POTTED FLOWERING PLANTS 349 



funnel-formed, campanulate or rotate. The stamens 

 are from five to ten, and the ovary is five-celled. 

 Habitat. North America and Asia. 



536. Commercial importance. Azaleas are an exceed- 

 ingly important crop from the flower-growers' viewpoint. 

 The demand for these flowering plants at Christmas and 

 at Easter often exceeds the supply. Large numbers are 

 imported yearly from Holland and Belgium. 



537. Culture. As soon as the importation from Eu- 

 rope is received, azaleas should be unpacked, and each 

 plant having a dry root system should be placed in a tub 

 of water long enough to saturate thoroughly the ball of 

 roots. This is very important; otherwise, the fibrous 

 roots, which have become so shrunken and exhausted of 

 their water supply, will require a long time in which to 

 revive. 



Azaleas should be potted immediately into as small 

 pots as possible, using a mixture of equal parts of leaf- 

 mold and garden loam, with enough sharp sand to insure 

 excellent drainage. The azalea is very particular as to 

 its water supply. The soil should never be dry; on the 

 other hand it should never contain enough water to make 

 it stagnant. After the azaleas have been potted, they 

 should be placed in a cool, shaded house, and in rather a 

 close atmosphere. They should be sprayed daily, gradu- 

 ally given increased sunlight, and when w^ell established in 

 the pots, should be given full sunlight, in a cool house w r ell 

 supplied with fresh air. The varieties which are to be held 

 back for Easter should be kept in a temperature of 45 to 

 50 and those desired for Christmas allowed a temperature 

 of 50 to 55. This temperature permits the buds to 

 develop gradually, and six or eight weeks before Christ- 

 mas the plants should be placed in a temperature of 60 



