146 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
DICKSONIA. 
attains a height of about 3 feet, and does 
not need a great deal of room. It deserves 
a place in the gardens of those who are 
fond of singularities in the way of plants. 
It comes from India, and therefore likes a 
considerable amount of heat at all times. 
Insects.—Aphides and red spider, as 
well as others of the worst description of 
insects that prey on stove plants, will 
sometimes attack this Desmodium; the 
daily use of the syringe during the growing 
season will generally suffice to keep the 
smaller ones in check. Should scale or 
bug affect the plants, sponge with tepid 
water. 
DICHORISANDRA. 
These are very distinct-habited stove 
plants indigenous to Brazil and South 
America; they are evergreen herbaceous 
in habit, with strong Reed-like stems, 
srowing to a height of from 2 to 4 feet, and 
bearing broad, lanceolate, cordate leaves ; 
the flowers are produced in a compact 
cluster at the top of the shoots. They are 
principally late summer and autumn 
bloomers, at which season their decided 
blue flowers—a colour common to most of 
the species—are very effective. They are 
easily grown where a moderately high 
temperature can be kept up, and are well 
adapted for associating with most of the 
more easily cultivated hothouse plants, to 
which their erect habit presents a decided 
contrast. 
Their propagation is in no way difficult ; 
they are best increased by division of the 
crowns, which can be separated readily 
with a strong knife, retaining to each a 
portion of roots. This should be done 
early in the spring, just before they begin 
growth, which will, as a matter of course, 
be regulated by the amount of warmth the 
plants have been subjected to during the 
winter—their season of comparative rest. 
We have found them to succeed best in peat 
to which has been added a moderate 
quantity of sand. When the crowns have 
been thus separated, they should be placed 
in pots large enough to admit their roots 
with sufficient soil; if they are strong, 
6-inch pots will not be too large. Put them 
at once in a temperature of 65°, or a few 
degrees higher in the night. They will 
soon begin to grow, after which supply 
them liberally with water. Stand them 
where they will get a full volume of light, 
for if kept too dark the shoots will be 
drawn up too tall. In the matters of air 
and shade, treat as for ordinary stove 
plants, syringing them freely overhead 
when the house is shut up in the after- 
noons. By the middle of May the plants 
should be ready for larger pots; 8 or 9 
inches in diameter will not be too big, 
using soil similar to that already advised. 
Through the summer they will bear a 
liberal amount of heat such as is found to 
answer for most stove subjects, regulated 
in accordance with the weather. Beyond 
this nothing further will be required. 
The strongest of the plants will flower 
through the autumn, after which they may 
be subjected to a gradually reduced tempe- 
rature, keeping them at about 60° in the 
night through the winter. In spring 
again give more heat and repot, giving 
them a 2 or 3 inch shift, treating sub- 
sequently in other respects as advised for 
the previous summer. In years to come 
the size of the plants will be regulated by 
individual requirements; they may be 
grown large, so as to have a dozen or more 
flowering stems each season, in which case 
the root-room needed will be proportionate. 
The old stems should be cut away annually 
to make room for the young growth. 
As to the kinds grown, there is a con- 
siderable sameness in their appearance ; 
consequently it is not necessary nor 
advisable to cultivate too many. Among 
the most desirable are the following :— 
D. albo-marginata. Stems of moderate 
strength. Flowers white and blue. From 
Brazil. 
D. mosaica. Three to 4 feet high. 
Beautiful deep blue flowers, borne on 
handsome Bamboo-like stems ; the foliage 
bold and distinct. A native of the Amazon 
country, and one of the best of the species. 
D. Saundersit. Stems 2 to 3 feet high. 
This makes dense racemes of white violet- 
tipped flowers. Introduced from Brazil. 
D. thyrsiflora. A strong grower, like 
those already named, of erect habit. It 
blooms in summer; flowers deep purple. 
Brazil. 
D. undata. A stout-growing plant with 
Reed-like stems; the flowers blue, and 
produced in summer. From Brazil. 
In addition to being deserving of 
cultivation on account of their flowers, all 
the above have handsome foliage. 
Insrects.—Their smooth glossy leaves do 
not afford much harbour for insects, of 
which the least difficult to contend with 
will be easily kept down by syringing. If 
scale or mealy bug make their appearance, 
syringe with insecticide and sponge care- 
fully. 
DICKSONIA. 
A small genus of magnificent greenhouse 
Ferns, among which are several of the 
