THE GROWING OF BEDDING PLANTS. 275 



care, they may be considered together. The alternan- 

 thera, on the other hand, is a small, compact growing 

 plant, seldom reaching a hight of more than six inches, 

 while the others are from twelve to twenty. 



These plants are grown from cuttings, those for the 

 stock plants being made about the first of September. 

 Sometimes the cuttings are not secured until the plants 

 have been more or less cut back by frost, which will 

 tend to weaken them considerably. The plants, as 

 grown in the beds, require more or less pinching and 

 trimming, and the portions cut off can be used for cut- 

 tings and will thus be secured and out of the way before 

 the rush of housing the plants begins. As soon as 

 rooted, they should be potted into two-inch pots and 

 placed in a house, where they will have an average night 

 temperature of 60 degrees. Considerable space can be 

 saved if three or even four of the alternanthera cuttings 

 are placed in one pot, and grown in this way until Feb- 

 ruary, when they can be separated and each placed in a 

 pot by itself. 



The soil required for these plants during the winter 

 should not be very rich, as it is desirable to hold them 

 back until after the first of January. If they show 

 signs of spindling, the terminal bud should be pinched 

 off. When many cuttings are desired, the plants should 

 be repotted about January 1, and started into growth. 

 By the liberal use of liquid manure, several crops of cut- 

 tings can be obtained from the stock plants. These 

 should be given the same treatment as was recom- 

 mended for the stock plants, and by the first of May, if 

 large plants are desired for planting out, they should 

 be given a final shift into three or three and one- 

 half-inch pots. 



To harden them off for planting out, it is well to 

 place the bedding plants in cold frames at this time, 

 having it so that they can be covered in stormy weather 



