12-4 THE FRUIT-TREE AND SHRUB PRUNER. 



but as Pelargoniums cannot be made dwarf, and a well- 

 feathered plant below cannot be bad without this nip- 

 ping out of the main shoots, some of it must be done. 



The same kind of routine is necessary for the Zonals 

 and Common Scarlets for pot work, although there is 

 not half the difficulty attending these as there is with 

 the "fancy " kind, nor is there, perhaps, quite so much 

 stopping required with old plants as with young ones. 



As regards the "Bicolors" and "Tricolors," a 

 somewhat different plan must be adopted. Very old 

 and strong plants of the Tricolor class may be cut 

 back pretty freely if they can be subjected to a mode- 

 rate heat afterwards, or else only a very moderate cut- 

 ting back must be done. The safest and best plan to 

 adopt with them is to commence, while the plants are 

 young, to nip the points out and grow them in a good 

 heat with a weekly watering of weak liquid manure. 



The climbing ivy-leaved sort requires a different 

 kind of management still ; these must either be trained 

 on the trellis, or up the pillars of the house, or on 

 trellises in pots. In any case, some cutting back of the 

 chief leaders must be resorted to occasionally, to pre- 

 vent the plants getting barren of leaf and flowers 

 below. 



The Gardenia. 



The pruning of the Gardenia may be assimilated to 

 that of the Camellia, for both of them bear their flowers 

 upon the preceding year's growth, consequently what- 

 ever cutting back and pruning are required must be 

 done immediately after the flowering is over. Cutting 

 back is necessary to prevent the plants getting barren 

 of foliage below ; but in doing this, care should be taken 

 to cut to some laterals, and these will give out sub- 

 laterals which will fill up the plants with flower-buds 

 in abundance. 



The Gardenia is an especial favourite with the ladies, 

 but the time is past when a guinea must be given for a 

 single flower bud, for the growers of them have found 

 out how to get these flowers at any time and in such 



