Hyacinth Growing.

Manawatu Herald, 19 May 1894, Page 3

Hyacinth Growing.

A London paper has a very interesting account of a visit to the celebrated flower garden of Ant. Roozen & Son near Haarlem. We extract that portion relating to the growing of hyacinths and tulips, i'roin which some useful hints may be gained : — •' There is a special art in bulb planting, Mv Roozen, will you tell me how to grow Hyacinths successfully?" "Certainly, I will. It is not a difficult nor a long process. Get good bulbs, even though they are a little more expensive than inferior ones. It pays best in the end, and twenty first-rate flowers spikes on garden bed make a better show than twice that number of second or third-rate flowers. Plant your bulbs in good ordinary garden soil, dug up with some inches of well- decayed manure. Then put your bulbs 3 inches under ground, leaving a distance of 5 or 6 inches between them. Put a little sand round each bulb, and cover with soil. That is all, and if you cover your Hyacinth bed during the winter with leaves, straw, ov pulverised manure, you will find in March that you have Hyacinths which, for beauty and fragrance, are superior to any other spring fit wers." "Are there any special Hyacinths which are better than others for outdoor cultivation ?" " No, we put all the different kinds into one parcel of m-ixed bulbs, and they are all equally good. But of course some of our customers prefer special kinds. There are a few leading varieties. For instance, if you want a bed of blue Hyacinths in various shades, I should suggest the King of the Blues, Czar Peter, Grand Maitre, Lord i Derby, and Prince of Wales. In red anil rose colours, Lord Macaulay, Von Schilier, Gertrude, Norma, Fabiola, and beneral Pelli.-sier, are great favourites ; aud the best white varieties are La Grandesse, l'liinoconce, Madamo Van der Hoop, Mont Bianc, and La Candeur. Then there are a few very fine yellow Hyacinths, such as Ida, Obelisque, and King of the Yellows." " About the tulips, Mr Roozen. I hear there is a cnize for Tulips." " I don't know about a craza, but sure it is that the Tulip trade is greatly improving. Especially the rarer and newer varieties are much in request, and single bulbs are sold

among growers for 2s and 2s 6d. I will write down a few of the names for your guidance, should you care to try Tulips in your garden. The Queen of Holland is a rose tint, touched with silver, a charming flower ; Pottebakker is true scarlet, and the largest Tulip grown. Jenny and Pink Beauty are rich pink, Joost Van der Vondel pure white, and Golden Queen is the largest of the yellow Tulips. Then there are all the early double Tulips in infinite varieties. They aye grown in the garden just like Hyacinths, and I need not tell you what the effect is of a fine Tulip bed or a clump of Tulips among shrubbery in April and May. These flowers require no recommendation." " But you must have Hyacinths indoors, in glasses and pots. You want to watch them day by day as they unfold. It is an interesting process. First, then, about those in glasses. If you want them to flower about Christmas put them in at once ; the rest later on. Fill a Hyacinth glass with pure pond or rain water, and put a few grains of salt in each glass to keep the water clear. Let the bulb just touch the water with its lower surface. Put tfca glasses away in a cool dark place for four or five weeks, .by which time the roots have grown stropg. Then bring them into the light ip a living room, but do not Jet them stand over the fire or in a dry atmosphere. Add a little water as the first supply evaporates, otherwise don't touch the bulb; and if the water becomes muddy it must be changed. This is all ; for the rest the bulb takes care of itself."