Polianthes tuberosa
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| Exposure: | ☼ | ?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property. |
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| Water: | ◍ | ?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property. |
Read about Polianthes tuberosa in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Polianthes tuberosa, Linn. Tuberose. Fig. 3093. Rootstock tuberous: sts. in clusters, 2-3 1/2 ft,, high: basal lvs. 6-9 to a st., 1-1 1/2. ft. long, 1/2 in. or less wide, bright green,. reddish near the base: st. with 8-12 reduced lvs.: fls. 1 1/2-2 1/2 in. long, pure waxy white, borne in pairs in a lax spike; segms. 1/2 -3/4 in long, the tube bent only near the base; filaments attached on upper part of corolla. B.M. 1817. B.R. 63. R.H. 1882 p. 429. F. 1881, p. 27. Gn. 47, p. 330. It runs into double forms. Gn.W. 16:10. Culture of the tuberose for bloom. There are only two objections to the tuberose: its odor is too powerful for many persons, and, like the calla lily, it has funeral associations. Therefore, fashion has deserted it, at least in North America. Nevertheless great quantities of the bulbs are grown in this country, and a good part of them are used here as well as exported. The tuberose is more popular than ever in Europe. It will always be a standard florists flower, for the people like it. whatever fashion may decree. For the home garden, the bulbs are best procured in spring and planted outdoors after all danger of frost is over. The common tall-growing double sort is preferred for this purpose, largely because the fls. open better during the unfavorable dry weather which often occurs in October. Cover the bulb about an inch with fine light soil. A bulb planted out June 1 will bloom in late summer or fall. Before frost comes, take up the bulbs and store them over winter in a rather warm (50° F.) dry place where no frost will touch them. If kept moist and cool during winter the bulbs are likely to rot at the center. Sound tubers will always be green at top or show some sign of life at the growing-point. The others are not worth planting. In the far North where the season is short, tuberose bulbs may be started indoors about the middle of May, the tubers being placed on a layer of damp moss. By florists, tuberoses are chiefly grown for summer and fall bloom. It is very difficult to force tuberoses so as to bloom from January to March, but they can be forced with comparative ease to bloom from April to June. Also flowers may readily be secured for November and December by retarding the bulbs. In forcing, the bulbs are started about the first of January, being placed close together in boxes only 3 inches deep, with 2 inches or so of moss on the bottom. These boxes are placed over the pipe where a temperature of 75° may be maintained. In four to five weeks the tubers will have sent roots all through the moss, and they should then be potted in 4- to 5-inch pots, or planted in a bench containing 4 or 5 inches of soil. The temperature should never be less than 75°, and 80° is better. For May and June bloom, successional batches may be planted at intervals of three or four weeks after New Year. The last crops will usually be the best. For November florists bloom the bulbs are retarded in a cool dry place until the middle of August. The second batch should not be planted until about the middle of September. This lot should give good December bloom. For summer blooming in the open ground for florists, the form known as the Tall Double" is the most to be preferred. In this variety, the flowers open better and are a clearer and purer white than those of the Pearl. The Albino is a single white tuberose, blooming in July and August. It is a very floriferous variety, with flowers that lack the brown or stained tint of some of the older forms. The odor is less powerful, and therefore more pleasant, than that of the ordinary tuberose. There are several interesting forms. Peter Henderson & Co. Commercial production of tuberose bulbs. Tuberose bulbs were formerly grown extensively for commercial purposes in Italy, and are grown in a small way at the present time in South Africa, although the African bulbs are not in much favor with European florists because the bulbs ripen and are shipped in midsummer and a great number fail to bloom. The foreign- grown bulbs are not imported into the United States and, owing to the superiority of the American-grown tuberoses and the low price at which they are produced, they have driven the Italian-grown bulbs out of the American market. About 80 per cent of the American crop is exported. The larger part of the product of this country is grown in a limited area in the southeastern part of the state of North Carolina, although there has been some falling off in recent years. Tuberose bulb-culture in the southern states was first attempted by F. A. Newbury in Duplin County, North Carolina, in 1868. Beginning with a dozen bulbs, he propagated stock until, in 1888, the yield was about 1,000,000 bulbs. During these years the crop was cultivated entirely by hand and consequently was very expensive. The prices received at first were $40 a 1,000, but since then prices have declined each year as quantity increased until, in 1888, bulbs were selling at $6 to $8 a 1,000, and in 1915 at $5 to $7. In 1888, the late H. E. Newbury, a brother, bought out the business, and he and J. F. Croom, another grower who had propagated considerable stock, extended the business greatly, introducing less expensive methods of cultivation. By use of the horse-plow they were enabled greatly to reduce the selling price and to stimulate demand for bulbs, so that the crop of 1900, within a radius of 20 miles of one point (Magnolia, North Carolina), amounted to 6,000,000 bulbs, selling at wholesale in carload lots at $3.50 a 1,000. This yield was secured from over 300 acres. The total yield of the American-grown stock in 1915 was probably about 2,000,000 first-size bulbs. The crop is set in April, after the soil has been thoroughly pulverized. It is then laid off in rows or furrows 22 inches apart; into these is sown fertilizer at the rate of 600 pounds to the acre.. About 400 pounds of cottonseed-meal and 20 bushels of good wood-ashes to the acre have given the best results, although any reliable fertilizer with a good percentage of potash is good. The fertilizer is thoroughly mixed with the soil by running a plow with point only in the furrow. Into this the sets or "seed," as they are called, are carefully placed upright by hand and covered with plow. Usually the bulblets are rather slow in starting off. and just as they begin to break through, the soil, which has become hardened or crusted, is raked or broken up. This assists the plant in getting up and also destroys any growth of grass which may have started. Cultivation is performed chiefly with a cotton-plow, using the sweeps to put earth to the plant and destroying any grass in the rows. Tillage is required every two weeks until August ; an occasional hoeing between plants by hand is necessary in order to loosen the soil and destroy weeds and grass not reached by the plow. The crop is matured and gathered between October 15 and November 15. The tops by this time have reached a length of 18 to 20 inches; these are cut off at the ground with a sharp weeding-hoe and the bulbs are plowed out very much as potatoes are. Women then lift out and shake off the earth, and the offsets are removed by hand. These sets are the seed-stock for next season. The bulbs are graded as to size, carried to curing-houses, and by some placed on shelves to dry or cure out. The bulbs must be stirred or have their position changed every few days to prevent mold and rot. This stirring wears or breaks off the roots and tons of a good percentage of the bulbs, making a less sightly bulb, though not injuring its flowering property. The better and more modern way is to gamer them by the roots in bunches of about ten, tie them together with a small cord and hang them upon frames, walls, and overhead of house and allow them to cure without disturbing them during the process of drying. While this would seem a rather expensive way, it really costs but a few cents a, thousand, being done by small negro children at nominal wages. In recent years, artificial heat of 80° to 100° by means of furnace and flues similar to those used in tobacco-barns has been introduced, to hasten curing. Four to eight weeks are required properly to cure the bulbs for shipping, so that the first shipments begin to move about December 1 to 10. Before shipment the bulbs are again sorted in order to get out any undersized bulbs that may have been overlooked; they are also counted and packed in paper-lined barrels, holding from 700 to 1,300, the number varying with size of bulbs and size of barrels. About 200 barrels, or 150.000 to 175,000 bulbs, constitute a carload. The bulk of the exports go through New York dealers. A few are exported direct. The variety mostly grown is Dwarf Pearl. This sends up a flowering stem about 15 inches long, the blossom being double. The Tall Double is similar except that the flowering stem is longer, about 24 inches or over. The White or Orange Flower has a long stem, with the blossom single or resembling the blossom of an orange tree. The Albino, a freak from the Pearl, is a dwarf single or orange-flowered variety, but its tendency in other latitudes is to go back to the double type, and consequently is likely to disappoint the grower who expects a single blossom. The foliage of all the above is a rich green. The variegated-leaved variety has a beautiful stripe of golden or silver hue on the outer edge of the foliage. The blossom is single and the habit is dwarf. The tuberose is treated as an annual and has to be replaced each season. A "number one" bulb (referring to size) is not less than 4 inches in circumference and measures up to 6 inches and over. "Mammoth" bulbs are 6 to 8 inches in circumference; only a very small part of the crop will attain such measurement. A "number two" bulb is less than 4 inches and over 3 inches in circumference, and while in the South these will bloom as well as the larger bulbs they are not much sought by the northern dealers. The . tuberose is a rat her slow grower ; hence in the North, where the frosts are much earlier than in the South, it is likely to get caught before its spike of bloom matures. To succeed in getting flowers in the North they should be started in pots under glass or in rooms free of frost in April and transplanted to open ground in early June. The soil should be deeply pulverized. Choose a sandy loam if possible, and fertilize with manure containing a good percentage of potash. Keep the earth about the plant thoroughly stirred and do not let the plant suffer for moisture. H. E. Newbury. W. R. Newbury
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Polianthes tuberosa. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
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