Evening star., 1926-04-04
Easter Lilies for
Washington Gardens

THE Easter lily soon may become
as common to the gardens of
Washington and it's environs as pan
sizes. tulips. roses and other flowers
which adorn the yards of Washing
tonians and brighten the landscape
of the city's parks. In fact. produc-
ton Of the Easter lily has been sue
cessfully demonstrated by DR.. David
Grifiths. horticulturist for the De
partment of Agriculture. who has
cultivated large beds of Easter lilies
ut Takoma Park and at nearby expert
mental farms of the Department of
Agriculture.
Moreover. it may I've grewn under
wide extremes of conditions, DR.. Grif'
fiths pointed out but its cultivation
is difficult under conditions which
might be termed intermediate II
proves TO he a safe crop when handled
properly in the climate of Washing
ton. or the frostless Bermudas, btu
in the Gulf States its. existence Is
menaced by the sudden and drastic
changes of temperature prevailing In
the region of the Gulf States in the
Spring season.
This is by no means without
parallel" DR.. Griffiths said. The
Easter lily in this regard is like the
Concord grape which thrives in the
regions of the Great Lakes. northern
New York and New England. but
succumbs to frost conditions In
Florida.
This paradoxical situation Is
readily explainable by the fact that
farther north tender plans are dor
mant during cold weather conditions.
while in the intermediate regions they
may be subjected to severe frosts
1r-bar, in full yocata tive yiCnr "
Bulbs planted at the regular plant
ing time, November !, will blossom
i'm the climate of Washington I'm early
July. DR.. Griffiths asserted. and If
the bulbs are held over and planted
as soon as the ground can he worked
in the Spring. they win blossom in
August. while seedlings grown from
sowings made early in January will
begin to open about the same time az
the Spring.planted bulbs.
Bulbs may be put into four-inch
pots and set away at temperature
of 40 degrees early in the year and
can be kept in frames and brought
to varying degrees of development
by Spring. when they can be knocked
out of the pots and set in the open.
1t will make no difference except
to slow up their growth if the tenn
perature goes below the freezing
point for short periods a few times
after the plants are we'll rooted. In
this manner they can he brought to
full bloom at least month earlier
than normal November planted
stocks. thus giving blossoming plants
out of doors from May until the first
severe frost of Autumn.
4 light frost will not iniure the
Easter lily even when in bloom. DR..
Tsrif1 he nj F1t ~
full flower and full bud have been
known to withstand a temperature
of 2S degrees at night with no
permanent injury.
Bulbs of the Easter lily should be
exposed to atmospheric influences as
short a time as possible. Imported
stocks are packed in pulverized dry
earth as soon as possible after they
are dug. In this manner the evil eff
feet of bulb mass is avoided. the
bulbs are kent dry and excessive
desiccation is, prevented. :"
Incidentally, cold storage handling
of the bulbs has been developed to
q high standard of perfection. The
bulbs are held at temperature of
"a degrees for year, and in some
cases for two years. and when they
are planted they produce vigorous
shoots.
The handling of home grown bulbs
Is matter of experiment, in the
opinion of DIR. Grff1ths, who advises
that the temperature be kept down,
the atmosphere kept dry and the
ventilation controlled, so as to pre-
vent the bulbs from whiting exces-
sively. The light on the bulbs should
be subd Led to prevent them from
turning green and 1t is considered
of vital, Importance to keep the
atmosphere dry in the storage bins,
because root activity starts very
quickly when the bulbs absorb
moisture and they are liable to perish
of blue mold.
However. it Is not a difficult mat
ter to hold the Easter lily bulbs over
Winter in the climate of Washing
ton, DIR. Griffiths pointed out. They
have been carried over for Spring
planting in almost perfect condition
when packed like imported bulbs. in
dry sand in boxes and buried in dry
earth under porch dwelling he
said.
In fact" DIR. Griffiths declared
the original stock of Easter lily
bulbs successfully cultivated at
Washington by the Department of
Agriculture were carried over under
conditions considered far from ideal.
ground in 1920. from September, 20
to November 1, and were somewhat
wilted when planted, but not serious
ly injured by the almost ruthless
treatment accorded them. After being
dug out of the ground they were
worked over on the benches in a
greenhouse and then stored in n
poorly ventilated basement. which
was only moderately dry"
While the Bureau of Plant Industry
of the Department Of Agriculture is
still experimenting to ascertain the
best soil for the cultivation Of Easter
| lilies and declares it's survey Is not
yet complete. a heavy. lean: balScy
clay soil is tentatively recommended
for the successful cultivation of the
delicate lily. OF course. this soil
| must be ameliorated with some sand.
\ liberal dressings of rough manure
! and mulch, or withS hard coal ashes
and rough organic debris. Moreover,
the plants are gross feeders aud for
good results must be supplied with
an abundance of available plant