ROCK GARDENS
Bulbs in
Rock Gardens 3
Bulbs that have been used
for beds and borders are equally as good
as new bulbs for naturalizing in grass and
should be replanted immediately after being
lifted from the bedsand while their foliage
is still green. Some seven years, at least,
may be allowed to elapse before it is necessary
to disturb naturalized bulbs, provided they
receive an annual top-dressing of leaf-mould
each autumn. Some of the dwarfer-growing
bulbs are among the most charming subjects
for the Alpine House. The bulbs should be
planted in autumn and the crowns should just
appear above the surface of the soil, which
should come up to within three quarters of
an inch of the top of the pot or pan. After
planting, the pots or` pans should be well
soaked in water and placed in the open on
boards or slates so that worms cannot get
up into the soil. The pots or pans should
be surrounded and covered with a layer of
five inches of fibre, sand or ashes, and
left for seven to nine weeks until the roots
will have formed and the tops have made an
inch of growth, when they may be moved to
a frame or a cold house, if the roots have
made sufficient growth, they should be liberally
supplied with water, but not saturated. The
less forward plants should be put back in
the ashes, and will furnish a succession
of later bloom, if brought into the Alpine
House at successive intervals. The darkness
encourages growth of the roots, which is
so essential to good blooms. The pots or
pans should not be subjected to full light
until two or three days after the covering
of fibre has been removed: that is, until
the pale yellow shoots have turned green.
When this has happened, the pots or pans
should be placed close to the glass and should
be brought on gradually till the flower buds
are well advanced, when liquid manure-water
may be used. A good potting compost consists
of a mixture of equal parts of loam, leaf-mould,
sand, and well-rotted cow-manure. As to the
number of bulbs that may be planted in a
pot or pan: this, of course, depends on the
species of bulb and on the size of pot used.
Snowdrops, crocuses, and scillas may be planted
so that they practically touch, that is,
about nine bulbs in a five-inch pot; larger
bulbs, such as the smaller daffodils, may
be planted six in a five-inch pot; while
only three hyacinths should be grown in a
six-inch pot.
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