HYDRANGEAS. 



^85 



selves the plants will be more pleasing than 

 they are likely to be when closely dipped, as 

 they will have less formality. 



This shrub should preferably be set in 

 spring, though fall planting can be done if 

 necessary, without any risk of losing the 

 plants. Spring-set plants get a better and 

 earlier start. 



If a standard is desired for some promi- 

 nent place on the lawn, select for the pur- 

 pose a strong, well-rooted plant. Cut away 

 all but one shoot, and do not allow this to 

 branch until it has reached the height where 

 you desire the head of your little tree to be. 

 Then nip off the end of it. This will induce 

 branching below. Allow only five or six 

 branches near the top to grow. In this way 

 you secure a foundation for the body of your 

 plant. 



Hydrangea otaska is grown from cut- 

 tings. The most satisfactory method of se- 

 curing a plant is to purchase a young one 

 from the florist. Pot it in rich loam, and 

 give it plenty of water when growing. [t 

 will generally make its strongest growth 

 during the early part of the season, though 

 it grows more or less all summer. Small 

 plants not more than six or eight inches in 

 height often produce clusters of flowers 

 larger than the pot they are growing in. 

 But if you want a large plant with which to 

 decorate your porch discourage early bloom- 

 ing and force the plant to throw all its ener- 

 gies into the production of branches. If ot 

 allowed to bloom it will grow vigorously, 

 but if a small plant is permitted to develop 

 flowers you can not expect much else from 

 it that season. Better postpone flowering 

 until you have formed a strong plant with 

 at least a dozen branches, each of which 

 ought to give you a cluster of blossoms next 

 season. Make the soil strong and rich, and 

 keep is so as long as growth is going on. 

 See that the plant never gets dry at the roots. 

 As a general things buds are formed soon 

 after growth begins. These develop into 

 flowers along about midsummer — sometimes 



earlier — and they last until the time comes 

 to put the plant in the cellar for winter, 

 though in September they take on a reddish 

 green look which is far less ornamental than 

 the pink tints which characterize them while 

 in their prime. To secure a fine specimen 

 repot it whenever its roots fill the old pot, 

 and keep on doing this until you have a 

 plant of the size you desire. After that do 

 not shift to a larger pot or tub, but depend 

 on liquid fertilizers to keep it vigorous. Fre- 

 quent cutting back has a tendency to thicken 

 up a plant and make it compact. For ex- 

 ample, we know a plant which is grown 

 in a tub eighteen inches across, and goes 

 into the cellar in November each year and 

 remains there until March. Last season it 

 had over two hundred flower clusters on it 

 at one time. While in the cellar it is kept 

 quite dry. Frequently it loses many of its 

 odd leaves, but no harm is done if this oc- 

 curs. While in cold storage keep it as dor- 

 mant as possible, thus imitating the process 

 by which nature cares for deciduous plants 

 out-of-doors during the winter. If kept in 

 too warm a place, and especially one where 

 there is considerable light, premature 

 growth often sets in. This must be pre- 

 vented if you want a strong plant. Keep- 

 ing it dry at the roots discourages early 

 growth, but a low temperature is also neces- 

 sary, and the absence of light is quite de- 

 sirable in order to secure complete dor- 

 mancy. 



Whatever pruning is done should be done 

 early in spring before much growth is made. 

 Cut away superfluous branches and all weak 

 ones, and shorten those which have out- 

 grown others, until you have brought e 

 plant to symmetrical shape. If repotting is 

 to be done, do it then. If your plant has 

 reached the limit of root room which you 

 feel disposed to give it, apply whatever fer- 

 tilizer you prefer as soon as active growth 

 begins, hut not before. Some persons do 

 their pruning after the young branches have 

 got well started. — Home and Flowers. 



