Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



305 



have the whole of the shoots shortened so 

 far back as to keep the specimens in a suf- 

 ficiently compact form without too much 

 formality ; by this means they can be kept 

 in a healthy blooming state for years, and 

 when they get as large as recj^uired, they 

 must not be potted oftener than every 

 second year, but may be had in a vigorous 

 condition by the use of manure-water. 

 When they have arrived at this stage it is 

 well to cut the plants back after they have 

 completed their first bloom, and as soon as 

 they have broken turn them out of the 

 pots, reduce the ball one-third or so and 

 return them to the same pots. By carry- 

 ing out the operation at this season, there 

 will be time enough for the roots to get 

 possession of the new soil, and to make 

 stout growth before winter, which will 

 bloom satisfactorily the ensuing summer. 

 So managed, the plants will last for many 

 years. They will also bear heading down to 

 within a few inches of the pot, but in this 

 case the operation should be performed 

 early in the spring, just as growth is about 

 to commence, first letting the soil get 

 moderately dry, at once placing the plants 

 in a brisk heat, and giving no water, ex- 

 cept by syringing overhead, until the 

 cut-back stools have pushed shoots. "When 

 these have advanced 2 inches or 3 inches, 

 the balls may be freely reduced and placed 

 in smaller pots, after which the stopping of 

 the shoots and subsequent treatment may 

 be in accordance with the manner in which 

 the young plants have been advised to be 

 gro'vvn. 



Insects. — Mealybug and scale will live 

 on the Eondeletia, but do not thrive as on 

 foliage of a more succulent description. 

 When aftected, the best remedy is washing 

 vnth strong applications of insecticide in 

 the autumn when growth is complete. 

 Thrips, if present in the house or pit in 

 which it is gro'vvn, will also attack it. 

 These can be best destroyed by fumigation 

 or washing with tobacco-water. 



ROSA. 



Eoses have always held the first place as 

 outdoor flowers, and of late years their 

 cultivation under glass has been much ex- 

 tended and greatly improved, especially in 

 the treatment required to produce bloom 

 during the winter and early spring months. 

 The great difficulty to contend with in 

 forcing Roses has always been the natural 

 susceptibility of the foliage to mildew, 

 much increased in the soft, delicate leaves 

 produced in artificial warmth. But ex- 

 perience has shown that Roses can be so 

 treated under glass as to reduce the attacks 



of the parasite within such limits that it 

 can be easily dealt with. The free admis- 

 sion of air, so necessary in the case of other 

 plants to prevent mildew, is found with 

 Roses grown in heat to be the certain 

 means of causing it : the least current of 

 cold air coming in contact with the tender 

 leaves in winter and early spring is all but 

 sure to be followed by mildew. "Wliatever 

 air is given during the time above-named 

 should be at the ridge of the house alone, 

 and this in small quantities. It will thus 

 be seen that Roses to be grown as they 

 should be in the early part of the year re- 

 quire a house to themselves. 



Many of the hybrid perpetuals and the 

 Noisettes answer well for indoor culture, 

 but the Tea varieties are most to be de- 

 pended on, especially for flowering in 

 winter and spring. Roses for pot culture 

 will do either on their own roots, or on the 

 different stocks usually employed. Cut- 

 tings may be struck at different seasons in 

 the spring, using the immature young 

 shoots obtained from plants that have been 

 grown in warmth. Put five or six together 

 round the sides of small pots filled with 

 sand, and keep moderately close, moist, 

 and shaded in a temperature of about 60° ; 

 so treated, the greater part ^\'ill stiike, 

 after which gradually inure them to the 

 air of the house or pit in which they stand. 

 Give them plenty of light, with shade 

 when it is sunny, and admit whatever air 

 is found necessary to prevent the tempera- 

 ture from rising too high, as far away from 

 the plants as possible. When they have 

 got plenty of roots move singly to 3 or 4 

 inch pots, using good strong loam, with 

 some manure and a little sand added, 

 pressed solid in the pots. Keep in a grow- 

 ing temperature, and stop the points when 

 they have made some growth. A cold 

 frame or pit will do for them during the 

 summer, with a little shade when the 

 weather is bright ; give water as needed, 

 and syringe freely in the afternoons. To- 

 wards autumn give more air, and winter 

 them out of the reach of frost. The Tea 

 varieties are scarcely ever at rest, except 

 when kept so cold as to stop growth, and 

 if they can be accommodated through the 

 winter with a greenhouse temperature, or 

 a few degrees higher, they will gain much 

 in size ; where such is available move them 

 into pots a size or two larger in the 

 autumn, shortening the shoots a little at 

 the same time. In this way they will 

 make pretty plants before spring, pro- 

 ducing a nice sprinkling of flowers. All 

 that is further required with the Tea 

 varieties under notice is to continue to 

 treat as in the preceding summer, shading 



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