LILIES IN OCTOBER IN ENGLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19964, 4 December 1926, Page 3

LILIES IN OCTOBER IN ENGLAND.

IMPORTATION FROM NEW ZEALAND. i Wo extract from the Gardeners’ Chronicle of October 25 the following article, which makes public tho interesting fact that,, reversing tho usual order of things, bulb importation into England from New Zealand bus achieved some success;— Great as the value of Eilium regale is in Juiy and August there will no no division of Oi-Jimou as to tile additional worm ol its fine trumpet blossoms during the month of October anq it is giad nows that such is one result ol the opening up ol bulb importation from New Zealand, an enterprise in which Mr Amos Perry has already achieved success, and one which is calculated to be of far-reaching importance. Seasons in New Zealand are almost tho reverse of our own, and plants which ripen with us and go to rest in Octouer or November are making growth just at that period in New Zealand and they will become dorinant during our spring. Thus it is that in June Mr Perry received a consignment of Lilium regale, which he at once planted in the open. Soil and atmosphere being warm, the bulbs started into growth rapidly, and in less than four months the bed carried a fine display ol blooms. These huins, left in the ground, will doubtless accommodate themselves to British seasons and flower next year simultaneously with ordinary home-grown stock, but we ha v e always imported vast quantities of liliums, and. now experiment has justified reliance upon New Zealand, a component of the British Empire, wo may reasonably anticipate diversion of at any rate a considerable proportion of our business in liliums from Japan to the country whence wo can receive bulbs which will keep our gardens cheerful and well-furnished right through the sombre days of autumn. A further point merits attention; by potting bulbs when they arrive here and starting them in the cool shade of a northern aspect, very decorative and serviceable material may be provided for furnishing conservatories, .well-nigh and probably quite until Christmas, and there is a great deal to be said for an imposing flower that will provide pleasing variation from the customary chrysanthemums of late autumn and early winter. , The lovely cream-white yellow-throated trumpets of L. sulphureum (Wallichianura superbum) are also obtainable during September and October from shipments of bulbs arriving in May. Again, this is giving us an advantage over the hitherto customary importations of Asiatic bulbs which reach our shores in mid-winter, Long storage. which means deterioration, and outdoor planting while the soil is at winter temperature. means .possible decay, and, at best, wealc. sluggish growth, and to start in pots for transplanting in spring involve? labour, frame or house room, and the twining or roots around the small compass of the soilball instead of their natural expansion. When the New Zealand bulbs arrive in May the soil is already warm, and as in the case of L. regale, growth is rapid from the start. There is. undoubtedly, a. great future for the use of liliums produced within the British Empire.