LATE SHOWERS & EARLY FLOWERS 



Zonal Geraniums, Fuchsias, Heliotrope, Marguerites, April 

 and others. It is best done when the plants are about IO-30 

 six inches high, and may be repeated (this time on the 

 side shoots which have resulted from the first stopping) 

 if necessary. 



Staking plants. — This is another helpful detail. Plants 

 that are staked betimes grow better than those which 

 are left without support. Florists sell plain or painted 

 stakes of all lengths, and also green raffia tape for tying. 

 Even quite dwarf things like Mignonette and Rho- 

 danthes, as well as all plants that produce one or more 

 leading shoots, are benefited by early staking. Where 

 several plants are grown together in a pot, as in the 

 case of Mignonette, short stakes may be put round the 

 side of the pot, and connected by strands of tying 

 material. It is not desirable to use long stakes for short 

 plants, otherwise the stick tends to become the most 

 prominent object. This consideration should have 

 weight in staking herbaceous plants, Dahlias, Gladioli, 

 and other plants in the garden. 



Propagating the Draught Palm {Aspidistra). — The 

 useful, draught-resisting Aspidistra forms a creeping 

 root stock, and when increase is desired an old plant 

 may be turned out of its pot and a sharp knife passed 

 through the rhizome. Any fairly strong piece so severed 

 will strike if a few root fibres are secured with it. 



Propagating Poinsettias. — Poinsettia Pulcherrima, with 

 its carmine-rose bracts, is as brilliant as any flowering 

 plant, and there are few gardeners who do not grow it. 

 It is not an easy plant to strike from young shoots, but 

 portions of old wood, such as pieces of stem with a bud 

 or two on each, will generally root at this time of the 

 year if inserted in sandy soil, and put in a propagating 

 case. 



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