CINERARIA 229 



CINERARIA 



Greenhouse annual 



THE comparative ease with which the Cineraria can be well grown, 

 together with the exceeding beauty and variety of its flowers, will 

 always insure for it a high position in public favour. It is now so 

 generally raised from seed that no other mode of culture need be 

 alluded to. The plant is rapid in growth, very succulent, thirsty, 

 requires generous feeding, and will not endure extremes of heat or 

 cold. A compost of mellow turfy loam, either yellow or brown, with 

 a fair addition of leaf-mould, will grow it to perfection. If leaf- 

 mould be not obtainable, turfy peat will make a fairly good substitute. 

 Soil from an old Melon bed will also answer, with the addition of 

 sharp grit such as road sand, or the sifted sweepings from gravel 

 walks ; the disadvantage of a very rich soil is that it tends to the 

 production of too much foliage. 



The usual period for sowing is during the months of May and June, 

 and, as a rule, the plants raised in May will be found the most 

 valuable. A June sowing must not be expected to produce flowers 

 until the following March or April. It is quite possible to have 

 Cinerarias in bloom in November and December, and those who care 

 for a display at that early period should sow in April. Cinerarias 

 grow so freely that it is not necessary to prick the seedlings off round 

 the edges of pots or pans ; but immediately the plants begin to make 

 their second leaves, transfer direct to thumb pots, using rather coarse 

 soil, and in doing this take care not to cover the hearts of the plants. 

 Place the pots in a close frame ; attend to shading, and sprinkle with 

 soft water both morning and evening until well established. In the 

 second week after potting, gradually diminish the heat and give more 

 air. Too high a temperature, and even too much shade, will produce 

 thin and weakly leaf-stalks. If the plants are so crowded that they 

 touch one another it will almost certainly be productive of mischief, 

 and render them an easy prey to some of their numerous enemies. 

 It is far better to grow a few really fine specimens that will produce a 

 handsome display of superb flowers, than to attempt a large number 

 of feeble plants that will prove a constant source of trouble, and in 

 the end yield but a poor return in bloom. Endeavour to grow them 

 as nearly hardy as the season will allow, even admitting the night air - 

 freely on suitable occasions. Immediately the thumb pots are filled 



