98 



IRISH GARDENING 



JULY 



lii^lit imisi be i;i;ulu;illy admit U-d, Inil witli 

 i^rcat care, aiul plants slKUild never be subject etl 

 to stionj^ sunshine. Waterin*,'- must be care- 

 full} atlendetl to throui^^liout tlie whole peiiml 

 of cultixation ; for whilst the soil should ne\ei- 

 be souretl b\- o\er waterini^', yet the |">lants 

 should ne\er be allowed to sutler for want o\' 

 water. Once allow them to flaj^. and the damaj^e 

 caused, althous^-h not necessarily f.ital, will )et 

 be irreparable. 



When the seedlini^-s ha\e lornied their hrst 

 pair o( roui^h leaves they should be pricked olT. 

 Vov this purpose I aj^-ain prefer pans to boxes, 

 as the soil can be kept sweeter in earthenware 

 than in boxes. l-^qual parts of turfy loam and 

 old hotbed manure passed through a half-inch 

 sieve, the rough part being- placed over the 

 drainage, forms a highly suitable compost for 

 the plants at this stage. They should be 

 pricked off at about two inches apart, and after 

 the operation is finished they should be returned 

 to the frame and receive a moderate watering, 

 keeping the frame well shaded and rather close 

 for a few days. The young plants often come 

 on somewhat irregularly, and when this is the 

 case the stronger ones should be potted off first. 

 For the first potting three-inch pots should be 

 used, and the soil used should be the same as 

 for pricking off in, only it should now be passed 

 through a sieve with three-quarter inch mesh. 

 Pot loosely to encourage root action. When 

 placing the pots back in the frame they should 

 be stood on a layer of ashes or sand. By this 

 means the roots are kept cool, a point of great 

 importance with the calceolaria. After the 

 plants have taken to their pots plenty of air 

 should be admitted both by day and night. 



Some growers house the plants early in 

 October, but if provision can be made against 

 frost keep them out till well into November. 

 A shift into five-inch pots will now be necessary, 

 and a good time to perform the operation is at 

 the time of housing. If there are the least signs 

 of aphides the plants should be lightly vapor- 

 ised before being removed from the frame, but 

 if attention has been given to watering, airing 

 and shading, this will seldom be found necessary. 

 A somewhat richer soil should be used now and 

 also for the final potting. The following is an 

 excellent compost : — Two parts fibrous loam, 

 one part half-decayed beech or oak leaves, and 

 one part rotten cow manure, one-sixth of the 

 whole of sand with a dash of soot and bone 



nK';d. (."akcolarias ma\- be succcsstully wintered 

 in \arious kinds o\ structures, pro\ided alow 

 ti-inpci aluie can 1h- iiiainlaiiicd throughout and 

 tlu' |-ilants kejM near the grass. A cool pit or 

 Kn\ span -roofed iunise is the best place for 

 tiiL-in, but those who ^\o not ha\c tin.' conmiand 

 ol such stiiuliires ina\ winter thein quite 

 succcsslully on shcKcs in a cool greenhouse. 

 The important thing is lo maintain a low 

 tciniicrature. Throughout the winter months 

 a niglit teniperatuie ranging from 40 degrees to 

 45 degrees will suit them admirabh. and with 

 hartl fntst the thermometer may drop to ^f) 

 degrees to avoid heavy firing. A portion of the 

 plants w ill be ready for the final potting early in 

 Kebruai'w and the whole batch by the end of 

 the month. Some oi' the more vigorous plants 

 may be allowed eight-inch pots with advantage, 

 but pots seven inch in diameter are quite large 

 enough for general purposes. Still keep grow- 

 ing them in a cool place. After the plants have 

 fairly taken to their new pots they will require 

 liberal supplies of water, and when getting pot- 

 bound an application of weak liquid manure 

 twice a week will prove beneficial. Calceolarias 

 do not care much for chemicals, and if it can 

 be had, liquid manure made from cow-dung 

 or horse-droppings will be found to suit them 

 well. As already indicated, abundance of air 

 must be admitted on all favourable occasions, 

 and as the weather gets warmer special atten- 

 tion will have to be given to this matter and a 

 sharp look out kept for greenfly, which is 

 almost sure to put in an appearance as the 

 solar heat increases. As soon as the enemy 

 appears the vaporiser should be called into 

 requisition, and in any case these operations 

 should be performed before the plants come 

 into flower. 



As the season advances the plants should be 

 shaded during bright weather ; this prolongs 

 the flowering period. As the flower stems 

 come up staking must be attended to, and the 

 stakes should be of a slender description, wire 

 preferable, as they can be easily obtained. 



When the plants are transferred to the con- 

 servatory they will prove more effectual 

 arranged in masses than if arranged promis- 

 cuously. A group of well grown calceolarias 

 of a good strain when in flower compel admira- 

 tion alike from the fastidious and the apathetic 

 spectator, whilst from the enthusiast they call 

 forth unbounded praise. 



