BAMBOOS AND BROOMS 231 



they are grown in lath-houses which afford a slight protection from 

 both heat and cold. Near the coast they may with safety remain out of 

 doors all winter in ordinary seasons, but farther inland, where frosts 

 at night are sharper, they should be transplanted to the greenhouse in 

 October; and if early blooming is desired, they may be forced by 

 artificial heat. They may be propagated late in the fall and in early 

 winter by cuttings placed in sand. They will root in six weeks with 

 bottom heat. Without it they may require three months. Pruning, 

 if needed to preserve form, should be done after the flowering season 

 is well over. July is a good month, as this gives the plants time to 

 make new wood and set their buds. 



Bamboo and Cane. Bamboos will be put with shrubs because they 

 make woody stems and the species chiefly found in California gardens 

 come within the stature-limits of shrubs, though species have been intro- 

 duced which reach the height of trees. Truly, however, the plants are 

 all grasses and not arborescent at all. In garden work they are very 

 beautiful for their feathery foliage and grace of growth, and they make 

 fine screens or low wind-breaks. They will accept ordinary garden 

 soil and moisture, though they seem most at home along a ditch bank 

 or on a pond-side. Some species make running-roots and are therefore 

 less desirable for fixed places than those which grow in clumps. The 

 bamboos form seed only at remote periods, which is desirable, because, 

 as is the nature of many grasses, they die as soon as they form seed, 

 and all the other plants of the same generation, made by dividing roots 

 or taking offsets, will die also, no matter where they may be. The only 

 way to get a new plant is to take one from -another generation, and 

 this probably can be had from large propagators who may have started 

 plants from the seed at intervals. Species of all heights, from dwarf to 

 a stature of 50 feet and great variety of foliage, can be had from the 

 nurseries. All the bamboos which one will thus obtain are hardy and 

 will retain foliage through ordinary valley frosts. 



The soft-wooded reed, or false bamboo (arundo donax) is also useful 

 for summer growth on large places. It has not the beauty of the 

 bamboo, but for quick growth for a screen or wind-break to the wind- 

 ward of summer-blooming plants, it often serves a good purpose. 



True tropical sugar cane makes a good summer growth in places 

 where heat runs high and moisture is ample, and holds life in the root 

 through freezing weather. 



Brooms. All the "brooms" are found abundantly in California 

 gardens growing to the upper limits for shrubs and full of beauty and 

 perfume. The most common are the Scotch and the Spanish, of which 

 we prefer the latter for fullness and length of bloom. It has two set 

 bloom periods, spring and autumn, but is apt to break out between and 

 to be almost continuous. It can be grown either in bush or tree form, 



