LASIANDRA. 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



233 



iug the roots much. When they have 

 bloomed the next autumn it will be best 

 to destroy them, unless where required 

 very large, as young plants are in every 

 way to be jjreferred, and from their quick 

 and easy growth succession stock can al- 

 ways be brought on to take their place. 



The other variety, L. macrantha, when 

 first let out, very much disappointed those 

 who grew it, from its straggling upright 

 habit, which no amount of stopping and 

 attentive cidtivation appeared capable of 

 counteracting, and for this reason, in most 

 cases, it was discarded as worthless. It 

 frequently happens that a plant which is 

 admirably adapted for some particular 

 purpose gets a bad character by reason of 

 its inability to conform to a process of 

 culture opposed to its natural habit. Thus 

 it was with this Lasiandra : its straggling 

 growth, although rendering it untit for 

 growing into a compact bushy specimen, 

 naturally suits it for the purpose of train- 

 ing up a pillar, wall, or rafter ; giown in 

 any of these situations in a structure, with 

 a few degrees more warmth in the winter 

 than the ordinary hard wooded house, it is 

 one of the finest flowering plants in exist- 

 ence, blooming for weeks in such profusion 

 that no one, except those who have seen it 

 so employed, can form any idea of the 

 gorgeous effect it produces. It forms large 

 clusters of from a dozen to a score of 

 flowers at the points of the shoots, which 

 keep on opening in succession for A\'eeks 

 together, but to be grown to perfection in 

 such situations it should not be confined to 

 a pot, but should be planted out in a well- 

 drained bed of good loam, to which has 

 been added a liberal admixture of sand, 

 with the addition of a good sprinkling of 

 charcoal or bricks, broken the size of 

 pigeons' eggs, to prevent the soil getting 

 sour. 



In thus using this plant, as in the case 

 of many others, tlie mistake is frequently 

 committed of turning them out whilst in a 

 small state ; so treated the soil becomes 

 soui- before the plant has «'.nough roots 

 to lay suflicient hold of it. On this point it 

 may be, and frequently is, urged that 

 plants in a state of nature commence their 

 existence, even from the germination of 

 the seed, in an unconfined space, without 

 the soil becoming unsuited for their well- 

 being ; but in the open air the conditions 

 of the soil, in common with other things, 

 are altogether ditt'erent ; fidl exposure to 

 the air and light prevents its becoming in 

 such condition as is inevitable in the best 

 ventilated and light-admitting structure, 

 and in nature's planting it must be borne 

 in mind that all do not grow that come in 



contact with the soil — only such as happen 

 to be placed under conditions of situation 

 suitable to their requirements. Thus with 

 plants that are intended to be turned out 

 in borders, such as the one under considera- 

 tion, we have always found, except in 

 the case of extremely strong-growing sub- 

 jects, that it was much the best way to 

 grow them on for a time in pots until they 

 had acquired considerable strength before 

 turning out, with the precaution, at the 

 time of planting, of spreading the roots 

 out so as to prevent the ill-ett'ects of the 

 spiral root-curve inseparable from pot 

 culture. For the above reason it is better 

 to grow this Lasiandra in a pot for a 

 season, treating it in every way as to soil, 

 water, air, and shading, as has been advised 

 for L. macrantha floribunda, but not to 

 stop the shoots, simply growing the plants 

 on with a single stem until they have 

 attained the height which will best adapt 

 tliem for the position they are required 

 for. Afterwards it will be necessary to 

 take out the points, so as to induce the 

 formation of shoots to cover sufficiently 

 their allotted space, when they will require 

 nothing more than being kept tied loosely 

 in, witli sutficient use of the knife after 

 flowering, to keep them within bounds. 

 In such situations this and other plants 

 frequently get weakly, through the soil 

 becoming impoverished, to prevent which 

 every spring, before active growth com- 

 mences, an inch or two of the surface-soil 

 should be removed and new added, with 

 an occasional application of manure-water 

 during the gi'owing season ; so treated they 

 will last many years. 



Insects. — Lasiandras are not plants per- 

 ticularly subject to insects. Ked spidei' 

 will sometimes make its appearance if the 

 syringe is not sufficiently used ; in such 

 case repeated washings with clean water 

 will be the best remedy, the texture of the 

 leaves being such as not to bear without 

 danger of injury any application of the 

 usual insecticides. Scale, either white or 

 brown, will live upon them ; the brown 

 sjjecies is usually small and puny, but in 

 such state it is not so easily destroyed as 

 when upon a plant that suits it better, and 

 on which it is found in that peculiar fat 

 condition which indicates good feeding. 

 Where it exists upon these plants, the best 

 way to proceed is, after flowering, to 

 shorten back, cutting away all the leaves 

 and then washing thoroughly with insecti- 

 cide — repeating this two or three times in 

 the course of ten days. The plants, after 

 this cutting in, should be kept in a tem- 

 l^erature of 50°, so as to induce them to 

 break, for it often happens when any plant 



