232 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



LASIANDRA. 



kept close, moist, and shaded in a moderate 

 stove heat, they will root in four or five 

 weeks, when remove the glasses and en- 

 courage growth by continuing to keep 

 warm ; pinch out the points when they 

 have niafle a little progress, give a little 

 shade when it is sunny, and syringe over- 

 liead in the afternoons. By midsummer 

 move into 6 or 7 inch pots ; they will suc- 

 ceed in either peat or loam, the latter 

 being, perhaps, the best ; mix a fair 

 amount of sand with the soil, as these 

 plants with their ample foliage require, 

 when in active growth, a good quantity of 

 water. After potting treat as previously 

 until the middle of August, before which 

 time the shoots should again have been 

 stopped. Keep cooler through the autumn, 

 and winter at 45° in the night, until the 

 end of February, when, to give a long 

 season of growth move into pots 4 inches 

 larger. They will be much benefited at 

 this early season by being placed in a 

 house where they can still receive a little 

 more warmth than the generality of green- 

 house plants require. Through the spring 

 give them plenty of light until the sun 

 gets very powerful, after which, in the 

 middle of the day, they will need a little 

 shade ; give a sufficiency of air during the 

 early part of the day, but close the house 

 with a fair amount of sun-heat, syringing 

 the plants overhead at the same time ; do 

 not let them go short of water while in 

 active growth, or it will have the effect of 

 checking root-action, which would seriously 

 interfere with the season's progress. Pinch 

 out the points of the shoots so as to induce 

 the formation of enough branches to furnish 

 the plants well. L. macrantha floribunda 

 is one of the easiest managed subjects in 

 this respect, but must not have this stop- 

 ping neglected, otherwise it will entail 

 cutting back the strong upright shoots that 

 are formed in the centre of the jjlant, the 

 removal of which will be so much loss in 

 size. By midsummer, if the progress has 

 been satisfactory, the strongest plants will 

 bear another shift into pots 3 inches larger, 

 and the soil should now be a little more 

 lumpy, and should contain as much of 

 the decayed roots of the grass as can be 

 obtained, potting quite hard. Where a 

 good quantity of fibre exists in soil of this 

 description, this plant will make rapid 

 growth, forming a nice half-specimen the 

 second year. Aiter this summer potting 

 keep them a little closer for a fortnight, 

 using plenty of moisture in the atmosphere, 

 and continuing to damp the plants over- 

 head ; keep the strongest shoots well tied 

 out so as to balance their strength, allow- 

 ing the weaker ones to assume an upright 



position, which will much increase their 

 growth. About the beginning of August 

 nip out the points of any that are taking 

 the lead ; but after this time do not stop 

 any more, or it would interfere with theii' 

 flowering. Through September withhold 

 shade, give more air, and cease syringing 

 overhead, to effect the ripening process in 

 the growth and formation of fiower-buds ; 

 by the end of the year, or sometimes 

 earlier, these will be apparent, when the 

 plants should be placed in a temperature 

 of 48° or 50° in the night, to induce them 

 to open freely, when they can be removed 

 to the conservatory, for the decoration of 

 which this subject is most suitable. The 

 temperature here should be similar to such 

 as the plants have been previously in, 

 otherwise the flowers are liable to drop 

 before opening ; after blooming remove to 

 a house where they will be kept about 45° 

 in the night, if lower the leaves are apt to 

 suffer, seriously affecting the roots. 



About the end of February cut the 

 plants back moderately, and place them 

 where the temperature is a few degrees 

 higher, which will cause them soon to 

 bi'eak, after which they should be turned 

 out of the pots and a small portion of the 

 surface-soil removed, giving 3 inches more 

 room, using soil similar to such as hitherto 

 recommended. Tie the strongest branches 

 well out, and treat generally as advised for 

 the preceding season in respect to syring- 

 ing, shade, and air, with attention to stop- 

 ping any shoots that are disposed to take 

 the lead too much ; but this year the 

 plants will, in all probability, not show so 

 much disposition to make unequal growth. 

 They will not require a second pot this 

 season, but must be subjected in the 

 autumn to the slight ripening process, by 

 withholding shade and a drier condition of 

 the atmosphere. When the bloom-buds 

 begin to swell considerably give them a 

 similar temperature to that of the previous 

 autumn, to open their flowers. The time 

 of blooming may, if desired, be somewhat 

 delayed by keeping the plants in a little 

 lower temj^erature, but this must not be 

 carried too fai', by keeping them either too 

 cool or too long under the retarding process, 

 or the result will most likely be the total 

 loss of the flowers, for this is essentially 

 an autumn and winter blooming subject, 

 and unless by accident which gives it a 

 check or treatment out of the ordinary 

 course, it is not disposed to flower at any 

 other season. After blooming the plants may 

 be again cut back and treated in every way 

 similarly to the preceding year, being given 

 a further shift of 3 inches, and a little of 

 the old soil being removed without disturb- 



