Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/276

258 good heads. Water and liquid manure must be more freely given, and vigilant efforts must be made to keep down green fly and thrips. Many of the less tender things may be removed to cold pits, to increase the room for other things that want continued protection to make fine plants. Young stuff from the propagating-house should be potted as fast as rooted, and kept close till started afresh, and then be gradually inured to air and light, so as to be strong by the middle of May. All tropical plants required for summer blooming in the house should be got on without delay, and a quick growth promoted, so as to allow them as long a season as possible for blooming, and ripening their buds for next season. Average temperature this month, 55° by night, 60° to 65° by day. Where desirable, the house may be shut up with sun-heat, to render fire unnecessary.

.&mdash;Hard-wooded plants will want plenty of air, and specimen plants in flower must have shade. Allow nothing to form seed, unless seed be specially desired. Cut back all kinds of shrubs that are out of shape, and keep them rather close afterwards, to get good breaks, so as to bring them into decent shape, and get the wood well ripened for next year’s bloom. Where plants are crowded, many may be removed to frames, so as to allow of a freer circulation of air. Shift, stop, and tie out all the soft-wooded plants that are advancing in growth; but if required to bloom shortly they must not be disturbed, merely kept in shape, and have plenty of water and free ventilation. Continue to strike bedding stock for late blooming. Fuchsias, geraniums, verbenas, and petunias make beautiful specimens for pot blooming in the autumn, if struck now and kept regularly stopped till July. They should not have a high temperature, fuchsias especially, which like shade and moisture. Camellias and azaleas that have made their young shoots should have a little more ventilation to prepare them to go in the open air next month to ripen their wood. Pelargoniums out of bloom to be cut in and allowed to break before repotting them, and the syringe and fumigator kept in use, as may be necessary, to destroy red spider and green fly. Fire-heat should be dispensed with as much as possible, preparatory to clearing and cleaning out the house.

.&mdash;To prolong the beauty of plants in flower, put up a