226 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Marcn 23, 1876. 



EimUar situation, and be carefully attended to with a proper 

 snpply of moisture. The best time to graft is during the 

 spring. After the scions have united to the stock and they 

 have made a little growth the ligatures should be slackened, 

 and the plants be exposed to a little more light and air, and 

 when they are considered to have made a perfect union the 

 bandages may be entirely removed, the head of the stock be 

 cut off close to the scion, and the plants exposed to the tem- 

 perature of an intermediate house until they have completed 

 their season's growth, when they may be treated as established 

 plants. 



Although I have entered into the propagation of these plants, 

 I do not mean to say that a gardener would be studying eco- 

 nomy to propagate his own plants, as he would have to wait a 

 long time before he would have the pleasure of seeing flowers, 

 and unless he paid unremitting attention to the plants the 

 chances are that he may lose 90 per cent, of his young plants. 

 In nurseries where Azaleas are propagated by the thousand 

 men are employed for the special purpose of tending to their 

 wants, and this being their only study they succeed in turning 

 out ninety-nine plants, and very often a hundred, out of every 

 hundred grafts. This places nuraerymen in a position to offer 

 good plants well set with flower buds at a very reasonable rate. 

 Such being the case, I fail to see where true economy lies in a 

 gardener trying to propagate his own Azaleas. 



We now come to the general cultivation, and will commence 

 with such plants as are usually met with in the trade — I mean 

 plants well studded with flower buds and grown in i and 6-inch 

 pots. Should it be desirable to obtain specimens as quickly 

 as possible I would advise the cultivator to pick out all the 

 bloom buds and place the plants in a little heat early in the 

 year, so as to excite them into growth. As soon as the growth 

 has commenced they should have a liberal shift into pots a 

 size or two larger, using the following compost: — To five 

 barrowloads of strong fibry peat (not adhesive nor yet that 

 light fibry material we so repeatedly see used), add one barrow- 

 load of light fibry loam with a liberal mixture of sand. This 

 should be all pulled to pieces, not chopped, and the fine drossy 

 material rejected, the sand to be mixed through it, and if 

 damp it should be put into a dry open shed, and turned several 

 times before using. Avoid makicg it dust-dry, otherwise there 

 would be some difficulty in inducing it to take water after the 

 plants have been potted. The best way to test the soil is to 

 thrust the hand into the heap and bring out a handful from near 

 the centre, squeeze this up in the hand and then drop it on the 

 floor. If it falls freely to pieces the compost miy be used ; but, 

 on the other hand, should it adhere together the heap should 

 be turned once or twice as may be necessary before using. 



After the plants have been potted they should be placed in 

 gentle heat, keeping them well syringed, also thaded from the 

 sun, and giving little or no air until tbey have hold of the new 

 compost, after which time the temperature may be increased 

 to GO' at night, with a rise to 75' by fire in day, or 80' by sun 

 heat, always bearing in mind to keep the passages, walls, and 

 stages well deluged with water, but taking care not to give too 

 much water to the roots. When the plants are established they 

 will be benefited by a weak application of Standen's manure 

 or cowdung water. I have repeatedly watered Azaleas with 

 strong cowdung water with advantage, but I always take the 

 precaution of applying it to well-established plants. Under 

 this treatment the plants will make rapid growth, and will set 

 their flower buds early in the season, but the sooner these can 

 be removed the better, and push the plants on into a second 

 growth, which is desirable to have aooomplished as early as 

 possible in order to give the plants a good rest preparatory to 

 making two growths the following year ; but in this case as in 

 the previous one the flower buds should be romoved as quickly 

 as possible, and not allowed to remain to waste the energies of 

 the plants. By repeating this treatment for a few years it is 

 astonishing how quick a lot of plants may be worked up into 

 a size fit for exhibition purposes. 



But should the cultivator not wish to grow them on for ex- 

 hibition, and merely require them for home deooration, the 

 plants may be grown in a much cooler temperature. They 

 will make excellent growth, and set their buds well in a tem- 

 perature of 60' to 65', or even lower than this. Some cultiva- 

 tors place them out of doors in the month of May or June to 

 finish their growth and set their buds ; biit this, in my opinion, 

 is a practice that cannot be too strongly condemned. The 

 plants are subjected to heavy rains, which are anything but 

 beneficial, but rather otherwise; and although an attendant 

 may be there to turn them on their sides in the daytime, it 



is not always that they are on their sides during heavy rains 

 in the night. Some cultivators place them in their viuerios 

 to make their growth, and doubtless such situations are favour- 

 able for the growth of the plants, but the very fact of them 

 introducing thrips into such structures is quite sufficient to 

 induce the cultivator to keep them out. 



In reference to preparing plants for forcing, some early-flower- 

 ing varieties should be selected and pushed into growth as early 

 as possible, so as to set their buds early in the season, and 

 these should be well advanced before the plants are allowed 

 to rest, as on the state of the bucis entirely depends the time 

 required for forcing them into bloom. If they are properly 

 managed the plants should flower in eight weeks after being 

 introduced iuto heat. If Azaleas are not required to flower 

 before April or May a winter temperature of 4U' will be found 

 quite sufficient. 



When I undertook my last situation I found a number of 

 Azaleas in a very bad state, and scarcely a flower bud on them. 

 Immediately they commenced growth I gave them a drying, 

 and had some soil (as previously described) in readiness, and 

 turned the plants all out of their pots, beating the soil out of 

 the roots with the flat side of a spade ; in fact, I shook them out 

 just as clean as if they were Pelargoniums, thinned out all 

 weak wood, and after potting them into smaller pots I devoted 

 a house to them and treated them in the way described for 

 exhibition plants, except that I left the bloom buds on the 

 second growth, after which I was well rewarded with a good 

 display of flowers the following year. 



In concluding my cultural remarks I would say that Azaleas 

 should never be allowed to flag for want of water, as this would 

 be sure to end in the loss of foliage. When watering them 

 always fill up the pots sufficiently to cause the water to moisten 

 the whole ball of soil. Always keep up abundance of moisture 

 during the growing season until the buds are set, then cease 

 syringing overhead, but always keep the passages and walls 

 moist except in frosty weather Never water the plants until 

 they require it, and always keep them free from insects. Never 

 adopt that horrible system of training by twisting and crossing 

 the shoots to bring the plants iuto a stiff unsightly shape ; but 

 carefully tie out the branches and encourage the shoots to 

 assume a natural appearance. In potting always pot firmly. 



Azaleas are liable to the attacks of brown and white scale. 

 These may be destroyed by turning the plants on their sides 

 and giving them a thorough syringing with water heated to 

 110', turning the plant round as the operation is going on, so 

 as to make sure that every portion of the plant has its share 

 of hot water ; but be careful to keep it from the roots. Brush 

 the leaves and stems in half an hour after the application, 

 and if not effectual repeat the dose; or use Gishurst com- 

 pound, 8 0Z3. to a gallon of water heated to 110', and apply 

 the solution in the same way; or soft soap in the same pro- 

 portions. Any of the above remedies if properly applied will 

 te found effectual. 



Azaleas are frequently infested with thrips, and the best 

 remedies that I kaow of is to fumigate strongly with tobacco 

 every other night for a week or so ; or give the plants a 

 thorough syringing with Gishurst compound, -1 ozs. to the 

 gallon of water, being careful to keep the mixture out of the 

 pots. This may be done by turning them on their sides. In 

 ten or twelve hours afterwards syringe the plants with clean 

 water, by which time they should be free from every thrips. 



A EOSARIAN HERCULES-EOSE STOCKS. 



Now the winter is nearly over, and the Hyacinths, and 

 Tulips, and Snowdrops are making our borders gay with their 

 bright colours, the hearts of all rosariaus b?giu to throb with 

 excitement at the thought of the coming campaigo. That this 

 will be an unusually long one I think your columns show. 

 We may say it commences on the 11th of June and lasts till 

 the middle of July. But what a month it will bs ! what hard 

 work, what excitement, what sleepless nights will be ours ! 

 For, taking the Sundays and Mondays away when no shows 

 can be held, there are only about twenty days left. Indeed I 

 do not think you can say more than fourteen, as there are 

 scarcely any shows held after the 8th or 9th of July. Fourteen 

 days, then, are all that will be available for Rose shows, and on 

 these must be held the Crystal and Alexandra Palacs Shows, 

 the Westminster .Aquarium and the Botanic in London ; while 

 in the country— Exeter, Hereford, Maidstone, Frome, Birming- 

 ham, Wisbeach, Bristol — eleven great shows within a fortnight 

 is verily hot work. 



