Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/275

263 GEEENHOUSE PLANTS.] H O 11 T I U L T U R E 263 will be in bloom by Christmas if kept in a temperature of from 40 to 45 at night, with a little more warmth in the day ; and those sown in April and May will succeed them during the early spring months, the latter set of plants being subjected to a temperature of 3S D or 40&quot; during the night. 87 Correct. Tina genus of Australian plants is extremely useiul for winter ilowering. The best of them is C. cardinalis, which allbrds a succession of tube-shaped crimson flowers during the whole of the winter. They are increased by cuttings, and grown in rough peaty soil, with a slight addition of loam and sand. After theplants have done flowering, they should all get a little artificial warmth, plenty of moisture, and a slight shade, while they are makiii&quot; their growth, during which period the tips of the young shoots should be nipped out when 6 or 8 inches long. When the .rrowth is complete, a half-shady place outdoors during August and September will be suitable, with protection from parching winds and hot sunshine. 88. Cud&amp;lt;tie,i.Qi late years this flower has been so much im- proved that no plant of moderate size can be made to contribute more floral display in winter. It is raised from seeds in various shades of colour, from the purest white to a deep purple. The weeds should be sown in October or November, in well-drained seed- pans, in an equal mixture of line loam and leaf-mould with an addi tion of sand, the seeds slightly covered, and the pans placed near the light in a temperature of 50. When the seedlings appear, they must be pricked out into 5-inch pots, six or eight in each, and wintered in a similar temperature and situation. In spring they must be potted singly in 3-inch pots, and thinly shaded during bright weather. When they have tilled their pots with roots they should be repotted, using similar soil, into 4-inch pots, in which they are to flower. In potting, the conns or tuberous roots should not be more than half covered with the soil. A low house or pit is the best place in which to grow them, shading them if requisite, giving plenty of air, watering regularly, and syringing overhead in the afternoon to keep down thrips and red spider. The tem perature should range from 45 to 50, with plenty of air. They should flower in February and March. After blooming they should be placed in a pit where they can be shaded as required, and as they show signs of going to rest they should receive less water, but should not be allowed to get quite dry. In autumn they may be shifted into pots a size larger, and they will come into flower earlier than in the iirst year. It is not advisable to keep them after the third season. Some growers recommend after flowering to turn the plants out of their pots into a bed of prepared peat or leaf-soil in some halt-shady spot, where they can be sprinkled overhead every after noon during dry sunny weather, so as to encourage plenty of healthy foliage. In this case they should be lifted early in the autumn. &Q. Erica,. The specie s of heaths cultivated in English green houses are mostly South African, or have sprung from South African originals. They are of dense twiggy growth, with needle-shaped leaves, and beautiful wax-like flowers, which in some or other of the kinds are produced almost throughout the year. During the winter and early months K. eatfra, gracilis, vernalis, hiemalis, melanthera, pcrsoluta, rubeus, Willmorei, Sindryana, and others produce their blossoms; later on bloom K. tlorida, aflinis, Cavendishiana, exquisita, vcntricosa and its many varieties, and the charming aristata; next come E. Savileana, Irbyana, Austiniana, Jacksoni, retorta major, and others, which last on till September, a few continuing till the end of the year. Heaths are propagated under bell-glasses by cuttings, which should be taken as soon in the spring as the wood is suffi ciently firm, and planted in silver sand, the lower leaves having been removed ; they should be kept in a temperature of 60 s, and the glasses must be wiped occasionally to prevent the plants from damp ing oil. When rooted they should be gradually inured to the air by the occasional removal of the glasses. In the spring following they should be potted singly into thumb pots, and kept close and moist until they take to the new soil. Heaths require peat soil, which for hard-wooded slow-growing kinds should be of a close hard texture, while for soft-wooded slow-growing sorts a mixture of two-thirds of hard peat with one of a softer nature, and for the soft-wooded quick- growing varieties equal quantities of hard and soft peat should be used, with silver sand according to the composition of the peat. The pots must always be well drained, and the plants must never be allowed to become pot-bound. The best season for potting is in March and April, or in September when the summer heats are over. The new soil must be made as linn as the old ball, so as to retain the water. A low span-roofed house, admitting abundance of light, is most suitable for these plants ; and they require air in abundance, especially during the season of active growth. They have so great a dislike to fire heat that any degree of cold short of actual frost is preferable to it. When they have grown into specimen plants they should be sot out of doors, from the latter part of July till the be ginning of September, in order to enable them to resist the attacks of mildew. Water should never be given before the soil has got sufficiently dry to need it, nor should the plants be syringed over head summer or winter. Especially is this the case with thu hard- wooded kinds. See HKATII, vol. xi. p. 589. Some of the best of the earlier flowering heaths are E. affinis, aristata, Ber- giana, Candolleana, Cavendishiana, Uuvoniana, tlorida, hiemalis, Lindleyana, Massoni major, mutabilis, propendens, Sindryana, torfiliflora, vuntricosa and its varieties, Victoria, and Willmorei. The later ones are well repre sented by E. Austiniana, ampullacea and its varieties, Aitoniana Turn- bullii, ferruginea superba, gemmifera elegaus, Hartnelli, Irbyana, jasmini- liora alba, Marnockiana, obbata, Parmentieriaua rosea, Paxtoni, Savileana major, Spenceriana, Shaimoni, tricolor and its varieties, and vestita and its varieties. 90. Fuchsia. This well-known decorative soft-wooded plant Fuchsia, comes from the temperate parts of South America, but has been improved by selection and hybridization. Fuchsias strike readily from cuttings, the most usual method being to place old plants in warmth about February, and as soon as they have pushed shoots a couple of inches or so in length, to take them off and put them in small pots, in a temperature of 60 ; they will root in two or three weeks, when they should be moved singly into 3-inch pots ; and they must be again shifted into 8-ineh or 9-inch pots as soon as those they already occupy are moderately filled with roots. The leading shoot, as well as the side branches, should be topped two or three times during the spring, and a single stick placed to the main stem so as to keep it upright. They should be syringed in the after noons, to promote growth and to keep down aphides and red spider. By the end of June or July such plants will be disposed to flower. A good compost for fuchsias consists of four parts good fibrous loam to two parts well-rotted manure and leaf-mould, with a fair sprinkling of sand. When larger plants are required the cuttings should be struck about the end of July or beginning of August, and kept by the end of April they will be in a condition to move to 16-inch or 18-inch pots, and the temperature should be raised to 55. The shape of the plants should be regulated by timely pinching of the shoots, the pyramidal and standard forms being the most elegant. The old plants may be kept during winter in any dryish place free from frost ; prune them back in spring, and repot in fresh soil. The varieties are constantly changing through the introduc tion of novelties. See FUCHSIA, vol. ix. p. 806. 91. Hcliotropium. The Peruvian Heliotrope, Heliotropium pern- Helio- vianuin, is a great favourite with cultivators, on account of the tropium. delicious i ragance of its blossoms, which has obtained for it the popular name of &quot;cherry pie.&quot; The plants are easily increased by cuttings, which are struck in July and August, or from young shoots obtained in heat in early spring ; when rooted they should be potted singly into small pots, using as a compost fibry loam, sandy peat, and well-decomposed stable manure from an old hotbed. The plants soon require to be shifted into a pot a size larger. To secure early-flowering plants, cuttings should be struck in August, potted off before winter sets in, and kept in a warm greenhouse. In the spring larger pots should be given, and the plants shortened back to make them bushy. They require frequent shiftings during the summer, to induce them to bloom freely. There are many varieties, differing in habit and in the colour of their flowers. The heliotrope makes an elegant standard. The plants must in this case be allowed to send up a central shoot, and all the side growths must be pinched off until the necessary height is reached, when the shoot must be stopped and lateral growths will be pro duced to form the head. During winter they should be kept some what dry, and- in spring the ball should be reduced and the plants repotted, the shoots being slightly pruned, so as to maintain a symmetrical head. When they are planted out against the walls and pillars of the greenhouse or conservatory an abundance of highly- perfumed blossoms will be supplied all the year round. See HELIO- TKOi E, vol. xi. p. 633. 92. Mescmbryanthemum. These are interesting Cape plants, some Mesem- of them of a very showy character, and others remarkable as curiosi- bryan- ties. They belong to the class of succulents, and with the exception tliemuni. of the curious sorts, all grow and strike freely in a mixture of loam and leaf-mould with a dash of sand. The flowering kinds should be kept only two or three years. Cuttings should be put in about May, and well exposed. They will stand a few degrees of frost, but should be kept from growing in winter. The best flowering sorts, most of which are adapted for window-boxes, are M. barbatum, blandnm, caiidens, eonspicuum, curviflorum, falcatum, fonnosum, glaucum, polyanthum, reflexmn, retroflexum, roseuin, and specta- bile. These can be used for sunny summer beds very well, as those that re. inire it can be pegged down. Of the curious varieties, some of the choicest are M. agninum, albinum, caninnm, felinnm, immmnn, tignmim, vulpiniim, dolabriforme, deiisum, flssiim, lingua-forme, minimum, obconel- lum, and octophyllum. These are all dwarf growers, and require more suud and some brick rubbish in the soil ; they should also have less water. 93. Pelargonium. The various races of pelargoniums have sprung Pelar- from the intermixture of some of the species obtained from the Cape, goniuin. The older show-flowered varieties have been gradually acquired through a long series of years. The fancy varieties, as well as the French spotted varieties and the market type, have been evolved from them. The zonal race, on the other hand, has been perfected within the last quarter of a century. In all the sections the varieties are of a highly ornamental character, but for general culti-