230 



THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



some time or another in spring - , when, and 

 in what way, with reference to the con- 

 trivance for protection to be hereafter men- 

 tioned, I should be glad to know. 



I have a couple of dozen pots of geranium 

 cuttings, struck as recommended in your 

 July number, round the edge of a 5-inch 

 pot, also some strong growing verbenas and 

 calceolarias, both crimson, semi-herbaceous, 

 and shrubby yellows; and it appaars to me, 

 that all I can aspire to, is to get them out of 

 their pot-bound quarters as early as possi- 

 ble, so as to get good plants by the middle 

 of May, without any hope of propagating 

 from them, till summer comes again ; and, 

 wishing for your opinion thereon, I will 

 mention to you how I inteiid to set about it. 

 At the end of March I shall make up a light 

 border, about three feet wide, under a south 

 wall, and safe from wind, with hooks in the 

 wall at the back, and pots and rails in 

 front, as directed by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, 

 with the addition of turf walls at the ends, 

 and oiled calico to hook over, instead of a 

 net. Will you, therefore, kindly tell me 

 how soon each of the following plants might 

 be safely entrusted to such out-door 

 quarters, protected from cold rain by the 

 oiled calico, and a matting thrown over in 

 addition on frosty nights : Scarlet and 

 hybrid geraniums, pelargoniums, the above- 

 mentioned calceolarias, and verbenas, such 

 as melindres, purple king, lilac, pink, and 

 white, all of strong growth. 



All, except the verbenas, will be kept, 

 during the Avinter, in rooms without tire, 

 unless in very severe frost. 



By the way, I should like to know 

 whether verbena Melindres is the Defiance 

 verbena spoken of by Mr. Shirley Hibberd, 

 as being so hardy. 



In order to economise space, and avoid 

 crowding, will you say, how close cuttings 

 of calceolarias might be planted in boxes, to 

 be kept there till transferred to the above- 

 mentioned protection, and also, what space 

 should be allowed to each kind of plant, 

 when transferred there, to stand till middle 

 of May. 



I have found from experience, that neither 

 calceolarias nor verbenas do as well in the 

 house, over the winter, when potted off in 

 small poTs, as when they are kept together 

 in large pans or boxes, the latter being 

 best. In a greenhouse, it may, doubtless be 

 different. A.B. 



[The case here put, is the case of thou- 

 sands, this, and every season. Be it known, 

 then, to all whom it may concern, that 

 everywhere bedding plants are kept on make- 

 shift principles— in great nurseries, in dukes 

 gardens, nay, even in the garden of her 

 Majesty the Queen. There is not a garden 



in this kingdom, that has sufficient accom- 

 modation to treat the whole stock of bedders 

 to true greenhouse culture all the winter, 

 and the contrivances resorted to by the 

 humble amateur, are also resorted to by 

 those who have at command acres of glass, 

 and miles of hot-water pipes. Take heart, 

 then, and remember it is not so much the 

 means as the manner of using them, that 

 will prove the secret of success or failure. 

 A. B. cannot do better than keep the 

 whole stock of cuttings in pots or boxes, 

 and the latter are the best. If his calceo- 

 larias are already well rooted, they will be 

 almost too strong to do well; he might 

 strike another lot now, each an inch-and-a- 

 half or two inches long, and no more, and 

 dib them in two inches apart all over the 

 surface, and by the end of November they 

 will be quite as strong as need be. Ver- 

 benas and calceolarias are more impatient of 

 dryness than geraniums, hence must always 

 be kept moist, growing slowly in full light. 

 Of geraniums, the scarlets will bear more 

 cold and more drought than fancy pelar- 

 goniums, which are difficult to keep without 

 the help of heat. If you can keep all safe 

 till the middle of March, all may then go 

 under the calico lights with safety ; but in- 

 stead of keeping scarlet geraniums to plant 

 out, pot them, in the middle of March, in 

 the smallest pots you can get them into. 

 Use leaf mould, loam, and plenty of sand, 

 and one third broken oyster shells, and give 

 only just enough water to moisten the soil, 

 and keep as dry as possible till they begin to 

 start. When they have broken well, shift 

 as soon as the roots begin to push through 

 the drainage; and when they have got to 

 work in the larger pots, prune them close 

 back to good shoots, and strike the best of 

 the primings round the sides of pots, in a 

 warm room. By this plan they will bloom 

 sooner than if kept dry till planting out 

 time ; indeed, we advise the starting in pots 

 of plants so kept, for by that method, 

 six weeks' growth is saved. The calceolarias 

 being moderately hardy, may be potted at 

 the same time, but it would be better to 

 keep verbenas in their boxes till the middle 

 of April, and then pot them singly into 

 thumbs, or small sixties, so as to get them 

 pretty strong to plant out at the end of 

 May. Geraniums and calceolarias are the 

 only things that need be struck in autumn, 

 by those whose facilities for culture are few, 

 because verbenas, petunias, and the majority 

 of soft-wooded bedders, bloom almost as 

 early, if struck in March or April, in a hot- 

 bed, and thus reducing the necessity for 

 preserving, to a few stock plants of each 

 sort. Melindres is quite distinct from De- 

 fiance verbena ; the latter is the best of the 

 old scarlets, for bedding.] 



