366 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[December, 



ing words of some one who has been a little 

 more unfortunate, is tempted to give up in dis- 

 gust. 



Of late I have preferred to grow some plants 

 in the winter for summer flowering, or rather to 

 let them live, and I feel amply repaid for the 

 slight care they require. A plant called winter- 

 blooming is often supposed to bloom continu- 

 ously the whole year, but such is not usually the 

 case. Most plants require a season of rest as 

 well as growth, and if they have flowered freely 

 in summer, it is too much to expect a continu- 

 ance of their favors in winter also. If flowers 

 are desired during the inclement season, the 

 young buds must be nipped off" in summer and 

 a good growth of wood obtained before removing 

 them indoors to grace the parlor or sitting-room; 

 but it is often better to start young plants from 

 cuttings rooted in sand, from July to September, 

 for that purpose. 



My intention was not to speak of plants 

 in general, but of two favorites in particular, 

 named above, and of the treatment they re- 

 quire. They are called winter-blooming in cata- 

 logues, and so they are, under lavorable aus- 

 pices, in a greenhouse or good conservatory ; but 

 with me those enemies to household plant cul- 

 ture, referred to above, have rendered my at- 

 tempts unsuccessful. A few dwarfed blossoms 

 can scarcely be called a reward for one's care 

 and patience. 



In the autumn these plants should be cut well 

 back and the pots lifted without changing the 

 soil: removed to a cool, light room, away from 

 frost ; occasionally watered sparingly, just 

 enough to keep them from drjang. If they com- 

 mence to grow a little it will do no harm. When 

 all danger of frost has passed in spring, shift 

 into a size larger pot if necessary, shaking off" all 

 the old soil and give gooi drainage and a plenti- 

 ful supply of rich loam. Plunge in the border and 

 water freely. They will soon break abundantly, 

 if they have not already done so, and in a few 

 weeks be covered with a profusion of flowers. 



Plumbago capensis is a perfect gem, with its 

 one-sided clusters of fairy-like flowers of the 

 most delicate shade of light blue imaginable, 

 and such a profuse bloomer. It only lacks 

 fragrance to make it unsurpassed. The flowers 

 last in perfection but one day, but others open 

 the next on the same spike or raceme, so that 

 the same cluster is in bloom for several days. 

 P. Larpentse, a hardy perennial species, flowers 

 of a rich shade of blue. P. alba and P. rosea do 



not compare with this, which is very distinct and 

 unlike any of the others in leaf, flower and 

 habit. P. coccinea, I have not seen. 



Jasminum grandiflorum. or as sometimes 

 called the Catalonian Jessamine, is not as hardy 

 as J. officinale, so common in our gardens. It ia 

 sold as a winter blooming greenhouse plant of 

 climbing habit. The leaf is larger, with nine leaf- 

 lets instead of seven, and the flowers of more sub- 

 stance and larger also ; pure white, tinged pink 

 on reverse of petals, delightfully fragrant. The in- 

 floresence is not as compact as in the hardy spe- 

 cies, and is rather loose and branching, but it by 

 far exceeds the latter in grace and beauty, and the 

 delicate sprays, at the extremity of every young 

 shoot, are perfection, with a skeleton geranium 

 leaf for a bontonniere. It does not blossom quite 

 as early as the Plumbago capensis, but continues 

 longer in flower, and will often blossom well into 

 winter if not cut back and removed to the 

 house, with change not too sudden. 



For several seasons I have treated these plants 

 in this manner most successfully, and they afford 

 me far more pleasure than a few dwarfed 

 blossoms would as a return for the trouble to 

 keep them free from red spider and dust in 

 winter. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Ivy-leaf Pelargonium Gloire d'Orleans. — 

 This very fine and distinct variety is one of the 

 floral treasures Mr. Barron secured for this sea- 

 son at Chiswick. For its pleasing and distinct 

 color, of a bright, pale, rosy-magenta hue, much 

 deeper than anything that has yet appeared ; for 

 the fulness of its flowers, which are medium- 

 sized but very double ; and for the marked free- 

 dom of habit which characterizes this fine addi- 

 tion to the Ivy-leaf Pelargonium, a freedom that 

 shows itself in connection with a close and 

 compact habit— for these fine qualities Gloire 

 d'Orleans excels all the double forms of the Ivy- 

 leaf — Gardener^ s Chronicle. 



Lapageria. — This is a very popular cut flower 

 plant in England, — some having houses exclu- 

 sively devoted to it as we have of Myrsiphyl- 

 lum, or " Smilax," as it is popularly called. 

 There are two varieties, the white and the rose- 

 colored. 



Cypripedium insigne. — This pretty lady slip- 

 per grows very well in a cool greenhouse, and as 

 it is a winter flower, is getting popular for cut 

 flowers. 



