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Commercial Gardening 



corollas inside each other being the best; Cornucopia, 1-2 ft., purple and 

 lilac mottled; fastuosa, 2-3 ft., white inside, violet outside, with two or 

 three forms; Metel, 2 ft., white; quercifolia, 1-2 ft., violet; and Stra- 

 monium, 2 ft, white with a few varieties. Amongst the shrubby kinds 

 are arborea, 7-10 ft., white; cornigera, 3-10 ft., white, with a fine double- 

 white variety called Knighti; sanguinea, 4-8 ft. (fig. 277), orange yellow. 

 These are easily raised from cuttings of the young shoots in sandy soil, 

 plunged in bottom heat in spring. 



Desmodium gyrans (TELEGRAPH PLANT). This stove plant is grown 

 as a curiosity, its narrow oblong leaves being constantly in motion up and 



down, like the arms of a sema- 

 phore. It flourishes in a loamy 

 soil, and is raised from seeds. 



Dieffenbaehia. A genus of 

 ornamental Aroids easily grown 

 in loam in the stove, and raised 

 by cuttings. Some of the best 

 kinds are Bausei, Fournieri, 

 Jenmani, Leonice, picta, Rex, 

 Shuttleworthi, nobilis, &c. 



Dipladenia. A genus of 

 stove climbers requiring a peaty 

 soil and raised by cuttings. D. 

 amabilis is a well-known hy- 

 brid with purple-crimson flowers; 

 D. Brearleyana, rich crimson; 

 D. atropurpurea (fig. 278), crim- 

 son-purple; amwna, splendens, 

 crassinoda, eximea, illustris, 

 Sanderi, and speciosa are also 

 good plants. 



Dracaena. The coloured -leaved Dracaenas are exceedingly numerous, 

 and as table plants they are much admired. They are essentially stove 

 plants, and need considerable care in their culture, as the loss of a single 

 leaf will often destroy the symmetrical character of a specimen and 

 greatly depreciate its value. The members of this section are increased 

 in different ways. The best plants for propagating purposes are those 

 with tall naked stems. Such as these may have the top removed and 

 inserted as a cutting in a pot of sandy soil. The stems may also be cut 

 up into lengths of 3-4 in., laid in a bed of coconut fibre, and be covered 

 to the depth of J in.; while lastly the underground rhizomes, or "toes" 

 as the propagator terms them, may be treated in the same way. It is 

 essential that the bed of coconut fibre should have a fair amount of bottom 

 heat, and stove temperature must of course be maintained. From the 

 buried stems young shoots will be pushed up from every joint, and when 

 they are large enough, and have formed roots of their own, they may be 



Fig. IIS. Dipladenia atropurpurea 



