WHICH ARE THE BEST BULBS TO GROW IN MOSS FIBRE ?

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 56, 7 March 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

WHICH ARE THE BEST BULBS TO GROW IN MOSS FIBRE ?

Most bulbs do well, but with some more care is required to get them to bloom well, and need rather more expert attention to bring to perfection. For a start, whatever bulbs are chosen, select only the best and largest samples of the particular variety that is to be grown. To plant bulbs which will on'y give a fe# flowers is wasting good time and materials; only bulbs which can bo guaranteed to bloom should be used. Better to plant half a dozen good flowering bulbs than a dozen second-class, half of which will flower and the others only produce a bunch of leaves. Roman hyancinths—that is the small-flowered early hyacinths—which produce a number of spikes from each bulb, do exceptionally well; one bulb in a small vase, or three bulbs in a bowl about 4in across. Fresiae, paper white narcissi, soliel d'or [ (often called erroneously yellow jonquil); most of the trumpet daffodils do well, especially Emperor, Empress, King Alfred, Garden Bell* Autocrat. Frank Miles, Albatross, Barri Conspicuus are all good, and the bulbs are cheap. This by no means ends the list of good daffodils that cart be grown, but good selected bulbs of the above can be obtained cheaply and readily. The large flowered hyacinths also do well. Tulips do well, but need special care in watering. If the roots are once allowed to get dry the majority of the bulbs will go "blind." Crocus, ecilla, snowdrops, lachenalias, and liliums, especially auratum, longiflorum, and speciosum varieties.

ANEMONES. Really, anemones are not bulbs in the strict sense of the „ word; they are corms. But what does that matter, only to be pedantic? Most people consider anemones as bulbs, so let it stop at that. '■ We have become accustomed to the '' mixed varieties of anemones —the St. ' Brigid and the de Caen (giant French), 3 mainly because they are grown in I greater quantities than most others. To 5 start with, anemones distinctly do not 3 like light, Sandy soil, nor do they like 1 newly ploughed up grass land, neither ' do they like spongy, peaty soil. Further ; than this, the corm must have rather ; specialised treatment, and should be grown quite 'apart from other crops. A ' well grown corm will continue to throw up many blooms right through the whole period of their growth. As soon as it commences to flower, it keeps flowering, if the picking is conscientiously carried out. Thus a one-year-old seedling corm will flower the season of planting and will flower right up to the time that it starts to die back to become dormant for a period. Such a crop is worth taking trouble over. Whatever you do, avoid light soil and avoid wet soil. Plant on quite heavy land in ordinary nursery beds. Plant the small conns about two inches deep, and before this try to have incorporated some quite rotten cow manure. Never use horse manure nor any (manure that possesses strong ammoniacal properties. Plant the small corms about four inches apart. Artificial shelter is not necessary and the plants are quite hardy. Neither snow nor frost will affect them. If & dry, hot period should follow planting, this is not very good for the plants, and may retard development. In this case, when raincomes and growth forges ahead, lightly topdress the beds with fish manure of a known and proven kind. Just lightly dust the beds over when rain is about. Take care when picking not to injure the tiny buds that you will see pushing their way up. It is quite easy to ruin three or four flowers when picking one. The . flowers must not be pulled, or the whole crop from that particular corm will boruined at once. Anemones just will not » stand being pulled—they must be properly picked, or, better still, be cut off cleanly from the corm. The main prob- ' lems are to keep the beds clean and free from weeds. Another problem is to get a really full bed, for at first the corms come up very patchily, no matter j how well ttiey have been done. The grower must fill up these patches until such time as he has a full bed. Of course, there is a certain amount of trouble to be taken, but the returns are well worth the trouble. If flower stems are very short, as may be the case in very heavy or lightish soils, use plenty of fish manure. This is the veiy £ best stimulant to use, for not only is it a real stimulus, but also is a food, and not always are the two elements combined.in the same material. The use of soot is advised if much rust becomes evident, but always there is a certain amount of rust in the humid periods of the season, and there is no cure or preventive for it.