THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



195 



Bed of Callas. 



you must give them 60 to 65 degrees at 

 night and syringe them daily; in fact, 

 it is heat and moisture that bring them 

 out. They may not need three months 

 to force them out, but it is well to be 

 in time, and be sure to give the roots 

 plenty of water, particularly when in 

 flower. The flowers wilt easily in the 

 sun if the roots are dry. 



There are i-ountless varieties, but 

 some of the handsomest do not force 

 well; so in ordering see that the varie 

 ties are suitable. Desirable forcing 

 varieties are now largely grown for 

 that purpose. 



When you realize that the rhododen 

 dron is perfectly hardy, you will under 

 stand better the treatment the plants 

 need before you start to force them. 

 You will frequently see them put at 

 once into the greenhouse, perhaps at a 

 night temperature of 50 degrees. This 

 is waste of room and is uncalled for. 

 A cold shed or coldframe where shad 

 ing can be applied is just as suitable 

 for them, but when you do start to 

 force they need a brisk heat. 



There are now beautiful hybrid rho 

 dodendrons, the offspring of several 

 species, which make fine conservatory 

 plants. They should be managed as we 

 do azaleas, without the severe pruning. 

 After flowering they make their growth 

 and should be encouraged to grow by 

 a good heat and moisture. When yon 

 see the buds set you can plunge them 

 out of doors for the summer and re 

 move to a cool house when you do the 

 Indian azaleas. 



RICHARDIA AFRICANA. 



This plant is often called arum lily, 

 but with us is universally called the 

 calla lily. For many years it was a 

 most important plant with us and to 

 day there are a number of people who 

 prefer them to the true lilies. They 



are of the easiest growth, if you re 

 member one important thing, and that 

 is that the calla comes from northern 

 Africa, and does not want to be starved 

 in a cool greenhouse. 



There are several ways of growing 

 them. To begin with, they propagate 

 easily from offsets, which you can take 

 off when repotting the plants in the 

 fall. Some plant them out, but if they 

 have much root room they grow too 

 rampant and the flowers are too large 

 to be useful. 



In early May our houses are too 

 crowded to keep the callas on the 

 bench, and they are taken outside and 

 laid down where they can be covered 

 in case of a sharp frost. The top with 

 ers away and for a few months the 

 root is dry. In August we shake off 

 all the soil and start them growing 

 again in 5-inch or 6-inch pots, keeping 

 them in a frame as long as there is no 

 danger of frost, and in winter give 

 them a light house where it is not less 

 than 60 degrees at night. Although 

 almost an aquatic, the soil should be 

 in such condition that water passes 

 through it freely. For soil use three- 

 fourths of coarse loam and one-fourth 

 of decomposed cow manure. They want 

 lots of syringing and fumigating, for 

 thrips and red spider trouble the leaves. 



If you want to raise some specimens 

 that will require a 9-inch or 10-inch pot 

 and bear three or four flowers at one 

 time, select some of your strongest 

 plants in May and plant them out two 

 or three feet apart in a deep, rich soil, 

 where you can water them copiously in 

 dry times. They lift easily at the end 

 of September and will make great 

 plants. 



The small offsets or bulblets that 

 come off the corm in August can be 

 potted in 2-inch pots and grown on. 

 They can be kept during the winter in 

 3-inch pots and in May shifted into 5- 



inch and plunged in a frame. They 

 want a copious supply of water during 

 summer. It is remarkable the strong 

 flowering plants you will get from these 

 little bulblets in a few months. As 

 previously said, the calla, when planted 

 out and given liberal space for root 

 growth, is inclined to grow very strong 

 and give few flowers in the dark days. 

 In the bright days of spring you will 

 get lots of flowers from these beds, but 

 the flowers are often of unwieldy size. 

 Growing a good strong corm in a 6- 

 inch or 7-inch pot during winter in a 

 bright, warm house will be found as 

 practical and profitable as any method. 



The calla tubers will bear resting or 

 allowing the soil in pots or beds to be 

 come perfectly dry. Those grown in 

 pots are usually placed outside in June 

 on their sides so that the soil may be 

 come dry. The top withers and they 

 are kept in this state till early Sep 

 tember, when they should be shaken 

 out, given new soil and started grow 

 ing, and will soon flower. For this 

 seemingly unnatural rest they are not 

 in the least any the worse in health or 

 vigor. 



Eichardia albo-maculata has a small, 

 greenish-white flower and a prettily 

 spotted leaf, which we used to use in 

 our veranda-boxes. It rests in winter 

 and the corm should be started grow 

 ing in February. To increase your 

 stock of this the corm can be cut in 

 two or three pieces and started growing 

 in February. Keep rather dry till leaf 

 growth begins. In June plant them 

 out, lift in fall and store in dry soil 

 till time to start again. 



There is a magnificent yellow calla; 

 it is B. Elliottiana. In size and form 

 it is like the common calla, but the 

 leaves are spotted and not so thick in 

 texture. The flower is simply grand. I 

 don t know when I have seen a flower 

 that pleased me so much. Fancy a 

 dozen or more of these flowers in a 

 vase; what can be richer? It is not yet 

 common or we would see and hear more 

 of it, but every florist should obtain a 

 stock of it. 



A single corm was given to me sev 

 eral years ago by the late George Sav 

 age, of Bochester, with the advice to 

 start it in sand and give little water 

 till growth began. This was good ad 

 vice, for the following June it threw 

 i-p a gorgeous bloom. They should be 

 dormant in the soil during winter and 

 shaken out and started in early spring. 

 We divided this corm into four or five 

 pieces with success, one of which flow 

 ered the following spring. This is such 

 a magnificent flower I cannot praise it 

 too highly. 



RICINUS Castor Bean. 



Our warm summers suit this tropical 

 plant well, and in very large beds or 

 borders where a tropical effect is want 

 ed it has a fine appearance. It is easily 

 raised by sowing the seeds in March, 

 either singly in small pots or in a flat 

 and afterwards potted off singly in 3- 

 iuch or 4-inch pots. 



There are now several varieties. 



