THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 



on its own roots the branches hang 

 so close to the flower-pot and its growth 

 is so pendent that it does not give the 

 plant a chance to exhibit its beauty, 

 and they are mostly grafted on stocks 

 of pereskia with stems six to twelve 

 inches long, which elevates them from 

 the pot. 



If grown on their own roots the com 

 post best suited for them is two-thirds 

 fibrous loam, one-third leaf-mold, with 

 some broken-up brick rubble and char 

 coal added to keep the soil open and 

 porous. They should never be over- 

 watered and in the fall and early win 

 ter need only sufficient to keep the 

 leaves from shrivelling. 



From January on through the spring 

 and summer months they need much 

 more water. Few people but what have 

 seen the epiphyllum in flower, but not 

 all have seen a plant well grown. For 

 the private conservatory there are few 

 plants more brilliant, covered as they 

 are in midwinter with such a profusion 

 of brilliant scarlet flowers. A tempera 

 ture of 50 degrees will do very well 

 in winter. Keep them under glass the 

 entire year, with lots of ventilation in 

 the summer months. 



ERICA. 



This is a large genus of hard-wooded 

 evergreen shrubs, often called Cape 

 heaths because they are largely from 

 the Cape of Good Hope. Few green 

 house plants are finer as specimens 

 than a hard-wooded heath. A plant of 

 E. Cavendishianum covered with its 

 large, waxy, yellow flowers, the plant 

 tied out most neatly I can remember 

 to this day, although many years since 

 I had the honor to paint the handmade 

 wooden labels for naming some of the 

 plants in the heath house. 



Heaths have small leaves and are 

 slow growers. The flowers are some 

 times terminal and sometimes axillary. 

 The hard-wooded section is seldom seen 

 except in a private collection. They 

 want most careful watering the year 

 round, good drainage and nothing like 

 a sodden soil, but must never be very 

 dry. They do not like fire heat, and 

 a greenhouse where the night tempera 

 ture is not over 40 degrees will do very 

 well. 



After they have made their growth 

 in the spring they would be best out of 

 doors, but shaded with lattice-work 

 from the strongest sun. A good peat 

 and loam compost suits them best, and 

 they should be potted firmly. But in 

 the absence of peat a good fibrous loam 

 with a third of leaf-mold and some 

 sand will do very well. The hard-wood 

 ed, slow-growing heaths are never like 

 ly to become of importance with the 

 commercial florist. They are troubled 

 with none of our greenhouse pests. 



The soft-wooded, quicker growing 

 section is now largely grown as a mar 

 ket plant for our eastern cities, and 

 large quantities are raised on Long 

 Island, where the fine loam found in 

 many parts of the island suits it finely. 

 It is generally believed that the order 

 Ericacea, which includes the azaleas, 



Erica Melanthera. 



rhododendrons and kalmias, is much 

 averse to lime in either the soil or 

 water, and this should be remembered. 



They are propagated by cuttings 

 from the tips of the young growths in 

 spring. They do not want bottom 

 heat, but should be put in well drained 

 flats or pans with a layer of light loam 

 and leaf -mold, and on the surface an 

 inch of clean sand. They should be 

 kept rather close, away from draughts 

 or too much ventilation. Give them a 

 good soaking when first put in. If the 

 cuttings are one or one and a half 

 inches long, of the young, tender 

 growth stripped of the bottom leaves, 

 they will root in seven or eighi^weeks. 

 As they show signs of growth give 

 them more air. Don t pot off till t hex- 

 are well rooted and keep them only 

 just moist till they are rooted. 



The young plants will do very well 

 in a coldframe during the fall months 

 and in a cool, dry house during win 



ter. In May they can be planted out i 

 the open ground, where they will mak 

 a good growth, and must be lifted i 

 September or October. When first lifl 

 ed and potted be careful not to If 

 them wilt. Careful lifting, to get a 

 their roots and fibers, is the essenti:i 

 object. They will do finely in a ten 

 perature of 40 degrees, but will do x\ -it 

 more heat as their flowering time ap 

 preaches. 



Two-year-old plants that are unsol 

 should be cut down to within a fe\ 

 inches of the pot after flowering an 

 again planted out. The young plant 

 will need stopping when they first be 

 gin to root, and perhaps again \vlie 

 planted out, but not after that. 



Some of the best ericas fur florist 

 are E. caffra (s:nall floxver. but ver 

 free), E. gracilis, K. hybrida. K. hyeni 

 alis (a beautiful pink that flowers i: 

 early spring; one of the best). E. me! 

 ant hern (flnxvers in xx inter), E. perse 



