132 



Greenhoune and SStove Plants. 



CURCULIGO. 



large leaves as near the base as possiljle ; 

 othei'wise tliey will have a thin, straggling 

 appearance, tliat can never be correcteil 

 until tliey are headed down. As this 

 Cupania is a strong grower, it prefers good 

 fibrous loam to peat. Move the young 

 plants into larger pots before the roots get 

 cramped, 6 or 7 incli will not be too large. 

 During the spring and summer they will 

 bear as much heat as most of the ordinary 

 stove occupants, with a little shade in the 

 middle of the day and air proportionate to 

 the weather, syringing daily through the 

 growdng season ; this is necessary to keep 

 down red spider and thrij^s, both of which 

 frequently attack the plant. A lower 

 temperature in the autumn and winter 

 will suffice, but it is not well to let the 

 heat get below 60' in the night. Move 

 into larger pots as more root-room is 

 required ; the size of pots which are ulti- 

 mately given will dej^end on the size the 

 plants are required to be grown to con- 

 sequent on the size of the house they are 

 intended to be kept in. This Cupania is 

 very effective for an exhibition group 

 when it gets 8 or 10 feet in height, but 

 smaller examples will be more generally 

 useful. 



When larger than required the best way 

 to proceed is in the spring just before 

 -rowtli commences, to let the soil get 

 moderately dry, and then to head do%vn to 

 within 6 or 8 inches of the j^ots, putting 

 them at once afterwards in a brisk heat to 

 assist them to break. All the shoots that 

 are made, excej^t one to each plant, may be 

 taken off and struck in the way described ; 

 the stools should then be turned out of the 

 pots, any small roots that are matted at the 

 bottom of the balls cut off, and most of the 

 old soil shaken away, transferring them to 

 smaller pots, but large enough to admit 

 the roots with a little fresh soil. Treat 

 afterwards similarly to when the plants 

 were younger, giving them above all plenty 

 of light, so as to keep the growth short. 

 After heading down, the young shoots will 

 make much lai'ger leaves near the bottom 

 tlian were produced by tlie first growth, 

 and be proportionately more effective 

 amongst large plants. Heading back may 

 be repeated as often as requisite. Where 

 a brisk heat is maintained, two years will 

 generally be as long as the heads can be 

 kept within the bounds of an ordinary 

 stove. C. undulata is a handsome plant but 

 inferior to C. filicifilia. 



Insects. — In addition to thrips and red 

 spider, apliides, scale, and mealy bug will 

 live on Cupanias. The least oljjectionable 

 (jf these pests can be kept under by syring- 

 ing with tepid water ; for scale and bug 



syringe with some insecticide and sponge 

 carefully. 



CUPHEA. 



Most of these pretty free-flowering plant.s^ 

 are evergreen shrults, with a hjw bushy 

 halait, seldom growing much above a foot 

 high. 



They are easily propagated, and as easily 

 grown, requiring treatment similar to 

 Libonia floribunda, which see. 



A considerable number of species have 

 been introduced, but most of them need 

 more warmth than a greenhouse affoids, 

 and are not of sufficient merit to be wcjrth 

 the room they occupy when such numbers 

 of better plants are at command. 



The undermentioned will succeed under 

 greenhouse treatment : — 



C. cinnabarina. Has pale crimson 

 flowers, and comes from Guatemala. 



C. eminens. Flowers red and yellow. 

 l)looms in summer and autumn. From 

 Mexico. 



C. platycaiitra. A Mexican species witli 

 scarlet and white flowers ; blooms con- 

 tinually through the summer. 



CURCULIGO. 



These are stove plants remarkable for 

 their Ijeautiful habit of growth ; the long 

 lance-shaped leaves, borne on well-pro- 

 portioned stalks, are elegantly curved so 

 as to give them a distinct and well-marked 

 character. The leaves are like those of 

 some Palms, while the latter are in their 

 early stages before they are old enough to 

 exhibit the divisions that later on are 

 present. Few things that can be grown 

 in such comparatively small pots are so 

 effective for using among flowering plants, 

 or with those that have massive foliage. 



They are readily increased from suckers, 

 which as the plants get old and lai'ge are 

 produced in moderate numbers ; these 

 suckers should be taken oft" in spring before 

 growth begins, put singly in pots large 

 enough to hold them, and at once placed 

 in a strong heat. Afterwards give more 

 root-room, maintain a brisk heat through 

 the gro-nnng season, with jilenty of light, 

 give a moderate amount of air in the day, 

 with a moist atmosphere, and shade Avhen 

 the weather is sunny. They must not be 

 let to get too cold even in the winter when 

 at rest. They come from India. 



C. recurvata. A green-leaved species 

 much used for decorative purjioses. 



C. recurvata striata. The leaves of this 

 plant are deeply plaited like the gieen 

 species, but have a well-defined white 

 band running down the centre. 



