>Lists Of "Bests"
How to Keep Blooms Open
Earliest
For Tubs And Miniature Ponds
BEST SIX
This is a chapter my customers have, to a large extent, helped me write, for it consists principally of my answers to the questions they most frequently ask. This summary must necessarily be generalized. If you have some out-of-the-ordinary problem on which I have not touched in this book, please feel free to W1ite me about it. I will give you the best ad-vice I can.
One or two water-lilies floating in a large glass, silver or ceramic bowl, with a lily pad for background, make an effective arrangement. And, generally speaking; any water-lily that pleases you can be cut for a table centerpiece or other decoration, Those hardies which seem to hold up best indoors include Nymphaea odorata and rosea, Marliacea rosea and chromatella, W. B. Shaw, James Brydon, and N. Robinsoniana. All of them are fragrant. Other good hardies for cutting include N. Gladstoniana, Gonnere, Helen Fowler, and Pink Opal.
Among the best tropicals for cutting are the day-blooming Aviator Pring, Blue Beauty, William Stone, August Koch, Mrs. C. W. Ward, and Mrs. G. H. Pring; and the night-blooming Nymphaea dentata and its varieties, N. Omarana, and Emily Grant Hutchins.
Most water-lilies, growing normally in a pool, open their blooms for three consecutive days or nights. A few open four times, some only twice. But practically all water-lilies will extend their normal performance by a day or two when cut and taken into the house.
Both hardies and tropicals make good cut flowers. To get the best out of them, select newly opened blooms for cutting. If you have a small pool, this will not be much of a trick. If you have a large pool, with several dozen water-lilies blooming at once, you will have to learn to recognize a newly borne flower. Look for a blossom in which stamens are not yet curled or tangled, but still spread cleanly apart. Look for plump, round anthers which have not yet begun to shed pollen, and for a stigma with the tiny basin still holding a droplet of nectar.
Usually the hardies and day-blooming tropicals, after being cut, will follow their normal habits and open their blossoms the same as if they were still in the pool. The night-blooming tropicals, when cut, usually follow their normal routine and stay open from about 7 p.m. until well into the following morning. But not always. Sometimes a combination of factors-temperature, humidity, and so on-causes blooms to fold up into buds again.
BEST KINDS TO CUT (PLATES 31 AND 32)
One or two water-lilies floating in a large glass, silver or ceramic bowl, with a lily pad for background, make an effective arrangement. And, generally speaking; any water-lily that pleases you can be cut for a table centerpiece or other decoration, Those hardies which seem to hold up best indoors include Nymphaea odorata and rosea, Marliacea rosea and chromatella, W. B. Shaw, James Brydon, and N. Robinsoniana. All of them are fragrant. Other good hardies for cutting include N. Gladstoniana, Gonnere, Helen Fowler, and Pink Opal. Among the best tropicals for cutting are the day-blooming Aviator Pring, Blue Beauty, William Stone, August Koch, Mrs. C. W. Ward, and Mrs. G. H. Pring; and the night-blooming Nymphaea dentata and its varieties, N. Omarana, and Emily Grant Hutchins.
Choosing Cut Flowers
Most water-lilies, growing normally in a pool, open their blooms for three consecutive days or nights. A few open four times, some only twice. But practically all water-lilies will extend their normal performance by a day or two when cut and taken into the house.
Both hardies and tropicals make good cut flowers. To get the best out of them, select newly opened blooms for cutting. If you have a small pool, this will not be much of a trick. If you have a large pool, with several dozen water-lilies blooming at once, you will have to learn to recognize a newly borne flower. Look for a blossom in which stamens are not yet curled or tangled, but still spread cleanly apart. Look for plump, round anthers which have not yet begun to shed pollen, and for a stigma with the tiny basin still holding a droplet of nectar.
Usually the hardies and day-blooming tropicals, after being cut, will follow their normal habits and open their blossoms the same as if they were still in the pool. The night-blooming tropicals, when cut, usually follow their normal routine and stay open from about 7 p.m. until well into the following morning. But not always. Sometimes a combination of factors-temperature, humidity, and so on-causes blooms to fold up into buds again.