^46 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ Angnst 22, 1885. 



Beautes, Jacques van Artevelde, and Souvenir de Prince Albert ; 

 .and of the single kinds, Charles Euke, Due d'Aremberg, Sou- 

 venir de IMiellez, and IMadame Versehafielt were highly spoken 

 «f. Some of these we have seen and ajjpreciated on this side 

 of tile Cliannel, others we have j'et to see. 



M. Verscha£fclt makes the same remark that others have 

 done as to the paucitj' of amateurs, especially amongst the 

 choicer plants, such as Orchids. He has himself a nice col- 

 lection ; but Belgiimi does not contain, any more than France, 

 men of the Day, Warner, Turner, and Bateman stamp, who 

 spare no pains or expense in order to procure their favoiu'ites, 

 -And whose growth of them is a marvel of skijl and persever- 

 4aiiee, and whose liberality has a reflex influence on such esta- 

 blishments as Veitch's, Williams's, and Low's ; while, on the 

 other hand, jilants which are but little prized, comparatively 

 speaking, by us, are tlier^highly prized and find a ready sale. 

 ■Zamias, includiug fine specimens 8 or 10 feet high of lanugi- 

 nosa, Altensteinii, and Lehmanii ; Pandanns, including the 

 sweet-scented odoratissimus and the gi'aceful elegantissimus ; 

 Stephensonias and Palms of various kinds. Agaves, and other 

 plants of a similar character, are aU greatly run after for the 

 decoration of houses, courtyards, &c. ; and hence in all these 

 -ostablishments wDl bo found a much larger collection of such 

 things than we are wont to see on this side of the Channel. 



Ainongst the most interesting plants that I saw here was 

 -Clerodendron Thomsoua', which hitherto we have only seen 

 . grown as an exhibition plant, trained and tortured on a trellis. 

 Here it was planted out in a pit, and suffered to run along the 

 rafters, the more luxuriant shoots being cut back, and nothing 

 could be more telling tbau were its clusters of pure white and 

 t^rimson flowers lianging do-nii all along the roof. I hope to see 

 it one dny so gi'owu over here. I am sure Mr. A. Henderson, of 

 WeUington Nursery, could not do better than treat it thus ; 

 and he will as much please the numerous visitors to his nursery 

 by it as he has already done by liis successful treatment of 

 Lapageiia rosea and Clianthus Dampieri. By-the-by, he men- 

 ■ tioned to me the other day that he beheved the former of these 

 would prove to be a hardy plant. 



I here also saw Lilium Broivnii or japonicum flowering freely, 

 .and a very beautifully shaped white Lily it is ; one hardly ever 

 .sees it over here, it being said to bo difficult to grow. M. Ver- 

 schaffelt finds no difficulty with it, and I noticed that he had a 

 piece of drain pipe laid round the stem almost (5 inches up and 

 tilled with light peaty soil, in order to encourage the growth of 

 the young bulbs which are formed at the joints. Lilium aura- 

 tum was of com-se grown and held in as mucli estimation over 

 -there as with us, while one, which has been snubbed here, but 

 which I believe will eventually be looked after as a fine showy 

 plant, is being brought out by M. Verschaffelt as Lilium stami- 

 no.sum at twenty-five francs a-piece. It is the variety which was 

 pronounced a monstrous fo)m of Lilium Thunbergiauum, and 

 considered worthless ; and I can testify that it is far from that. 

 I had a bulb which formed a corymb of flowers six in number, 

 and I ca'i safely sa.y that it was a very bright and showy-looking 

 plant. Since it went out of flower in the spring it has formed 

 another shoot from the side of the old one, and this will be in 

 flower in a week or two ; its habit, too, is veiy dwarf, compact, 

 said vigorous — in fact, I look upon it as likely to be a valuable 

 decorative plant. 



yi. Verschaffelt has a large and fine collection of the Pelargo- 

 Tiiums which we call French, but which are known in Belgium 

 .as Pelargonium Odier ; they are mr.ch more valued abroad tlian 

 our more regular flowers, o\nng to their showy character for 

 room decoration. Amongst tlieni are unquestionably many 

 Sowersof very strikingcoloursandbrilliant appearance. Amongst 

 the plants suitable for bedding puiposes, I saw a good quantity 

 of Aoh}Tanthes Verschaffclti, which we know on this side of the 

 Clmiinel better as Iresine Herbstii ; it has been condemned in a 

 contemporary's notice of the Battersea Park garden, but I think 

 unjustly ; it undoubtedly has not the tine brilliant crimson 

 tinge of Coleus Verschaffelti, which was in an equally hasty 

 ■manner condemned at first, nor, perhaps, even of .\marauthus 

 melancholicus ruber ; but then one wants different tints, and 

 this, I think, will afford an opportunity for variety. It has 

 heen warmly received on the continent, and will I think hold 

 its ground amongst plants of a somewliat similar character, 

 ■arith odd colouring for out of doors. I notice 1 Teleiaiithera 

 hcoidea versicolor, which rejoices in bright sunlight, and has a 

 eurious fashion of curling the edges of the leaves. 



But I must forbear. Suffice it to say that I was most kindly 

 TBoeived by XI. Verschaffelt, who is a man of most genial spirit, 

 /siki, as every successful horticulturist must be, an enthusiast in 



his calling, and will gladly show all his treasures to any who can 

 appreciate them. Besides being the editor of the work on 

 Camellias, M. Verschaffelt is the publisher also of " L'lUustration 

 Horticole," which is, however, edited by M. Charles Lemaire. — 

 D., Deal. ^__ 



PLANTS FOR ROOMS. 



[Continued fr(yin parje 107.) 



April. — From the stove Amaryllises wiU come freely, and 

 tlie variegated Begonias there will now be fine. They, with 

 Achimenes, Gloxinias, and Gesneras, will do equally well in 

 the early vinery, which must be cleared of the Calceolarias, 

 Cinerarias, now blooming, and the Pelargoniums, by the end of 

 the month, after which time it \\'ill be a stove, and may be 

 employed for all stove plants that require to make a vigorous 

 growth and then rest. There will be no lack of subjects for 

 vases in this month. Cinerarias, Calceolarias, forced Deutzias, 

 Dielytras, Weigelas, Rhododendrons, Azaleas, tree Violets, and 

 many other plants already named will be in perfection, and 

 soon afterwards similar subjects will come in from the coo! 

 vinery, which will now also be fast becoming a stove. Pits or 

 frames must now lie in readiness for the Cyclamens, Epacrises, 

 Correas, and all plants that require a greenhoiise temperature, 

 except Camellias and Azaleas, which should be placed in heat to 

 make new growth, and be kept there until the buds are formed. 

 As the forced plants are taken from the early ■\ineiy take ad- 

 vantage of it to ease the stove of such plants as Gloxinias, 

 Achimenes, Gesneras, Begonias, &c., paying strict attention to 

 the plants in it for autumn and winter blooming, potting, and 

 encouraging them with plenty of heat, moisture, and air, to 

 make strong growths. Cyrtoceras reflexum does not suffer 

 from a sojourn of a few days in a room, nor does Hoya bella, 

 and both are charming plants for blooming in summer. They 

 will now be in a forward state for that purpose. Justicia carnea 

 will be shoOTug its fine heads of bloom, and should be liberally 

 supplied with liquid manure. The Otaheite Orange will be 

 none the worse of being retained in the early vinery after 

 flowering, for the fruit will then swell and be ornamental in 

 winter. Pot Solanam capsicastrum, and grow as pyramids in 

 a frame. Place Caladiums in the early vinery, and from 

 receiving more air they will not suffer so soon when employed 

 in-doors, which should only be on special occasions. Pot more 

 Gloxinias and Achimenes, also Gesneras, they will come in 

 late, and may he grown after a time in the cool viiieiy. Repot 

 Celosias, Cockscombs, and other annuals, making sure of a few 

 pots of Isolei.'is gracilis. Cyiierus alternifolius, and its varie- 

 gated variety, are charming for vases and dinner tables. Trades- 

 cantia zebriua is now to be potted and placed in a vinery ; it 

 mil live in a room where nothing else will. Strong cuttings 

 of Dracjena terminalis put in now in the stove will have fine 

 foliage in winter, and not less ornamental is Ficus elastica. 

 Clerodendron Bungei potted now and f)^owu on will be useful 

 in September; it will do in a cool vinei-j' if it only have light. 

 Pots of Lilium lancifolimn, L. auratum, and Tritonia amea 

 will do very well in a cold pit, and the bulbs will bloom in 

 August. Sow Humea elegans in the vinery for decoration in 

 the June of the following year ; it is the most gi-aceful and 

 elegant of room plants. Grow it in a cold frame after June, 

 potting and treating it in every way like a Calceolaria or Cine- 

 raria. Seed of the last should now be sown, and old plants 

 which have ceased blooming should be placed in a cold frame. 



JIav. — We must now have Gloxinias in bloom in the stove, 

 Achimenes close in their wake, Gesneras coming after them. 

 Begonias and Caladiums in fuU beauty, and something to set 

 in vases. We shoidd also have Azaleas in a cool vinery, and 

 Hydrangeas in tlie early one. Fuchsias in fuU flower, a few 

 Pelargoniums, and Coleus Verschaffelti as pyramids a foot 

 high, with the point of every shoot pinched out. Pelargoniums 

 for June and July will be in a cold pit along with Fuchsias for 

 August, Celosias in the early ^^nery, and Cockscombs on a 

 shelf in the stove. Pot-ofl' Balsams now, and sow more. The 

 time is, however, come when there ^vill be plenty of flowers 

 out of doors, or preparation made for having them, rendering 

 plants in a room of less consequence. We must, however, look 

 beyond this period of simshine and flowers, and have plants 

 for the vases in winter. Cuttings or young stock of variou.s 

 winter-flowering plants coming on, also old plants cut back and 

 making vigorous growth, should be repotted, and encouraged 

 to make their wood early and ripen it well. Cinerarias just 

 potted off may be kept in a cold frame, along with Calceolarias, 

 for autumn blooming. Besides these we must have young and 



