Lilies in Pots.

Otago Witness, Issue 2263, 15 July 1897, Page 8

Lilies in Pots.

Those who wish to thoroughly enjoy the i beauties of this lovely tribe must supplement ' their out-of-door cultivation with pot plants, and fchia for several reasons. There are some > amoDgst them which start into growth ,so late — i Sulphureum, for example — that there is no possibility of their blooming before the frost comes ; • while there are others which are so delicate in their colouring that one likes to have them where they will nofc be exposed to the vicissi- j tudes of our changeable climate, and where i they may be seen in all their freshness and beauty. There are others which, although nofc absolutely tender, do not find ifc easy to batHe with our changeable climate, so I have always grown some which are very useful iv early autumn to fill up the spaces in the greenhouse and to add both beauty and perfume to it. I could wish that my house were larger, so that I might have fuller epace for them ; but despite their being somswhafc cramped, they arc a charming addition to the fuchsias, begonias, and zonal pelargoniums which at this tima j pretty well fill the house. Lilium sulphureum ia a lily that in my opinion it is impossible to bloom oub of doors unless in some very favourable localities. Ifc is very late in commencing its growth, and consequently j does nob in ordinary circumstances, even in the , i bouse, come into flowsr until September, and I ' should think would be quite a month later oufc of doors. To exaggerate the beauty of this lily j is impossible, with its long, white trumpet, the inside ot which is of a beautiful primrose colour. Ifc has the peculiarity, also, of forming small i bulbi at the axils of the leaves in the same way j as the tiger lilies do. This it doea in great ' abundance, and I have several pots of them which ate now growing freely. I saw the other day one of these which I had given to a friend ' with a fine bloom on it, and as the house had ' more heat in it than I can give to mine ifc had ' been most probably benefited by it. I had almost ! set it down as one difficulb of cultivation, or, j rather, difficulb to flower, bub after this experience I cannot do so. j L. Leichtlini is such a charming species that i lam very unwilling to trust to open-air culture ; , its slender and graceful habit almost seems to court more care and profcecfciou than ifc would , obtain in the open ground ; in fact, even in pot culture I have found it somewbab difficulb to ■ keep, and have only partially succeeded in so ! j doing. The delicate shade of yellow enlivened \ j by its numerous purple spots makes ifc very j j attractive. I L. Krameri. — Notwithstanding the immense f number of bulbs annually imported, this beautiful lily is noS so often scon as one could wish, the reason bsing that ifc is somewhat difficulb to manage, yefc in some favoured localities it is fouud to do well even out of doors ; but such spots are few, and I have never ventured to j i grow ifc except in pots, and then not very sue- ! cessfully. But this year one bulb of ifc flowered well with me, and its delicate pink colouring was very attractive. The bulbs are small, and I am nob aware thab they ever attain any large ; size, and I think a good deal of pains ought to be taken with so beautiful a flower. ' L. Aurafcum and its Varieties. — The strong perfume of these flowers makes them somewhat unfib for a small house like mine, but there are two or three varieties which, on account of their beauty, I still admit among my pot plants. These are Plafcyphyllum, which, a 8 its name implies, has much bolder foliage than the typical form, while the petals of the flower are very broad and stout in substance ; the habit of j the plane is more vigorous than the type, and j there is nob so much difficulty in keeping it on , from year to year. Virginale, a pure white without markings, is ako another desirable | variation, and seems to pavtak'e of the vigour , of Platyphyllum, and does not break up so much into small bulbs as the latter is inclined j to do. Rubro vittatum lam doubtful about, j I do nob think its striking colouring is so at- j tractive as where the centre stripe of the petal j is yellow instead of red, but still for variety's cake I retain ifc. L. Speciosum is one of the most delightful lilies for pot culture. I remember its introducj tion 50 years ago, and ever since then have with ' few interruptions grown it. When auratum was introduced in 1861 ifc seemed likely to oust speciosum from the position it held in the estimation of the public, and I am nob sure ifc has . nob done this ; but whether with regard to the j delicacy of ifcs perfume, the elegance of its ! form, and the beauty of its colouring, I regard ifc with greater favour than I do its more gorgeoue rival. There are three varieties of the white speciosum which are well worthy of a place in the greenhouse ; one of theße is the old typical form Album, bub surpassed by the newer varieties Kraetzeri and Vestal, the latter especially being very fine. Cultivation.— The mode of culture to be adopted for these lilies ii very simple. When good rotted leaf-mould can be had the peat (which varies much in its quality) is not necessary. The besfc compost; is compo? ed of this and good fibrous loam, with a "little well-rofcted manure, with some sharp sand, road-grit, or charcoal ; when the plants have gone oufc of flower the stems ought nob to be cub off, bub the pots should be stood out in the open air to ripen off ; they ought nofc to have the heavy autumnal rains, and when there is any prospect of these I place them under a glass roof, but fully exposed to the air on all sides ; they here ripen off, and are ready for potting towards the end of the year. Avoid the two extremes of over-potting or cramping the bulbs. Some bulbs may bo placed singly in a 6iD, others three in an Bip, pot. Place a little coarse sand under each bulb, then cover with compost, but do nob press ifc too firmly. After potting, place the pots in a frame and plunge them in ashes or cocoanut-fibre refuse. Let them remain there until growth begins, then remove to a greenhouse. Never i allow the soil to be saturated with rain, nor water too freely until growth begins.— H. D., in Amateur Gardening.