Evening star., 1942-10-10

prepared soil where their roots may
seek moisture and plant food. Give
them adequate drainage if you would
have them thrive and persist. Bone
meal Is a good plant food for bulbs
and there are no restrictions upon
ts use. But the deep, cool root run
Is highly essential for all of the
early spring Towering bulbs. It
snables them to make strong growth
and to mature their bulbs in the
heat of summer.
Bnlbous Irises
IRE Useful.
The bulbous irises are among the
most useful of the substitutes for
tulips, although their Towering sea-
BON comes bit later. The dwarf
lris reticulata, however, is the excep-
zion. 1t flowers in late February or
early March. Give it extremely we'll
drained soil in sheltered situation
Tor earliest bloom. There are several
varieties of iris reticulata, but the
species is less expensive and it will
DO until one becomes experienced in
their culture. The flowers are a rich
purple, borne on stems only 6 or
3 inches tall.
The Dutch iris, fairly well known
N local gardens, are widely used by
florists as cut flowers, and are rela-
lively inexpensive. They seem to do
best in lighter soil than the Eng
ilsh Iris. Also, they do better in full
sun and flower earlier than the
English. The Spanish iris are seldom
grown by gardeners, although the
flowers appear bit earlier in the
spring and the bulbs do best in a
hot sandy soil where they get the
thorough baking that is desirable.
Bulbs Of these three, English
Dutch and Spanish irises should be-
planted in the late fall so that thev
will not make top growth before cold
weather. The freezing of their foil
age reduces vitality and thus the
length of their life. Even at best
they seldom persist more than three
TO six years, but the bulbs are mex
pensive and this should not restrict
their use.
There are many varieties to choose
from. The colors are mainly blue,
yellow and white, or combinations
Well known dependable varieties of
the Dutch iris are-Yellow Queen,
A. Bloemaard, Imperator, White Ex-
eelsior and Wedgewood. Plant them
IN quantity for color and for cutting.
Substitute for
Hyacinths.
A good substitute for the heavy
headed hyacinth IS Scilla campanu-
lata, or Wood hyacinth, as it is fire.
ruently known. The bulbs last we'll
h our soils and the dainty spikes of
bloom are superior to the hyacinth
for cutting. They may be natural
ked, although the flowers and spikes
are smaller than when cultivated in
bed. The colors are white, blue
and rose or shades of these. The
Wood hyacinth does very we'll in sun
or shade.
The Camassias flower later In the
spring than do the tulips, but that
does not detract from their useful
ness. The tall-18 to 36 inches
spikes make quite show In shade
they seem to run out, but in sunny
situation they persist and increase.
They should be dug every few years
and the soil reWorked.
The Brodiaeas are comparatively
unknown in Eastern gardens, al
though they are hardy and produce
attractive flowers in the early spring
They do, however, need a dry situa-
ton during the summer and for this
reason it is often recommended that
they should be planted under decidu-
Gus trees. There they will have suf-
fcient sunlight and moisture for
towering while the leaves of the tree
will shed summer rains and keep
them fairly dry while dormant.
The grass-like leaves of the Bro
diaea hug the ground, while the
white, blue, yellow or red flowers are
borne on slender stems that range
rom inches to feet in height. The
flower season varies according to the
species from April to June.
Albums or Towering onions as they
are commonly called, blossom in the
summer. They are easily grown and
DO very we'll under cultivation. Some
pf them are quite snowy and are USE
ful as cut flowers. They vary in
height from 4 inches to 3 feet or
more. Like most bulbs they make
The best showing when planted in
masses. The later blooming varie-
ties need full sun for best results.
T'rilliun1s Deserve
Attention.
Many gardeners have learned the
zalue of the Trilliums for the wild
flower garden, but as whole they
are not widely grown. The Wake
Robin (Trillium grandifiorum is
the most snowy of the group and
when planted in masses is especially
affective. It Is not often used for
cutting inasmuch as cutting re-
moves the foliage and the bulb suf-
fers. Give them soil rich in humus
in a shady situation for best results.
The Leucojum, or summer snow
fake, is an oldtimer in few gar
dens. We might make wider use OF
II since 1t Is good for cutting and
Its interesting snowdrop-like flowers
with green dots at the tips OF each
petal are showy in the border or in
q vase. Leucojum aestivum flowers
in May, but there are spring flower
ing species as we'll as fall Towering
ones.
While the above are probably the
more dependable and snowy substi-