206 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Bougainvilleea continued. 



bracts, in threes. Summer. I. bright green, smooth. Brazil, 

 1861. This is by far the best species for pot culture, and forms 

 a very showy plant when well grown. 



B. speciosa (beautiful).* fl., bracts large, cordate, delicate lilac 

 rose, produced in immense panicles, which, in well grown speci- 

 mens, are so freely produced as to entirely shroud the whole plant. 

 March to June. I. ovate, very dark green, covered on the upper 

 surface with small hairs. Stems branched, abundantly furnished 

 with large recurved spines. Brazil, 1861. (F. M. L, 62.) 

 B. spectabilis (showy), fl., bracts of a dull brick-red, shaded with 

 scarlet. South America, 1829. It is very difficult to obtain bloom 

 on this plant ; and when flowers are produced, they are extremely 

 ephemeral. The species is, for all practical purposes, much 

 inferior to either of the foregoing. SYN. Josepha, augusta. See 

 Fig. 269. 



BOURBON PALM. See Latania. 

 BOUSSINGAULTIA (named after Boussingault, a 

 celebrated chemist). OED. Chenopodiaceca. Very pretty 

 half-hardy, tuberous-rooted plants, requiring a rich vege- 

 table sandy soil, and a well-drained sunny aspect, under 

 which conditions the first-mentioned species develops into 

 a very luxuriant trailing plant, attaining a length of 20in. 

 or more. Propagated freely by means of the tubercles of 

 the stem; these are, however, extremely brittle. 

 B. baselloldes (Basella-like).* fl. white, ultimately becoming 

 black, fragrant, small, disposed in clusters, 2in. to 4in. long, 

 which are axillary at the ends of the branches. Late autumn. 



L alternate, cordate, smooth, shining, fleshy, slightly wavy 

 Stems very twining, tinged red, very quick-growing, producing 

 tubercles. South America, 1835. (B. M. 3620.) 

 B. Lachaumei (Lachaume's). fl. rose, constantly in perfection. 

 Cuba, 1872. A stove species. 



BOT7VARDIA (named after Dr. Charles "Bouvard, 

 formerly superintendent of the Jardin du Roi, at Paris). 

 OED. RubiacecB. Handsome greenhouse evergreen shrubs. 

 Peduncles terminal, three-flowered, or trichotomous and 

 corymbose ; corolla funnel-shaped, tubular, elongated, beset 

 with velvety papillae outside, and a four-parted, spreading, 

 short limb. Leaves opposite, or in whorls; stipules nar- 

 row, acute, adnate to the petioles on both sides. These 

 extensively cultivated plants are among the most useful 



FIG. 270. FLOWERING BRANCH OF BOUVARDIA, 



for conservatory or greenhouse decoration (see Fig. 270, 

 for which we are indebted to Messrs. Cannell and Sons),' 

 and the flowers are largely employed in a cut state. 

 Perhaps only two are fragrant, viz., jasminiflora and 



Bouvardia continued. 



Humboldtii. Cultivation: Presuming the grower to be 

 commencing with young rooted cuttings, these should be 

 potted off into a mixture of good fibrous loam, leaf soil, 

 and sand, in equal proportions, to which may be added 

 a small quantity of peat ; they should then be placed in 

 a temperature of from 70deg. to SOdeg. until fully esta- 

 blished in the small pots. It is necessary at this stage 

 to stop the young plants back to the first joint, and as 

 they continue to make fresh breaks, to keep on pinching 

 them back during the whole period of cultivation, or until 

 sufficiently bushy plants are produced. Many growers 

 neglect stopping far too much, the result being ill-shaped 

 and almost flowerless plants. The pinching, of course, can 

 be regulated by the time the plants are required to flower; 

 and it is unwise, in most cases, to stop them after the 

 end of August. When the small pots are well filled 

 with roots, the plants should be shifted into the flowering 

 pots, viz., large 48-sized, which are quite commodious 

 enough to grow very fine plants, a similar compost as in 

 the first potting, with a little Standen's manure added, 

 being used, and good drainage provided. A cool green- 

 house, with a damp bottom for the pots to rest upon, 

 and with a moist atmosphere, is the most suitable place in 

 which to grow them during late spring and early summer, 

 the moist air being very desirable as an effectual check 

 to red spider, a pest very fond of the foliage, which it 

 permanently disfigures. A cold pit or close frame is 

 better during the summer months, as a moist atmosphere 

 and cool bottom are then certain. Ventilation may be 

 effected during the greater part of the day by tilting the 

 lights below, and on fine nights they may be removed 

 altogether. During bright sunshine, shading will be bene- 

 ficial. All through the period of active growth, it is 

 absolutely necessary that the plants should receive plenty 

 of water, or they will surely suffer ; and when the pots are 

 filled with roots, occasional doses of manure water will be 

 beneficial. Many cultivators plant them out about the end 

 of June, in favoured situations, or in spent hotbeds, when 

 they make very vigorous growth ; and, if carefully pinched 

 and watered, fine specimens are obtained. These are lifted 

 in early autumn, with a good ball, potted, and kept shaded 

 for a few days until the roots are again active, when 

 they are taken to the house in which they are intended 

 to bloom, and on enormous supply of flowers is secured. 

 We have also seen Bouvardias planted out permanently 

 in beds, in prepared pits, in which the winter tem- 

 perature was not less than 55deg., with very satis- 

 factory results ; the quantity of bloom being very great. 

 Of course, with the last-named treatment, it is essential 

 to give the plants a rest and hardening-off after flower- 

 ing, and when they are started into fresh growth to 

 keep them well pinched and watered. Bouvardias are 

 liable to the attacks of red spider and green fly. The 

 former stands little chance of existence if the plants 

 are kept well supplied with moisture ; the latter may 

 be destroyed by fumigating with tobacco. Mealy bug 

 are also troublesome, and should be sponged off with 

 a solution of Gishurst's Compound. Propagation: After 

 flowering, and a slight rest and hardening-off, the old 

 plants should be cut back, placed in heat, in a stove 

 or cucumber pit, and freely syringed, which will cause 

 them to break freely, and produce a good supply of 

 cuttings. When the young shoots are from l^in. to 

 2in. long., they are in the best condition for striking. 

 It is not necessary that they should be cut off at a 

 joint, as they will root from any surface of the stem; 

 and, working economically, it is wiser to cut them off just 

 above the first joint, as other shoots will speedily break 

 out, which may, in their turn, be taken. Pots about 5in. 

 across should have previously been prepared for the cut- 

 tings, by being well drained and filled with a mixture of 

 good fibrous loam, leaf soil, and coarse sand, in equal parts, 

 with a copious supply of sand upon the surface, into which 

 the cuttings should be dibbled pretty thickly. A good 



