USEFUL GREENHOUSE PLANTS 



BELOW is given a list of the finer greenhouse plants, with 

 simple directions as to their culture. 



Ablltilon. The Abutilons are shrubby plants six feet or more high, 

 and will flower well when about eighteen inches high, and in pots five 

 inches or six inches in diameter. They are also valuable for training to 

 the roof of a greenhouse, or for clothing the back wall of that structure, 

 in which positions their drooping, bell-shaped blossoms are seen to ad- 

 vantage. The flowers vary in colour from white to deep red, through 

 different shades of yellow and pink, while in a few kinds the leaves 

 are prettily variegated. In a warm structure they will flower almost 

 throughout the year, but in an ordinary greenhouse need much the 

 same treatment as a Fuchsia. Cuttings strike root readily by following 

 general details previously given, and ordinary potting soil will suffice 

 for their successful culture. A few good kinds are : Boule de Neige, 

 white ; Golden Fleece, yellow ; Royal Scarlet, and Sanglant, red ; Anna 

 Oozy, pink; Emperor, purplish. With variegated leaves Darwini 

 tessellatum, N&vium marmoratum, Sellowianum variegatum, Souvenir de 

 Bonn, Sowitzi, Thomsoni, and Vexillarium variegatum. The white 

 Boule de Neige is as useful as any ; its bell-like flowers are quite white, 

 and vigorous plants seem always in bloom. 



Acacia. A family of trees and shrubs, for the most part natives 

 of Australia, and producing their yellow flowers during the spring 

 months. They succeed in a mixture of equal parts of loam and peat, 

 with a little sand. Cuttings are difficult to strike except in nurseries, 

 where there are ample appliances for the purpose ; and though seeds 

 can often be obtained, plants raised in this way must attain a large 

 size before they flower. Acacia dealbata is the plant so well known as 

 " Mimosa," cut sprays of which form such a familiar object in London 

 and provincial towns during the early months of the year. They are 

 sent from the Mediterranean shore, where this Acacia grows into large 

 trees. The following kinds produce thin little globular tufts of golden 

 blossom in great profusion, even when the plants are quite small: 

 Acacia armata, grandis, platyptera, and pulchella, while in A. Drum- 

 mondi the flower clusters are in the shape of a bottle brush. A. riceana 

 is a pretty climbing kind, with pale yellow blossoms. All the Acacias 

 may be placed out of doors during the summer months. 



AchimeneS. Pretty, little, soft growing plants that flower during 

 the summer and pass the winter in a dormant state, when they must be 

 kept dry. The underground portion consists of small, elongated tubers, 



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