210 THE amateur's geeenhouse 



The cuttings strike with greater freedom this way than they 

 would do if they were surrounded by soil only. After the 

 cuttings are inserted, place the pots in a position where they 

 are exposed to the full light and air, for no close coddling 

 must be attempted, or the cuttings will very soon damp off, 

 especially if the soil is kept too moist. A greenhouse shelf 

 fully exposed to the sun, and a mat thrown over the glass, to 

 break the full force of its rays and prevent them from being 

 burnt up before they have formed roots, are probably the most 

 favorable conditions to ensure their striking quickly. The 

 branches can also be cut up into lengths and struck, if a 

 number of plants are wanted, and the stock of growing points 

 is limited. 



After the cuttings are rooted, they must be put into small 

 pots, and there remain during the winter. In the spring, shift 

 into pots two sizes larger, and give them a little encourage- 

 ment for a few weeks by placing them in a growing tempera- 

 ture, about ten degrees higher than that of the cold greenhouse. 

 Directly the plants begin to make fresh roots into the new 

 soil, nip the points off, and when the pots are full of roots, and 

 the plants require a second shift, they can be either put singly 

 into larger pots, or about three plants potted in one large one. 

 The latter method is preferable, as a large specimen can be 

 obtained quicker, and with less trouble, than by growing them 

 on singly. The plants should now have all the light and air 

 possible, for upon the maturity of the wood depends in a great 

 measure the quantity of bloom the following summer. The 

 drainage of the pots should be perfect, and water applied 

 rather liberally when the plants are growing freely, but 

 sparingly during the time they are at rest through the winter ; 

 just sufficient, in fact, to keep the foliage from shrivelling. 



From the first the side-shoots must be neatly tied out, to 

 keep them in their places, and prevent their snapping off, 

 which they are very liable to when shifting the plant about. 

 Immediately the beauty of the flowers is gone, cut the plants 

 down in a somewhat similar manner to that in which pelar- 

 goniums are usually cut back after flowering. Give a little 

 extra warmth to induce them to break quickly, and when the 

 young shoots are about an inch in length take the plants out 

 of the pots, remove a portion of the old soil, and repot in a 

 clean pot the same size as that from which it was taken. No 

 exact rule can be laid down as to how low each shoot should 



