Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/123

Rh growing temperature, and as the season advances move them to cooler quarters, so that by the middle of August they may be in a light airy house, to ripen the wood and prepare them for flowering. As soon as flowers appear put them into a temperature of 60°, keep them very clean, and they will continue to flower for four or five months.

The bedding varieties of bouvardia are more hardy than the lovely longiflora, and may be prepared for the embellishment of the conservatory by a very simple course of culture. In the middle of May secure a sufficient number of plants of the sorts required. Newly-made plants from spring cuttings will not do, but old scrubby ugly ones will answer perfectly. Cut them rather close, so that when they make new shoots they will become neat round bushes, and plant them out in a sunny spot. Give water as required. In the first or second week of July pinch out the points of all shoots, and give no more water. About the middle of September take them up carefully, and pot them in a light loamy mixture, taking care to injure the roots as little as possible. Give them a good watering, and then put them near a wall out of doors where the sun will not shine on them, and keep them regularly sprinkled and watered. In the early part of October take them into the greenhouse, and very soon they will begin to flower and make a splendid show. B. Vreelanda, which is a capital bedding plant, is also one of the best for this rough-and-ready course of culture for the production of winter flowers.

Bouvardias may be easily multiplied by root-cuttings, and those intended for flowering in summer may be wintered in a temperature of 40° to 50°.

.&mdash;The pretty greenhouse brooms are so easy to manage that we may dispose of them in a few words. They may be raised from seed without difficulty, but it requires some experience to raise them from cuttings. The best soil for them is a mixture of peat and loam, with a sixth part sand. Though almost hardy, they like warmth and a moist atmosphere when growing. When they become fair-sized trees they will bear rough treatment without harm, and may be wintered in a cool house, provided they are never touched by frost. When they are large enough to be in eight-inch pots they may remain in the same pots for several years if assisted with weak manure water in the early summer when making their