GLOXINIA 



GLYCERIA 



1351 



older forms of garden gloxinias may look up the fol- 

 lowing portraits: B.M. 1937, speciosa itself; B.M. 

 3206, var. albiflora; B.M. 3934, var. macrophylla varie- 

 gata; B.M. 3943, var. Menziesii; F.S. 3:220, Teichleri 

 (hybrid); F.S. 3:268; F.S. 4:311, Fyfiana (hybrid); 

 F.S. 6:610; F.S. 10: 1002; F.S. 14:1434-6; F.S. 16:1699 

 and 1705; F.S. 17:1768, 1772-6; F.S. 18:1846, 1878, 

 1885, 1918, 1919; F.S. 19:1955, double forms; F.S. 

 21:2164; F.S. 22:2324. I.E. 42:39, 41. Gt. 47, p. 79; 

 Gt. 48, p. 80. Gn. 15:162; 43:392; 52, p. 268. R.H. 

 1846:301, teuchlerii; R.H. 1848:201, Fyfiana; 1877:70, 

 variabilis; R.H. 1883, p. 248. For florists' plants, see 

 A.F. 11:7; A.G. 14:49; Gng. 6:83. There are many 

 Latin-made names of garden gloxinias, but the plants 

 are only forms of the G. speciosa type. One of the 

 trade entries is G. crassifolia, a name applied to some 

 of the best and largest-growing strains. 



There are double forms of gloxinia, in which an 

 outer but shorter corolla is formed. The forms are 

 more curious than useful. L. jj. 3. 



Cultivation of gloxinia. 



Few flowers can surpass the large tubular blooms of 

 gloxinia for richness and variety of coloring. The 

 colors range through all the shades of blues and purples, 

 pinks and crimsons, while some are pure white, and 

 others again white with tinted edges; still others have 

 the colors dotted on the lighter ground - color. The 

 foliage also of gloxinias is very beautiful, being of a 

 rich soft velvety texture. Gloxinias make a gorgeous 

 display, therefore, when in flower and are especially 

 valuable for the decoration of conservatories during 

 the summer and early fall months. 



Gloxinias are native of tropical America and therefore 

 require a warm greenhouse or tropical temperature in 

 the growing season. When first introduced into culti- 

 vation, and even for many years after, the flowers of 

 gloxinias were all nodding, that is they hung down 

 instead of standing upright; no one now grows the 

 nodding-flowered kinds, the upright-flowered being so 

 much more attractive. 



Though they may be grown so as to flower at almost 

 any season of the year, yet they are naturally summer- 

 flowering plants, and do best when treated as such. 

 They are propagated by seeds, or by cuttings made of 

 leaves or stems. Seeds are preferable, unless one wishes 

 to increase some very choice colored variety, when it is 

 best to propagate by leaf -cuttings, using partly matured 

 medium-sized leaves with a small portion of leaf-stalk 

 attached (Fig. 1176, p. 929). These may be inserted 

 in an ordinary propagating-bed, where if kept rather 

 on the dry side, they will soon root and form tubers, 

 when they may be potted and grown on. Seeds should 

 be sown in a warm temperature early in February, in 

 pans or shallow boxes containing a finely sifted mixture 

 of peat, leaf-mold and silver sand in about equal pro- 

 portions. The seedlings will begin to appear in about 

 ten days, when great care must be exercised in water- 

 ing, or they will "damp-off." In fact, success with 

 these plants throughout the year depends largely upon 

 the care exercised in watering. Even in their most 

 active growth the water always should be given from 

 the spout of a watering-can, taking care not to wet the 

 leaves, though they like a warm, humid atmosphere 

 during their growing season. As soon as the seedlings 

 can be conveniently handled, they should be potted 

 singly into thumb-pots and grown on rapidly ; using 

 in subsequent shifts a mixture of two parts leaf-mold, 

 one part good fibrous loam and one part peat. The 

 plants must be well shaded from sunlight and placed in 

 a position free from draughts. The seedlings should 

 begin to flower by the middle of August, when they 

 should be given an abundance of air. After flowering, 

 the leaves will begin to mature, when water should be 

 gradually withheld. As soon as the leaves have all 



ripened off, the pots should be stored away in some con- 

 venient place for the winter, in a temperature of about 

 45, giving just sufficient water to keep the tubers from 

 shriveling. Toward the middle of February the tubers 

 will show signs of starting into growth. A batch should 

 be started at this time, choosing the tubers which ap- 

 pear most active, and the remainder should be held back 

 for another month; this will give a much longer period 

 of blossoming. The tubers should have all the old soil 

 shaken off and be potted again in clean well-drained 

 pots, using sizes just large enough to accommodate the 

 tubers, the compost being the same mixture as before 

 recommended. They should be given but little water 

 until active root-growth commences. As soon as the 

 pots are filled with roots, they should be shifted on at 

 once into the pots they are intended to flower in, as 

 frequent shifts would more or less damage their leaves, 

 which have a tendency to cling round the sides of the 

 pots. The first batch should come into flower in June. 



When carefully grown, gloxinias are particularly free 

 from insect pests or fungous diseases, and the same 

 tubers can be grown for several years. 



EDWARD J. CANNING. 



GLYCERIA (Greek, glukeros, sweet). Graminex. 

 Marsh perennials with open (or rarely contracted) 

 panicles, sometimes grown for ornament. 



Spikelets few- to many-fld.; lemmas convex, firm, 

 with a scarious margin or apex, usually obtuse, awnless, 

 prominently 5-9-nerved. Species about 16 in temper- 

 ate regions of both hemispheres. 



grandis, Wats. (Paniculdria ameri- 

 cdna, MacM.). REED MEADOW-GRASS. 



1657. Glyceria grandis. (XK) 



