DIPLADEXIA. 



Greenhouse and Stove PlunU. 



U9 



D. anjijrcea. A siDecies of medium 

 strength, the leaves prettily marked along 

 the nerve margins with silvery-grey. From 

 Colombia. 



D. discolor. A handsome sjDecies, with 

 large leaves, prettily mottled. It comes 

 from Central America. 



D. discolor vittata. A pretty kind, the 

 ground colour of the leaves is green, with 

 a silvery -grey central band. From South 

 America. 



D. illustrafa. A handsome sort, ground 

 colour of the leaves green, with an irregular 

 .silvery band down the centre, and numerous 

 irregular blotches and spots of the same 

 colour dispersed over the entire surface. 

 A native of the Rio Grande du Sul. 



Insects. — Mealy bug and aphides are 

 the only insects we have found troublesome 

 on these plants ; to remove the former 

 syringe freely -with clean water ; for 

 aphides, which sometimes affect the points 

 of the young shoots, fumigate. 



DIPLADENIA. 



Few plants better deserve general culti- 

 vation by all who possess a warm stove than 

 Dij^ladenias. They are of moderate growth, 

 and when well managed may, if I'equired, 

 be induced to flower continuously from the 

 end of April to December. It is not, how- 

 ever, desirable to allow them to bloom so 

 long, having in \'iew the preparation of tlie 

 plants for the ensuing year's flowering ; yet 

 if wanted so late in the autumn, all that is 

 necessary is to defer cutting tlie plants 

 back, and to keep up sufficient heat to in- 

 duce the formation and expansion of tlie 

 blooms. For boucpiets, either half or fully 

 expanded flowers of the lovely rose-coloured 

 D. crassinoda, the wliite, yellow-throated 

 D. boliviensis, or the Vjeautiful blush- 

 tinted D. Williamsii, with its deep rosy 

 throat, have few equals ; for vases or 

 shallow stands these and also the darker 

 varieties aie among the best flowers that 

 can be used, furnishing, as they do, for 

 a long period, a daih' supply of blooms of 

 the most reflned and distinct character. 

 But in gathering them to be th\is used for 

 decorative purposes, care should be taken 

 to cut only the individual flowers with 

 their foot-stalks. It is extravagant to re- 

 move the whole bunch, for if allowed to 

 remain on the j^lant, flowers will keep 

 expanding for some months. The best, 

 most distinct, and desirable kinds have 

 been raised from D. crassinoda, crossed 

 with D. splendens. Some of tliese are much 

 darker in colour than either of theirparents. 



In the cultivation of Dipladenias one 

 point should not be lost sight of, and that is 



the necessity of a brisk temperature. D. cras- 

 sinoda comes from the hot low-lying dis- 

 tricts of Rio de Janeiro, D. splendens from 

 tlie foot of the Organ Mountains ; conse- 

 quently neither the species nor the varieties 

 raised irom them can be expected to succeed 

 without plenty of heat. To flower early 

 in spring they should be kept through the 

 winter at from 66° to 70° during the night. 

 They are easily struck from cuttings made 

 of the young shoots, either consisting of 

 one or a couple of joints. These may be 

 put in any time fiom spring to September, 

 but the wood is in the best condition for 

 making cuttings after the beginning of 

 August. Place them singly in ''small pots 

 half filled with fibrous peat and sand, the 

 upper part all sand ; keep them moderately 

 close under a propagating glass in a tem- 

 peratm-e of 70° or a little over. They will 

 soon strike. "Wlien well rooted, dispense 

 with the glasses, and after the young 

 growth has made some progress move them 

 into 4-inch pots, using the best fibrous peat 

 and a good portion of sand. Encourage 

 them to make root and some to]i-giowth 

 before winter, during which time they 

 should be kept slowly mo^-ing in a tem- 

 perature as near 70° as can be given them. 

 In the spring, about the beginning of 

 March, move them to pots 3 inches or 4 

 inches larger, using in all stages of their 

 growth nothing but good fibrous peat and 

 sand. This is more suitable for them than 

 any mixture of peat, loam, leaf-mould, or 

 other combination. The peat cannot be 

 too fibrous, and after the plants are mo\'ed 

 fi'om the 4-inch pots, it should be used in 

 a lumpy state, the pieces not being broken 

 smaller than bantams' eggs. Good peat of 

 this description should have mixed with it 

 one-sixth part of sand. Drain the pots 

 well, pot moderately firm, and do not give 

 water until the soil has become drier than 

 would be adWsable for most stove plants. 

 Take half a dozen sticks 3 feet in length, 

 and insert them in the soil just inside the 

 pot; round tliese wind the sho()ts,lea%'ingthe 

 points well up, or they will throw out too 

 many side breaks, and keep them through 

 the remainder of the summer in a warm 

 stove, for they will l)ear as much heat as 

 any plants living. Syringe them overhead 

 every afternoon, getting the water well to 

 the underside of the foliage, as they are 

 subject to red spider as well as to scale and 

 mealy bug. By the middle of October 

 move them into 12-inch or 13-inch pots. 

 In potting this time do not disturb the 

 roots any more than is necessary to remove 

 the drainage ; the soil should be similar 

 to that used for the pre^^ous shift. 



Untwist the plants from the sticks to 



