IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



allowed to start, their tubers being placed on a thin layer of 

 soil in a well-drained wooden tray, and kept fairly moist in 

 a temperature from 55 to 70 ; easily arranged, even in an 

 ordinary greenhouse, by placing the tray above the hot-water 

 pipes and covering it with glass, although all air must not 

 be excluded, and it will be well to shade the glass in bright 

 weather. Here they will quickly form leaves and shoots, 

 when each tuber should be potted up separately in a small 

 pot which will just hold it, and also given enough space 

 around the tuber to water it, as water should never be 

 allowed to settle amongst the leaves, and must always be 

 supplied warm i.e., at a temperature slightly above that of 

 the atmosphere in which the plants grow. 



Unless a warm, moist, and shaded position in a hothouse 

 be available, the gloxinias will still need the help of a glass 

 cover for a time, and a convenient plan for a greenhouse is 

 to place the pots in a box (over the pipes) a foot deep, con- 

 taining a few inches of moist fine coal ashes at the bottom, 

 which, when covered with glass, will supply the needed 

 moisture to the atmosphere inside the box. They should 

 be potted on several times as they require it, and when the 

 buds show more air should be afforded, and the plants should 

 be gradually hardened. As soon as the tint of the flowers 

 is visible they may be lifted out of the box and placed in 

 the conservatory to blossom, always choosing a half-shaded 

 position for them without sharp draughts. Having so little 

 need of strong sunshine, they make excellent room plants 

 when in full bloom, as they then do not require so much 

 moisture in the air as before, and will do well in a lower 

 temperature also at that time. 



For winter blooming the tubers may be started early in 

 the year, when they will blossom in May or June, after 

 which they can be rested by being kept rather dry and cool 

 for a month or two, when they should be potted on, giving 

 them a mixture of peat, good loam, and oak-leaf mould in 

 equal quantities, with plenty of charcoal in small lumps, 

 some dried cow manure, and a little soot and sand. If 

 placed again (after this shift) in moist warmth, they will 



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