Polianthes tuberosa, tuberose . This fine flower does not blossom all at once: since the most beautiful objects wish to be seen the longest, it begins by unfurling only a few of its petals, which are of a brilliant white. The last flowers are no less beautiful than the first, with the result that tuberoses may still be enjoyed for the whole of autumn.

When the flowers of the tuberose have faded, its pot is turned upside down and placed in a dry place, so that the bulb may be extracted, stored in winter in the shelter of frost, and replanted at the beginning of spring. This plant propagates from select bulbs placed in medium-sized pots, which are filled with soil composed of two parts compost and one part fine kitchen garden soil. Each bulb is planted one digit deep in this soil and the remainder of the bulb is covered with pure compost. The pots are placed in a hotbed and covered with bell-glasses until the air becomes milder, and the plants are watered periodically.

When the tuberoses have grown and been removed from the hotbed, the pots must be placed in sites of a favourable exposure, because tuberoses like the sun. As they grow upright, small sticks are staked at their bases and tied to the stems with rush, in order to prevent the weight of the flowers, which bloom at the tips of the stems, from bending and breaking the stems.

Tuberoses are planted in February for flowering in May, and in May for flowering in autumn. Perfumers make much use of these beautiful flowers, and delicate ladies can scarcely withstand the fine scent which the flowers exude in their small apartments. [1]

Notes

1. Saint-Simon relates that the court had to remain indoors when the tuberoses were in flower at Trianon ( Mémoires, cited in Adams, 1991, p. 137).