p 
206 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Bougainvillea—continued. 
bracts, in threes. Summer. Z. bright green, smooth. Brazil, 
1861. - This is by far the best species for pot culture, and forms 
a very showy plant when well grown. 
B. speciosa (beautiful).* fl., bracts large, cordate, delicate lilac 
rose, produced in immense panicles, which, in well grown speci- 
mens, are so freely produced as to entirely shroud the whole plant. 
March to June. ¿. ovate, very dark green, covered on the upper 
surface with small hairs. Stems branched, abundantly furnished 
with large recurved spines. Brazil, 1861. (F. M. i., 62. 
B. spectabilis (showy). fl., bracts of a dull brick-red, shaded with 
scarlet. South America, 1829. It is very difficult to obtain bloom 
on this plant; and when flowers are produced, they are extremely 
ephemeral. The species is, for all practical purposes, much 
pa to either of the foregoing. SYN. Josepha augusta. See 
ig. 269, 
BOURBON PALM. See Latania. 
BOUSSINGAULTIA (named after Boussingault, a 
celebrated chemist). ORD. Chenopodiacew. Very pretty 
half-hardy, tuberous-rooted plants, requiring a rich vege- 
table sandy soil, and a well-drained sunny aspect, under 
which conditions the first-mentioned species develops into 
a very luxuriant trailing plant, attaining a length of 20%. 
or more. Propagated freely by means of the tubercles o 
the stem; these are, however, extremely brittle. 
B. baselloides (Basella-like).* fl. white, ultimately becoming 
black, fragrant, small, disposed in clusters, 2in. to 4in. long, 
which are axillary at the ends of the branches. Late autumn. 
per gsm face gaa geet Mining, a slightly Pave i a 
£ ning, tinged red, ve uick-growing, 
tahere South Ee 1835. (B. pon 3820.) a aa 
B. Lachaumei (Lachaume’s), 4. rose, constantly in perfection. 
Cuba, 1872. A stove species. 
BOUVARDIA (named after Dr. Charles Bouvard, 
formerly superintendent of the Jardin du Roi, at Paris). 
ORD. Rubiacee. Handsome greenhouse evergreen shrubs. 
Peduncles terminal, three-flowered, or trichotomous and 
corymbose ; corolla funnel-shaped, tubular, elongated, beset 
with velvety papille outside, and a four-parted, spreading, 
short limb. Leaves opposite, or in whorls; stipules nar- 
row, acute, adnate to the petioles on both sides. These 
extensively cultivated plants are among the most useful 
F - Fic. 270. FLOWERING BRANCH OF BOUVARDIA. 
” conservatory or greenhouse decoration (see Fig. 270, 
Il 
bted to Messrs. Can 
largely employed 
Bouvardia—continued. 
Humboldtii. Cultivation: Presuming the grower to be 
commencing with young rooted cuttings, these should be 
potted off into a mixture of good fibrous loam, leaf soil, 
find sand, in equal proportions, to which may be added 
a small quantity of peat; they should then be placed in 
a temperature of from 70deg. to 80deg. until fully esta- 
blished in the small pots. It is necessary at this stage 
to stop the young plants back to the first joint, and as 
they continue to make fresh breaks, to keep on pinching 
them back during the whole period of cultivation, or until 
sufficiently bushy plants are produced. Many growers 
neglect stopping far too much, the result being ill-shaped 
and almost flowerless plants. The pinching, of course, can 
be regulated by the time the plants are required to flower; 
and it is unwise, in most cases, to stop them after the 
end of August. When the small pots are well filled 
with roots, the plants should be shifted into the flowering 
ø, pots, viz., large 48-sized, which are quite commodious 
enough to grow very fine plants, a similar compost as in 
the first potting, with a little Standen’s manure added, 
being used, and good drainage provided. A cool green- 
house, with a damp bottom for the pots to rest upon, 
and with a moist atmosphere, is the most suitable place in 
which to grow them during late spring and early summer, 
the moist air being very desirable as an effectual check 
to red spider, a pest very fond of the foliage, which it 
permanently disfigures. A cold pit or close frame is 
better during the summer months, as a moist atmosphere 
and cool bottom are then certain. Ventilation may be 
effected during the greater part of the day by tilting the 
lights below, and on fine nights they may be removed 
altogether. During bright sunshine, shading will be bene- 
ficial.- All through the period of active growth, it is 
absolutely necessary that the plants should receive plenty 
of water, or they will surely suffer; and when the pots are 
filled with roots, occasional doses of manure water will be 
beneficial. Many cultivators plant them out about the end 
` of June, in favoured situations, or in spent hotbeds, when 
they make very vigorous growth; and, if carefully pinched 
and watered, fine specimens are obtained. These are lifted 
in early autumn, with a good ball, potted, and kept shaded 
for a few days until the roots are again active, when 
they are taken to the house in which they are intended 
to bloom, and an enormous supply of flowers is secured. 
We have also seen Bouvardias planted out permanently 
in beds, in prepared pits, in which the winter tem- 
perature was not less than 55deg., with very satis- 
factory results; the quantity of bloom being very great. 
Of course, with the last-named treatment, it is essential 
to give the plants a rest and hardening-off after flower- 
ing, and when they are started into fresh growth to 
keep them well pinched and watered. Bouvardias are 
liable to the attacks of red spider and green fly. The 
former stands little chance of existence if the plants 
are kept well supplied. with moisture; the latter may 
be destroyed by fumigating with tobacco. Mealy bug 
are also troublesome, and should be sponged off with 
a solution of Gishurst’s Compound. Propagation: After 
flowering, and a slight rest and hardening-off, the old 
plants should be cut back, placed in heat, in a stove 
or cucumber pit, and freely syringed, which will cause 
them to break freely, and produce a good supply of 
cuttings. When the young shoots are from 1}in. to 
Qin. long., they are in the best condition for striking. 
It is not necessary that they should be cut off at a 
joint, as they will root from any surface of the stem; 
and, working economically, it is wiser to cut them off just 
above the first joint, as other shoots will speedily break 
out, which may, in their turn, be taken. Pots about 5in. 
across should have previously been prepared for the cut- 
tings, by being well drained and filled with a mixture of 
good fibrous loam, leaf soil, and coarse sand, in equal parts, — 
| with a copious supply of sand upon the surface, into which 
| | the cuttings should be dibbled pretty thickly. A good 
