206 



Greenhuuse and Stuve Plants 



HIBISCUS. 



water, which will at once induce the plants 

 to break freely from the greater portion of 

 the last summer's shoots, from the points 

 of which before they extend far the flower- 

 spikes will make their appearance. From 

 this time liquid manure twice a week will 

 be of considerable assistance. The syringe 

 must now be used with caution, or it may 

 cause the flower-buds to fall off. Do not 

 keep the plants too hot while flowering, 

 and when the blooming is over allow them 

 to get sufiiciently dry at the roots to cause 

 the leaves to flag at intervals of a fortnight 

 or so, after which they must be cut freely 

 back, and at once turned out of the pots, 

 removing half the old soil, and cutting in 

 the roots freely. This, from its free- 

 rooting character, the plant will bear as 

 well as an Allamanda. They may be 

 either returned to the same pots, or, if 

 required to fill a large space, transferred to 

 others a size or two larger, after which 

 encourage them to make plenty of growth 

 during the summer, to stimulate which 

 give manure- water once a week. Manage 

 through the autumn and winter as before. 

 Again, when the spring flowering is over, 

 repeat the cutting back and partial dis- 

 rooting, with renewal of the soil. Should 

 the plants be required to flower on trellises, 

 all that is necessary is to take the shoots 

 down from the position where they have 

 been grown near the roof and to train them 

 on the trellises before growth commences 

 in the spring. After blooming cut back 

 and repot, and place them where the 

 shoots can be trained near the glass as 

 previously. This Hexacentris is a plant 

 so easily raised and so quickly grown to a 

 considerable size, that it is not advisable to 

 keep old specimens too long, younger 

 examples being preferable. 



H. lutea has lighter-coloured flowers 

 than H. mysorensis, to which it forms a 

 suitable companion ; it requires the same 

 treatment. Also from Mysore. 



Insects. — Hexacentris are somewhat 

 subject to red spider if the syringe is used 

 insuSiciently, but if the plants are freely 

 damped overhead every day during the 

 growing season, as advised, this insect will 

 have little chance of gaining a footing. If 

 affected with mealy bug or scale, dip and 

 wash in a strong solution of insecticide 

 when the plants are cut back after 

 flowering. 



HIBBERTIA. 



Most of the species of this genus are low 

 growing evergreen shrubs, but a few are 

 climbers, also evergreen, suitable for a 

 greenhouse or conservatory, and are effec- 

 tive when in bloom. 



They are distinct-looking plants, and 

 can be propagated and grown on in the 

 way recommended for Kennedyas, which 

 see. 



The undermentioned are climbers : — 



H. Cunninghamii. A yellow-flowered 

 species that blooms in summer. From 

 King George's Sound. 



H. dentata. Also has yellow flowers, 

 produced in summer. From New Holland. 



H. volubilis. Flowers yellow ; a summer 

 bloomer. From the Cape of Good Hope. 



HIBISCUS. 



Those most suitable for growing in pots 

 are the rosa sinensis section ; as they come 

 from India and the South Sea Islands, 

 they require a good deal of warmth. They 

 are evergreen, and attain considerable 

 height, but their free-blooming disposition, 

 flowering as they do when not more than 

 a few inches high in small pots, renders 

 them desirable plants for indoor cultiva- 

 tion, especially as they are easily propa- 

 gated by means of cuttings. They also 

 bear pruning well, breaking readily when 

 freely cut back, and in this way they may 

 be kept for some time within a pot of 

 moderate size. The individual flowers oi 

 the single as well as the double, or, more 

 properly speaking, semi-double varieties 

 are very effective ; in shape they are not 

 unlike those of a Petunia, but much larger. 

 The time of flowering differs considerably 

 according to the manner in which they are 

 treated, but they usually bloom through 

 the summer and autumn months. 



Propagation is effected by means of cut- 

 tings, which, as we have said, strike readily 

 in sufficient heat at any time when bits of 

 haK-ripened wood can be obtained. The 

 most suitable shoots for rooting quickly 

 can be got from plants that have been cut 

 back about the close of the year, and after- 

 wards kept in a temperature of 65° by 

 night, and correspondingly warmer in the 

 daytime. Thus treated they break freely. 

 When the shoots are about 4 inches long 

 they should be taken ofi" with a heel and 

 placed singly in small pots, half filled with 

 sandy soil, the upper portion consisting 

 wholly of sand. They should then be 

 placed in a fiame or under propagating 

 glasses, where they can be kept close and 

 moderately moist, conditions under which 

 they will root in a few weeks. As soon as 

 they are well furnished with roots, move 

 them into 4-inch or 6-inch pots ; they will 

 succeed in either peat or loam, but, as with 

 most free-growing subjects of a similar 

 character, we prefer loam where it can be 

 had of a good, turfy character, as in it 



