232 Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
kept close, moist, and shaded in a moderate 
stove heat, they will root in four or five 
weeks, when remove the glasses and en- 
courage growth by continuing to keep 
warm; pinch out the points when they 
have made a little progress, give a little 
shade when it is sunny, and syringe over- 
head in the afternoons. By midsummer 
move into 6 or 7 inch pots ; they will suc- 
ceed in either peat or loam, the latter 
being, perhaps, the best; mix a fair 
amount of sand with the soil, as these 
plants with their ample foliage require, 
when in active growth, a good quantity of 
water. After potting treat as previously 
until the middle of August, before which 
time the shoots should again have been 
stopped. Keep cooler through the autumn, 
and winter at 45° in the night, until the 
end of February, when, to give a long 
season of growth move into pots 4 inches 
larger. They will be much benefited at 
this early season by being placed in a 
house where they can still receive a little 
more warmth than the generality of green- 
house plants require. Through the spring 
give them plenty of light until the sun 
gets very powerful, after which, in the 
middle of the day, they will need a little 
shade ; give asufticiency of air during the 
early part of the day, but close the house 
with a fair amount of sun-heat, syringing 
the plants overhead at the same time ; do 
not let them go short of water while in 
active growth, or it will have the effect of 
checking root-action, which would seriously 
interfere with the season’s progress. Pinch 
out the points of the shoots so as to induce 
the formation of enough branches to furnish 
the plants well. L. macrantha floribunda 
is one of the easiest managed subjects in 
this respect, but must not have this stop- 
ping neglected, otherwise it will entail 
cutting back the strong upright shoots that 
are formed in the centre of the plant, the 
removal of which will be so much loss in 
size. By midsummer, if the progress has 
been satisfactory, the strongest plants will 
bear another shift into pots 3 inches larger, 
and the soil should now be a little more 
lumpy, and should contain as much of 
the decayed roots of the grass as can be 
obtained, potting quite hard. Where a 
good quantity of fibre exists in soil of this 
description, this plant will make rapid 
growth, forming a nice half-specimen the 
second year. After this summer potting 
keep them a little closer for a fortnight, 
using plenty of moisture in the atmosphere, 
and continuing to damp the plants over- 
head ; keep the strongest shoots well tied 
out so as to balance their strength, allow- 
ing the weaker ones to assume an upright 
LASIANDRA. 
position, which will much increase their 
growth. | About the beginning of August 
nip out the points of any that are taking 
the lead ; but after this time do not stop 
any more, or it would interfere with their 
flowering. Through September withhold 
shade, give more air, and cease syringing 
overhead, to effect the ripening process in 
the growth and formation of flower-buds ; 
by the end of the year, or sometimes 
earlier, these will be apparent, when the 
plants should be placed in a temperature 
of 48° or 50° in the night, to induce them 
to open freely, when they can be removed 
to the conservatory, for the decoration of 
which this subject is most suitable. The 
temperature here should be similar to such 
as the plants have been previously in, 
otherwise the flowers are liable to drop 
before opening ; after blooming remove to 
a house where they will be kept about 45° 
in the night, if lower the leaves are apt to 
suffer, seriously affecting the roots. 
About the end of February cut the 
plants back moderately, and place them 
where the temperature is a few degrees 
higher, which will cause them soon to 
break, after which they should be turned 
out of the pots and a small portion of the 
surface-soil removed, giving 3 inches more 
room, using soil similar to such as hitherto 
recommended. Tie the strongest branches 
well out, and treat generally as advised for 
the preceding season in respect to syring- 
ing, shade, and air, with attention to stop- 
ping any shoots that are disposed to take 
the lead too much; but this year the 
plants will, in all probability, not show so 
much disposition to make unequal growth. 
They will not require a second pot this 
season, but must be subjected in the 
autumn to the slight ripening process, by 
withholding shade and a drier condition of 
the atmosphere. When the bloom-buds 
begin to swell considerably give them a 
similar temperature to that of the previous 
autumn, to open their flowers. The time 
of blooming may, if desired, be somewhat 
delayed by keeping the plants in a little 
lower temperature, but this must not be 
carried too far, by keeping them either too 
cool or too long under the retarding process, 
or the result will most likely be the total 
loss of the flowers, for this is essentially 
an autumn and winter blooming subject, 
and unless by accident which gives it a 
check or treatment out of the ordinary 
course, it is not disposed to flower at any 
other season. After blooming the plants may 
be again cut back and treated in every way 
similarly to the preceding year, being given 
a further shift of 3 inches, and a httle of 
the old soil being removed without disturb- 
c 
