THE HOME FLORIST. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF IMPORTANT ORNAMENTAL 



AND FLOWERING PLANTS, WITH CULTURAL DIRECTIONS. 



The various families, species and varieties of plants which are desirable for cultivation on 

 account of their flowering or other qualities, may be arranged according to their habits, means 

 of reproduction, time and age at which they 'flower and mature, hardiness, etc., into a number 

 of divisions and subdivisions, those commonly recognized being named and described herewith. 



ANNUALS. 



Plants that flower the first year from seed, and, after yielding a new crop of seed, die, 

 root and all. Annuals are subdivided into two kinds Hardy Annuals and Half-Hardy and 

 Tender Annuals. 



Hardy Annuals are those that germinate and make their growth to full maturity in the 

 open air, without the aid of artifical heat, such as Sweet Pea, Nemophila, Mignonette, etc. 



Half -Hardy and Tender Annuals differ from the Hardy Annuals in being more tender, 

 on which account most of them should receive the assistance of artificial heat or protection dur- 

 ing germination and in the early stages of their growth, although nearly all flower well later in 

 the season if the seeds are sown in the open ground after all danger of frost to the young seed- 

 ling is over. The Portulaca, Phlox Drummondii, Marigold, etc., belong to this division. 



BIENNIALS 



flower the second and sometimes the third year after sowing, then ripen their seed and die, root 

 and all. 



PERENNIALS 



live and blossom from year to year, and, although some seed freely, as a rule they are shy in 

 this respect, and are best increased by layers, cuttings, separation of the roots, etc. This 

 division is subdivided into Hardy Herbaceous Perennials, and, in our latitude, Tender or 

 Greenhouse Perennials, each of which include some Bulbous and Tuberous plants. 



Hardy Herbaceous Perennials are understood to be plants, such as Paeonies, Hardy Phlox, 

 Lychnis, Hyacinths, Lilies, etc., whose roots continue to live year after year, although the 

 growth above ground dies annually, either soon after flowering or in the fall. Most kinds 

 are propagated by division of the roots, which should be taken up for this purpose every few 

 years, and then be reset. Some can also be increased from seed, others by layering. 



Tender or Greenhouse Perennials for the most part consist of plants whose entire 

 growth, both plant and root, is continual, and which are, with few exceptions, increased by slips 

 or cuttings taken from growing plants. These plants are usually reared in pots, and belong to 

 a division that, in some respects, is old and well-known, while in others it is still enveloped in 

 clouds of ignorance and distrust relative to the kinds, in the minds of many amateurs. The well- 

 known monthly Rose ; Rose, Fish and Horseshoe Geraniums ; the Lady's Ear-Drop ; Snake and 

 other Cactuses, Oleanders, Rosemary, etc., which all of us have been familiar with from infancy, 

 almost, belong to this division, while many varieties and kinds, quite as easy of cultivation, and 

 greatly improved, which have originated or been discovered within a score or a few years, are 

 still comparatively unknown, and receive little attention, except from professional florists, and 

 the more enthusiastic amateurs. It is to this class of plants that we are really indebted for 

 many of our choicest floral gems, either for cultivating in the house, conservatory or garden. 

 Sometimes plants belonging to the same botanical family vary so much that the family is properly 

 arranged in several of the above divisions. This is the case with the Phlox family, some kinds 

 of which are Hardy Annuals, and others Hardy Herbaceous Perennials ; also with the flowering 

 Pea and other families. 



COMPARATIVE VALUE. In this connection .it may be well to consider the comparative 

 value and prices of various kinds of plants, presuming that the reader, who purchases stock, 

 desires to make the best possible investment with the money expended. Although prices of 

 pot and other plants range higher than those of packets of flower seeds, it should be remem- 

 bered that the former are always of considerable, often of a flowering, size when purchased, 

 while plants stiil require to be reared from the latter ; then, again, when once a plant is pur- 

 chased it can be increased by cuttings, divisions, etc., to any desired extent, and the quality 

 of the variety is never impaired, because the new propagation is part of the original plant 

 with a root of its own. With seeds it is quite different ; every experienced amateur knows that 

 it is next to impossible to keep up a superior strain or variety of plants with seed, unless the 

 seed is saved from plants grown isolated, after the manner practiced by professional seed-growers. 

 The trouble is they are so apt to hybridize or mix, which necessitates the purchase of the 

 same kind or variety each spring if it is considered desirable to keep up the stock ; but even 

 with this being necessary with varieties that cannot be saved sufficiently pure, the outlay to 

 procure superior new seed need not be large each year, and it should be remembered that many 

 of the cheap annuals and other seed-grown plants ean be used with unequaled effect in produc- 

 ing display in the house or about the grounds. 



In the descriptions of kinds which follows, the division to which each belongs is named in 



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