MAY. 



642 



MAY. 



Azaleas. Azaleas as they go out of 

 bloom should be attended to, the old 

 flowers and seed vessels picked off. 

 Should they require repotting, it should 

 be done when the new growth begins; 

 the strong shoots of young plants stopped, 

 except one, to form a centre for a tall 

 pyramidal-shaped plant, the best form for 

 this beautiful tribe of flowering plants. 



Calceolarias. Herbaceous calceolarias, 

 either in flower or coming into bloom, 

 require watering freely. Pick off all de- 

 cayed leaves from calceolarias and other 

 shrubby plants, and peg down, to furnish 

 the surface of the pots. 



Chinese Primroses. When these have 

 finished flowering keep close for a short 

 time, and when the young growth has 

 appeared, and is sufficiently large, take off 

 the offsets, or shoots, and pot separately 

 in small pots, well drained, in a compost 

 of peaty loam and silver sand. Keep the 

 cuttings in a close pit or frame, until well, 

 rooted, when they may be shifted into 

 larger pots. 



Cleansing Greenhouse. If the green- 

 house is not much used during the summer 

 months and this is frequently the case 

 with small houses found in small gardens 

 advantage should be taken of the tem- 

 porary absence of the plants to scrub, 

 cleanse, and newly paint the exterior 

 and interior before the return of its 

 inmates. 



Climbers in Greenhouse. It by no 

 means follows that the greenhouse must 

 of necessity remain empty during the 

 summer season. It has been well said 

 that ' all glasshouses in villa gardens 

 should have one or more creepers or 

 strong-growing plants on the roof, such 

 as Passiflora ccerulea, Dolichos Agnosus, 

 some of the clematises, tacsonias, such as 

 Van Volxemii, Mandevillea suaveolens^ 

 Cobcea scandens variegata^ or even jas- 

 mines, tall fuchsias, myrtles, Plumbago 



capensis, and heliotropes. These should 

 be encouraged to grow freely, and if a few 

 hanging baskets of Lobelia speciosa and 

 Paxtonii, fuchsias, thunbergias, petunias, 

 ivy-leaved pelargoniums, achimenes, and 

 ferns are suspended from the roof, the 

 whole will have a pleasing effect without 

 much trouble. A good deal may be done 

 to furnish a house with even commoner 

 things than these, such as maurandyas, 

 canary creepers, tropaeolums, convolvolus 

 major, ipomseas, verbenas, petunias, sedums, 

 saxifrages, echeverias, and such annuals as 

 nemophilas of sorts." 



Coronillas and Cytisuses. These plants 

 will now be in bloom, and should be 

 placed well in the light, and have a good 

 supply of air. A look out must be kept 

 for the appearance of green fly on them, 

 which must be immediately checked by 

 fumigation. 



Fuchsias. These require liberal shifting 

 in order to grow them properly. Select 

 strong plants of either, and shift them into 

 a sufficiently large pot filled with a good 

 rich compost, and, if convenient, place 

 them in a gentle bottom heat. Shade 

 them from the sun, and syringe occasion- 

 ally, to keep up a moist atmosphere. If 

 they are required to be large plants, 

 pinch out the first flower buds and place 

 stakes a foot higher than the plants, to 

 tie them to as they grow. When well 

 established, give liquid manure and ample 

 ventilation during the day ; but shut up 

 early to promote vigorous growth. 



Geraniums, Scarlet. These should be 

 encouraged to grow by liberal shifting, 

 and when established water freely, giving 

 liquid manure to those fully rooted. Stop 

 those that are growing freely, that they 

 may become compact and bushy plants. 



Heaths. These, with epacrises, ferns, 

 lycopodiums, and any other greenhouse 

 plants that appear to require it, may now 

 be shifted, as it is a good season for thus 



