TORENIATROPiEOLUM 269 



TORENIA 



Greenhouse annual 



Sow in a warm temperature in March or April. Prick off while 

 small into pots, and subsequently pot the seedlings singly. Any 

 fairly good compost will suit them. The branches will need support, 

 and the plants must be kept free from green fly. The Torenias make 

 very elegant pot plants, and they are also well adapted for hanging 

 baskets and other ornamental contrivances. 



TROP^EOLUM 



Nasturtium, or Indian Cress. Hardy and half-hardy annuals 



THE Trop&olum tuberosum is treated under the culture of flowering 

 bulbs, so that here we have only to consider the varieties that are 

 grown from seed. There are two distinct classes, both widely cul- 

 tivated, for the seed is inexpensive, and the plants extremely showy 

 and easily raised. 



Tropceolum majus is the climbing Nasturtium, or great Indian 

 Cress. The flower as originally obtained from Peru was a rich 

 orange, marked with deep reddish-brown, but it has been developed 

 into various shades of yellow and red culminating in a tint which is 

 almost black. The leaves are nearly circular, and are attached to 

 the long footstalks by the centre instead of at the margin. Loudon 

 fancifully compares the leaf to a buckler, and the flower to an empty 

 helmet. The Lobbianum section is close in habit, with smaller 

 foliage borne on somewhat woolly stems. All the varieties bloom 

 freely and constitute a brilliant class of climbers of great value for 

 brightening up the backs of borders or hiding unsightly objects. 

 After the seeds have been dibbled about an inch deep either in April 

 or May the only attention the plants require is to nip out a straggling 

 shoot occasionally, or prevent a stray branch from reaching over and 

 smothering some plant which will not endure its embraces. 



The well-known Canary Creeper T. canariense is a distinct 

 variety, and as a half-hardy annual must be raised under protection. 

 Unlike the others it needs a rich soil to insure vigorous growth. 

 When liberally treated the entire plant will be covered with its bright 

 fairy-like flowers, until frost ends its career. 



The Tom Thumb, or Dwarf varieties make excellent bedding 



