i88i.] STOVE VINCAS. 391 



firm into the pots. Potting must be done from time to time when the 

 plants are ready ; and if specimen plants are required, those selected 

 for that purpose should be placed in 7-inch and then in 10-inch pots, 

 which will be large enough the first season. When small decorative 

 plants only are required, 6-inch pots are large enough, and the shoots 

 should be kept well pinched until placed in that size. They should 

 then be allowed to come into flower, and will continue for a long time; 

 and should be thrown away after flowering, to be succeeded by a later 

 batch of young plants. When growing for decoration during any 

 season of the year, young plants grown on to the desired size are pref- 

 erable to retaining old plants after blooming. When pinching the 

 shoots, a few of the toppings should be rooted, in order to maintain 

 a continuous supply. If they are to be grown into specimens, 

 some little discretion must be exercised in stopping and regulat- 

 ing the shoots as they progress ; but if neglected in this respect, 

 and allowed to grow unstopped, much time is wasted in laying the 

 foundation of creditable plants. The shoots must be brought down 

 to the rim of the pots, tying them to a few small stakes to keep them 

 in their place, which will be all the staking required the first season. 

 A good round bush will be produced by the end of the growing season 

 if propagated early; or better still, if rooted now, then a vigorous 

 start can be made early next year, and much larger plants produced 

 than if spring propagation is depended upon. Water should be liber- 

 ally supplied to Vincas ; in fact they should never be allowed to suffer 

 from the want of it at any time while growing, or the wood soon becomes 

 hardened, and growth is severely checked. Vincas are much improved, 

 and continue to flower over a greater space of time, if manure-water 

 is freely given them after the pots are full of roots. During the win- 

 ter the plants do not require nearly so much water, especially those 

 that have done flowering, and require to be kept through the winter 

 to be grown on again the second year. While resting, they should 

 have a temperature of 55°, and be kept moderately dry at the root — 

 only sufficient water being given to keep the wood from shrivelling 

 and the foliage from falling prematurely. They will stand being well 

 cut back in the spring — an operation which must be practised when 

 they have attained a suitable size, or they soon become unmanage- 

 able. Hard cutting back is not necessary the first season, and little 

 pruning will be required if attention is paid to stopping the shoots as 

 they grow ; nor should they be kept quite so dry at the root during 

 their first season of rest, as is beneficial when the plants have attained 

 a good large size, and have abundance of well-ripened wood. The 

 one-year-old plants should, if they do well, have a liberal shift early 

 the second season, when they will grow to a large size. If only 

 partially rested through the first season, the roots should not be much 

 disturbed when potting them. But when they have attained a suit- 

 able size, and have been well cut back, and have commenced again to 



