150 



Greenhouse and titove Plants. 



DIPLADEN'IA. 



avIulIi they have l>een attached, and at 

 once put them on the trellises on Avhich 

 they are to be grown ; these should be 

 made of strong galvanised wire 2 feet 3 

 inches through by 2 feet 6 inches in height 

 above the pot. These trellises may appear 

 small, but they look very bad when not 

 well covered with f(diage, and the bunches 

 of flowers, which should never be tied in 

 too stiffly, will project on all sides to a dis- 

 tance of 6 inches or 8 inches from the 

 trellis, making the plants large enough for 

 any purpose. The ends of the wire ought 

 to be 9 inches longer, so as to have suffi- 

 cient hold of the soil, and shoiild be inserted 

 just inside the rim of the pot and fastened 

 securely by stout sticks. These should 

 come half-way up the inside of the trellis, 

 and be secured to it to keep the whole 

 firmly in its place ; without these sticks 

 the ti-ellises are liable to swing about 

 and injure the plants when moved. Train 

 the shoots e^'enly round the trellis, taking 

 care to furnish the bottom first. Growth 

 from this tinre imtil the days lengthen will 

 be somewhat slow. Through November, 

 December, and January keep the night 

 temperature nearly up to 70", with a rise 

 of 5' in the day. A good bed of tan is of 

 great advantage to the plants, which should 

 stand above it ; Dipladenias should never 

 be plunged. They are very impatient of 

 any excess of moisture at the roots, and 

 when plunged it is not always easy to tell 

 when they require Avater ; it also makes 

 them much more tender by the way in 

 which it acts upon them, and in most 

 houses they are, when plunged, too far 

 from the light. Run the shoots up thin 

 strings fastened from the trellis to the 

 roof, keeping them in this position until 

 they have begun to open their flowers. By 

 the end of February the night temperature 

 may be raised 3° or 4°, and about the be- 

 ginning of April it can be allowed to run 

 up to 85° or 90" in the day with sun-heat, 

 which will answer through the summer ; 

 admit a little air, but allow no cold cur- 

 rents to come in contact with the plants. 

 Close early, .syringing at the same time. 

 As the sun gets powerful, the flowers will 

 be benefitedby a little shade in the middle 

 of the day, but the plants do not require it. 

 When the bunches begin to open, tiain the 

 shoots neatly i-ound the trellis, so as to 

 have it covered uniformly with foliage and 

 ilowers. Assist the plants with manure- 

 water all through the season from this 

 time, and they will keep on throwing out 

 fresh shoots that will show bloom when 

 from 12 inches to 18 inches in length. Do 

 not allow these to get twisted together, and 

 give more air during the summer. They 



Avill, if all goes on well, continue to 

 liloom freely thiough the summer. At the 

 end of September they shouhl be taken off 

 the trellises, and the shoots cut back to 

 within 6 feet of the collar, tying them 

 loosely to a few sticks inserted in the soil. 

 The temperature now should be about 65" 

 by night. In three weeks they will have 

 broken sufficiently for moving ; then tuin 

 them out of the pots and reduce the ball 

 quite one-half, removing as much of the 

 old soil as is possible without injuring the 

 roots. Place them in 15-inch or 16-inch 

 2)ots, which size is large enough for any 

 Dipladenia, as, owing to the annual re- 

 newal of so much of the soil, they do not 

 require more room than this. In potting, 

 always keep the collars of the plants well 

 up, only just or barely covering the 

 tuberous portion of the roots, by which 

 means they are not nearly so liable to 

 suffer in this their most tender part. At 

 once place them on the trellises again, and 

 treat in ev^-ry way as recommended for the 

 preceding year. Dipladenias can be grown 

 somewhat cooler than has just been recom- 

 ^ mended ; but to get as much and as long a 

 continuance of flower from them each season 

 as they are capable of, they need to be 

 treatecl as above. All make beautiful 

 I climbers for draping the roof of a stove, the 

 I splendid colour of their flowers being seen to 

 I the best advantage thus hanging ; but even 

 j when grown in this way they should not 

 be planted out, as they succeed best in pots 

 I where the soil can in a great measure be 

 removed each year. In growing Dipla- 

 denias it is necessary to keep the soil drier 

 than in the case of most stove plants. 



The following well deserve a place in 

 every stove : — 

 i D. avuibilis. An excellent free-flower- 

 i ing sort, the blooms distinct in colour, deep 

 j rose, with amj^le foliage. One of the best 

 I plants in cultivation. 



j D. amcena. A free-flowering variety, 

 I with pale, flesh-coloured flowers, which 

 are produced in medium-sized bunches. 



1). boliviensis. Bears delicate white flowers 

 much smaller than either of the preceding, 

 and is veiy distinct from them. 



D. Brearleyaim. This has very large 

 flowers, from three to four being ojjen on each 

 bunch at a time. The coloui' is not easy to 

 describe. It is, when properly brought 

 out, extremely rich, differing from any 

 other flower we ever saw — an intense deep 

 reddish-crimson, with a lustre like a dark 

 velvety Rose. The plant has fine dark- 

 green leaves, is a remarkably robust giowei-, 

 and equally free floAverer. 



D. crassinoda. A more slender-habited 

 plant than the preceding, with thinner 



