176 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



toiigli texture requisite to enable tliein to 

 last long in good condition. By autumn 

 the young stock Avill have made con- 

 siderable progress ; reduce the tempera- 

 ture before winter, when 60° at night 

 will answer ; give l_ess water d iiring Avinter, 

 but the soil must not be allowed to get so 

 dry as to injure the foliage. Give addi- 

 tional pot- room in spring and treat them 

 as before in the matter of heat, air, watei', 

 and shade. If afforded sufficient room 

 they will grow large, but for most 

 purposes it will generally be found better 

 to retain them only so long as they are 

 within a limited size, and to ])ropagate 

 young plants to take the place of the old 

 ones. 



The following will be found to be de- 

 sii able kinds : — 



F. Cooperii. A large-growing, handsome 

 species, the leaves of which are deep green, 

 and the midrib and nerves bright crimson. 

 A native of Australia. 



F. dealbafa. A stout-growing, bushy 

 plant, with leaves from 10 to 12 inches long, 

 green above, silvery- white beneath. From 

 Peru. 



F. ehurnea. This comes from the East 

 Indies ; its leaves are from 14 to 18 inches 

 in length by 8 or 10 inches in width, ob- 

 long-elliptic in shape. 



F. eladica. An Indian species that 

 thrives much the quickest in stove heat, 

 but will live and grow in a temperature 

 little above that of a greenhouse. Its bold, 

 glossy leaves and vigorous constitution are 

 well kno^vn ; it is one of the best room 

 plants in cultivation. 



F. elegans. This species has large leaves, 

 cordate-ovate, 20 inches or more in length; 

 the young shoots and petioles are covered 

 Avith a downy coat, not unlike that of some 

 Rhopalas. A native of Java. 



F. exsculpata. This has elegant leaves 

 with prominent lobes, the divisions being 

 deeply cut so as to give the plant an ap- 

 pearance like that of some of the denser 

 fronded Ferns. It comes from the South 

 Sea Islands. 



F. Parcellii. This is a very distinct 

 species from the South Sea Islands ; it is 

 a free grower ; the leaves are handsomely 

 variegated, dark green and white. 



F. Porteana. A stately species, with 

 deep green, thick, glossy leaves of large 

 size. Philippine Islands. 



Insects. — Few insects affect these plants 

 so as to give much trouble ; the syringing 

 to which they are subjected during the 

 growing season is generally sufficient to 

 keep them clean. When anything further 

 is required, syringe freely with, or dip the 

 plants in, insecticide. 



FICUS. 



(Greenhouse.) 



The two forms of creeping Ficus, F. 

 repens and F. repens minima, are often 

 used as greenhouse climbers with good 

 effect for covering walls, for which pur- 

 pose they are well adapted by their close 

 climbing habit and compact foliage. 



Their propagation is of the easiest 

 possible description ; they will strike from 

 shoot-cuttings at any time of the year, in 

 a little warmth, in sand and loam or peat ; 

 when they are rooted give larger pots, or 

 at once plant them out where they are to 

 be grown. The flowers are insignificant. 

 They come from India. 



Insects. — Aphides sometimes affect the 

 young shoots, for which fumigate. If 

 troubled with scale syringe when at rest 

 with insecticide. 



FITTONIA. 



These are evergreen stove herbaceous 

 plants of dwaif habit, with compact foliage 

 covered with a beautiful variegated netted 

 venation, that stands out prominently from 

 the ground colour of the leaves, which iu 

 some of the kinds is bright green, in others 

 of a dark reddish-brown hue. The plants 

 have succulent stems that root freely, as 

 they spread on the surface, into any loose 

 or earthy matter within their reacla ; for 

 this reason they are most useful for cloth- 

 ing the surface of stages and inside borders 

 of warm plant-houses, to effect which no- 

 thing further is required than to prepare 

 a few inches of the top with loose material, 

 such as a mixture of peat or loam with a 

 little leaf-mould and plenty of sand to 

 keep it open. This should be done in 

 spring just as growth commences, after 

 which the young jjlants should be trans- 

 ferred to the sjjaces prepared for them ; 

 they may consist of crowns with three 

 or four joints each that have been struck 

 in the ordinary way by putting them a 

 few inches apart in large pans filled with 

 sand, kept moist and close for a week or 

 two. 



Fittonias are very useful for filling 

 hanging baskets, or for covering the sur- 

 face, both top and bottom, of baskets con- 

 taining other plants, as they will root and 

 thrive in the Moss that is generally used 

 for lining the baskets if this is only kept 

 moist, lor it is well to observe that the\- 

 require a continually moist medium foV 

 their roots. They also look well grown in 

 large pans and allowed to hang over the 

 sides, covering the whole with a dense 

 growth of their exceedingly pretty leaves. 



