150 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
DIPLADENTIA, 
which they have been attached, and at 
once put them on the trellises on which 
they are to be grown; these should be 
made of strong galvanised wire 2 feet 3 
inches through by 2 feet 6 inches in height 
above the pot. These trellises may appear 
small, but they look very bad when not 
well covered with foliage, and the bunches 
of flowers, which should never be tied in 
too stiffly, will project on all sides to a dis- 
tance of 6 inches or 8 inches from the 
trellis, making the plants large enough for 
any purpose. The ends of the wire ought 
to be 9 inches longer, so as to have suffi- 
cient hold of the soil, and should be inserted 
just inside the rim of the pot and fastened 
securely by stout sticks. These should 
come half-way up the inside of the trellis, 
and be secured to it to keep the whole 
firmly in its place; without these sticks 
the trellises are liable to swing about 
and injure the plants when moved. Train 
the shoots evenly round the trellis, taking 
care to furnish the bottom first. Growth 
from this time until the days lengthen will 
be somewhat slow. Through November, 
December, and January keep the night 
temperature nearly up to 70°, with a rise 
of 5° in the day. A good bed of tan is of 
great advantage to the plants, which should 
stand above it; Dipladenias should never 
be plunged. They are very impatient of 
any excess of moisture at the roots, and 
when plunged it is not always easy to tell 
when they require water; it also makes 
them much more tender by the way in 
which it acts upon them, and in most 
houses they are, when plunged, too far 
_ from the light. Run the shoots up thin 
strings fastened from the trellis to the 
roof, keeping them in this position until 
they have begun to open their flowers. By 
the end of February the night temperature 
may be raised 3° or 4°, and about the be- 
ginning of April it can be allowed to run 
up to 85° or 90° in the day with sun-heat, 
which will answer through the summer ; 
admit a little air, but allow no cold cur- 
rents to come in contact with the plants. 
Close early, syringing at the same time. 
As the sun gets powerful, the flowers will 
be benefited by a little shade in the middle 
of the day, but the plants do not require it. 
When the bunches begin to open, train the 
shoots neatly round the trellis, so as to 
have it covered uniformly with foliage and 
flowers. Assist the plants with manure- 
water all through the season from this 
time, and they will keep on throwing out 
fresh shoots that will show bloom when 
from 12 inches to 18 inches in length. Do 
not allow these to get twisted together, and 
give more air during the summer. They 
will, if all goes on well, continue to 
bloom freely through the summer. At the 
end of September they should be taken off 
the trellises, and the shoots cut back to 
within 6 feet of the collar, tying them 
loosely to a few sticks inserted in the soil. 
The temperature now should be about 65° 
by night. In three weeks they will have 
broken sufficiently for moving ; then turn 
them out of the pots and reduce the ball 
quite one-half, removing as much of the 
old soil as is possible without injuring the 
roots. Place them in 15-inch or 16-inch 
pots, which size is large enough for any 
Dipladenia, as, owing to the annual re- 
newal of so much of the soil, they do not 
require more room than this. In potting, 
always keep the collars of the plants well 
up, only just or barely covering the 
tuberous portion of the roots, by which 
means they are not nearly so liable to 
suffer in this their most tender part. At 
once place them on the trellises again, and 
treat In every way as recommended for the 
preceding year. Dipladenias can be grown 
somewhat cooler than has just been recom- 
mended ; but to get as much and as longa 
continuance of flower from them each season 
as they are capable of, they need to be 
treated as above. All make beautiful 
climbers for draping the roof of a stove, the 
splendid colour of their flowers being seen to 
the best advantage thus hanging ; but even 
when grown in this way they should not 
be planted out, as they succeed best in pots 
where the soil can in a great measure be 
removed each year. In growing Dipla- 
denias it is necessary to keep the soil drier 
than in the case of most stove plants. 
The following well deserve a place in 
every stove :— 
D. amabilis. An excellent free-flower- 
ing sort, the blooms distinct in colour, deep 
rose, with ample foliage. One of the best 
plants in cultivation. 
D. amena. <A free-flowering variety, 
with pale, flesh-coloured flowers, which 
are produced in medium-sized bunches. 
D). boliviensis. Bears delicate white flowers 
much smaller than either of the preceding, 
and is very distinct from them. 
D. Brearleyana. This has very large 
flowers, from three to four being open on each 
bunch at atime. The colour is not easy to 
describe. It is, when properly brought 
out, extremely rich, differing from any 
other flower we ever saw—an intense deep 
reddish-crimson, with a lustre like a dark 
velvety Rose. The plant has fine dark- 
green leaves, is aremarkably robust grower, 
and equally free flowerer. 
D. crassinoda. A more slender-habited 
plant than the preceding, with thinner 
