GESXERA 



THE BULB BOOK 



GESXEKA 



taken not to wet the expanded 

 blossoms. According to the warmth 

 of the house, the plants may be 

 expected to come into bloom in April, 

 May, or June, when a night tempera- 

 ture of 60' to 65' or even a few 

 degrees lower may be maintained. 



After the flowering period is over 

 the plants gradually ripen off their 

 growth and tubers, and the amount of 

 water is gradually reduced until 

 finally in autumn the leaves have 

 vrithered and the bulbs remain dor- 

 mant in the soil. The jKits should 

 now be transferred to some cooler 

 and more airy position with a night 

 temperature of .50' to 55' F., where 

 they will be free from heavy drip. 

 If placed imder the stages the pots 

 should be turned on their sides, 

 otherwise there is a danger of the 

 dormant tubers either rotting with 

 excessive moisture, or starting into 

 premature growth. 



Propagarion of the tuberous 

 Gesneras Ls effected by means of 

 division of the tubers; or more 

 easily by cuttings of the young 

 shoots. To secure these, the old 

 tubers should be started into growth 

 early in the year, in a temperature of 

 60' F. at night and 70' F. by day, 

 the soil being just moistened. When 

 the shoots are about 2 ins. long they 

 should be severed with a sharp knife 

 beneath a joint, and dibbled into pots 

 or boxes containing rich and very 

 gritty mould, about 2 to 3 ins. ajjart. 

 If put into a close frame or under a 

 hand - light and kept shaded and 

 moist for a few days, they soon root. 

 In due course each little plant may 

 be transferred to a 3-in. pot, in a 

 compost of loam, leaf - mould and 

 sand, again keeping shaded in a moist 

 atmosphere until established. A few 

 weeks later the plants will be large 

 enough for 5-in. or 6-in. pots, for 

 which a similar compost Ls prepared. 



242 



Once i^lants are established they vnU 

 live for years, and the tubers increase 

 in size from year to year like those of 

 Gloxinias and Tuberous Begonias. 

 ^Maen massed in bold groups in the 

 conservatory or stove, the Gesneras 

 with their brilliant scarlet or orange- 

 scarlet blossoms are very effective. 



The following are some of the best 

 species, \vith short descriptions. They 

 all come from Brazil, unless otherwise 

 stated :— 



G. aggregata. — Leaves oblong- 

 ovate, crenate. Flowers scarlet, club- 

 shaped cylindrical, on stems about 2 

 ft. high in summer. (Bot. May. t. 

 2725 ; Bot. Rerj. t. 329.) 



G. Blassi. — Leaves oval heart- 

 shaped, pointed, crenulate, with 

 reddish veins on the under-sui-face. 

 Flowers cinnabar-red, in drooping 

 panicles. 



G. bulbosa.— Leaves broadly ovate, 

 heart - shaped, serrate. Flowers 

 scariet. {Bot. Mag. t. 3041.) 



G. caracasana. — Leaves elliptic, 

 crenulate, ^vrinkled. Flowers red 

 outside, yellowish within, the corolla 

 tube having five small bosses near 

 the base. 



G. cardinalis (G. macrantha). — A 

 striking species with a tuber as big 

 as a man's fist. Leaves large oval 

 heart-shaped, toothed. Flowers large 

 bright red, with a long tube, and 

 borne in a many-flowered terminal 

 cluster, {fiai'hn, 1892, ii. t. 874.) 



G. Claussenlana. — A species with 

 very large tubers and oval heart- 

 shaped wrinkled leaves with crenulate 

 margins. Flowers orange-red, droop- 

 ing, long-stalked. 



G. Cooperi. — Leaves oval heart- 

 shaped pointed. Flowers bright 

 scarlet, drooping, conspicuously dot- 

 ted inside. 



G. Donkelaari. — Leaves almost 

 heart-shaped, green, tinted with 

 purple and red. Flowers bright 



