254 Descriptive account of Veronica Speciosa : 



home in the autumn of 1844 ; and one of these specimens, as 

 well as a younger one produced from it, we have now bloom- 

 ing in profusion, and with the appearance of remaining so 

 until winter. 



Some remarks on the cultivation of this plant have already 

 been given in our last volume (XI. p. 262) from the Garden- 

 er^ s Chronicle ; but having been successful in bringing a very 

 beautiful specimen superbly in bloom, we are induced to 

 throw out a few hints upon its treatment in our climate. 



Most of the New Zealand plants are of rather delicate 

 management, requiring, like the ^rica, E'pacris, «S6c., a heath 

 soil, cautious watering, and continued attention, to keep them 

 in good condition. Ver6?iica speciosa, on the contrary, has 

 none of these peculiarities ; as it flourishes well under the 

 ordinary treatment of common greenhouse plants, and is 

 neither liable to die ofl" from neglect of watering, or from hav- 

 ing an over supply of the same element. So, too, in regard to 

 soil ; for while it does best in one properly chosen, it will 

 succeed even in the usual compost for mixed collections of 

 plants. Its thick fleshy leaves are sometimes injured by the 

 sun in the same manner as camellias, but this may easily be 

 avoided by shading or coating the glass with whiting. 



Supposing the plants to be six inches high, and in four- 

 inch pots, the first work will be to shift them into six-inch 

 pots, in a compost made of one third turfy loam, one third 

 leaf mould, and one third heath soil, adding a little sand to 

 make the whole more free. Give a good drainage, and after 

 shifting, place the plants in a frame or greenhouse, keeping 

 them rather damp for ten days, until they begin to throw out 

 fresh roots, when they may be removed to a more airy situa- 

 tion. In five or six weeks, the plants will require shifting 

 again, into a large size, or nine-inch pots, using the same com- 

 post as before, and giving the same treatment ; the plants, if 

 well grown, will now have attained the height of twelve or 

 fifteen inches. 



This was the treatment given to our plants in the spring of 

 1845, and under which they acquired a good size and vigor- 

 ous appearance ; the plants were kept in the greenhouse dur- 

 ing the summer, but they did not form any flower buds, 

 though constantly looked for on the imported specimen. Some 



