Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/93

Rh waste the reader’s time in attempting to explain it. As soon as the seed is ripe, which is generally the case in July, it should be sown in pans, filled with equal parts of peat, loam, and leaf-mould, with the addition of a moderate quantity of silver sand, and a good drainage in the bottom. The compost must be broken up rather small, without sifting, so that the young plants can be taken up, when the time arrives for potting them, without injuring the roots. The seed-pans should be placed in a close part of the stove or cucumber-house, or on a moist hotbed, where they will have the benefit of a mean temperature of 75°. As the young foliage begins to show nicely above the surface, a light position, with rather more air, and not quite so warm, will be more suitable for them. Great caution is necessary in watering at this stage, as the plants have to remain some time in the seed-bed.

By November the corms will have attained considerable dimensions, and be ready for potting off separately. The same soil must be used as before, and the plants lifted carefully and potted firm, the corms on the surface, in small 60’s. The weather will not permit much air at this season, but they should be placed near the glass, and a temperature of 55° or 60° maintained. As the days lengthen, a rise of five degrees may be allowed, with more liberal ventilation. Early in May, remove the plants to a cold frame in a rather shady position, and keep them growing steadily until the end of August or beginning of September. At this stage they will require shifting into five- or six-inch pots; the largest size should only be used for the very largest plants, as they do very little good if overpotted.

There should be a slight alteration in the compost at this potting by taking away half the leaf-mould and replacing it with the same quantity of fresh horse-droppings, dry enough to mix readily. The cold frame will be the best place for a month afterwards, as it can be kept rather close, to promote free rooting in the new soil.

In October, remove the stock to the greenhouse near the glass where they will enjoy a humid atmosphere and an average temperature of 50°. They must be watered with great care, with water of the same temperature as the house. They will soon begin to flower and may then be taken to the conservatory, where their elegant fragrant flowers will charm away all the gloom of the winter season.