iSSi.] DECORATIVE GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 373 



ceediiig shifts the soil should be in a rougher state, the pots care- 

 fully drained, and the soil rammed rather firmly in the pots. They 

 must be watered carefully, x>articularly after potting, and at this time 

 they should be kept for a while pretty close and warm. A 3-inch pot 

 will be quite large enough for them the first season, and in the follow- 

 ing March or April they may be shifted into larger pots, and the 

 points pinched out, which operation should be repeated a few times, 

 so as to secure a good foundation for the future specimen. 



It requires a number of years to get up a large specimen, but plants 

 in 5- or 6-inch pots make most useful subjects for general decorative 

 work. The time of their flowering is from May to July, according to 

 the variety. The genus comprises several varieties, and all of them 

 are worth growing ; but a selection of half-a-dozen varieties will gen- 

 erally be found sufficient. P. decussata, P. elegans, P. Hendersonii, 

 P. spectabilis, P. diosmi\3 folia, and P. Neippergeana will be found to 

 give general satisfaction. 



LESCHENAULTIA. 



The Leschenaultia is a genus of greenhouse plants which are also 

 natives of New Holland, and though unsurpassed either as decora- 

 tive plants or as specimens for exhibitions, they are very rarely 

 seen in either capacity. They have generally been considered 

 somewhat difficult to cultivate, and no doubt it does require a 

 good deal of care to keep them in health ; still they are not a 

 bit more difficult to grow than many plants which are more gen- 

 erally cultivated. They are liable to suffer from a close damp atmo- 

 sphere, or from over - watering, and should therefore be grown in 

 a well -ventilated structure, and pretty near the glass, and good 

 drainage secured to them. A winter temperature of between 40° 

 and 45^ will suit them, and they should be aired on all possible 

 occasions. A slight shading may be found necessary during the 

 hottest summer months. 



They are propagated by cuttings taken from the points of the young 

 shoots, and treated in the way usually done with plants of this class — 

 viz., under a bell-glass in a slight bottom-heat, and potted off, as soon 

 as struck, into thumb-pots. They should be grown in pure peat with 

 plenty of fibre in it, a good admixture of silver sand being added ; 

 potted moderately firm, and pinched a few times when young. They 

 can be grown to a good size quicker than many kinds of plants, 

 and therefore can do with somewhat larger shifts than are usually 

 accorded to hard-wooded plants ; but this just means that more care 

 must be taken in the watering of them. 



There are two varieties, at least, which are worthy of a place in the 

 most select collection of plants — viz., L. biloba, the flowers of which 

 are a beautiful dark blue, and L. formosa, with bright scarlet flowers. 



J. G., W. 



