1895. 



GARDENING. 



165 



A PERSIAN CYCLAMEN 



The shrubby Allamanda (A. Wil- 

 liawsii).— This is somethitifr good and 

 choice, and worth having. It is a bush 

 rather than a vine, and can be kept in 

 quite a compact form. Ever\' shoot is 

 tipped with a cluster of j'ellow flowers. 

 Of course like all allamandas it needs 

 warmth in winter, but the ordifiary heat 

 of a sitting room is enough for it, say 55° 

 to 60°. It is evergreen and continuous 

 blooming. In summer it may te planted 

 out. 



BouvARDiAS are in their heyday between 

 November and February, and when well 

 grown the\- are among the most charm- 

 ing of mid-winter blossoms. Alfred 

 Neuner, double, white; Pres. Cleveland, 

 single, dazzling scarlet, and Rosea multi- 

 flora, salmon rose, are a trio well deserv- 

 ing culti .'ation. 



Ca.nnas are indispensable now in the 

 summergarden. Givethera deeply worked 

 rich ground and plenty water and they 

 will make a fine-display. In fact, as pot 

 plants for conservatory decoration in 

 winter they have also established a well 

 deserved good recommendation. The fol- 

 lowing are very fine sorts: ."Mphonse 

 Bouvier, rich crimson; Charles Hender- 

 son, crimson, very fine; Egandale, cherrj' 

 red; Florence Vaughan, yellow ground 

 with red spots; Madame Crozy, rich scar- 

 let edged with yellow; Paul Marquant, 

 rich salmon; and the newer Paul Sigrist, 

 dazzling crimson with a broad yellow 

 band. 



Fancy LEAVED Caladiums.— We have 

 given these a good deal of attention, get- 

 ting and growing on trial most everj' 

 new variety, and imported the rarest and 

 choicest from Brazil. Some of them are 

 extraordinarily beautiful, in fact some 

 are so pellucid and "refined" that they 

 are rather difficult to grow into thrifty 

 specimens. I should advise beginners, 

 however, to first try a few of the very 

 vigorous, beautiful kinds, that will surely 

 make fine plants with very little trouble. 

 A good half dozen are Auguste Riviere, 



green leaves with gray center and crim- 

 son spots; Boildieu, leaves are crimson in 

 center and have a deep green margin; 

 Chantinisplendens, spotted with rose and 

 crimson, and brilliantly flamed in center; 

 La Perle du Bresil, white, delicately tinted 

 with rose, midrib and veins dark green, 

 large and transparent; Louis Duplessis, 

 red rays and veins on a white ground, 

 green margin; Triomphe de I'Exposition, 

 crimson center, bright red veins and green 

 border. These plants should now be at 

 rest and kept perfectly dry in a moder- 

 ately warm room, warm shed or green- 

 house, letting them stay there as long as 

 they seem to be in sound condition and 

 not inclined to start into fresh growth. 

 .\s pot plants in the greenhouse they are 

 capital, filling it up in the summer months. 

 And planted out in the flower garden in 

 summer in such a place as you would 

 devote to begonias — somewhat moist and 

 shady, they thrive well. As they arc 

 sensitive to cold, however, don't plant 

 them before June. Riverto.n. 



N.J. 



CYCLflMENS. 



I wish you could sec the display of 

 cj'clamens we have now in the conserva- 

 tory; it is fine. And what a variety of 

 color! To a large extent we treat the 

 cyclamen as if it were an annual, raising 

 a fresh stock from seed every year and 

 throw them away when they have done 

 blooming In this way we get nicer 

 plants and finer flowers than we could 

 from second year or older corms. But 

 we do keep over a few of the very finest 

 varieties if the corms are good and not 

 over larj.e. 



It takes twelve or fifteen months froni 

 seed to get a real nice cyclamen plant in 

 bloom. To have them in flower at Christ- 

 mas we sow the seed in September or 

 October; indeed, I like to sow the seed 

 before New Years no matter how late we 

 want the flowers. Some florists make a 



The plant shown in the accompanying 

 illustration (from the Guide to the Con- 

 servatory here) was one of those I grew 

 last year, and when photographed was 

 fourteen months old from seed. We have 

 them much fincrthan that just now. We 

 sow the seeds in pots or pans half filled 

 with drainage, and the rest with light 

 fiesh soil, and keep them in a temperature 

 of (i()'^. As soon as the little plants make 

 two leaves we lift them out of the seed 

 I)ot and transplant them into other pans 

 or flats filled with a compost consisting 

 of fresh sod loam broken up fine, some 

 old cow manure, leaf mould and sand. 

 And this is about what we use at subsc- 

 cjuent rcpottings during summer. From 

 the moment th- seedlings appear above 

 ground till after they have done blooming 

 keep them growing; never let them flag 

 nor rest. They require a very even tem- 

 perature, say not under 55° nor, if we can 

 help it, over'60°. 



.\s cycl 'mens are particularly subject 

 to such insect pests as greenfly-, thrips 

 and red spider these must be looked after 

 and kept oft". By keening some fresh 

 tobacco stems under and about the pots 

 and replacing with fresh tobacco everj- 

 fortnight the greenfly and thrips can be 

 got rid of and kept away, but this has no 

 effect upon the spider. It appears in win- 

 ter if the quarters are overheated or too 

 dry, and the same in summer, but in 

 warm weather it may appear no matter 

 where the plants are. Close attention to 

 the plants and syringing them early in the 

 afternoons in summer, however, will keep 

 it at bay. 



But you can raise very nice cyclamens 

 indeed by sowing the seed now and treat- 

 ing them as already directed, and getniee 

 plants for blooming a year to fifteen 

 months hence. What we grow is the 

 variety called Cyclamen Persicum gigan- 

 teum spJendens. A. W. Bennett. 



Sup't of Parks, Pittsburg, Pa., fantiary 

 29, 1S95. 



MANURE WflTER-LITTLE BUOS-NO BLOOMS. 



A. .M. I), asks: 1. .After bulbs are 

 brought to the light ought they to be 

 watered with manure water or "excel- 

 sior" fertilizer once a week, or will either 

 be too rich for them? .\lso should I 

 sprinkle them overhead or just keep the 

 earth wet? 



2 In my conservatory there are little 

 bugs on my begonias and lilies; is the 

 atmosphere too dry? 



3. My plants look green and vigorous, 

 but for some reason they will not bloom. 



1. II the soil in which they arc grow 

 ing is ordinarily good no manure water 

 should be needed. In the case of Easter 

 lilies, however, if they are growing rankly 

 and are root bound a little manure water 

 should help them; or rather a top dress- 

 ing of old well rotted manure. We don't 

 know what the "Excelsior" fertilizer con- 

 sists of. hence can not advise about it. 

 In the case of hyacinths, tulips, narcissi 

 and the like keeping the earth moist 

 should be enough; at the same time a 

 syringing now and again early in the 

 afternoon in fine weather won't hurt 

 them if they are not in bloom; the same 

 in the case of Harrisii lilies, except that 

 we would svringe them oftener. 



2. What' kind of bugs? Lilies are a 

 ready prey to greenfly, mealy bugs and 

 red spider; but the mealy bugs only are 

 likely to bother the begonias. Greenfly 

 will succumb to tobacco smoke, tobacco 



