INDIAN AZALEAS IN GHENT 81 



names of the varieties sent out recently ; such as Uncle 

 Tom, How Lovely, My Darling, Daisy Bells, and New York 

 Pearl. 



INDIAN AZALEAS IN GHENT 



Ghent is famed for Azalea cultivation. There are over 

 500 nurseries in the town and suburbs, and in most of 

 them the principal product is this Azalea. Many small 

 gardens also are devoted to its cultivation, the large growers 

 having a greater demand for plants than they could meet 

 were it not for the assistance of the small growers. The 

 annual output of Indian Azaleas from Ghent alone must run 

 into a million. These are sent to the most distant parts 

 of the world, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and 

 Canada each taking their share. The principal buyers, 

 however, are English, French, German, and American. 



The Ghent methods of propagation and cultivation are 

 the outcome of long experience. The climatic conditions 

 there are peculiarly favourable to the growth of Azaleas. 

 Most of the plants are grafted, the stocks used being 

 phcenicia and concinna, the former being preferred by 

 the best growers. They are raised from cuttings formed 

 of the young sucker-shoots which develop on the stocks of 

 young grafted plants ; these are removed in December and 

 January and set in flat boxes or pans of sandy soil, which 

 are placed on cinder beds in close cases or propagating 

 frames, the temperature in which is maintained at about 

 70. The glass of the frame rests within an inch of the 

 cuttings, which are sprinkled often enough to keep them 

 perpetually moist and are shaded from bright sunshine. In 

 about four weeks the cuttings have formed roots, when the 



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