130 



Commercial Gardening 



slender strings arranged vertically to the rafters or cross-wires. Long 

 trails realize about Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per half-dozen. The species men- 

 tioned are all best raised from seed sown as soon as ripe in a temperature 

 of 70 F. 



Aspidistra (PARLOUR PALM). The green-leaved and variegated form 

 of A. lurida are ever-popular market plants, specimens in 5-in. and 6-in. 

 pots realizing from 20s. to 30s. per dozen the variegated forms, in which 

 the leaves are striped with yellow and white, fetching twice as much as 

 a rule. To secure fine foliage plants a stove or warm greenhouse tempera- 

 ture and plenty of moisture are 

 necessary during active growth. 

 The plants should also be fre- 

 quently syringed to keep the 

 foliage clean and bright and free 

 from Red Spider, thrips, Mealy 

 Bug, and scale. A good rich 

 loamy soil, with a little sand and 

 leaf mould, should be used for pot- 

 ting. Propagation is effected by 

 cutting the rhizomes into pieces, 

 potting them up, and plunging in 

 a brisk bottom heat with plenty 

 of moisture until well established. 

 Before taking to market the plants 

 are usually hardened off in a 

 lower temperature. 



Azalea indica. Although cul- 

 tivated by the Dutch as long ago 

 as 1680, this species, which covers 

 every hill and mountain in Cen- 

 tral and Southern China, was only 

 taken seriously in hand by nur- 

 serymen about eighty years ago. 



Since that time innumerable varieties, double and single flowered, have 

 been evolved, and hundreds of thousands of plants are now raised annually 

 in the Dutch, French, and Belgian nurseries for export to Britain, America, 

 and other parts of the world. It is curious that while in British nurseries 

 the custom is to pot the plants very hard in a peaty compost, the reverse 

 is the case in Continental nurseries, where the plants are grown magnifi- 

 cently in a loose peaty mould in frames, and in the open air during the 

 summer months. The named varieties are usually grafted on common 

 stocks, which are themselves raised from seeds or cuttings. Nice bushy 

 plants, suitable for 3-in., 5-in., and 6-in. pots, are now readily obtainable 

 for winter blooming, and a good trade is done in them just before Christmas 

 and afterwards well into March and April. The blooms are very beautiful, 

 and vary in colour from the purest white to the deepest scarlet and crimson 



Fig. 262. Double Azalea (Deutsche Perle) 



