A Beautiful Vine for an Amateur's Greenhouse. The Bouganvillea Sanderii, as now Growing in 



Mr. Alexander's Greenhouse. 



placed around the edges of the pot or 

 box, growth is encouraged and more 

 rapid development results. The cutting 

 should be made into the hard wood, but 

 not lower than the second or third joint. 

 The cut should be just below a joint and 

 square across so that the base sits flat on 

 the sand. A common fault with ama- 

 teurs is to 'hang' the cutting. The 

 earth is not packed soHdly around the 

 stem but merely pressed around the 

 upper part, leaving a space around the 

 base. Plants set in this way soon wilt 

 and rot off. When light sand is used a 

 thorough watering after setting causes 

 the sand to settle around the cutting 

 and drive out all the air. 



"When these young plants are well 

 rooted they should be put in two and a 

 half or three inch pots. Ordinary pot- 

 ting soil can be used, and it should be 

 packed firmly. Sometimes the plants 

 can go from these pots to the beds, but 

 the strong growing ones should be reset 

 to four inch pots in April. Two or three 

 weeks after potting the plants should be 

 pinched back to give a strong, dwarf, 

 hardy plant. It is bad practice to pinch 

 or cut back a geranium at the time of 

 repotting, as a check is given to both 



ends at once. It is best to do the pinch- 

 ing some time after repotting. Geran- 

 iums require bright sun and plenty of 

 air. Many amateurs fail because they 

 attempt to grow them in the shade. 

 Sunshine and air induces stocky growth 

 and numerous flowers. 



"The best coleus plants, too, are 

 obtained by propagating a few cuttings 

 through the winter and throwing away 

 the old plants. Cuttings from the stock 

 brought in in the fall become sickly be- 

 fore spring. Better results can be had 

 by taking the tips of the first cuttings 

 and resetting them. In this way the 

 plants become tougher and stronger and 

 more suitable for bedding purposes. 

 After resetting about three times new 

 cuttings may be taken in April, and first- 

 class bedding stock will be ready by 

 June. 



"Abutilons, or flowering maples, are 

 slow growers and must be started early 

 in January. . The same treatment as for 

 geraniums suits them, but they must be 

 kept from the sun for a few weeks after 

 setting. Vincas, or periwinkle, too, 

 should be started in January. Tuberous 

 begonias may be started from seed in 

 January, or tubers can be obtained as 



late as April. For propagation froin 

 seed a light sandy soil is needed. A 

 thorough watering should be given^^be- 

 fore the seed is sown. They are hard to 

 raise without a greenhouse as there is not 

 sufficient moisture in the atmosphere of 

 an ordinary room. Where ferns thrive 

 begonias also do well. The Centaurea 

 candidissima, or dusty miller, sown in 

 January, and the Centaurea gymnocarpa 

 sown in March, attain suitable sizes by 

 June. 



"Ageratum and irisenes root all along 

 the stem and need not be cut off at the 

 joint. They can be started in March or 

 April, in the same soil as the coleuses. 

 Anthurium variegatum makes a beauti- 

 ful border for begonias or cannas, and 

 may be propagated readily in the house. 

 When the tip is cut off the flower stem, 

 young shoots appear along the stem. 

 These, when two inches long, can be put 

 in sand in March and be large enough 

 for bedding. Stevias should be started 

 in January to have a good plants by June. 

 The old wood should be cut off when the 

 plants are taken in, and soon young 

 shoots come. These shoots grow readily 

 and much more quickly than the 

 old wood." 



