162 



THE FLORIST. 



before such sterling varieties as variegata, lateritia, and Gled- 

 stanesi, can be dispensed with. 



In regard to soil for growing the Chinese Azalea, a good rather 

 heavy peat is preferable ; that in which Heaths are usually grown 

 will be found too light, and if none of a heavier nature can be 

 procured, a fourth part of fibrous turfy loam should be added, 

 with a portion of sharp sand. Some growers (with large speci- 

 mens) use a small proportion of very rotten cowdung. We are, 

 however, every year becoming more averse to potting plants in 

 composts in which manure in any shape forms a part, our expe- 

 rience showing us that liquid manure, applied during active growth, 

 is a better mode of applying the necessary stimulants to plants, 

 than by enriching the compost, which is often done at the 

 expense of other advantages, as the drainage properties of the 

 soil, freedom from worms, &c. 



Let us suppose that a batch of Azaleas is just bought in, for 

 commencing a stock with ; that they are small bushy plants, in 48- 

 sized pots, and that the season is March or April. Pick off any 

 buds which may be on them, the object for the present being to 

 get them into nice little specimens, for future display, rather than 

 to encourage blooming for the first year or two. Any straggling 

 growths should be either tied in or cut back, and the plant, even 

 at this early stage, should be got into something like the shape it 

 will be desirable the plants should assume hereafter. One of the 

 most pleasing modes of training for the Azalea is that of a pyra- 

 mid, of which we gave a woodcut at page 101 of last year's 

 Florist. Some of the stronger kinds make very nice standards, 

 and well managed, with stems from one to two, or even three feet 

 in height, and symmetrical heads, are very effective. If the 

 ordinary bush-like form is adopted, care should be taken to get the 

 lower branches well tied over the pot, and loose straggling growth 

 should be kept in by frequently pinching back strong shoots as 

 they make their appearance. 



Before, however, anything is done by way of shifting them, 

 the plants should be examined, to see if their enemy, the thrips, 

 has attacked them ; for if such is the case, they should be well 

 cleaned before being potted or encouraged to grow. Mix some 

 tobacco-water (one quart to a gallon) with soapsuds, add a wine- 

 glassful of spirits of turpentine, and warm the mixture up to 

 about 90°; this should be put into a vessel large enough to hold 

 the plant, into which the head should be inserted, holding the pot 

 in your hands ; when the whole have been dipped place them in a 

 frame or pit by themselves for a few days, when the same opera- 

 tion may be repeated, which will completely destroy these pests ; 

 and a little after attention, during growth, by an occasional 

 syringing with diluted tobacco-water, will keep them clean. This 

 first shift should not be a large one, unless the plants are very 



