248 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



MEDINILLA. 



aphides will also live on them, for which 

 fumigate. 



MEDINILLA. 



Medinillas rank among the finest of 

 evergreen stove shrubs, alike handsome in 

 foliage and flowers. The latter are ar- 

 ranged in gracefully-drooping panicles, 

 unlike anything else to which they can be 

 compared, and the plants themselves are 

 among the freest of free growers. They 

 may be cultivated with success even by 

 those who have not had much experience 

 in plant growing ; still, although deserving 

 of general cultivation where sufficient room 

 exists in which to grow them, they are 

 hardly suitable for small houses, for, 

 though their natural free disposition to 

 flower is such that they will bloom in a 

 small state, tlie grand appearance possessed 

 by a fully-developed specimen cannot be 

 realised in the shape of a small plant. 

 Being indigenous to hot countries, it is 

 useless attempting the cultivation of Medi- 

 nillas where a sufficiently high tempera- 

 ture cannot be maintained. To have full 

 justice done to them, they require a good 

 light house, where the growth, as it is 

 formed, is of such a character as to promote 

 the natural free development of flowers ; 

 for although they need a process of ripening 

 the wood by means of dry treatment in 

 autumn, this will not bring out the full 

 disposition to flower to the extent that 

 results from the growth being made under 

 the gradual solidifying process effected in a 

 house under a maximum amount of light. 

 Another great advantage arising fi'om their 

 being cultivated under the conditions here 

 recommended is that the wood produced is 

 short jointed and the foliage comparatively 

 small, a state that admits of the plants 

 when in flower being much more profusely 

 clothed with bloom than they otherwise 

 would be. 



Cuttings taken off in April, or as soon as 

 young growth is produced and half ripened, 

 strike readily inserted singly in 3-inch or 

 4-inch pots half filled with finely-sifted 

 sandy soil, the upper portion all sand ; 

 they must be kept moist and covered, but 

 not too closely, with a bell-glass. Cuttings 

 thus put in in a night temperature of 70°, 

 and proportionately higher in the daytime, 

 will root in three weeks or a month ; then 

 gradually tilt the glasses and ultimately 

 dispense with them altogether, inuring the 

 plants by degrees to the ordinary atmo- 

 sphere of the house. By the time they 

 have made one pair of young leaves they 

 will require more «root-room, and should 

 have their points pinched out to cause 



them to break. Medinillas are free-rooting 

 subjects, and will bear moving into pots 4 

 inches or 5 inches larger than those they 

 are in at this shift. They will succeed in 

 either peat or loam, but we prefer the 

 latter, though in it the foliage will not 

 possess quite so much of the generally 

 prized dark green tint that it will acquire 

 in peat. This is, however, counterbalanced 

 by the habit being made more sturdy and 

 close. Through the summer they will bear 

 as high a temperature as most stove plants 

 receive — say 70° at night, and from 80° to 

 90° by day during sunny weather ; syringe 

 them freely at the time of closing the house 

 in the afternoon, and give plenty of water 

 at the roots. In very bright weather they 

 will require a thin shade ior a few hours 

 during the middle of the day, but on no 

 account should they be subjected to the 

 darkening process which stove plants, 

 collectively, have often to withstand. An 

 impression sometimes prevails that it is 

 necessary to keep out a portion of the light ; 

 whereas all that is v/anted is simply to 

 break the sun's rays. Medinillas should, 

 therefore, always be placed at that end of 

 the stove wherein are located such plants 

 as require the least shading. The natural 

 habit of Medinillas is such as to need but 

 little support ; a stick to the centre shoot 

 and one to each of the side branches will 

 be sufficient. The shoots will very likely 

 again require stopping at the end of July 

 or beginning of August. It is necessary to 

 attend to this in the first stages of the 

 plant's existence, so as to secure a sufficient 

 number of shoots near the base. By the 

 end of August shading should be dispensed 

 with altogether. In the following month 

 give more air and cease syringing overhead, 

 which will gradually induce a state of rest. 

 A night temperature of 60° through the 

 winter will answer with a little more 

 warmth during the day, and just sufficient 

 water at the root to keep the soil from 

 getting too dry. By the end of February 

 the temperature should be raised 5° at 

 night and 8° or 10° by day, with sun-heat. 

 Commence syringing again as soon as the 

 plants exhibit signs of growth, when they 

 may be potted ; a 6-inch or 8-inch shift 

 will not be too much if they are plentifully 

 supplied with roots, and this time the loam 

 may be used in a more lumpy state than 

 hitherto. Put plenty of crocks in the 

 bottom of the pots and secure them well 

 from soil getting amongst them, as these 

 plants, with their large amount of leaf- 

 surface, require a copious supply of water 

 during the growing season. Owing to the 

 natural disposition which the branches 

 have to ramify, there will be no further 



