Your Plants Part 4

CHAPTER XVI.

ANNUAL FLOWERING PLANTS.--PANSY CULTURE.

Annuals flower the same season the seeds are sown, perfect their seeds, and then die. "There is," says James Vick, "No forgotten spot in the garden, none which early flowering bulbs or other spring flowers have left unoccupied, that need remain bare during the summer. No bed but what can be made brilliant with these favorites, for there is no situation or soil in which some of these favorites will not flourish.

Some delight in shade, others in suns.h.i.+ne; some are pleased with a cool, clay bed, while others are never so comfortable as in a sandy soil, or burning sun. The seed, too, is so cheap as to be within the reach of all, while a good collection of bedding plants would not come within the resources of many, and yet very few beds filled with expensive bedding plants look as well as a good bed of our best annuals, like Phlox, Petunia, or Portulaca, and for a vase or basket many of our annuals are unsurpa.s.sed. To annuals, also, we are indebted mainly for our brightest and best flowers in the late summer and autumn months.

"Without the Phlox and Petunia, and Portulaca and Aster, and Stock, our autumn gardens would be poor indeed, and how we would miss the sweet fragrance of the Alyssum, Mignonette, and Sweet Pea, if any ill-luck should befall them, or deprive us of these sweet favorites!" Annuals are divided into three cla.s.ses, hardy, half-hardy, and tender. The hardy annuals are those that, like the Larkspur, Candytuft, etc., may be sown in the autumn, or very early in the spring in the open ground. The half-hardy annuals should not be sown in the open ground until all danger of frost is over. The Balsams and Marigolds belong to this cla.s.s.

The tender annuals generally require starting in a green-house, or hot-bed, to bring them to perfection, and should not be set in the open ground until the weather is fine and warm, some time in June. From a perplexing number to be found in plant catalogues, we select the following twelve sorts of annuals as being the most desirable for the garden; they are a galaxy of gems, indeed:

Asters, Balsams, Phlox Drummondii, Double Petunias, Pansies, Double Sweet Alyssum, Double White Pyrethrum, Dwarf Ageratum, Verbenas, Salvias, Double Stocks, Celosias (c.o.xcomb).

Sow the seed in the open ground the latter part of May, and the first of July most of the sorts will be in bloom, and they will continue to bloom until arrested by frosts.

PANSY CULTURE.

Pansies are old and popular favorites, they embrace varieties with variously-colored flowers, from almost jet black, to pure white and yellow. They are easily grown from seed. The general custom is to sow Pansy seed in the fall, but we are in favor of spring sowing. We have tried sowing seed at both seasons, and find that plants grown from spring-sown seed bloom more freely throughout the hot months of summer, while plants raised by fall sowing become exhausted, and cease flowering much sooner. Seed sown in March, in light, rich soil, will make fine blooming plants the same season. Pansies are hardy, if they have good protection with a litter of leaves or straw, or any light covering, which should be removed very early in the spring, or as soon as danger of heavy frosts is over. Plants remaining in ground through the winter, if proper care is given them, will bloom very early in the spring, as soon as the frost is out of the ground. We have even seen the frail blossoms peeping up through the snow, but the plants become exhausted and cease flowering before mid-summer. It is possible to have them bloom throughout the entire winter by taking up old plants from the open ground in October, and carefully planting them in a tight, cold frame in a sheltered location, covering the frame with glazed sash. This is often done by florists whose trade demands the flowers at that season of the year, and especially early in spring. Treated thus, they flower abundantly. The same can be done with Violets. Pansies require a partial shade and a good, rich, loamy soil, and an occasional watering through the dry season will help them.

CHAPTER XVII.

FALL OR HOLLAND BULBS.

That cla.s.s of bulbs known as Fall, or Holland Bulbs, includes Hyacinths, Crocuses, Jonquils, Tulips, Narcissuses, Snow-drops, and several less known kinds. These bulbs are grown in Holland in immense quant.i.ties, the soil and climate of that country being peculiarly favorable to them, and they are annually imported into this country in great numbers. The fall is the time to set them out; any time from the first of October, to the middle of December. Tulips, Jonquils, Narcissuses, and Hyacinths, should be planted four inches deep, and eight inches apart each way; the Snow-drops and Crocuses two inches deep, and six inches apart.

All of the above named bulbs are entirely hardy, and will stand in the ground without any surface protection through the severest winters. Some go to the trouble of covering the surface with leaves or other litter for protection, but this is entirely unnecessary. A very pretty effect may be had, where one has a large number of bulbs, by selecting the different colors and planting each color in a row by itself, so that when they blossom, it will be in ribbon-lines of red, white, blue, or yellow, as the case may be. Or, if one has a large number of beds of different shapes, cut so as to form a design of some kind, each section may be planted with a different color (Hyacinths are the best for this work), and when all come into bloom in April, the effect will be most charming. We tried this "ma.s.sing" of the differently colored bulbs one year, in a "design" of one hundred different sections of all conceivable shapes. Planting the bulbs so that, when in blossom, the whole would present a harmonious effect. It would be hard to conceive of a more attractive sight than that presented by all those bulbs in full bloom in early April, when every thing else looked barren and cheerless. They were admired by every one who saw them. Bulbs of this character bloom and pa.s.s away in season to allow room for other plants to be set out.

These may be set between the rows of bulbs, and not disturb them in the least. Any of the above named bulbs are especially desirable for house culture in winter. Make an oblong box, say four feet in length, fifteen inches wide, and twelve deep, fill this with fine, rich loam, then plant a row of Hyacinths in the centre, and on each side of this plant a row of either Snow-drops or Crocuses, water thoroughly, and set away in a dark, cool place. In three weeks remove the box into the full light, and water freely, they will grow and bloom throughout the winter. If the box can be set near a front window, it will make a pretty display while the bulbs are in bloom.

These bulbs can be started in pots, or gla.s.ses filled with water, and treated in the same manner as stated above. Place a single bulb of Hyacinth in each pot or gla.s.s. Four-inch pots filled nearly to the top with soil, and the bulbs set in and pressed down, so that nothing but the crown is above ground, are all that is necessary. The same bulbs can be used a number of years, but they are not so good as fresh ones, which should be obtained each year if possible. After the bulbs are through blooming, they may be left in the soil in which they grew through the winter, and removed to a dry place to rest, in preparation for starting them another fall. If fresh bulbs are desired for this purpose, the old ones may be planted out in the open ground, where they will again renew their strength, and bloom annually for a number of years. They are multiplied from the seed and from offshoots.

CHAPTER XVIII.

TROPICAL BULBS.--TUBEROSES.

Gladioluses, Tuberoses, Cannas, and Caladiums, come under this head, and are the best known of this cla.s.s of bulbs. They are not hardy, and the slightest frost will injure them more or less. It is customary to allow tender bulbs of this kind to rest during the winter, the same as one would an onion. They can be safely kept through the winter under the staging of the green-house, in a dry, frost-proof cellar, where there is plenty of light, or in any other place where potatoes can be safely stored. Tropical bulbs of all kinds are much benefited by planting them in good, light, loamy soil, well enriched with well-rotted stable manure. They may be planted out in the open ground as soon as it can be worked in the spring, and all danger from heavy frosts is over. Any of the above named bulbs of ordinary size, should be planted at least from three to four inches deep, and from six to eight inches deep when the bulbs are of extra size. I am in favor of planting these bulbs in the open ground much earlier than most gardeners are in the habit of doing.

Experience has shown me that the earlier in spring those summer bulbs are set out in the open ground, the better. Just as soon as the ground is in good condition to work, spade it up deeply, and plant the bulbs; the roots will soon begin to develop in the cool ground, before the tops start to grow, which is the true principle in growing all plants. They will thus receive a fine start before hot weather sets in. We have had Tuberoses and Gladioluses to bloom much earlier than usual, and much more continuously throughout the summer and fall, as the result of planting them as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring. If a continuation of bloom is desired, the bulbs should be planted at successive intervals of not less then three weeks; this will give a sucession of bloom throughout the entire season. In the fall remove the bulbs from the ground as soon as the tops have been touched by frost, cutting the stalk off to within a couple of inches of the base, and setting the bulbs away to rest for the winter.

TUBEROSES.

No collection of garden flowers is complete without the Tuberose. For the spotless purity of its flowers, and for incomparable fragrance, it has no superior. It is very easy to grow them successfully. Bulbs intended for fall blooming, should be planted in the open ground from the first to the middle of May; plant them about two inches deep. They will do well in any good, rich garden soil, if the soil is occasionally moved around them with the rake or hoe, after they are up and growing.

Such treatment will cause the bulbs to grow rapidly, and the flower trusses, when they come into bloom, will consequently be much larger and finer. As the Tuberose is not hardy in our Northern climates, the bulbs should be dug up in the fall, the tops or stalks removed to within two or three inches of the bulbs, which should then be laid away in some dry, warm place, a dry and frost-proof cellar will do, or better yet, store them if possible, under the staging of a green-house. In the spring, before planting, remove all the young offsets from around the parent bulb; there are usually a number of young shoots clinging to it, and as the old bulb blooms but once, and only once, it is henceforth good for nothing, save for the production of more bulbs, if desired.

The young offshoots of the first season's growth will not become blooming bulbs until the third year, but if you have quite a number of young bulbs, say twenty-five or fifty, there will naturally be a number that will bloom in rotation, from year to year, and give some bloom each season. Some enterprising florists have Tuberoses nearly the whole year round. In order to do this, the bulbs must be "started" in pots; the bulbs are potted in the usual manner, so that the top, or crown of the bulb, when potted, will just show above the soil, and they should be kept rather dry until they show signs of growing, when they can be watered freely and set in a warm place. Of course bulbs intended for winter blooming must rest, or be kept from growing during the summer, and bulbs to be in bloom in April or May, must be started in January or February in pots. Tuberoses are rapidly productive; ten old bulbs having been known to produce one hundred young offshoots in one season. There are many "fine points" in growing Tuberoses, but the instruction here given will enable any one to grow them successfully.

CHAPTER XIX.

ROSES--CULTIVATION AND PROPAGATING.

The Rose is preeminently the Queen of Flowers. It has no rival in the floral kingdom, and will always stand at the head in the catalogue of Flora's choicest gems. To it alone belongs that subtle perfume that captivates the sense of smell, and that beauty of form and color so pleasing to the eye. Add to all this, it is one of the easiest plants to cultivate, as it will grow and flower in almost any soil or climate, requiring but little care and attention as compared with many other favorites of the garden. There has been great improvement made in Roses in the last twenty years by skillful cultivators in this country and in Europe, and from a few common sorts formerly grown, many hundred choice and desirable varieties have been produced, and to-day the choice cultivated varieties are very numerous. These differ in respect to hardiness, habit of growth, and peculiar characteristics of blooming, and for these reasons cultivators have grouped them into several distinct cla.s.ses, each cla.s.s differing in certain characteristics from the others.

TEA ROSES.

The Roses best adapted for in-door culture belong to the cla.s.s known as Tea Roses; these are tender, of a bushy growth, and if properly treated, will bloom the year round; the flowers have a strong tea-scent.

Tea Roses can be cultivated out-of-doors with success, but they must be taken up in the fall and removed in-doors. We know it is the custom of some gardeners to lay the bushes down in the fall, and cover them with earth and leaves; while in some cases this may preserve them, it cannot be depended on as a rule. To keep up a steady bloom, pinch off all flowers as soon as they begin to fade. It is best to not let the buds open fully while on the bush, but they should be cut in the bud, and placed in a vase of water, where they will expand and keep for a long while. All dead leaves and flower stems should be carefully removed, and the surface of the soil in the pots should be stirred up occasionally with a stick, this will keep the plants in a growing condition, and if they can be kept growing, they will bloom continuously.

The following varieties of Tea Roses are in every respect among the best for house culture:

_Bon Silene._--Flowers purplish-carmine; highly scented.

_Niphetos._--Pure white, magnificent long buds; an incessant bloomer.

_Perle de Jardins._--Sulphur-yellow, full and double; a splendid rose.

_La France_ (Bourbon).--Bright lilac-rose, fine form; perpetual bloomer, half hardy.

_Hermosa_ (Bourbon).--Light rose-color, cupped-shaped; a most perpetual bloomer.

HYBRID PERPETUAL, AND MOSS ROSES.

Both of the above cla.s.ses are entirely distinct from either the Tea, Noisette, or Bourbon Roses; they are entirely hardy, exceedingly free-bloomers in their season--from June to July; their flowers have a delightful perfume, and are noted for the richness and variety of their colors. They require to be closely pruned annually. The spring is the most desirable time to prune. They should have a top-dressing of manure every fall. The ground should be kept well shaded around their roots in summer. They require a strong, rich soil to make them flower well. These roses are not desirable for house culture. The following are among the best varieties of the Hybrid Perpetual, or Remontant Roses:

_Gen. Jacqueminot._--Brilliant crimson-scarlet; magnificent buds.

_La Reine._--Deep rosy-pink; an ideal rose.

_Coquette des Alps._--White; blooms in cl.u.s.ters.

_Black Prince._--Blackish-crimson; large, full, and globular.

_Victor Verdier._--Rich deep-rose; elegant buds.