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BASKET PLANTS 



BAUHINIA 



si>il. In fillinp b;iskets, a fow drooping or climbing 

 phmts jirt' iiispos»>(l annmd the siiios; then one or more 

 uprinlit-nrowinj: or half-iTcct plants, arcordins to the 

 siie of tlu" plants and biusket. are plaiitod in the centor. 

 Ininuxliato effocts rtHiuiri' plants which have alreatly 

 made oonsiilerable prt)\vth. Florists usually carry a 

 stock of suitable plants. In case seedlings or cuttings 

 an' grown for the purpose, it is usuall\- best to start. 

 them in seed-pans or cutling-lnjxes, and transfer them 

 later to the basket. Seeds ina>- be sown or the cuttings 

 starte«i in the b:uiket, but it is so long before they fill 

 the biu-iket that there is no advantage in it. 



A common mistake in arranging b:u;kets is crowding, 

 or filling them too full. Fewer plants will ai)pear more 

 gnieefid. growth will be more \-igorous, and the b;usket. 

 will retain its grace and beauty for a longer time. Exer- 

 cise vigilance and care in watering. After the roots 

 have well fille<i the biusket, watering is best done by 

 dipping the basket in a tub or barrel of water, and 

 allowing it to remain until it is well saturated. Dipping 

 the basket in weak liquid manure 

 once or twice a month will greatly 



f)roniote vigor when the plants 

 lave been long in the b;isket. 

 These remarks also apply in a 

 general way to vases and rustic 

 stands. 



Baskets of many patterns are 

 obtainable from florists and other 

 dealers. The b;iskets most, exten- 

 sively used, are made of strong 

 wire, woven into hemispherical or 

 other forms. These are sometimes 

 plain, and again of ornamental 

 character. The better form lias a 

 flat bottom, or a stand, formed of 

 wire, to support the basket in an 

 upright position when it is not 

 pendent. Another style is formed 

 of rustic work. Here tlie vessel or 

 plant basin is covered about the 

 sides with rough bark or knotted 

 roots. For this puqjose tlie roots 

 of the laurel are much used. 

 Above the basket there is an arch 

 or handle by which it is suspended. 

 Again, earthenware vessels, to be 

 suspended by wires, are offered 

 for sale in a varietj' of shapes. 

 .Some of these are molded and 



f)ainted in imitation of logs, and are known as "stick 

 »askets" and "log baskets." Such baskets are often 

 without provision for drainage. When this is the ca.se, 

 holes should be drilled at the lowest point in the bottom. 

 A special form of b^ifket is much used for orcfiids. It is 

 rnafle of .square cedar slats in raft- or log-fiishion. Fern- 

 fiber and broken bits of brick, flower-pots or charcoal, 

 are used for filUng them. See also the artich' V'ases. 



Ek.nest \\'alker. 

 BASS WOOD: Tilia. 



BATATAS: Jponuta, 



BATEMANNIA, f,Jame8 Bateman, a distingui.shed 

 coH<ctor and cultivator, and author f imjxirtant 

 orchid works). OrcUiiUicex. Epiphytic; greenhouse. 



Stems thickened into pseudobulbs, l-.3-lvd.: Ivs. pli- 

 ■ itf^-veined: racemes arising from ba.se of pseudobulbs; 

 sepals and petals similar in shape; lip articulated to the 

 f'X)t of the column, the lateral lobes inclosing the 

 "ilumn, the middle lobe short, entire; poUinia 2. — A 

 ingle sfK'cifjs, native of Guiana, rarely seen in cult. 



C6Ueyi, Lindl. Pst-udobulbs 2-3 in. long: Ivs. up to 

 10 in. long: raceme pendulous, with 4 or more distant 

 fls. abfjut .3 in. diam.; 8<;pals and petals vinous, pur- 

 ple, the lateral sepals green-margined; lip white, red- 



476. Rustic basket (with Convolvulus). 



dish stained at the base of middle lobe. B.K. 1714. 

 B.M. 3S1S. George V. Nash. 



BATODENDRON: Vaccinium. 



BAUERA (H. Gottfr. and Franz Bauer, German 

 Ijrofessor and painter, respectively). Saxijragdcex. 

 Choice little evergreen shrubs grown in greenhouses. 



Leaves 3-parted and opposite, looking like a whorl of 

 ('>: fls. white to purple, axillary and solitary, but some- 

 times aggregated at top of the St.; calyx 4~10-divided; 

 petals as many as the calyx-divisions; stamens few to 

 many, borne on a disk; fr. a 2-valved caps., the valves 

 again splitting. — Three sjjecies in Austral, and Tas- 

 mania, one of which is in cult. 



These small shrubs make handsome specimen plants 

 for the cool greenhouse, and flower most of the year, 

 especially during the winter and .spring months. Bau- 

 eras are easily propagated from cuttings of half-ripened 

 wood in spring; cut into lengths of about 2 inches, insert 

 in equal parts of finely sifted peat 

 ami sharj) sand in 3-inch pots, 

 pricking them round the rim of 

 the pot, and cover with a bell- 

 glass in a greenhouse with a tem- 

 perature froin hb° to 60°. Give 

 them a thorough watering at the 

 time of insertion, and they will 

 fretiuently root without further 

 watering. When the cuttings be- 

 gin to show signs of growing, they 

 should be potted singly in 2-inch 

 pots in the same mixture as above, 

 and should be kept in a tight case 

 for a few days. After they have 

 gripped the soil, they should be 

 cut back to about an inch above 

 the pot, which will encourage them 

 to branch. Baueras should never 

 be allowed to become pot-bound 

 until the desired size of plant is 

 reached. The plants at all times 

 should be kept in good shape by 

 cutting back the strong shoots. In 

 simimer, baueras do better when 

 plimged in a bed of coal-ashes 

 out-of-doors, and strict attention 

 given to watering. A cool green- 

 house with a night temperature of 

 40° to 45° will be ideal all winter. 

 Water occasionally with soft-coal soot mixed in water, 

 a handful to an ordinary watering-pot; water with clean 

 water three times and the soot-water once. (Geo. F. 

 Stewart.) 



nibioides, Andr. Erect or prostrate, usually 1-2 ft. 

 in cult., but becoming 6 ft. or more: Ifts. oblong or 

 lanceolate, somewhat acute, 3'4~^2'n. long, serrate: 

 fls. |)ink or white, .slender-pedicelled, the very obtuse 

 petals exceeding the spreading or reflexed acute-toothed 

 calyx-divisions. Inhabits swamjjy places. B.M. 715. 

 L. B.C. 14: 1313 (as B. rubafolia). — An old favorite, 

 blooming in spring. l. H. B. 



BAUHINIA (after .John and Caspar Bauhin, six- 

 teenth century herbalists, the twin leaflets suggesting 

 two brothers). Legnnirnbsa'. Mountain Ebony. 

 OiifHii) Thick. Tropical trees and shrubs, .sometimes 

 climbing, planted in southern Florida and southern 

 California to some extent for the flowers, odd foHage, 

 and general attractive appearance; distinguished by 

 the usually bifid or binate leaves; allied to Cercis. 



Trees, shrubs, or vines, with showy fls. ranging from 

 white to purple and yellow: Ivs. broad, entire or 2-lobed, 

 in some cases the Ifts. being entirely free; petiole pro- 

 longed into a short but characteristic awn between the 

 Ifts.: fls. in simple or panided terminal or axillary 



