118 THE amateur's geeenhouse 



poses, but they also make showy pot plants. Those of them 

 that are of a slightly herbaceous character are to be pre- 

 ferred, and the best mode of procedure is to select in early 

 spring some of the most thrifty from a batch of plants 

 raised from autumn cuttings, and pot them on and keep them 

 in a damp pit very close to the glass. They may be flowered 

 well in 48 size, or they may be grown on, and the flowers sup- 

 pressed the first season to make great plants of them to flower 

 the second year. 



Deutzia. — There are several of this genus in cultivation, 

 but the favorite D. gracilis is the only one worth growing in 

 the greenhouse. As it is quite hardy in the south of England, 

 it needs no heat to keep it in winter. The most ordinary care 

 sufiices to ensure an annual display of its elegant white flowers, 

 but if they are wanted early the plant must have a little extra 

 attention. "VVe will suppose you want to secure a good display 

 of deutzias early in the spring. Tou must begin in the first 

 week of May by planting out a lot of one-year old plants in 

 poor soil, in an open sunny situation, and keep them well 

 watered until the end of June, after which time do not give 

 them a drop. In September take them up and put them in as 

 small pots as their roots can be crammed into without any 

 serious injury, and prune them into shape. It is a very easy 

 matter to prune all the flowers out of them : therefore, by the 

 term " pruning" is to be understood the shortening of any extra 

 long shoots that spoil the contour of the plants. Put them in 

 a cold pit and give them a good watering. In November take 

 them to the greenhouse and keep them cool. In the course of a 

 fortnight put them into the warmest part of the house, and in a 

 week afterwards provide for them, if possible, a snug quarter 

 where the temperature averages 60° to 70°. If this cannot be 

 done, be content with the bloom a little later than a forcing 

 heat would give, and as they are sure to flower without any 

 forcing at all, the most humble appliances are sufficient for 

 rendering perfect justice to the plant. 



To raise stock, make cuttings of the young shoots when 

 they are three inches long and growing nicely. Take them ofl" 

 in two-inch lengths and insert in sand, and give them the aid 

 of a steady bottom-heat. A light loamy compost is to be pre- 

 ferred, but the plant will grow in any soil that is neither sour 

 nor pasty. When they acquire some size they may be kept 



