LADYBUG SAYS... LILIES OFTEN MUST BE FORCED TO BLOOM

Churches throughout the land today have lilies, long the symbol of Easter, gracing their altars. Since Easter does not fall on a given day, but comes the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21, these lilies have to be forced into bloom by professional florists or nurserymen.

Easter can be as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. It takes much knowledge and regulation of temperatures and light to force the lilies into bloom at the proper time.

Next comes the questions on their care in private homes. Here are some suggestions:

Keep as cool as possible.

Water when the soil feels dry possibly every other day.

When the plant stops flowering, cut off the withered blooms but not the leaves. Let the plant continue to develop, and feed it every other week.

If the foliage gradually dies, the plant is beginning its nordormant period. Give less water, but do not let the roots become completely dry.

When the outside ground warms, remove the lily from its pot (with soil intact) and plant it in a sunny, well drained spot. It may bloom again in late summer.

Most Easter lilies are hardy outdoors.

---

April includes the observance of Arbor Day, which was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. In Missouri it was established in 1919 to be the first Friday after the first Tuesday in April.

All schools are requested to observe the day by encouraging the planting of trees, shrubbery and flowers upon and around the school grounds in order that the school children have an appreciation of the gifts of nature around us. Many of the schools here have observed Arbor Day, with the assistance of garden clubs, in planting trees on the school grounds.

---

The magnolias usually get the blue ribbons for the most beautiful spring flowering trees. Even the young plants bloom. Flowers of most are fragrant and the texture of the exquisitely colored petals is thick, waxy and lustrous.

The Star magnolia (stellata) leads the parade with unfolding of white, short-stalked flat, fragrant star-shaped flowers. It develops as a shrub-like tree of spreading habit which slowly attains a height of 10 to 12 feet.

The Saucer magnolia (Soulangeana) is the most common specie in this area. It is a hardy, vigorous grower, producing a profusion of blooms soon after the Star magnolia. The slightly fragrant saucer-shaped flowers are four to six inches across, purplish on the outside and white within. The flowering buds which are formed during the previous summer and fall are quite often killed by below freezing temperatures.

One variety of Soulangeana is Lennei, which blooms a little later and has large waxy flowers which are a bright rosy color on the outside and have a little tinge of pink on the inside.

When the Soulangeana magnolia is in bloom it is most often when the weather dips down to below freezing and also gets the fruit crop. Last year on March 27, there was snow with the temperature reaching 28 degrees. The wild specie of red tulips were in full bloom and were flattened to the ground on the white snow.

Magnolias are easy to grow. The essential thing is to select the kinds you prefer and plant them in favorable locations. Since they are primarily ornamental trees, they are usually grown as single specimens on the lawn. There is a residence in Anna, Ill., that has about a half dozen that must be quite old for they are as tall as the second story of the house. In full bloom last week, they were an awesome sight.

Most of the magnolias sold by local nurseryen are shipped in early from Alabama. These plants appreciate a rich, well drained soil with plenty of moisture, espeically the first year.

The hardiest of the magnolias, the Cucumber Tree, is a native of southern Missouri, but seldom seen. Mrs. Wesley Nagel, Highway 61 North, has a large specimen in her yard. Yellowishh-green blooms appear in June, followed by scarlet cucumber-shaped seed pods.

One of our first native trees to flower is the Shadblow Serviceberry. If one waits until the redbud and violets are blooming in the woods, you will miss the thrill of seeing this white ghost with its fairy queen blossoms.

This year, one of the prettiest springs, ever has seen everything blooming to its fullest daffodils, tulips, forsythia, hyacinths, pear and apricot trees and even a few iris.