134 



BASKET PLANTS 



BAUHINIA 



6. CLIMBING. 



Maurandia, **Lygodimn scandens, *Senecio scandens, 

 Thunbergia, Cobaea scandens, Japanese Variegated Hop, 

 Manettiabicolor, LoniceraHalliana, L. aurea, var. reticu- 

 lata, Clematis coccinea, Tropaeolum peregriiiura. 



c. SHORT-DROOPING, OR HALF-ERECT. 



*Lobelia Erinus, *Othonna crassifolia,*Sweet Alyssum, 

 *Tradescantia, Petunias, Oxalis flpribiinda, *Russelia 

 juncea (also bears sun well), *Fittonia, *Fuchsia procum- 

 bens, Ice Plant, Verbena, *Ivy Geranium, **Selaginellas, 

 *Begonia glaucophylla, var. scandens, *Sedum Sieboldi, 

 *S. carneum, var. variegatum, *Asparagus Sprengerii, 

 *Passifloras, *Panicum variegatum, Gazania splendens, 

 Abutilon megapotamicum and var. variegatum, Lantana 

 delicatissima, Solanum jasminoides, S. Seaforthianum, 

 Convolvulus Mauritanicus. 



2. PLANTS OF UPRIGHT HABIT. 

 a. LOW-GROWING. 



1. Flowering Plants. 



*Torenia, *Pansy, Cuphea platycentra, C. hyssopifolia, 

 *Primula obconica, Dwarf Alyssum, Bellis perennis, 

 Linum or Reinwardtia trigynum, Phlox Drummondii, 

 Dutch bulbs. 



2. Foliage Plants. 



*Peperomia, *Begonia Rex, *Farfugium grande, Alter- 

 nanthera, **Maidenhair Fern, Geraniums (especially 

 Mme. Salleroi), *Isolepis gracilis (droops with age). 



6. TALLER GROWING. 



1. Flowering. 



Geraniums Pelargonium *Fuchsias, Petunias, *Bego- 

 nias, Browallia, *Stevia serrata, var. nana, Madagascar 

 Periwinkle, *Nierembergia, Lantana, *Impatiens Sultana, 

 Cuphea Llavea, Swainsona, Chrysanthemum frutes- 

 cens, Salvias. 



2. Foliage. 



*Dusty Miller, *Crotons, *Palms, **Ferns, *Fancy Cala- 

 diums, Coleus, Achyranthes, **Aspidistra, *Cyperus alter- 

 nifolius, *Draeaena indivisa, *D. terminalis, Coccoloba 

 platyclada. 



Some of the above plauts make large subjects when 

 growing in the open ground. Of such, only young or 

 smaller plants are available for use in hanging baskets. 

 Ordinarily, several different sorts of plants are used for 

 filling a basket. In some cases, however, a pretty 

 basket is made by using but one kind of pla^t. A hang- 

 ing basket filled with sword fern, for instance, makes 

 a handsome object. 



Baskets of a variety of patterns are obtainable from 

 florists and other dealers. The baskets most extensively 

 used, perhaps, are made of strong wire, woven into hem- 

 ispherical or other forms. These are sometimes plain, 

 and again of ornamental character. The better form has 

 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 f . rmed of rustic work. Here the vessel 

 or plant basin is covered about the sides with rough 

 bark or knotted roots. For this purpose the roots of the 

 laurel are much used. Above the basket there is an arch 

 or handle by which it is suspended. Again, earthen- 

 ware vessels, to be suspended by wires, are offered for 

 sale in a variety of shapes. Some of these are moulded 

 and painted in imitation of logs, and are known as " stick " 

 and "log baskets." Such baskets are often without pro- 

 vision for drainage. When this is the case, holes should 

 be drilled at the lowest point in the bottom. A special 

 form of basket is much used for orchids. It is made of 

 square cedar slats in raft- or log-fashion. Fern-fiber and 

 broken bits of brick, flower-pots or charcoal, are used 

 for filling them. 



The soil used in hanging baskets is simply good, 

 common florists' potting soil. This usually contains 

 about 25 per cent of humus, and a small amount of 

 sharp sand to make it porous. Prior to filling, wire 

 baskets must be lined with moss. This is merely com- 

 mon woodland moss from rotting logs, or rich, damp soil. 

 In filling baskets, a few drooping or climbing plants are 

 disposed around the sides ; then one or more upright- 

 growing or half-erect plants, according to the size of the 

 plants and basket, are planted in the center. Immediate 

 effects require plants which have already made consid- 

 erable growth. Florists usually carry a stock of suitable 

 plants. In case seedlings or cuttings are grown for the 

 purpose, it is usually best to start them in seed-pans or 

 cutting-boxes, and transfer them later to the basket. 



Seeds may be sown, or the cuttings started in the basket, 

 but it is so long before they fill the basket that there is 

 no advantage in it. 



A common mistake in arranging baskets is crowding, 

 or filling them too full. Fewer plants will appear more 

 graceful, growth will be more vigorous, and the basket 

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

 cise vigilance and care in watering. After the roots 

 have well filled the basket, watering is best done by 

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

 lowing it to remain until it is well saturated. Dipping 

 the basket in weak liquid manure once or twice a month 

 will greatly promote vigor when the plants have been 

 long in the basket. These remarks also apply in a 

 general way to vases and rustic stands. 



ERNEST WALKER. 



BASSWOOD. See Tilia. 



BAST. The soft part of the flbro-vascular bundles iiv 

 plants, abundant in the inner bark. It increases in 

 thickness simultaneously with the wood, but much less 

 rapidly. The fibrous elements in the bast of Basswood 

 have been used in making cordage ; also in making 

 strong paper. w. W. ROWLEE. 



BATATAS. See Ipomcea. 



BATEMANNIA (in honor of James Bateman, the dis- 

 tinguished collector and cultivator, and author of im- 

 portant' works on Orchids). Ore hidacece, tribe Vdndew. 

 Pseudobulbs short : leaf -blades- coriaceous : fls. large, 

 2%-3 in. in diam., single or in pairs. Cult, like Cattleya. 

 During the growing period they should be well supplied 

 with water and kept from strong sunlight. 



Cdlleyi, Lindl. Petals and sepals purplish or umber- 

 brown, shading to yellowish green at the base. Deme- 

 rara. B.E. 1714. B.M. 3818. 



Meleagris, Reichb. f. Petals and sepals pale yellow, 

 brown toward the summits, broad at the base : labellum 

 white at the base. Brazil. 



B. Burtii, Endr. & Reichb. f.,with 1-fld. peduncles, =Zygo- 

 petalum. OAKES AMES. 



BAUHlNIA (after John and Caspar Bauhin, sixteenth 

 century herbalists ; the twin leaflets suggesting two 

 brothers). Leguminosce, but there is nothing to sug- 

 gest the legume family to the northern horticulturist ex- 

 cept the pod. MOUNTAIN EBONY. A genus of over 200 

 species, allied to Cercis. Tropical trees, shrubs, or vines, 

 with showy fls. ranging from white to purple, and Ivs. 

 which may be entire or 2-lobed, in some cases the Ifts. 

 being entirely free ; the petiole is prolonged into a 

 short but characteristic awn between the Ifts. : petals 5. 

 The number and fertility of the stamens are important 

 characters in determining the subgenera. They are 

 much cult, in S. Fla. and S. Calif, in sandy soils. Prop, 

 by seeds ; rarely by cuttings of half -ripened wood. 



B. variegata and B. purpurea are two of the com- 

 monest and showiest small trees of India, and, although 

 frequently introduced into northern greenhouses, have 

 rarely succeeded permanently. B. variegata is much 

 cult, in India, and, when covered with blossoms, resem- 

 bles a gigantic Pelargonium. The astringent bark is 

 used in tanning and dyeing, and the Ivs. and fl.-buds as 

 a vegetable, the latter being pickled. "The reason for 

 these plants being so little grown in our hothouses," 

 says J. D. Hooker, "is, no doubt, that they must attain 

 some size before they flower, and that they require a 

 dry season to ripen their wood, the giving of which, 

 without killing the plant by drought, is the standing 

 crux of all establishments." Great numbers of species 

 of Bauhinia are likely to be introduced from time to 

 time because of their gorgeous appearance in the trop- 

 ics. In the experience of Old World gardeners, the most 

 reliable species under glass are B. variegata, B. corym- 

 bosa, and B. Natalensis. These can be planted outside 

 here in summer, and kept over winter as oleanders are. 



A. Lvs. divided not to the middle. 



B. Fls. usually colored. 



variegata, Linn. Tree, 6-20 ft. : Ivs. 3-4 in. across, 

 orbicular, 9-11 nerved, lobes rounded ; petiole 1-2 in. 

 long : fls. about 7, in a short raceme, 4 in. across ; calyx 



