214 THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



portion of them -which will be below the surface. A cold frame is 

 the most suitable situation until they are rooted, and as soon as that 

 is accomplished the plants should be shifted into six-inch pots, and 

 be placed out of doors, or returned to the frame, and receive liberal 

 ventilation. If placed out of doors, they must be housed at the same 

 time as the stock of greenhouse plants. 



During tlie winter Kalosanthes require very little water, but they 

 must have sufficient to keep the foliage from flagging. In February 

 the growing points should be stopped, and as soon as they have 

 started again the plants should be shifted into larger pots. At this 

 stage it must be determined whether the plants are to be grown into 

 large specimens or flowered in a young state. If required for speci- 

 mens, the growing points will require nipping out, and the plants 

 shifting on as fast as it becomes necessary. They, however, should 

 not be put into pots too large, and they must have the last shift by 

 the beginning of August, and no stopping ought to take place after 

 that time. The treatment advised will show that they are not to 

 bloom the first season, our object being to produce stocky plants. 

 From June to the middle of September the whole of the stock should 

 either be in the open air or in a cold frame, with the lights drawn o,ff 

 at all times excepting when the rains are very heavy. 



Keep them in a dry airy greenhouse or pit through the winter, 

 and close to the glass, and early in March shift them into the flower- 

 ing pots, and regulate and tie out the young shoots. From this time 

 until they come into flower keep close to the glass, and tie out the 

 growth as it progresses, to insure well-proportioned specimens. 

 A well-grown specimen when in flower ought to present a huge 

 convex mass of bloom, like that of a well-finished exhibition pelar- 

 gonium. 



After the beauty of the flowers is past, the whole stock should be 

 placed out of doors in the sun for a week or ten days, and be kept 

 quite dry. At the end of that time cut each shoot back to about two 

 inches, and place them under cover, and give the old stumps a skiff 

 with the syringe once a day, but keep the soil dry. When the young 

 buds begin to push, give a little water to tlie roots, to keep the soil 

 moist ; and after the young shoots are an inch long take the plants out 

 of the pots, reduce the balls, and repot them in the same size pots 

 again. Great care must be exercised in watering them until the pots 

 are full of roots, and the shelter of a cold frame must be afforded to 

 keep off the autumn rains. A nice balance between too much and too 

 little moisture at the roots must be maintained. Too much will de- 

 stroy the roots and produce disastrous results, on the one hand, and 

 too little will cause the loss of the lower leaves, and thus give the 

 specimens an unsightly appearance. 



That succulent plants like these require good drainage is only a 

 matter of course, therefore nothing further need be said about it, 

 and we will pass on to the preparation of the soil. At one time it 

 was considered necessary to pot them in brick rubbish, but now they 

 are better understood a more substantial compost is used. There is 

 nothing better than good turfy loam, mixed with a liberal proportion 

 of leaf-mould, broken crocks, and silver-sand, and a small quantity 



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