304 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
RONDELETIA, 
hesitate to attempt its growth. It is a slow- 
growing plant, very much _finer-rooted 
than the generality of stove subjects, and 
a very much slower grower. On this 
account, and coupled with the fact that it 
will bear cutting in freely every season, it 
can be kept to a medium size for a number 
of years. 
Cuttings made from the young half- 
ripened shoots will strike freely in a tem- 
perature of 70° at any time of the year 
. when they can be had in this state, but 
spring will best suit the generality of 
growers, for at this season it is usual to 
propagate a number of different plants, 
which can be accommodated to a similar 
routine of treatment. Insert four or six 
together in a 4-inch pot, drained and half 
filled with a mixture of sand and peat, the 
upper portion all sand. Keep moist and 
moderately close under a propagating glass. 
They will root in a month, and must be 
moved singly into small pots before the 
roots exist in such quantity as to become 
matted, using good fibrous peat, with 
enough sand to keep it open. Although 
the Rondeletia will thrive well in an in- 
termediate temperature, yet, as it is a slow 
grower, no harm will be done by keeping 
it for the first twelve months subjected to 
more warmth—indeed that will*be rather 
an advantage, as in this case it will attain 
a larger size in the time. Plenty of light 
is an essential, and therefore it will be well 
to place the young plants on a side stage 
immediately under the glass. Very little 
shade, and that only during the hottest 
part of the day, will be needed, for its some- 
what hard-textured leaves are not suscep- 
tible of injury from the sun, except where 
absolute scorching takes place. A mode- 
rate admission of air in the middle of the 
day, proportionate to the state of the 
weather, will be required, and the house 
should be closed early enough to secure 
for some hours in the latter part of the 
afternoon the benefit of a close sun-heated 
atmosphere, which is very much to be pre- 
ferred to the heat originating from the use 
of fire alone. A slight damping overhead 
with the syringe at this time should also 
be given. As soon as the young plants 
have fairly commenced to grow it will be 
necessary to stop the leading shoot. Atten- 
tion to this matter is of more importance 
in the case of the plant under notice than 
in that of the majority of stove subjects, 
for if left to itself it is of a somewhat 
erect habit, and the wood is of so hard a 
nature that when it acquires age and 
strength it cannot be trained ; the stopping 
must be repeated until a sufficiently bushy 
head is secured. By the middle of July 
the plants will require another shift into 
pots 2 or 3 inches larger, according to the 
quantity of roots they have got; let the 
soil be a little more lumpy, it should also 
be of the best fibrous description that will 
last long, for although the plant will bear 
its ball reducing with a view to partially 
renewing the soil when it has become 
exhausted or adhesive, still its roots are 
produced in such a mass that the soil can- 
not be shaken away without much disroot- 
ing. It thus becomes necessary to provide 
soil that will be of an enduring nature, so 
as to keep in a suitable condition for 
several years. Tie the shoots out in a 
horizontal position to lay the groundwork 
for the future specimen. 
As autumn approaches, give more air, 
less moisture in the atmosphere, and dis- 
continue the use of the syringe and shading, 
reducing the heat as winter comes on, dur- 
ing which time the night temperature may 
be kept at an intermediate warmth of 50° 
or 55°, with 5° or 10° higher in the day. 
Give more heat about the beginning of 
March, shortly after which they will re- 
quire moving into other pots, which should 
be 3 inches or 4 inches larger; use soil of 
a similar description to that advised at 
the last removal, and again pinch out the 
points of all shoots that have got so long 
as to have a straggling appearance. As the 
summer advances treat as recommended 
during the preceding. It is naturally so 
free in flowering that it will bloom in a 
small*state; if blooming subjects are re- 
quired, a portion of the plants may be 
allowed to flower, and in that case no 
further stopping must be resorted to until 
after the blooming is over. Those intended 
to be grown on so as to get them up to a 
considerable size with as little delay as 
possible, must be stopped as they require 
it, and all will bear another shift about 
July. Be guided by the condition of the 
roots and the size of the plants individu- 
ally in determining the size of the pots 
they are moved into. Continue to treat 
as in the previous autumn and during the 
following winter as before. From this 
time forward the treatment required will 
be of a routine character as regards spring 
potting, which will be all the shift the 
plants will need during the year. They 
may be expected to flower in June each 
season, and if, on the decay of the blooms, 
they are cut outand not much length of the 
shootsremoved, they will again flower by the 
middle of September. When in bloom the 
plants will bear moving to a conservatory 
or other house where required for decora- 
tive purposes. 
After the second flowering they must 
