90 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants 



CAMELLIA. 



co\'ered with some of the turfy matter 

 selected from the soil, so as to etfectually 

 jnevent the finer portion from getting do\\Ti 

 ani(«ig them. In jjotting, ram the new 

 soil to make it quite close and as solid as 

 the ball. If this is not done, when water 

 is given it will pass off through the new 

 material, lea\dng the old quite drj', in 

 which case a sickly condition of the plants 

 will follow. After potting, replace them 

 in the house or pit they have pr■e^^ously 

 occupied, keep them a little close, shade as 

 heretofore, and syringe in the afternoons. 

 They will not need water at the root for 

 some days, during which time any roots 

 that have been broken will have time to 

 heal. The reason for potting Camellias 

 when their growth is approaching comple- 

 tion, and at a tin ^ different from that 

 found the best for most plants, is that early 

 in the season, for some time previous to 

 any development of top growth, their roots 

 are actually at work, and from their ex- 

 ceptionally brittle nature, especially whilst 

 young, they cannot be disturbed without 

 injury to an extent that generally seriously 

 interferes with the top growth for the 

 season. The evil consequences of this are 

 avoided by moving them at the time here 

 adA-ised ; but the potting, particularly with 

 plants that have acquired considerable size, 

 and whose flowering is of much conse- 

 ()uence, nnist not be deferred too long — 

 that is until the flower-buds have growm 

 to any considerable size, or the inevitable 

 result will be that they \\i\\ fall off. The 

 roots will soon enter the new soil, as, when 

 the plants are in good health, they keep on 

 growing after the wood-growth is com- 

 pleted. They will now rec^uire no warmth 

 but simply ordinary greenhouse protection, 

 with plenty of air ; they should be slightly 

 shaded during the middle of the day, when 

 the weather is bright, so long as the sun is 

 poweifal. The soil even during the 

 autumn and winter must never be allowed 

 to get dry. As to teniperatuie, they will 

 neei^l nothing more than sutticient to keep 

 out frost. 



Having a natural free disposition to 

 flower, even in a very small state, they 

 will bloom the ensuing spring, but if their 

 flowers are needed for cutting, they should 

 not have much or any of the wood re- 

 moved with them while so young, or it 

 will interfere with their growth ; for most 

 purposes in which Camellia flowers are 

 now used, they are cut or twisted off' with- 

 out any wood attached, and afterwards 

 mounted on -wires. This is a great gain to 

 the plants, even when large and strong, as 

 it enables them to produce a full crop of 

 flowers eveiy year, which was not the case 



when many of the shoots were cut with the 

 flowers — a practice frequently carried so 

 far as to bring about a stunted, unhealthy 

 condition. Each subsequent year's treat- 

 ment Avill be similar to that advised for 

 the first, so far as warmth, shade, and 

 moisture during the season they are making 

 their growth are concerned. They should 

 be potted at such intervals as they require 

 it, but this will not be necessary every 

 year, even in their younger stages, and as 

 they get large they will frequently go on 

 for years without additional room. At the 

 same time, they must not !>e too much 

 confined at the root, and whenever they 

 evince signs of weakness by making less 

 growth they should be moved to larger 

 pots or tubs. As they get big enough for 

 the latter, any branches that show a dis- 

 position to outgrow and impoverish the 

 weaker ones should be shortened back and 

 bent dowm ; but with sufficient room and 

 fair treatment when the training has been 

 properly attended to in the early stages of 

 their existence, the natural habit of most 

 varieties is such as to entail little difficulty 

 on this head. 



Some growers fully expose their plants 

 out in the ojien air during the summer 

 after the flowers are set ; but this is a bad 

 practice, as if stood where the foliage is 

 sufficiently shaded by trees or walls to 

 l^revent its getting discoloured by the sun, 

 they are exposed to heavy rains, whereby 

 the soil gets saturated to an extent that 

 causes it to become sour. This often in- 

 duces a diseased condition of the roots, or, 

 if less serious in its consequences, causes 

 the buds to fall off later when they should 

 be near approaching expansion. The buds 

 will drop too if the j^lants ever get too dry 

 at the roots after the buds have attained 

 any considerable size, or if they are kept in 

 too high a temperature ^vith insufficient 

 moisture in the atmosjjhere ; in fact, 

 Camellias will not liear any attempt at 

 forcing. Some kinds however open their 

 flowers much more freely in a temperature 

 a little above that of an ordinary green- 

 house, but where there is a disposition to 

 accelerate their flowering, 45° to 48" in the 

 night, with 6° or 8° more in the day, is hot 

 enough. 



If Camellias are required to bloom 

 earlier than they have done the preceding 

 year, they should, after the flowers are set, 

 be kept in heat until the buds are grown 

 to a size that will enable them to expand 

 without the api^lication of anything much 

 above a gieenhouse temperature, after they 

 have once been removed from the warmth 

 to which they have 1jeen subjected whilst 

 making growth and setting their buds. 



