40 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[February, 



Auriculas, Carnations, Pinks, and Polyanthus 

 — the prettiest of florists' flowers, must be kept 

 cool, just free from frost, with plenty of air, if the 

 best results are desired. 



Chrysanthemums should now be raised from 

 cuttings for fall flowering. They make better 

 blooming plants than offsets. 



New Holland and Cape plants, such as Epacris, 

 Acacia, Heaths, &c., are now the glory of the 

 greenhouse ; hot bursts of sun on them should 

 be avoided, as it lays in them the seeds of " con- 

 sumption," which frequently carries them off" the 

 following summer. 



COMMUNICA TIOAS. 



GROWING THE POINSETTA. 



BY JOHN HOOD, SOUTH AMBOY, N. J. 



The Poinsetta is a little difficult to grow sat- 

 isfactorily in pots, being somewhat irksome to 

 maintain the proper degree of moisture, which 

 seems requisite to its well being. How we have 

 obtained the most satisfactory results with least 

 trouble, is to plant them out in the open ground, 

 in May, or as soon as there is a fair i^rospect of 

 settled weather. When the weather begins to get 

 hot and dry, Ave give them a good mulching of 

 well-rotted manure, if procurable, if not, with 

 short grass, Avhich keeps the ground cool and 

 moist. By the end of the following month, if 

 they have been growing vigorously, the young 

 shoots will have attained the length of fffteen 

 to eighteen inches. This we cut back to four 

 eyes, from which it started in May ; in all 

 likelihood those four eyes will push simulta- 

 neously, which rarely happens when grown in 

 pots, or nipped off as soon as they have made 

 four or five leaves. The strongest of tliis growth 

 is cut back again about the first week in August 

 — cutting with a view to equalize the flow of sap 

 and form a compact head. Near the end of this 

 month, select a cloudy day, and, with a spade, 

 cut around the plants thoroughly, not under- 

 neath. Pack the soil firmly around them again, 

 and replace the mulching. The distance from the 

 stem they require to be cut nuist be regulated by 

 the size of the plants and pots you intend they 

 shall occupy. This should be done three weeks 

 previous to their removal. In that time they 

 will make numerous fibrils, which can be re- 

 moved without injury — which is very essential 



to successful transplantation. After being lifted 

 and staged for some time they require to be 

 carefully shaded, and, if kept in a close, humid 

 temperature of 65°, they will lose few of their 

 leaves, will quickly become established, and, in 

 the course of six or seven weeks. We opine 

 that, under good cultivation, as a winter flower- 

 ing decorative plant it has few compeers. Some, 

 however, prefer growing them in pots, and assert 

 they should not be cut back, as it impairs the size of 

 the bracts. Recently we saw an illustration of this 

 method at a commercial establishment, credited 

 with having well-grown plants. In outline they 

 reminded one of the common Sumach (Rhus 

 glabra), as seen in the fall of the year — shoots 

 over three feet in length, nude, except very near 

 the top. Tortured in this way, it is, undoubtedly, 

 more queer than beautiful. 



BOUVARDIA HUMBOLDTII CORYMBIFLORA. 



BY W. H. BAILEY, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 



Having for a long time grown and flowered the 

 Bouvardias grandiflora and jasminoides, of which 

 species the Humboldtii is a member, and know- 

 ing their faulty character as bloomers, though 

 prizing them for their purity and fragrance, I 

 had just cause for many misgivings, when this 

 variety was flatteringly announced and intro- 

 duced to public notice. But the experience I 

 have had with it justifies me in awarding it a 

 very high place among the many new things of 

 the past few years. The drawing I send you 

 gives the natural size, without exaggeration, but 

 one can form from it but a meagre idea of the 

 plant as flowering upon my grounds last season. 

 I had a large bed containing some thirty-five or 

 forty plants, from thumb pots, and planted in 

 May, which in July was a sight worth a journey 

 to see. Each plant grew most vigorously, send- 

 ing up from eight to one dozen shoots, which, 

 after attaining a foot or more in height, began 

 budding, and were soon densely loaded with the 

 large jasmine-like blossoms, of the purest white, 

 with a fragrance not unlike the delightful Ste- 

 phanotis, and nearly as powerful as the Tuberose, 

 which, wafted about by the breeze, particularly 

 at evening, was the delight and wonderment of 

 all persons within its odorous range. 



The first flowers opened in July, at which time 

 my beds of Vreelandii, Hogarth, lieantha, and 

 elegans had not the appearance of a bloom, 

 though the plants were the same size when put 



