66 THE BOOK OF CLIMBING PLANTS 



pests which may make their appearance, or the result 

 will be disappointment to the owner and serious injury 

 to all the plants in the house. Aphides, Scale, Mealy 

 Bug, Mildew, and all other enemies must be destroyed 

 at their first appearance. Shading and ventilation must 

 also be carefully attended to or troubles will inevitably 

 follow. It must be remembered that plants under glass 

 require more care and are more liable to suffer from 

 neglect than those which are cultivated in the open air. 



The need of non-climbing plants for covering walls is 

 not so great in the conservatory as outside, where there 

 is usually more space to cover, and it is unnecessary to 

 devote a special chapter to these, but a few are inci- 

 dentally mentioned among the climbers proper, though 

 these far from exhaust the suitable plants for the 

 purpose. 



The Abutilons are very desirable when grown as 

 climbers in the conservatory, as they may be cultivated 

 in pots, as well as planted out, and are not only pretty 

 for covering pillars or for training up the rafters, but 

 also for the supply of cut flowers. They should have a 

 good, turfy loam, plenty of drainage, and some peat and 

 sand in the compost. Unless well supplied with water 

 while growing they become stunted and unhealthy, and 

 too much peat produces excessive leaf-growth. They 

 do not look well when stiffly tied in, but the branches 

 should be allowed to hang from the rafters or project 

 from the pillars. The Abutilons may be raised from 

 seeds, sown in pots or pans in light soil in spring and 

 placed in a temperature of 65 degrees or a little higher. 

 Cuttings strike easily in a similar temperature, especially 

 in spring or early autumn. They may have a similar 

 soil to the old plants but with a little more sand and 

 some leaf-soil. The bell-shaped blooms of all are 

 attractive, and a considerable number of the species and 

 varieties are strong enough to come under the category 



