HYDRANGEAS. 133 



leas succeed well in a soil composed of one part each of 

 fibrous peat, rotten peat and garden loam, with the addi- 

 tion of sand in proportion to the character of the soil. 

 In Fig. 48 is shown a well-grown azalea, with a compact 

 head, while Fig. 49 shows a more open form, which 

 would be preferred by many. The principal enemies of 

 the azalea are the red spider and thrip, for which reme- 

 dies are given elsewhere, together with descriptions of 

 the insects themselves. 



HYDRANGEAS. 



As a house plant, or for the florist, to be used foi* 

 purposes of decoration, the hydrangea is always desir- 

 able. Coming as it does at Easter, it can be used to 

 good advantage for decoration, or in baskets or designs 

 of cut flowers, and the sale of plants in five-, six-, or 

 seven-inch pots is generally large, and at remunerative 

 prices. As a rule, there will be a demand for the plants 

 as late as May or June, which will enable the florist to 

 clean out the plants that were late in coming into bloom. 

 It is well to have the plants out of the way as early as 

 possible, in order to make room for other plants. 



Hydrangeas are readily propagated from half-hard 

 cuttings, struck at any time from February to June ; for 

 Easter sales they should be in the cutting bed as early as 

 March. After being potted off they can be handled in 

 various ways, that requiring least care being to plant 

 them out as soon as the weather permits, in the open 

 ground, where they should be mulched and watered if 

 the season is dry. To secure bushy plants, they should 

 be headed back, and the branches pinched once ; late 

 pinching will destroy the flower buds which should 

 form the first season. As autumn approaches, they 

 should, be taken up and potted, using pots of generous 

 size. To ripen the wood, they should be placed in cold 

 frames, where they should have abundant ventilation, 



