Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/124

116 new growth. If required to flower in winter treat as recommended for bouvardias.

.&mdash;The Double Wallflowers are to be valued for the conservatory, and they may, in the course of years, be grown to a large size in the form of noble trees. For all ordinary purposes two-year old plants are the most suitable. The cuttings are struck under a hand-glass as soon as they can be had, and when nicely rooted are planted out at a distance of nine inches apart, in rows about fifteen inches from each other. The young shoots are stopped two or three times, and in September they are taken up and planted a little further apart each way. This serves the double purpose of checking the growth and rendering them better able to withstand the effects of a severe winter, and also promotes the formation of a mass of fibrous roots. They are not allowed to flower the following spring, and the young shoots are stopped all over the plants three or four times during the early part of the summer, but no stopping is done after the end of June, as the remaining part of the summer is necessary to ensure the thorough maturation of the young growth. By the middle of September they should be taken up and put in eight-inch pots. Small plants are of no use in the conservatory, for if they are not large enough to produce solid heads of bloom two feet across they are anything but effective. The double yellow and red, known respectively as C. luteus fi.-pl. and C. purpureus fi.-pl., are the only kinds suitable.

.&mdash;Of this well known genus there are two distinct sections, known as the “herbaceous” and the “shrubby.” The first is the most important section, because only fit for pot culture, and when well done presenting a wonderful show of colour with endless variety of beauty. They require peculiar management, and those cultivators will alone succeed who earnestly give their minds to the business. Nevertheless, they are very easy to manage, and those who will follow our directions will surely succeed. It is best to begin with seed, and to sow it, as soon as ripe, in pans filled with light loamy compost, and then place the pans on a moderate hotbed or shut them up in a propagating house, or put them in a close corner of the greenhouse and cover with a bell-glass. They must be kept constantly moist, and as soon as the plants