190 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



GOMPHOLOBIUM. 



G. M. Alphcmd. White tube, violet 

 sfK'tted throat, purple limb. 



G. M. Grivet. Throat spotted with 

 maroon, bordered with violet, mouth 

 spotted with violet. 



G. Mogul. Tube spotted with red, crim- 

 son purple limb. 



G. Mrs. William Bull. Red, flaked with 

 white. 



G. Ne Plus Ultra. White, with crimson 

 throat, spotted with carmine. 



G. Washington. Deep vermilion. 



G. Wilhelmine. White mouth, banded 

 with blue, throat spotted with rose. 



Insects. — Gloxinias are not usually much 

 troubled with insects. Thrips will, how- 

 ever, sometimes attack the leaves, in which 

 case sponging and fumigation are the best 

 remedies. If aphides make their appear- 

 ance on the young flower-stalks they can 

 be best destroyed by means of fumigation. 



GNIDIA. 



Evergreen greenhouse flowering shrubs, 

 natives of the Cape of Good Hope. All 

 the species bear yellow flowers, and are 

 summer bloomers. They are not equal 

 from a gardening point of view to many 

 plants that thrive under similar conditions. 

 They succeed with treatment such as re- 

 commended for Adenandras, which see. 



GOMPHIA. 



Evergreen stove shrubs, some of which 

 grow to considerable size. Their flowers 

 are not equal in appearance to those pro- 

 duced by many occupants of the stove, 

 although they are distinct in appearance. 



Their method of propagation, and the 

 after treatment they require, are such as 

 recommended for Gardenias (which see) 

 except that at no time must they be kept 

 so cool as Gardenias may be. 



G. decora. This species grows to a good 

 size, forming a large bush. Its flowers are 

 yellow, and are produced in summer. 

 From South America. 



G. ohtusifolia. A distinct-looking kind, 

 a low grower. Also a summer bloomer, 

 the flowers yellow. A native of Jamaica. 



G. Theophrasta. Has bold, handsome 

 foliage, and attains a large size if allowed 

 sufiicient room. A yellow-flowered summer 

 bloomer. From South America. 



GOMPHOLOBIUM. 



These most elegant pea-blossomed ever- 

 green greenhouse plants are natives of New 

 Holland. Viewed from a short distance^ 

 their thread-like branches and incon- 



spicuous leaves are scarcely perceptible, 

 giving the flowers the appearance of being 

 suspended in the air. 



They are naturally climbers in their 

 native country, clinging to other more 

 robust-growing plants, consequently in a 

 cultivated state they require support. They 

 are sometimes grown on wire trellises, of a 

 balloon or circular shape, but these are 

 objectionable, because the thread-like stems 

 get so entwined round the wires that they 

 cannot be removed without seriously in- 

 juring the plants, even when they get too 

 large for the trellis they are first put on, 

 and if placed on a large one to begin with, 

 it has for some time a bare, unfurnished 

 appearance. There is nothing equal to 

 thin, painted sticks over which to train the 

 shoots, and care should be taken never to 

 allow them to become too much entangled. 



In selecting young stock, it is necessary 

 to see that they are quite clear from any 

 of the worst kinds of insects that plants 

 are subject to — such as white and brown 

 scale. The Gompholobiums are com- 

 paratively tender plants, and are not able 

 to bear any application of insecticide strong 

 enough to kill the insects. They require 

 to be wintered in a light situation in a good 

 house, where a heat is kept up in the night 

 of from 40^ to 45° ; they are plants that 

 cannot bear keeping in so low a tempera- 

 ture as some other natives of the same 

 country, as they are liable to become a prey 

 to mildew, which destroys the leaves when 

 it is scarcely perceptible upon them. In 

 such a situation as above they will keep 

 growing slowly through the winter. They 

 are subjects that always require more than 

 ordinary care in watering, having very fine 

 roots, but as their feeding fibres are never 

 apparently quite at rest, they must never 

 be allowed to get too dry. It must not, 

 however, be understood that they will bear 

 water-giving before the soil is in a state 

 approaching dryness, as might be done 

 with impunity to strong, coarse-rooted 

 plants. 



They strike from shoot-cuttings, which 

 should be taken off about the end of April, 

 such as are in a growing state, and have 

 got moderately firm, being selected. The 

 cuttings should consist of three or four 

 joints each, and must be put an inch or 

 two apart in 6 or 7 inch pots, in sand, 

 covered with a propagating glass, kept 

 moist, moderately close and shaded, in an 

 intermediate temperature, where they may 

 be expected to root in a few weeks. Then 

 remove the glasses, encourage growth by a 

 genial atmosphere, and when fully rooted 

 move singly into small pots, drained, and 

 filled with fine peat, to which add a good 



