or Dragon Tulips.=--These remarkable looking flowers are supposed to be descended from the curious green and yellow-striped _T.

viridiflora_. The petals are cut and jagged into all kinds of peculiar shapes, while the colours are chiefly a mixture of reds, crimsons, greens, and yellows.

PLATE 31. BELLADONNA LILY (111) DIERAMA PULCHERRIMA (112)

=Darwin Tulips.=--These are a very popular cla.s.s of self-coloured Tulips derived from _T. Gesneriana_. They are in fact "breeder" Tulips referred to on p. 134. The individual blossoms are large and cup-shaped, and are borne on stalks 1-1/2 to 2 feet high. There are numerous named varieties (for which a catalogue should be consulted), but a mixed collection will give a grand display, the colours being shades of apricot, yellow, carmine, rose, pink, crimson, maroon, and white.

With the Darwin Tulips may be a.s.sociated what are known as the "Cottage"

or "May Flowering" Tulips--vigorous kinds with tall stems and fine large flowers, that are admirably adapted for the decoration of the garden.

For vases, bowls, &c., they are also excellent.

=Natural Species or Wild Tulips.=--Apart from the almost innumerable florists' varieties of Tulips, keen interest has been taken of late years in the cultivation of the natural species of Tulip which are found growing wild in various parts of South Europe, Asia Minor, Turkestan, &c. There are quite a large number of these natural species now to be had, but the cream of them may be said to be _Gesneriana_, _Greigi_, _macropsila_, and _Oculus Solis_, all with scarlet or crimson blossoms and black blotches at the base. Other useful kinds for bedding out or for naturalising with Daffodils, Bluebells, &c., are _Eichleri_, _fulgens_, _Hageri_, _macrostyla_, _maculata_, _Didieri_, _Ostrowskyana_, _planifolia_, _lurida_, _undulatifolia_, _suaveolens_, all with bright red or deep crimson blossoms except _suaveolens_ which is bordered with yellow. Yellow flowered kinds are _australis_ (Plate 10, fig. 40), _Batalini_, _flava_, _Billietiana_, _galatica_, _neglecta_, _retroflexa_, _sylvestris_, _strangulata_ (speckled and streaked with red), _viridiflora_ (with broad green band down the centre), _Sprengeri_ (petals tipped with red), and _Kolpakowskyana_.

Apart from their value in the garden, Tulips are also popular as cut flowers. As most of them produce their blossoms on st.u.r.dy stems 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet high, they are easily picked, and when bunched in vases with foliage, or gra.s.ses, or even by themselves, they add a luxurious appearance to any apartment.

The great mistake many make in picking Tulip flowers is that they gather them often in the middle of the day when the petals are wide open, especially if there is strong sunshine. In the expanded state the blossoms do not last very long. They should therefore be picked either early in the morning or late in the evening, when the petals are closed in over the stamens and ovary in the centre. There is no need to actually _cut_ the stems. By holding them close to the ground and giving a staccato pull upwards, they come away easily from the bulb, and possess the advantage of being a few inches longer than those cut with a knife or scissors.