Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/231

Rh bottom-heat will be required, but after March the cuttings will strike without heat. The first season of growth from the cutting-pans keep the plants in three-inch pots, and allow them to grow as they please. They may be put out of doors till the end of September, and must then be housed. The next spring shift the stock of Sieboldi into pots one size larger, and that of Spectabile into two sizes larger, and in these sizes they will flower nicely. The flower-buds appear some time in advance of the flowers, but when at last these open, in the month of September, their lively rosy pink hue and symmetrical disposition are remarkably beautiful, and contrast chastely and cheerfully with the peculiar tint of the leafage. After the blooms have faded the stems die down, and are immediately succeeded by a new growth from the root, and thus, if encouraged by good culture, a specimen of either species will become larger and larger every year, and may be grown ultimately to colossal dimensions. Both require a rich light soil, and the best compost for specimens is as follows. Turfy loam two parts, rotten dung one part, bricks broken to the size of hazel nuts one part, sharp sand one part. In this mixture they should be potted firmly, and in spring, when the new growth is beginning to advance, the plants should be shaken out, a considerable portion of the soil removed from the roots, and be repotted in pots one or two sizes larger than the last. They require to be always exposed to the full daylight without shading at any season, to have abundance of water from April to August, and at other times to be kept merely moist enough to prevent flagging. When too large the roots may be divided.

.&mdash;These must have a prominent place in a small collection of succulents, because of their bold and distinct characteristics. The best of the large-growing species are S. glutinosum, S. cuneatum, S. canescens, ''TS [sic]. canariensis, S. S. [sic] arboreum, S. arboreum atro-purpureum, a fine variety with deep bronzy leaves, S. palma, a noble kind with a table-like head supported on a thick stem about two inches in diameter, and S. tabulaforme'' with its table-like top supported on a stout stem varying in height according to age, instead of resting on the top of the pot. S. bracteosum is distinct from all the other kinds, and one of the freest growers in the whole family, as a huge specimen two or three feet in height and as much in