JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



[ JalT 4, 1867. 



this ought to be put in by the end of September, and although 

 they are not so sure to succeed as the Calceolaria, the majority 

 will strike ; they cannot, however, well be removed before the 

 middle of May, as they are rather slow in making roots, al- 

 though the top shows signs of growth beyond what might be 

 expected from the extent of the roots formed. This species is 

 Tery apt to run to flower, and nipping off the tops hardly pre- 

 rents tho plant flowering, after which it often dies off. The 

 same objection does not apply to Centaurea candidissima, but 

 S3 C. gymnocarpa grows more freely, and furnishes at least ten 

 onttiogs for one of the other, it is more conveniently propa- 

 gated. Cuttings in spring also stiike. 



NiBBEMBERGiA GRACILIS is not half SO much grown as it ought 

 to be, as plants furnish a greater amount of bloom, and con- 

 tinue longer in that condition ; its only drawback seems to be 

 its inability to withstand r.dn. It is nearly hardy, and if cut- 

 tings of it could be put in early in the autumn they would 

 stand Tery well ; but il^ is too late to put them in at the same 

 time as the Calceolarias. A few old plants, however, pulled in 

 pieces with a root to each, will often do. I find the past 

 winter has left fewer than usual. I do not attribute this to 

 the delicacy of the plant, but to the lateness of the period at 

 which the cuttings were put in. 



Veronicas of the New Zealand class strike well at all seasons, 

 I believe, and cuttings put in towards the end of September 

 make excellent plants to remove in spring. These plants are 

 by no means hardy, although they will live against walls or in 

 sheltered places during mild winters. They are easily pro- 

 pagated as described, and make fine plants to turn out in 

 spring. 



Saltia argentea. — The thick blanket-looking foliage of this 

 entitles it to a place amongst plants having remarkable foliage. 

 Booted suckers or side shoots have survived with the same 

 treatment as the Calceolaria. It cannot be so readily increased i 

 by cuttings as by seeds. 



Santolina incana, or Lavender Cotton. Treated something ! 

 in the manner of Box-edging, this plant is very serviceable as a 

 boundary to a shrubbery border. Its grey hue and neat com- , 

 pact appearance entitle it to more attention than it often 

 receives. Cuttings inserted at the end of September make j 

 good plants to remove in the beginning of May; almost every , 

 cutting will grow. They may also bo put in more closely 

 together than most cuttings, as the plant requires but little 

 space laterally. | 



CiMERARiA HARiTiMA. — Cuttiugs put in at the same time as 

 the Santolina mostly succeed, though not so generally. The 

 little trouble which they give when in a cold frame, and the 

 good plants which they become when they do succeed, make it 

 well worth while trying them in this way. Fully one-half of . 

 the cuttings become plants, and perhaps more than this would j 

 strike if greater care were taken in selecting them. The small 

 shoots springing from the centre or collar of the plant are to 

 be preferred to the woolly tips. I often put in a few rows as a 

 division between the Calceolarias. 



LrMUM FLAVCU. — This useful little plant is nearly hardy, 

 nevertheless severe winters take an effect upon it, and I find 

 many of the old plants have been destroyed by the frost of last 

 January. Cuttings may be put in as late as September, but it 

 is better to have them earlier, as they form better plants ; the 

 protection of a cold pit is all that is required for them, 

 and such a place is probably better for them than warmer 

 quarters. 



Pteethrums. — Cuttings of these seem to strike at all times, 

 and if put in at the same time as those of the Calceolaria, and 

 treated like them, form excellent plants by April, when they 

 may be put into their proper quarters. Pyrethrum'5 continue 

 longer in flower than most herbaceous i^nnts ; but it is difficult 

 to secure a continuation of bloum. A number of cuttings in 

 spring, to succeed those struck in autumn, will afford a suc- 

 cession ; aod beds formed partly of autumn and partly of 

 spring-struck plants continue longer iu bloom than when 

 planted with either alone. Cutting down some of the plants 

 is not so satisfactory as having two lots to begin with. 



Arabis vaeiegata. — Cuttings strike iu the open ground at 

 any season, so that I rarely give tbem a glass covering ; but if 

 there should be space in a cold pit they will, if put in very late 

 in autumn, form good plants in spring. The more showy Arabis 

 lucida variegata is less free of growth, and would seem to be 

 most at home where the Rhododendron and similar plants 

 thrive. We cannot make much of it here. 



EnoNYMUs jAPOsicus vAiHECATDs — Tl.'c gold-blotched variety 

 from .Jftpan strikes tolerably well if cuttings are put in at the 



same time as Calceolarias ; but I find that it does not make 

 such rapid progress out of doors as under glass. The silver- 

 edged K. radicans variegatus is certainly better grown out of 

 doors at all times. 



Verbenas. — I have tried them in a cold pit at various times 

 for nearly twenty years, but the success of the system has 

 never been such as to recommend its general adoption. Usually 

 the pit is occupied by someitbing else at the time the cuttings 

 should be planted, and they seldom do well late in the autumn. 

 Verbena pulchella and Verbena venosa do better than the 

 others. Venosa, owing to its rambling habit, ia unfitted for 

 pot culture. A few plants taken np in autumn keep well in A 

 cold pit. 



Pentstemons. — Cuttings of these do very well late in tha 

 season, and form bushy little plants by the middle of April. I 

 usually put in a quantity of tbem, and they come in very 

 handy, as old plants become large and unsightly, and do not 

 bear cutting down very well. 



Lobelia. — The dwarf Lobelia erinus varieties sometimes do 

 well and sometimes not. Last year we were unfortunate with 

 them, as few survived the winter ; but I by no means attribute 

 the failure to the cold alone, they are apt to die off at times ; 

 and although we usually take np old plants and after cutting 

 them in tear them to pieces, preserving some roots with each, 

 plants so treated do not always survive even in a warm green- 

 house, though every slip be well rooted. Sometimes they do 

 well in a cold pit, and when they do succeed they make nic« 

 bushy plants. 



Sedum Sieboldii is all but hardy. Cuttings seem to strika 

 freely at all seasons, and the cold pit is just the place for it. 



Htdranoeas also strike well from cuttings taken off at all 

 seasons, and when these or other plants can be propagated with 

 little trouble it is certainly better than when much attention 

 is required. Cuttings do very well in the autumn. 



Viola cornuta. — The cold pit is just the place forthis lovely 

 plant. A quantity of cuttings put in during the autumn of 1865 

 formed very good plants by the following April, and were 

 planted out and did well that season. 



Besides the above there are many herbaceous plants which 

 do very well in a Cold pit — for instance, the taller Lobelias, 

 somo Coronillas, several of the Sedums, Iberis sempervirens, 

 Alyssum saxatile, the ornamental Grasses, as Stipa pennata, 

 Daetylis glomerata, and others, as well as the more robust plants 

 which occasionally want some protection in severe winters, as 

 the Cannas, which suffer from too much damp, as well as from 

 the frost. I also find the slugs are very destructive to Cannas ; 

 but by covering the crowns with ashes and the stems with dry 

 leaves, they may be carried through the winter, as they were 

 here last winter, in the places where they have been growing. 



I will not attempt to enumerate all the plants to which such 

 a pit as that which I have described could afford shelter, as 

 most plants that will endure 3° or 4° of frost may be wintered 

 there if they are not liable to suffer from damp. Bedding 

 Pelargoniums, however, rarely do well, fire heat being wanted 

 for them. 



Although I have confined my remarks to ornamental plants, 

 yet such a pit as I have described is quite as useful for many 

 other purposes which the requirements of the time or place 

 will suggest. Ridge Cucumbers and sometimes Capsicums 

 may be grown in it. and immediately after the Calceolarias 

 have been removed Celery may be pricked out in some of tho 

 compartments. Indeed, the cold pit with me is rarely empty. 



— J. BOBSOM. 



POA TRIVIALIS ARGENTEA ELEGANS. 



Feom my experience of this Grass, so recently introduced 

 into public notice, it is to be feared that, like many other 

 plants that are strongly recommended for parterre decoration, 

 it has not been fairly tested before a character has been at- 

 tached to it. I planted out nearly two hundred plants of it 

 here this season, and when planted out I never saw anything 

 of the sort that pleased me so much, it was so beautiful and so 

 graceful in habit ; but it soon showed signs of losing its varie- 

 gation, not in certain instances, but in all the plants, and it 

 cnntiuued to do so till nearly every vestige of variegation had 

 disappeared from the whole of the plants, and, consequently, it 

 had to be replaced by another plant. 



I may remark that the Dactylis glomerata variegata retains 

 its variegation constantly iu this soil, and is one of the very 

 best and least troublesome variegated plants for decorative 

 purposes that I have seen. Under glass in pots the Poa is a 



