164 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



practised. Priory Beauty and Alfred Neuner are two charming 

 varieties of Bouvardia. 



Cacti. See separate section. 



Caladium. One often sees in groups of hothouse plants at the 

 exhibitions, or in the botanic gardens, bold plants with large, 

 shield or heart-shaped leaves, very brilliantly coloured. These are 

 Caladiums. It is for their foliage, and not for their flowers, that 

 they are grown. Except in the case of one or two species, notably 

 the pretty silvery leaved one called argyrites, they are not quite 

 suitable for small structures, as they are vigorous growers ; and 

 in any case they should have the temperature of a stove-house. 

 They are tuberous-rooted plants, like Gloxinias; and are dried 

 off in autumn, stored for the winter, and re-started in spring. 

 Large tubers, grown in the normal potting mixture, and given 

 a moist, warm atmosphere, will make enormous leaves. Small 

 tubers will form, and may be grown on by stages. 



Calceolaria. The Calceolaria of the flower garden is familiar to 

 all supporters of the bedding system in the form of a small, yellow, 

 pouch-shaped flower, growing on a low plant with roughish, soft 

 green leaves. The Calceolaria of the florist has the same form of 

 flower, but the size is immensely greater, and the colours are more 

 varied. The former is called the shrubby Calceolaria, because it 

 retains its stems throughout the year; the latter is known as the 

 herbaceous Calceolaria, because it dies down at the end of the 

 season, and springs again the following year. The shrubby Calceo- 

 laria is propagated by cuttings, the herbaceous by seeds. It is the 

 rule to dispense with old plants of both sections after flowering, 

 and to raise fresh every season. The cuttings of the shrubby are 

 inserted in October, the seeds of the herbaceous are sown at mid- 

 summer. The latter is far the more important section. In years 

 gone by the yellow Calceolaria was much in demand for "ribbon 

 borders," but fashion has changed, and it has lost its vogue. The 

 herbaceous Calceolaria is too valuable a plant for early summer 



