344 



Greenhotise and Stove Plants 



have ; they cannot bear much water in the 

 soil until far in the spring when they 

 begin to root freely. A night tempera- 

 ture of 60° in the wdnter with some degrees 

 higher in the day will suffice. About 

 February cut the plants back to within a 

 few inches of where they broke at the 

 second stopping, tying the branches out 

 horizontally ; this will cause them to push 

 their whole length. After they have made 

 a couple of leaves to each break they 

 should be turned out, and most of the soil 

 shaken away, putting them in ll-iuch or 

 12-inch pots, keeping the soil somewhat 

 dry until the roots have agaiu begun to 

 work freely. Should the shoots appear 

 deficient in number, the points may be 

 pinched out as soon as they have grown 

 4 inches or 5 inches. Keep the plants 

 well up to the light, and treat as to air, 

 heat, and moisture as advised the preceding 

 summer. All they will require is to support 

 the blanches with a few sticks and ties, 

 and to give manure-water once a week 

 when the roots have got full hold of the 

 soil. These Vincas can be grown to almost 

 any size the second year by giving larger 

 pots and stopping the shoots a second or 

 third time, which will have the effect of 

 increasing the number of branches, but 

 will also retard the flowering ; or after 

 they have bloomed for a time the shoots 

 may be shortened, and when growth has 

 again commenced they can be moved to 

 larger pots, which will induce them to 

 produce a full head of flowers. The plants 

 may be kept on for blooming another 

 season if required, treated through the 

 winter and spring as in the previous year, 

 or young ones can be brought on to take 

 their place ; these are preferable for general 

 use, except where very large examples are 

 wanted. 



There are three varieties in cultivation : 



V. alba. Flowers pure white. 



V. albo-oculata. Flowers white with a 

 red eye. 



V. rosea. Flowers wholly rose coloui^ed. 



The two last are the handsomest. All 

 three are natives of Eastern India. 



Insects. — Greenfly and red spider will 

 sometimes attack them, but the syringing 

 and other precautionary measures regularly 

 taken will usually be sufficient to keep 

 these in check ; if, notwithstanding, these 

 insects make their appearance, fumigate to 

 destroy the aphides, and syringe freely to 

 banish red spider. Mealy bug will also 

 live upon Vincas, and where present the 

 plants should be laid on their sides and 

 syringed freely with tepid water, and when 

 cut back in the spring dressed well with 

 insecticide. 



WITSENIA CORYMBOSA. 



This singular and distinct evergreen 

 greenhouse plant is indigenous to the Cape 

 of Good Hope, whence it was introduced 

 about the commencement of the present 

 century. It is of a branching upright 

 habit of growth, with miniature sword- 

 shaped leaves, from among which spring 

 numerous corymbs of lovely pale-blue 

 flowers produced over a long season in the 

 advanced summer and autumn. The 

 plant is sometimes seen in the autumn 

 shows on the exhibition stage, where its 

 fine colour has a j)leasing eft'ect, but from 

 its habit of opening its blooms in succes- 

 sion it is better adapted for general de- 

 corative purposes. It is a slow grower, 

 rarely attaining a size of more than two 

 and a half feet in height by as much in 

 diameter, consequently it does not require 

 a great deal of pot-room. This "Witsenia is 

 a moderately free rooter, and succeeds best 

 in good fibrous peat with a fair quantity 

 of sand mixed with it. 



The plant strikes from shoot cuttings 

 made of the small branchlets which it pro- 

 duces in quantity, clothing the principal 

 shoots with them ; these should be taken 

 off about August, cutting the base of each 

 clean so as to divest them of jagged bark. 

 Put them 2 inches apart in 6-inch pots 

 filled with sand, keep close, moderately 

 moist, and shaded from the sun, as long as 

 requisite, in a warm greenhouse tempera- 

 ture of 50° in the night. During the 

 autumn the base of the cuttings will be- 

 come callused over, when place in a little 

 more warmth, and they will root through 

 the winter and spring ; about May move 

 singly into small pots, using fine peat with 

 a moderate amount of sand added. Keep 

 through the summei a little closer than is 

 needful for large greenhouse stock. Give 

 shade from the sun's rays when the weather 

 is bright, but keep them near the glass, and 

 be attentive in seeing that the soil never 

 gets too dry ; close and damp the house in 

 the afternoons, and at the same time 

 moisten them overhead. Give more air in 

 autumn, and winter in a night tempera- 

 ture of 45°. About April move into 3-inch 

 pots, using similar soil to that employed 

 for the first potting. The plant is a slow 

 grower, but as soon as the leading growth 

 appears to be moving ahead take out the 

 point ; this will cause the shoots that will 

 have formed about the base to move. Con- 

 tinue through the summer and autumn to 

 treat as in the preceding, and winter in a 

 like temperature. Again towards April 

 give them a shift, this time into 6-inch 

 pots ; afterwards if any shoot takes the 



