304 



Greenhouse and Stove PLants. 



RONDBLBTIA. 



hesitate to attempt its growth. It is a slow- 

 growing plant, very much finer-rooted 

 than the generality of stove subjects, and 

 a very much slower grower. On this 

 account, and coupled with the fact that it 

 will bear cutting in freely every season, it 

 can be kept to a medium size for a number 

 of years. 



Cuttings made from the young half- 

 ripened shoots will strike freely in a tem- 

 perature of 70° at any time of the year 

 when they can be had in this state, but 

 spring will best suit the generality of 

 growers, for at this season it is usual to 

 propagate a number of different plants, 

 which can be accommodated to a similar 

 routine of treatment. Insert four or six 

 together in a 4-inch pot, drained and half 

 filled with a mixture of sand and peat, the 

 upper portion all sand. Keep moist and 

 moderately close under a propagating glass. 

 They will root in a month, and must be 

 moved singly into small pots before the 

 roots exist in such quantity as to become 

 matted, using good fibrous peat, with 

 enough sand to keep it open. Although 

 the Rondeletia will thrive well in an in- 

 termediate temperature, yet, as it is a slow 

 grower, no harm will be done by keeping 

 it for the first twelve months subjected to 

 more warmth — indeed that will be rather 

 an advantage, as in this case it will attain 

 a larger size in the time. Plenty of light 

 is an essential, and therefore it will be well 

 to place the young plants on a side stage 

 immediately under the glass. Very little 

 shade, and that only during the hottest 

 l^art of the day, will be needed, for its some- 

 what hard-texturetl leaves are not suscep- 

 tible of injury from the sun, excejit where 

 absolute scorching takes place. A mode- 

 rate admission of air in the middle of the 

 day, proportionate to the state of the 

 weather, will be required, and the house 

 should be closed early enough to secure 

 for some hours in the latter part of the 

 afternoon the benefit of a close sun-heated 

 atmosphere, which is very much to be pre- 

 ferred to the heat originating from the use 

 of fire alone. A slight damping overhead 

 with the syringe at this time should also 

 be given. As soon as the young plants 

 have fairly commenced to grow it will be 

 necessary to stop the leading shoot. Atten- 

 tion to this matter is of more importance 

 in the case of the plant under notice than 

 in that of the majority of stove subjects, 

 for if left to itself it is of a somewhat 

 erect habit, and the wood is of so hard a 

 nature that when it acquires age and 

 strength it cannot be trained ; the stopping 

 must be repeated until a sufficiently bushy 

 head is secured. By the middle of July 



the plants will require another shift into 

 pots 2 or 3 inches larger, according to the 

 quantity of roots they have got ; let the 

 soil be a little more lumpy, it should also 

 be of the best fibrous description that will 

 last long, for although the plant will bear 

 its ball reducing with a view to partially 

 renewing the soil when it has become 

 exhausted or adhesive, still its roots are 

 produced in such a mass that the soil can- 

 not be shaken away without much disroot- 

 ing. It thus becomes necessary to provide 

 soil that will be of an enduring nature, so 

 as to keep in a suitable condition for 

 several years. Tie the shoots out in a 

 horizontal position to lay the groundwork 

 for the future specimen. 



As autumn approaches, give more air, 

 less moisture in the atmosphere, and dis- 

 continue the use of the syringe and shading, 

 reducing the heat as winter comes on, dur- 

 ing which time the night temperature may 

 be kept at an intermediate warmth of 50° 

 or 55°, with 5° or 10° higher in the day. 

 Give more heat about the beginning of 

 March, shortly after which they will re- 

 quire moving into other pots, which should 

 be 3 inches or 4 inches larger ; use soil of 

 a similar description to that advised at 

 the last removal, and again pinch out the 

 points of all shoots that have got so long 

 as to have a straggling appearance. As the 

 summer advances treat as recommended 

 during the preceding. It is naturally so 

 free in flowering that it will bloom in a 

 small state ; if blooming subjects are re- 

 quired, a portion of the plants may be 

 allowed to flower, and in that case no 

 further stopping must be resorted to until 

 after the blooming is over. Those intended 

 to be grown on so as to get them up to a 

 considerable size with as little delay as 

 possible, must be stopped as they require 

 it, and all will bear another shift about 

 July. Be guided by the condition of the 

 I'oots and the size of the plants individu- 

 ally in determining the size of the pots 

 they are moved into. Continue to treat 

 as in the previous autumn and during the 

 following winter as before. From this 

 time forward the treatment required will 

 be of a routine character as regards spring 

 potting, which will be all the shift the 

 plants will need during the year. They 

 may be expected to flower in June each 

 season, and if, on the decay of the blooms, 

 they are cut out and not much length of the 

 shoots removed, they will again flower by the 

 middle of September. When in bloom the 

 plants will bear moving to a conservatory 

 or other house where required for decora- 

 tive purposes. 



Alter the second flowering they must 



