THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 3/1 



STYPHELIA TUBIFLORA. 



iLANTS which bloom in winter and early spring, if but 

 of ordinary merit, must be set down as valuable, inas- 

 much as they assist in furnishing a supply of cut bloom, 

 and keeping the flower-house gay at a season when 

 blossoms are scarce, and therefore more prized than at 

 other periods of the year. But the fine habit, the elegantly-shaped 

 and variously-coloured blossoms with which this plant is covered for 

 some two months together, would reuder it a favourite, even if it 

 could be had in bloom only at the season when blossoms are most 

 plentiful. Although not difficult to propagate, like most bard- 

 wooded plants, this roots but slowly ; and as good plants may be 

 purchased from the nursery for a trifle, perhaps its propagation had 

 better be left to the trade. In choosing, be careful to select healthy 

 dwarf, bushy plants ; winter them in a light, airy part of the green- 

 house, giving a careful supply of water, beyond which they will 

 require very little attention at this season. About the middle of 

 March turn them carefully out of their pots, and if the balls are 

 well filled with healthy, active roots, shift iato pots two sizes larger 

 than those in which they have been growing. After potting place 

 them in the warmest end of a greenhouse, or in an intermediate 

 house, where the night temperature may range about 50° or 55°, 

 and where a moist growing atmosphere can be maintained to promote 

 a vigorous root action aud a free growth. The shoots should be 

 nicely tied out, bending down the points so as to regulate the flow 

 of the sap, and prepare the buds on the lower part of the shoots for 

 starting into growth. Having given a liberal shift, there will be 

 some danger for a time, of overwatering the soil, or allowing it to 

 become too dry, either of which errors would greatly injure if not 

 ruin the specimen. These dangers, however, are easily avoided by 

 having the soil and the ball in a nice moist healthy state at the time 

 the operation is performed, making the fresh soil pretty firm about 

 the old ball, and syringing the plants overhead morning and evening 

 until the roots get hold of the fresh soil, after which they will 

 require a liberal supply of water at the roots. When free growth 

 commences, any over-strong shoot should be cut back if necessary, 

 to secure a close bushy form of growth ; but if the shoots are tied 

 out as directed, cutting back will hardly be necessary in the case of 

 well-grown young plants. A higher temperature than that already 

 directed should not be maintained by means of fire-heat, and when 

 free growth has commenced air should be freely admitted on every 

 favourable occasion. In summer this plant enjoys a moist atmos- 

 phere, slight shade from the mid-day sun, and a free circulation of 

 air, without exposure to drying winds ; and perhaps a cold frame 

 affords the most convenient situation for securing these conditions. 

 By placing a stratum of small coal ashes, six inches deep, in the 

 bottom of the frame, water is absorbed, and given off in the form of 

 atmospheric moisture whenever the air becomes dry, and by raising 

 the lights on the sheltered side, a circulation of moist air is secured 



