CHAPTER L 



GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT 



HAVING obtained a greenhouse with its necessary 

 adjuncts, a cold frame or frames, and a well-stocked 

 potting-shed, the amateur should make up his mind at 

 the outset to what purpose he intends to put it. He will have 

 to decide whether he desires to make it a hothouse in which what 

 are known as stove-plants that is to say, plants that require a 

 high temperature tobring them to perfection are to be cultivated ; 

 whether it is to be a warm greenhouse in which during the depths 

 of winter a minimum temperature of 45 to 50 be maintained ; or 

 whether it is to be a cool or cold house in which, while frost can 

 generally be excluded, the subjects which are grown in it will not 

 perish if they be just touched by frost in very severe weather. 



There is still another alternative and it is one that is all too 

 often adopted by the beginner. This is to turn his greenhouse into 

 a general storehouse for plants of very varying natures, in which 

 are collected a number of subjects totally unsuited for cultivation 

 under precisely similar conditions. Herein lies the cause of many 

 failures. It stands to reason that a temperature that is suitable 

 for gloxinias, caladiums and calla lilies, will not suit primulas, 

 cinerarias and auriculas. The plants in the first section re- 

 quire considerable warmth ; those in the second thrive best in a 

 moderate temperature. 



The better way is to confine one's energies to a restricted 

 variety of plants, taking care, in selecting them, to choose those 

 which require similar treatment, especially in regard to tempera- 

 ture. It is far better in the long run to grow a few plants well than 

 to attempt to bring under cultivation in the same greenhouse a 

 larger number of choice subjects each of which demands special 



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