Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/278

266 266 HORTICULTURE [FLOWEHS. sand, and placed in a temperature of 60 ; when these pots are filled with roots they are to be shifted into larger ones, but overpotting must be avoided. During the summer they need considerable heat, all the light possible, and plenty of air. In winter a temperature of 45 or 50 will be sufficient, and they must be kept tolerably dry at the root. By tlie spring they may have larger pots if required, and should be kept in a hot and fairly moistened atmosphere ; and by the end of June, when they have made new growth, they may be turned out under a south wall in the full sun, water being given only as required. In autumn they are to be returned to a cool house, and wintered in a dry stove. The turning of them out doors to ripen their growth is the surest way to obtain flowers, but they do not take on a free blooming habit until they have attained some age. Amongst the best sorts are P. Ackermauni, Jeukiusoni, erenatus, and speeiosus. 104. Caladiiiiii. These beautiful arads are increased by division of the young growths made in the spring. They should be potted in small pots innbroussandypeat, well drained, andkept in a temperature of 65 by night ; afterwards they should be changed into larger ones, rising lumpy soil. The summer temperature may range about 68 or 70 by night, with an increase of 10 by day. The plants will go to rest towards autumn, and when the leaves have all died away the soil may be allowed to become nearly dry, and the pots may be set on a shelf, in a temperature of about 55, till February. 105. Colcus. These are very ornamental plants, the colourof their leaves being exceedingly varied, and often very brilliant. They are of theeasiest culture. The cuttings of young shoots should be propagated every year, about March, being planted in thumb pots, in sandy loam, and placed in a close temperature of 70. After taking root they should be shifted into 6-inch pots, using ordinary light loamy c ompost, containing abundance of leaf-mould and sand, and keeping them near the light. They may be passed on into larger pots as often as required, but 8-inch pots will be large enough for general purposes, astheycan be fed with liquid manure. The youngsprmg-struck plants like a warm growing atmosphere, but by midsummer they will bear more air and stand in a greenhouse or conservatory. They should be wintered in a temperature of 60 to 65. The stopping of the young shoots must be regulated by the consideration whether bushy or pyramidal plants are desired. 106. Dracaena. These, are extremely useful as decorative stove plants, and are easy to grow. They may be increased by cuttings planted in sandy soil in a temperature of from 65 to 70 by night, the spring being the best time for propagation. The old sterns laid flat in a propagating frame will push young shoots, which may be taken off with a heel when 2 or 3 inches long, and planted in sandy peat in 3-inch pots ; the tops can also be taken oil and struck. The established plants do best in iibry peat made porous by sand. In summer they should have a day temperature of 75, and in winter one of 65 D. Shift as required, using coarser soil as the pots become larger. By the end of the summer the small cuttings will have made nice plants, and in the spring following they can be kept growing by the use of manure water twice a week. Those intended for the con servatory should be gradually inured to more air by midsummer, but kept out of cold draughts. When the plants get too large they can be headed down and the tops made cuttings. D. tenninalis, with its bronzy leaves and rosy variegation, still ranks amongst the best sorts, but there are also many novel varieties of great merit and beauty. D. Goldieana is a grandly variegated species from tropical Africa, and requires more heat. 107. Eucharis. This is the most chastely beautiful of all decorative plants, having white flowers, of a very distinct character. It is a bulbous plant, and is propagated by removing the offsets, which may be done in spring, potting them singly in 6-inch pots. It requires good loamy soil, with sand enough to keep the compost open, and should have a good supply of water and a temperature of 65 to 70 during the night, with a rise of 8 or 10&quot; in the day. During summer, growth is to be encouraged by repotting, but the plants should afterwards be slightly rested by removal to a night tempera ture of about 60, water being withheld for a time, though they must not go too long dry, the plant being an evergreen. By the turn of the year they may again have more heat and more water, and this will probably induce them to flower. After this is over they may be .shifted and grown again as before ; and, as they get large, they can either be divided to form new plants or allowed to develop into nobler specimens. &quot;With a stock of the smaller plants to start them in succession, they may be had in flower all the year round. 108. Gloxinia. The gloxinia, a charming decorative plant, may be grown much in the same way as the achimenes. A good strain of seed will produce many superb and charmingly coloured varieties, and if sown early in spring, in a temperature of 65 at night, they may be shifted on into 6-inch pots, and in these may be flowered during the summer. The bulbs are kept at rest through the winter in a dry sand, in a temperature of 50, and to yield a succession should be started at intervals, say at the end of February and the beginning of April. To prolong the blooming season, use weak manure water when the flower-buds show themselves. 109, Poinscttia. The Poinsettia pulcherrima, with its brilliant scarlet bracts, stands unrivalled amongst decorative ^lauts. The Poin- white-bracted sort, P. p. alba, is not so effective, but the double- settia. flowered P. p. plenissima, in which the cymose inflorescence is branched, is as brilliant as the type, and keeps long in flower. They are increased by cuttings in spring, which when taken off with a heel strike freely in a brisk heat. They require good turfy loam, with an addition of one-sixth of leaf-mould and a little sand, and should be kept in a heat of from 65 to 70 at night, with a rise of 10 by day. To prevent their growing lanky, they should be kept with their heads almost touching the glass ; and as the pots get filled with roots they must be shifted into others, 8 inches or 10 inches in diameter. About August they may be inured to a heat of 50 at night, and should be brought to bear air night and day whilst the weather is warm, or they may be placed out of doors for a month under a south wall in the full sun. This treatment matures and prepares them for flowering. In autumn they must be removed to a house where the temperature is 50 at night, and by the end of September some of them may be put in the stove, where they will come into flower, the remainder being placed under heat later for succession. When in bloom they may be kept at about 55 by night, and so placed will last longer than if kept in a higher temperature. 110. Tydcca. These handsome plants, which have sprung from Tyds; the beautiful Achimenes picta, require similar treatment to achi menes, except that, being winter bloomers, they must be started into growth at a different season, namely, the later spring months, as April and May. The summer-blooming sorts, which should be started earliest, should, as they come into flower, be removed to the conservatory. The autumn and winter flowering sorts, being at first grown slowly in a gentle heat, must as they show flower have a nire growing temperature of 70 or 75 afforded them with abundance of light ; manure water may be given once a week. The tubers should be stored away dry in winter, like those of achimenes. 111. ORCHIDS. For the successful cultivation of a mixed collec- Orclii tion of tropical orchids, it is necessary that two or three houses, in which different temperatures can be maintained, should be provided. The greater number of them are epiphytes or air plants, and heat and moisture afford all or nearly all the nourishment they require. The plants themselves arc the better for being associated with such objects as ferns and palms, and the appearance of the houses is greatly im proved by their being thus grouped. The East Indian orchid house takes in those species which are found iu the warm parts of the eastern hemisphere, as well as those from the hottest parts of the western, and its temperature should range from about 75 to 85 during the summer or growing season, and from 65 to 70 during winter. The Mexican or Brazilian orchid house accommodates the plants from the warm parts of South America, and its temperature should range from about 65 to 75 during summer, and from 60 to 65 U in winter. A structure called the cool orchid house is set apart for the accommodation of the many lovely mountain species from South America and India, such as odontoglossums, masdevallias, &c., and in this the more uniform tho temperature can be kept the better, that in summer varying between 60 and 70, and in winter from 45 to 60. A genial moist atmosphere must be kept up in the hottest houses during the growing season, with a free circulation of air admitted very cautiously by vell- guarded ventilators. In winter, when the plants are at rest, little water will be necessary ; but in the case of those plants which have no fleshy pseudobulbs to fall back upon for sustenance, they must not be suffered to become so dry as to cause the leaves to shrivel. In the Mexican house the plants will generally be able to with stand greater drought occasionally, being greatly assisted by their thick pseudobulbs. In the cool or odontoglossum house a con siderable degree of moisture must be maintained at all times, for in these the plants keep growing more or less continuously. For potting or basketing purposes, or for plants requiring block- culture, the only materials admissible are light fibrous peat and living sphagnum moss, which supply free drainage for the copious supply of water required. The water should, however, be so used as not to run down into the sheathing bases of the leaves. While in flower, orchids may with advantage be removed to a drier and cooler situation, and may be utilized in the drawing-room or boudoir. From amongst the great wealth of tropical orchids, now in cul tivation, the following is a very limited selection of some of the most useful : Ada. Epiphytal : A. aurantiaca. Aerides. Epiphytal: A. aftinc, crassifolium, crispum, Fiehlingii, Lobbii, nobile, odoratuin, and suavissimnni. Anyrceeum. Epiphytal : A. scsquipedale. Anyuloa. Terrestrial : A. Clowesii and Kuckeri. Rarkvria. Cool epiphytal: B. elogans, Skiimwi, aiul spectabilis. Bollea. Epiphytal : B. Backhousiana, codestis, Lalindei, and 1 atinii. Cald-nthe. Terrestrial: C. Masuca, Vuitchii, and vestita. Cuttlf-i/a. Epiphytal : C. amethystoglossa, bulbosa, Dowiana, exoniensis, gifras, liibiata, lobata, Mossire, quadricolor, Skinneri, superba, and Trianaj. Ca?l&amp;lt;j&amp;lt;jyne. Epiphytal : C. barbata, cristata, Gardnuriana, Lowii, puudurata, and speciosa. Cymbidium. Terrestrial : C. eburneum, Lowiamim, and Masters!!. . Terrestrial: C. Argus, burbatum supcrbuui, camiatiuu, con-