Evening star., 1928-04-28
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Il. TRACEWELL.

MY Dear Sir: BY right of being one
Of your constant readers and because
you seem to know something about
everything, am writing to ask favor
of you.
about the care and growing Of bulbs,
such as tulips, hyacinths, etc? have
few in bloom and hope to have
more, but am In doubt as TO whether
they should be taken up when they
have finished blooming, or left In the
ground.
SHOULD the tops be cut off when
green or left to die? III the bulbs are
taken from the ground, how long after
blooming should this be done. and how
should they be stored? Anything you
say on this subject through the me-
dium of your column will be very much
appreciated.
'I was much encouraged by what
| you gave us on roses few days ago
and since that time have planted IL
new ones, feeling sure that they will
| flourish.
It might add that your column is
] the first thing read In The Star--and
when you write on flowers or poetry
the scissors are brought into play. Yours
| truly, s. N"
Now that the tulips are blooming in
Washington, thoughts OF their care and
cultivation come to mind. Ordinarily
one is told to begin with tulips the
| Autumn before, but commonly this Is
rather difficult to do, especially II one
happens 10 get interested in them In
the Spring.
These bulbs must OF course. be
planted in the Fall. II one wants to see
them In flower in their season. This
applies also to the narcissi. crocus and
| TO this entire group OF bulbs.
| Perhaps the most difficult problem In
| relation to this entire group of bulbs
| is Just where To plant them. Due to
| the fact that their foliage must be al
| lowed to wither naturally, in order to
| prepare the new bulbs for blooming next
| Spring. many persons hesitate to plant
them In prominent positions. owing to
the unsightly appearance of the yellow
| ing leaves.
| This answers, we believe, the first
question of our correspondent, whether
| tulip bulbs should be taken up when
they are finished blooming. or left In
the ground BY all means. they must
be left in the ground. but this does not
necessarily mean the situation where
| they bloom.
Because OF this necessity, we are
| coming to the conviction that the best
! place TO plant tulips Is around and be-
| meath shrubs. Here they make bright
spots of color before the shrubs have
come into full leaf. In other words. the
| tulip viii have plenty of sun; then
| when blooming is over and the shrubs
| begin to leaf out more, no particular
| harm Is done the bulbs.
/ What is prettier than budding lilac
| beneath which grows a ring or group
| Of early tulips? To those who have not
| tried this planting, 1t may be heartily
recommended. We have one tulip
blooming gorgeously in complete shade
| in such a situation Perhaps more can
| be done with the so-called early single
| tulips, in this respect than with the
/ later or May-fiowering Darwins, and
| cottage types.
Personally we favor permanent plant
| ings of these various bulbs. Thus they
| become friends Of the family, and are
looked for eagerly every Spring in their
| familiar locations.
Such flowers, OF course, are best eft
| to bloom in their natural setting. Wher.
| the flowers fade, they should be cut of
| but by no means cut of the foliage
4 To do so would mean no bulb for the
| future. Thus is answered the CORE
| spondent's second question. SHOULD the
| tops be cut of when green or left tc
die?" The tops should be left on until
they wither and die of themselves
which they take n very long time to do
4 because they are thus building up
through the alchemy OF Nature, the new
bulb.
This new bulb contains. In fact, the
new tulip. The tulip is one OF the lew
bulbs which actually makes the flower
| all ready for blooming. In other words
| the very parts of the tulip flower are
| traced in the bud, actually In the tulip
| bulb. Thus the supreme Importance oi
| lna wing the leaves above ground TO take