374 



BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



sixpence to half-a-guinea a plant. Most of the leading varieties 

 can be bought for half-a-crown each. If this is complained of as 



dear, it must be said that Auriculas can never 

 be really cheap, because they increase very 

 slowly, and trade growers are unable to work 

 up a large stock of them quickly. They are 

 propagated by means of offsets, which are 

 taken off late in winter and put in small 

 pots. We must not be understood as con- 

 tending that Auriculas of a sort cannot be 

 raised fairly quickly. The plants grow readily 



AURICULA-PROPAGATION ffQm ^fe J f fa^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ 



Offsets severed from parent plant. 



A, offset with a few roots are ripe ; but the point is that the plants 



attached ; B, parent plant 



stem ; c, offset inserted in resulting cannot be relied upon to come of 



soil. 



anything like the quality of their parents. So 

 far as garden Auriculas are concerned, there need be no hesita- 

 tion in growing them from seed, just like hardy Primulas and 

 Polyanthuses. If seed is got from one of the florists who make 

 a speciality of these plants, charming varieties 

 are sure to result. The seed may be sown in 

 May or June, in fine, moist soil in the open, 

 the seedlings thinned, transplanted in due 

 course, and put in the beds or borders in 

 autumn. They will flower the following spring. 

 Pot Auriculas thrive in a compost of four 



,-, , , - , r tii AURICULA POTTING 



parts fibrous loam, one each of leaf-mould, de- 



A shows old ball of soil re- 



cayed manure, and sand, all well mixed. 



Prize Auriculas are repotted annually, and 

 the work is done soon after flowering. It 

 ought not to be done later than July. Five-inch pots are a 

 suitable size, and many growers use glazed instead of ordinary 

 porous pots. They find that the plants do perfectly well in 

 such pots, and the surface of the pottery never gets green and 



duced ; B, drainage, and 

 rougher pans of compost 

 in the bottom of the pot ; 

 C, space left for watering. 



