290 



Greenhouse and Stove Planfu. 



soil similar to that in which they were 

 first potted, and continue to treat as before 

 until the end of August, when gradually 

 give more air and cease syringing ; but 

 all through the season do not let the soil 

 get so dry as to cause the leaves to flag, as 

 if this occurs they will fall off before the 

 blooming time, whicli detracts materially 

 from their appearance. 



Keeping them cooler through September 

 will check further growth, and admit of 

 the wood getting matured, but the tem- 

 perature should not be allowed to fall too 

 low in the nights. If very large heads are 

 wanted, the plants must be kept their full 

 length, which, if they have been well 

 managed and are strong will probably now 

 be 4 feet in height ; if smaller beads on 

 dwarfer growth are preferred, the plants 

 should be kept in a growing temperature, 

 and about the end of September the shoots 

 should be half cut through some 8 or 10 

 inches below the point, leaving them thus 

 half severed for a fortnight. In that time 

 the base of the cut part will get 'callused 

 over, when they may be cut away alto- 

 gether, and each of the heads put in a 

 6-inch pot filled with fine sandy soil. Kept 

 close and moist like ordinary cuttings they 

 will soon root, when they must be kept on 

 growing slowly, and in this way they will 

 produce nice heads of bloom on stems that 

 will not be more than 15 or 18 inches high 

 when in flower, but the bracts will not be 

 near so large as if the plants were left their 

 full length. If some of the stock aie kept 

 somewhat cooler, say in a temperature of 

 about 55° until after Christmas, and then 

 removed to a little more warmtli, they will 

 come in later and last correspondingly 

 longer. Such of the old plants as aie 

 grown on a second year should be cut 

 back to within a few inches of the collar 

 and started about the time advised for the 

 production of cuttings ; when they have 

 broken into growth partially shake them 

 out, giving pots a size or two larger. 

 They will make several shoots the second 

 season. They may be kept dwarfer if de- 

 sired by treating them cooler with more 

 ail through the growing season, but, so 

 managed, the heads -will be smaller. 



There is a variety of the plant w-iih 

 double bracts, that is, the coloured floral 

 leaves are much more numerous than in 

 the ordinarj^ type ; it is well worth grow- 

 ing, as also the white-bracted form of the 

 original kind. They all succeed under the 

 same treatment. 



Insects. — The juices of these plants are 

 too acrid for insects to trouble them much, 

 although aphides will sometimes attack 

 them, and may be destroyed by fumigation. 



POLIANTHES TUBEROSA. 



(Tuberose.) 



Few plants can be had in bloom over 

 so long a portion of the year as Tuberoses. 

 Their perfume is much liked. The climate 

 of this country does not suit them, conse- 

 quently the bulbs are grown in different 

 parts of the world — Italy, the United 

 States, and Africa — and after being im- 

 ported and flowered once they are dis- 

 carded. 



To have them in bloom over a lengthened 

 period they should be potted at clift'erent 

 times, a portion as soon as the bulbs can 

 be had after they are imported, which is 

 in the latter end of the year ; two more 

 pottings should be made at intervals of two 

 months afterwards. Good loanr is the best 

 to grow them in, with a little leaf-mould 

 and sand ; 6-inch pots are large enough 

 for the largest bulbs ; drain well, make 

 the soil moderately firm in the pots, 

 leaving the tops of the bulbs well up above 

 the soil. One of the principal things to 

 attend to in their cultivation is to never 

 let the soil have much water until they have 

 made roots and begun to grow. For early 

 blooming they should be plunged in a 

 bottom heat of from 60° to 70°, the tem- 

 perature of the house being about 70° in 

 the daytime, with air admitted ; give no 

 water until the leaves appear, and keep 

 the soil fairly moist after they begin to 

 grow freely. For later flowering the pots 

 should be stood on a damp bottom, such as 

 the earthen floor of a house, or pit, the mois- 

 ture from which will be absorbed by the pots 

 and communicated to the soil, so that little 

 water need be given before top growth has 

 commenced. Bring them on in heat, as 

 advised for the earlier lot, so as to give a 

 succession. The plants have a natural dis- 

 position to grow tall, and to keep them 

 from being dra^wTi they should have plenty 

 of light ; as soon as they have begun to 

 grow away freely keep the flower stems 

 near the glass. 



The undermentioned varieties are all 

 good : — 



African. 



American. 



Italian. 



Tlie Pearl. 



Insects. — Aphides are sometimes trouble- 

 some, for these fumigate. 



POLYGALA. 



These handsome and very distinct ever- 

 green greenhouse plants are natives of the 

 Cape, and are deserving of general culti- 

 vation, not alone for exhibition purposes. 



