CULTURE OF WINTER FLOWERING PLANTS. 143 



Eupatorium arboreum flowers from November to Jan- 

 uary, by retarding portions in cold frames. 

 Eupatorium salicifolium flowers throughout January ; 

 Eupatorium elegans from February to March. 

 The flowers rate at about the same price as Bouvardia. 



HELIOTROPES. 



The manner of growing the Heliotrope for winter flowers 

 is nearly identical with that of the Stevia or Eupatorium, 

 during the summer months ; only, like the Bouvardia, it 

 requires heat to bring the flowers out in profusion in win- 

 ter. The varieties best adapted for forcing are : 

 Jane Mesmer, Oculata, 



Boule de Neige, Surprise, 



The Standard. Elegant issinia, 



The Heliotrope flowers without intermission during the 

 entire season, if kept growing. 



Value about the same as the Bouvardia. 



POINSETTIA PULCHERRIMA. 



The Poinsettia pulcherrima is grown from cuttings of 

 the green or of the ripened wood in April or May, and 

 shifted as required during the summer, plunging the pots 

 in beds in the open ground. It must be placed in winter 

 quarters before the weather has become cold enough to 

 chill it, as it is a tender tropical plant, and requires a hot- 

 house temperature of not less than 60 for its full develop- 

 ment. 



Grown in this heat, it is a plant of the most gorgeous 

 beauty, the bracts or leaves surrounding the flower aver- 

 aging, on well-grown plants, one foot in diameter; grown 

 as a hot-house plant, it is in full perfection at the holidays, 

 and is now largely used for decoration. Many thousand 

 heads are sold in New York annually, at an average of 

 $25 per 100. 



