In warm districts these beautiful plants may be grownin damp places out of doors, with a south aspect and a background of
shrubs, though, not being thoroughly hardy, it is safer to grow them
in pots. They may be raised from seed
in boxes of leaf-mould and sand,
covering them with glass, and keeping them well watered. As soon as
they can be handled, transplant them into small pots, and pot on as
they increase in size. They may also be increased by the small shoots
that form round the base of the corms, using a compost of loam,
leaf-mould, and sand, with a little crushed charcoal. In June
transplant them in the open to ripen their corms, and in August
put them carefully into 6-in. pots filled with the above-mentioned
compost. They need at all times a good amount of moisture, especially
at such times as they are removed from one soil to another. At the
same time, it is necessary to procure good drainage. It is well to
feed them every other day with weak liquid manure. A temperature of 55
degrees throughout the winter is quite sufficient. When grown in the
open, the bulbs should be placed 3 in. below the soil, with a little
silver sand beneath each, and not be disturbed oftener than once in
four years. Three or four may stand a foot apart. Stake neatly the
flower stems. They flower from September to June.
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