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THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[September, 



Winter-flowering Carnations and Bouvar- 

 DiAS. — As winter flowers are so much in request 

 here, we grow a very considerahle number of 

 carnations, which are known as perpetual or 

 tree carnations. These during the winter sea- 

 son are grown in a span-roofed house, provided 

 with side stages, which admit of the plants being 

 placed near the glass, so that they may enjoy a 

 fair share of light. The temperature is main- 

 tained at or about 60°, which appears to suit 

 them admirably, as well as the Bouvardias, i)f 

 which we grow a few dozen plants of the most 

 useful sorts. The carnations are now in fine 

 trim, and the supply of flowers for button-holes, 

 bouquets, and vases well-nigh unlimited. In 

 gathering a few dozen flowers to-day I made 

 note of the folloAving being especially good, and 

 in every way desirable for a limited collection, 

 namely, Avalanche, white; Beauty, white and 

 scarlet ; Boule de Feu, scarlet; Congress, scarlet ; 

 Duke of Wellington, dark scarlet ; Herbert, rose ; 

 Hermione, white ; Jean Bart, bright scarlet; La 

 Belle, white, large, very full and line ; Novelty, 

 bufi" and red ; Oscar, yellow ; Purity, white ; 

 Souvenir de la Malmaison, blush ; The Dragon, 

 scarlet. The perpetual-flowering Picotees, Ascot 

 Giant, white ground with heavy red edge ; Ascot 

 Yellow, yellow with crimson edge ; Prince of 

 Orange, yellow with bright crimson edge, are 

 also exceedingly good in their season. The 

 Bouvardias which appear to be the most useful 

 for private growers for winter work are David- 

 soni, white ; Vreelandi, white ; Elegans, scarlet ; 

 Bridesmaid, flesh-pink, and Longiflora, white. 

 The last-mentioned is a straggling grower, but its 

 flowers are so deliciously fragrant that it cannot 

 be dispensed with. The flowers of the other va- 

 rieties enumerated possess but little fragrance, 

 and are in consequence not so popular among.st 

 the ladies. — Head Gardener, in Gardeners' Maga- 

 zine. 



Bouvardia. — These are hard-wooded plants, 

 but associate best with soft-wooded plants, 

 and should only be grown in a house that is kept 

 well heated during winter. Those employed for 

 bedding purposes make nice pot plants, but the 

 best of the family is B. longiflora, which produces 

 a profusion of most elegant and sweet-scented 

 white flowers during the winter. It is a trouble- 

 some plant, but worth any amount of trouble. 

 Strike cuttings of the yoimg wood in a brisk 

 moist heat in March. Pot off" as soon as rooted 

 in five-inch pots, in a mixture of equal parts 

 loam and peat, and a sixth part of the whole 



bulk of silver-sand. Put them into the warmest 

 place you have, but they must not be closely 

 shut up, and the foliage must be frequently 

 syringed. A fortnight after this potting pinch 

 out the points of all the shoots to promote a 

 bushy habit. Winter them in a temperature of 

 50°, and in February shift them into eight-inch 

 pots, and after this potting put them in a good 

 growing temperature, and as the season ad- 

 vances move them to cooler quarters, so that by 

 the middle of August they may be in a light airy 

 house, to ripen the wood and prepare them for 

 flowering. As soon as flowers appear put them 

 into a temperature of 60°. Keep them very 

 clean, and they will continue to flower for four 

 or five months. 



The bedding varieties of Bouvardia are more 

 hardy than the lovely longiflora, and may be pre- 

 pared for the embellishment of the conservatory 

 by a very simple course of culture. In the middle 

 of May secure a sufficient number of plants of the 

 sorts required. Newly-made plants from spring 

 cuttings will not do, but old scrubby ugly ones 

 will answer perfectly. Cut them rather close, so 

 that when they make new shoots they will be- 

 come neat round bushes, and plant them out in 

 a sunny spot. Give water as required. In the 

 finst or second week of July pinch out the points 

 of all shoots, and give no more water. About 

 the middle of September take them up carefully, 

 an(J pot them in a light loamy mixture, taking 

 care to injure the roots as little as possible. 

 Give them a good watering, and then put them 

 near a wall out of doors where the sun will not 

 shine on them, and keep them regularly 

 sprinkled and watered. In the early part of Oc- 

 tober take them into the greenhouse, and very 

 soon they will begin to flower and make a splen- 

 did show. B. Vreelandi, which is a capital 

 bedding plant, is also one of the best for this 

 rough-and-ready course of culture for the pro- 

 duction of winter flowers. — Gardener's Magazine. 



Tuberoses in Midwinter. — To have Tuberoses 

 in at Christmas, and on New Year's Day, the fol- 

 lowing course is pursued in the United States, 

 where Tuberoses are admirably grown : — By the 

 20th of August they are potted into 4-inch jjota, 

 containing a composition of two-thirds strong 

 loam and one-third old rotten manure. They 

 are then planted out of doors in a frame, as close 

 as they will stand until the end of September, 

 when the centre-table of a span-roof house is 

 bored with a number of holes to let up the warm 



