28-ii 



THE FLORAL WOELD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 



2. We liave some Mandevillea suaveo- 

 lens two years from the cuttings ; they 

 were cut close to the pot last spring, and 

 have made single shoots about two feet 

 long. How should they be pruned in 

 I'uture? 



3. An Eriostemon intermedium (which 

 the nurseryman sent with other things) is 

 very huiky, having two legs with large 

 lieads. To cut it would be a waste, unless 

 it could be grafted, as we see this has 

 been, but we do not know upon what 

 plant. 



4. An Acacia oleifoliaelegans of the same 

 shape, but this a])peai"s to have been pur- 

 posely formed into a standard, having been 

 cut into that shape. These plants were 

 from Messrs. Bass and Brown, and, with 

 others, were badly made, the knife not 

 having been used freely enough on them. 

 The pots, besides, were full of worms. It 

 is unfair to complain anonymously of a 

 dealer, perhaps, but we do not do it to be 

 jjublished to all the world, and only for 

 your guidance in directing others. 



5. Now, the season arrives when flowers 

 are doubly valued, and, till the turn of tlie 

 year-, we shall have but little to make our 

 houses gay, except a daphne, and early 

 camellia or so. Can you give us some in- 

 formation about Oxalis, of which there are 

 some fifty varieties — the names of some 

 of the best, with colour, and time of flower- 

 ing, and culture. In general, they give an 

 immensity of foliage, and but few flimsy 

 blooms, but they are gay all winter. 



6. We had some plants of Veronica 

 Andersonii, which, as they got rather leggy 

 (this legginess is an abomination), and did 

 not flower last autumn, we cut down this 

 spring, and made young plants from the 

 cuttings. Should these young ones — each 

 with four or five shoots — be left as tiiey are, 

 to bloom next autumn, or cut down ? The 

 writer saw this plant flourishing and bloom- 

 ing beautifully in a by-street near Oxford 

 Street, London. Several of them had been 

 reared there, as the owner told him. Your 

 ciin'espondent mentioned to him the Floral 

 World, and would have left a prosj^ectus 

 of the work, had he one. 



7. The early frosts this year will cause 

 us to look about for pompones which will 

 stand the cold best, or, at least, flower 

 soon. This season they have disappointed 

 us, and, except Hendersonii, Sacramoito, 

 Argenteum, Eequiqui, Driu Drin, Madame 

 Roussillon, and' Cedo NuUi, most of the 

 others are useless this year. We should 

 like some day for you to add to the above 

 earliest ones, 



8. Every gardener has no end of ques- 

 tions, but we must not quite tire your 

 patience. Eive Subscribebs. 



[1. We shall continue the papers as we 

 can give space, without neglecting the sub- 

 jects that arrive currently with the seasons* 



2. Don't cut Mandevillea suaveolens 

 too hard. Keep it nearly dry through the 

 winter ; start it in February with bottom 

 heat if possible, and if that cannot be given, 

 let it have the warmest part of the house, 

 and let the atmosphere be saturated with 

 moisture. After flowering, let it grow till 

 the end of October, and must then be dried, 

 to rest it till February again. Then prune 

 to plump eyes, just as you would Stepha- 

 uotis floribunda. The best way to grow this 

 Mandevillea is in a pit in the stove, or a 

 very large tub, and train up a rafter. 



3. Eriostemon intermedium is too weak 

 to work upon, and some of the other weak 

 growing eriostemons are worked upon the 

 old Correa alba, which makes a first-rate 

 stock for them. Perhaps the best Avay of 

 dealing with a lanky plant would be to 

 turn it out, and deposit it in the rubbish 

 pit, and procure a short, well-furnished 

 plant from a respectable grower. 



4. Acacia oleifolia, in common with all 

 others of the genus, will bear close cutting 

 with impunity. When the new shoots are 

 three or four inches long, stop them by 

 pinching out the points of the shoots, and 

 repeat this process as the growth proceeds, 

 and in the course of two or three years you 

 will have splendid specimens. 



5. Oxalis Bowieii and 0. versicolor are 

 the only kinds of which we can say with 

 certainty that they flower in winter, and 

 both are well worth growing. As to win- 

 ter flowers, as we have often said, in answer 

 to similar queries, you may have almost 

 any number by preparing for them in time. 

 Several con-reas, epacrises, ericas, camellias, 

 cyclamens, cinerarias, Primula sinensis, 

 Jasminum nudiflorum, Forsythia viridis- 

 sima, Pyrus Japonica, Farfugium grande, 

 Echiverea coccinea, Crassula lactea, and 

 even Dielytra spectabilis, may be considered 

 true winter bloomers, if treated as such, 

 and to ensure plenty of them, is but a mat- 

 terof previous calculation and timely labour. 

 We have seen Dielytra spectabilis taken up 

 in the frost, potted, and put in a warm 

 house, and be in bloom in six weeks. 



6. Veronica Andersonii had better be cut 

 down at once to three or four eyes, and 

 when they have made three or four eyes 

 more, pinch out the tops of the shoots to 

 induce bushiness. Treat them liberally, 

 and tbey will flower well next autumn. 



7. Mr. Astie stood the late frost without 

 losing a single bloom. 



8. We defy you to tire our patience. 

 If we are sometimes particularly brief, it is 

 because the queries appear capable of being 

 disposed of in a word. — Ed. F. W.] 



