THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



funnel shaped, three to five inches across 

 and rich yellow. Allamandas are usu 

 ally seen trained near the roof, where 

 they do well and add greatly to the 

 beauty of the house. They are also 

 grown as specimens trained to a balloon- 

 shaped or flat wire frame three or four 

 feet high. In a competition for a num 

 ber of flowering stove and greenhouse 

 plants in any horticultural exhibition 

 in Europe the allamanda would be sure 

 to be one. The only use the florist 

 could make of the flowers, rich and fine 

 as they are, would be to take sprays of 

 the vine covered with flowers for the 

 decoration of mirrors or chandeliers. 

 For an elaborate golden wedding they 

 would be a glorious acquisition. 



Plants covering a large roof space 

 would need a tub, and I have seen them 

 planted in the border at the end of the 

 house. A turfy loam with a sixth of cow 

 manure, adding a tenth of charcoal to 

 the compost, suits them well. They are 



abundance when trained to the roof. 

 In the late winter months, before they 

 begin to grow, they should be pruned 

 back as we do our hothouse grape 

 vines, cutting back the previous year s 

 growth to two or three eyes. If you 

 wish to propagate them the last foot 

 or so of the last year s growth Avill 

 root easily in our ordinary propagat 

 ing benches where there is a little bot 

 tom heat, making each cutting with 

 two or three eyes. Remember they are 

 from the tropics and should not be 

 exposed to a lower temperature than 

 60 degrees at any time of the year. 



Of the several species and hybrids 

 the following can be selected as the 

 best : A. Chelsonii, yellow, large, flow 

 ers in July; A. grandiflora, pale yellow, 

 large, flowers in June; A. nobilis, bright 

 yellow, large, flowers in July; A. 

 Schottii, yellow, throat striped with 

 brown, very free bloomer, the best 

 known and best for all purposes. 



Alocasia Metallica. 



from equatorial America, so you will 

 know what they want in temperature. 

 Most of the species flower in June and 

 July, but Schottii, one of the finest, 

 flowers in August and September. They 

 are little troubled by insects of any 

 kind, syringing and fumigating keep 

 ing them clean without any trouble. In 

 the spring and summer they want lots 

 of water; in the darker winter months 

 much less. In our hot summers they re 

 quire shade from the brightest sun, but 

 only enough to keep them from burning. 

 They like the light, which they get in 



ALOCASIA. 



These beautiful stove plants are 

 grown entirely for the beauty of their 

 leaves. They delight in our hot sum 

 mers under glass and must not be al 

 lowed to go below 60 degrees in the 

 winter months. They require shade in 

 the bright days of spring and summer, 

 and where the house is heavily shaded 

 they Avill be greatly benefited by a little 

 fire heat at night. In shaded houses 

 during rainy weather and cold nights, 

 even in summer, there is a dampness 



and stagnation that is very uncongenial 

 to most plants, and exotics in particular 

 should have a little fire heat. 



The compost in which they delight is 

 one-third fibrous peat, one-third turfy 

 loam in coarse lumps and one-third 

 chopped sphagnum, to which add some 

 charcoal. Although the roots delight 

 in moisture it must not be stagnant 

 around them, and the pots should be 

 filled within a few inches of the rim 

 with broken crocks. Keep the roots and 

 the potting material well above the 

 edge of the pot and cover the surface 

 of the compost with live sphagnum, in 

 which the young roots thrive. They must 

 be given an abundance of water in sum 

 mer, but much less in winter. It is 

 not only the water they receive on the 

 surface that benefits them, but they 

 require a humid, warm atmosphere. The 

 above applies to the evergreen species 

 such as metallica, regina and others. 



The best time to increase your stock 

 of alocasias is in the spring by divid 

 ing the stems or rhizomes, which when 

 first taken off and started should have 

 a close, moist and warm temperature 

 and be away from all draughts of air. 

 A Wardian case on the greenhouse 

 bench with some bottom heat is the ideal 

 place. 



The herbaceous species do very well in 

 good fibrous loam with a fourth of de 

 cayed cow manure. As winter ap 

 proaches the evergreen species should be 

 given less water and the herbaceous 

 sorts gradually let go dry till the fol 

 lowing March. 



The leaves are large, from one to two 

 feet in length. All are beautiful, vary 

 ing in coloring and markings from the 

 well known A. metallica or cuprea, a 

 dark metallic bronze, to A. longiloba, 

 green with silvery markings. Among 

 the best species and hybrids are those 

 above mentioned and A. hybrida, A. 

 Jenningsii, A. Johnstonii, A. Sedenii, 

 A. Thibautiana, A. variegata, and many 

 others, all beautiful plants for the 

 private collection. 



ALOYSIA CITRIODORA. 



This universally liked plant is com 

 mercially known the world over as lemon 

 verbena. It is classed as a deciduous 

 shrub and is the sole representative of 

 the genus. Where hardy I doubt whether 

 it is quite deciduous. It makes a fine 

 plant when planted, against the wall or 

 pillar in the greenhouse, but it is as a 

 sweet scented plant for our gardens that 

 we most prize it, and every mixed bor 

 der, and every garden, large or small, 

 has one or more. The florist finds this 

 a most useful plant for cutting in the 

 summer time, for what can be more wel 

 come in a bunch of flowers than a few 

 sprays of the sweet lemon verbena? 



Don t sell out clean in the spring. 

 Save a dozen plants and shift them on, 

 plunging them outside in pots in sum 

 mer. At the approach of frost bring 

 them in and stand them under your 

 lightest and coolest bench and give 

 them only water enough to keep the 

 wood from shrivelling. In early Feb 

 ruary we shake them out, shorten back 

 the unripened and weak wood and start 



