266 TREES AND SHRUBS 



Where a cool house is not available, a frame in a 

 sheltered position is suitable, but even then avoid 

 overcrowding. By the middle of May this precaution 

 is not so necessary, although keen frosts and winds 

 are experienced that would injure foliage developed 

 under glass. Where potting is necessary, that is, in 

 the case of plants grown permanently in this way, 

 it should be done before they are placed in their 

 summer quarters. For this the pots should, if 

 possible, be placed on a firm bed of ashes and 

 plunged in some moisture-holding material, such as 

 partially decayed leaves, spent hops, or cocoa-nut 

 fibre refuse. Occasional doses of liquid manure 

 during the growing season are beneficial, particularly 

 in the case of shrubs that have not been re-potted, 

 as the limited amount of nourishment in the soil 

 will have gone by that time. 



The following is a list of the best shrubs for 

 flowering under glass : 



ANDROMEDA (known also as Pieris and Zenobia). 

 The Andromedas are beautiful shrubs, with lily- 

 of-the-valley-like flowers, and form such a mass 

 of fibrous roots that they can be lifted from the open 

 ground and potted without receiving any check. 

 When placed in a cool house they flower profusely. 

 The best are A. floribunda, which has crowded, some- 

 what stiff spikes ; A. japonica, known by its drooping 

 racemes ; and A. speciosa pulverulenta, which has hoary 

 leaves and waxy-white bells. The first two may be 

 had in flower by the end of March, but the other 

 is later. 



