436 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



pendulous flowers which are the pride of the professional gardener 

 and nurseryman. 



CARNATIONS (Perpetual Flowering). The amateur who essays 

 to grow a heterogeneous collection of plants in his greenhouse 

 often makes the mistake of including among their number a few 

 pots of perpetual flowering or American tree carnations in the 

 hope that they will flower and do him justice if he afford them 

 similar treatment to that given to his other plants. Any such 

 expectation can only lead to disillusionment and failure. Any 

 attempt to grow these choice denizens of the greenhouse in a 

 structure already crowded with miscellaneous plants cannot fail 

 to result in lanky attenuated growth, diseased foliage, and poor 

 and sickly blooms. 



The culture of perpetual flowering carnations should, there- 

 fore, only be essayed when they can be afforded plenty of room, 

 and in glasshouses in which the atmosphere can be kept buoyant 

 and the temperature equable. Where these conditions can be 

 realised there should be no hesitation about undertaking their 

 culture. The flowers are beautiful in themselves, are excellent 

 for cutting, and last a long time both on the plant and after they 

 have been severed from it. 



The best time to obtain a small collection is in the autumn, and 

 some of the most choice and dependable varieties are Enchantress, 

 Britannia, T. W. Lawson, Beacon, Mrs Burnett, Harlowarden, 

 Lady Bountiful, Afterglow, Rose Dore"e, President Roosevelt and 

 White Perfection. The plants will be in five-inch pots, and they 

 should be placed in a moderately cool greenhouse. As soon as 

 they have become acclimatised they may be repotted in eight-inch 

 pots for flowering. It is essential that the pots be scrupulously 

 clean. The most suitable soil should consist of three parts 

 turfy loam, together with equal parts of leaf mould, sharp sand, 

 and well decayed manure. Do not bury the old ball of roots 

 deeply ; keep it near the surface, and be sure that the soil is made 

 very firm as the potting proceeds. 



Careful watering will be necessary for a time so as not to induce 

 a waterlogged condition of the soil. But when root growth be- 



