The botanical name of the Tuberose--Polianthes Tuberosa--is so little used by those who grow it that it will be more convenient to speak of this most fragrant flower under its popular title. It is everywhere prized, especially when its pure white flowers are produced in winter, when few of similar character for buttonholes and bouquets are readily procurable. Although a plant which can be flowered in the open border if the bulbs are started and grown on for some time under glass, it requires a considerable amount of heat to flower it properly at other seasons. The bulbs should be potted three together in a five or six inch pot in a soil composed of loam and manure or some leaf-soil. The soil should be slightly moist, so as to obviate the necessity of watering before the bulbs begin to make growth. Some plunge in a cold frame until growth begins, but a preferable plan is to plunge in a bottom heat of from sixty to seventy degrees if early bloom is required. Plenty of water should be given when growth has fairly begun, and it can hardly be too strongly emphasised that this and a temperature such as that named for the bottom heat should be maintained for winter-blooming. Potting may begin in November, and may be continued at intervals for two or three months. Old bulbs are not worth keeping. The double form is the more appreciated, and the double African, American, and Italian grown bulbs are all good. The Pearl is dwarf in habit.
The Vallota, or Scarborough Lily (V. purpurea), is a general favourite for its brightly coloured flowers in autumn, and because of the ease with which it can be grown in a greenhouse or window. It is hardy in a few favoured places, and in some is grown as a frame bulb, but for the greater number of British gardens it is best when grown in a house from which frost is excluded in winter. It should be repotted as seldom as possible, and then the roots should be little disturbed and the plants transferred to a larger pot with the ball attached, only removing some of the soil on the surface to allow of top dressing. The offsets may be removed with a stick. It likes a rich, light soil, and may be potted towards the end of spring. The roots should never become dry. Some give a little liquid manure during summer, and when well grown few plants look more ornamental, with its heads of deep scarlet flowers. There is a larger-flowered variety named major.