PLANTS FOR WINDOW GARDENING. 97 



quite an excitement, and the original kinds were soon sur- 

 passed, in every respect, by newer seminal varieties. 



The culture of the verbena is very simple. The plants 

 will bloom with very little care, but to grow them in perfec- 

 tion requires attention ; of thousands of plants of any size, 

 scarcely one is a fine specimen. Let us, beginning in early 

 spring, trace the plant, as generally grown, and then see 

 how much a little care might increase its beauty. 



About the first of February, cuttings of the young shoots 

 are taken from old plants : in a sandy loam, a few weeks, 

 and sometimes a few days, will suffice to root them ; they 

 are then potted off into thumb pots, and, if placed near the 

 glass, will soon show a terminal flower. As soon as the 

 season is sufficiently advanced, these young plants are bed- 

 ded out, and, in favorable seasons, soon form a conspicuous 

 feature in the flower garden, continuing to bloom till long 

 after the early frosts. About the first or middle of Septem- 

 ber, the gardener begins to re-pot his plants for winter, and 

 the common practice is to take a runner, which has rooted 

 well at a joint, and, after suitable pruning, to pot it foi 

 winter blooming and propagation. Others, again, take up 

 the old roots, while others, by sinking pots in their verbena 

 bed, about midsummer, allowed the runners to root directly 

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