34 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
ALOCASIA, 
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back every season before they are started into 
growth. On account of their very strong 
habit of growth, even when required as 
climbers, it is better to grow them in pots 
than to plant out, unless they are wanted 
to cover a very large space, in which case 
they may be turned out in a border of 
limited extent, and the soil partially re- 
newed each spring. 
The following kinds are all well worth 
growing :— 
A. carthartica. A well-known free- 
flowering kind, with moderate-sized blooms, 
which it produces plentifully. 
A. Chelsoni. A profuse large-flowered 
kind, from Western Africa. It is almost 
as deep in colour as A. Aubletti, and has 
not the objectionable habit of the blooms 
reflexing natural to that variety, which it 
supersedes. 
A. grandiflora. _A magnificent sort, 
with beautiful bright canary-yellow 
flowers, produced in large quantities. It 
is very distinct in habit, and a much 
weaker grower than all the others, smaller 
foliage, and is most suitable for growing 
as a pot specimen, in which way it may 
with advantage be trained to sticks, trellis 
being dispensed with. 
A. Henderson. A very strong-grow- 
ing, large, free-blooming sort ;_ the base of 
the flowers internally suffused with brown. 
A. nobilis. A strong grower, with very 
large, finely-shaped, bright yellow flowers; 
requires a light situation to bloom freely. 
A, Schottw. A very strong grower, 
with immensely large pale yellow flowers 
that reflex a good deal. It is not so free 
in blooming as the others. 
A. violacea. A very distinct-looking 
species, with reddish flowers. It is not so 
handsome as the other kinds, but to those 
who like to grow plants of adecidedly dis- 
tinct appearance it will be acceptable. 
Insects.—Allamandas possess almost an 
immunity from insects, except from a 
minute yellow thrip, which is very 
troublesome if once it gets a footing, as it 
destroys and disfigures the young flower 
buds and leaves. It is best kept under by 
copious and daily syringing, as it is most 
difficult to kill by fumigation. 
ALOCASIA, 
Since fine-leaved plants have become 
fashionable, there has been a large addition 
to the number of cultivated species of 
Alocasia, and amongst them may be num- 
bered many of the finest and most distinct 
of all stove subjects grown for the beauty 
of their foliage. Few families of plants 
present so much diversity in the form and 
colour of their leaves as do these Alocasias, 
from the bold and distinct combination of 
pale green and milky white in the stately 
A. macrorhiza variegata, to the shinin 
metallic hue possessed to such a marked 
extent by A. metallica, both plants that, 
when they first appeared, made quite a 
sensation amongst cultivators. As decora- 
tive objects in the warm stove, they are 
unsurpassed, contrasting admirably with 
other fine-leaved as well as flowering 
plants. They are mostly found in the 
warmest parts of the world, where, in 
addition to a continuously high tempera- 
ture, they are subjected to a humid atmos- 
phere. Therefore, in order to grow them 
satisfactorily, they need both heat and mois- 
ture, otherwise they make little progress. 
Alocasias are increased by means of 
suckers, which most of the species produce 
freely, and also by division of the creepin 
‘underground stems, as well as by smal 
tubers that several of the species annually 
form. Propagation is best effected in 
spring towards the beginning of March, 
about which time the old specimens re- 
quire a shift; all the species, except A. 
macrorhiza and its variegated form, we have 
found to do best in a mixture of sphagnum 
and the best fibrous matter out of very 
light peat (such as that used for Orchids), 
to which some sand, crocks, and dry shaly 
manure have been added, as, if anything 
at all close and adhesive is used, many of 
the kinds will make little or no progress. 
The small tubers formed by sorts like A. 
Veitchii do best put in shallow pans in a 
mixture similar to that just described until 
they have made a couple of leaves each, 
when they may be moved into little pots 
singly. Suckers, when taken off, should 
be at once transferred to pots proportionate 
to their size. An extra amount of drain- 
age is required on account of their needing 
to be liberally supplied with water during | 
the growing season, and also from the fact 
that most of the species are surface rooters, 
not pushing their roots down to any con- 
siderable depth in the pots. 
Alocasias require a brisk heat in order 
to grow them well; in fact, most of the 
species will never attain anything like 
their proper size and appearance without 
the full amount of heat needed by the 
greatest heat-requiring plants. After the 
crowns are potted they should be kept in 
a temperature of nearly 70° at night, with 
a rise in the day proportionate to the state 
of the weather; a little air should be given 
during the middle of the day when the 
weather is such as to allow this to be done, 
but early in spring the admission of cold 
air, so as to come in contact with the 
