THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



17 



their first leaves but must not be put 

 away and neglected or stood under the 

 bench after the flower .is faded for it 

 is then that the plant makes its prin- 

 cipal growth and stores up strength 

 for future flowering. Keep them 

 watered and growing till the winter 

 months, but as they are not decidu- 

 ous, or only partially so, they are best 

 in a light, cool house and with an oc- 

 casional watering. After they require 

 a 7 or 8-inch pot they need not be 

 shifted but can be resurfaced annu- 

 ally. They like a rich, rather heavy 

 loam. Few, if any, of our greenhouse 

 pests trouble them. Being all tropi- 

 cal, when growing they must have a 

 light, warm house and plenty of 

 moisture. 



The amaryllis flowers in July and 

 August, the hippeastrum in April and 

 May. Though hardly a florist's plant 

 they are gorgeous flowers for the con- 

 servatory. 



AMPELOPSIS. 



Although more of a nurseryman's 

 than a florist's plant there is one 

 species of this most useful genus of 

 hardy climbers that enters largely in- 

 to the plant man's trade. We all 

 handle, and some of us largely, that 

 unrivalled climber, A. tricuspidata, so 

 universally known as A. Veitchii. It 

 has many aliases among our patrons, 

 being called "Japan ivy," "Boston 

 ivy," etc. For the covering of un- 

 sightly walls, stone or brick barns, 

 and on the most costly mansions if 

 the owner chooses, it has no equal, 

 needing no support of any kind. When 

 first climbing in its early years it as- 

 sumes most picturesque forms, but 

 whether it is good taste to cover 

 densely the whole front of a fine house 

 is a matter that must be left to the 

 taste of the owner. 



Though making but a moderate 

 growth the first two years it is, when 

 well established, a most vigorous 

 grower and it climbs to the roofs of 

 our loftiest houses. There is a fallacy 

 about its growing only on the south 

 and east aspects, and in one city I 

 heard it stated that it did best on the 

 north side. It will grow on every side 

 of a house, north or south, but should 

 be given a bushel of good soil for a 

 start, and in exposed places some lit- 

 ter over the roots the first year. Mil- 

 lions have been planted in the resi- 

 dence portions of our cities and mil- 

 lions more are yet to be planted as 

 our cities spread out. It is not a suit- 

 able climber for a frame house for the 

 house must be painted and that set- 

 tles the vine unless you are content 

 to cut it down and begin again from 

 the ground. 



Propagation is by cuttings or seed. 

 The cuttings can be put into flats and 

 should be made in September with 

 two or three eyes of the current year's 

 growth. A light loam is a good com- 

 post for the cuttings and a shaded 

 bench in the greenhouse is the place. 

 Or, the cuttings can be put at once 

 into the ground in a cold-frame. They 

 should be wintered whether propa- 



gated inside or out in a cold-frame 

 and planted out the following spring. 

 We have raised them from seed for a 

 number of years and think it the 

 cheapest method. Sow the seed in 

 March thickly in flats, covering a 

 quarter inch deep. In May or June 

 pot them off into 2-inch pots and 

 when there are benches to spare shift 

 into a 4-inch and grow them on all 

 summer inside, giving them an 18- 

 inch stake. In September stand them 

 outside and let them get the fall 

 frosts slowly. I mention this because 

 I have seen them kept indoors till Oc- 

 tober, and then when put out get a 

 severe frost that would kill them to 

 the ground. A deep frame with the 

 pots plunged is the best place to win- 

 ter them, removing the glass covering 



Jamaica and Queen pine-apples, some 

 45 years ago, when fruits of either 

 of those fine varieties were worth 

 from $5.00 to $10.00 each. That was 

 in the days when the foreign or trop- 

 ical grown fruit was little larger than 

 a base ball and about as tough. Since 

 then the cultivation of the pine-apple 

 has been skillfully and systematically 

 taken up in several tropical countries, 

 perhaps to the greatest perfection in 

 the Azores, and the fruit being almost 

 equal, both in appearance and flavor, 

 to those grown under glass, the indus- 

 try is no longer profitable and would 

 be out of the province of this chapter 

 if it were. 



The propagation of the pine-apple 

 is by suckers which start freely from 

 the base of the stem. They should 

 be cleaned off and a small portion cut 



Variegated Pineapple. 



(Ananas Sativa Variegata.) 



in April so that they are in no way 

 forced. These plants a year old from 

 the seed will be most satisfactory to 

 sell to your customers, and being from 

 pots there is no risk of losing one. 

 Some readers may say you can buy 

 plants cheaper than you can raise 

 them. By the above method you will 

 find Ampelopsis Veitchii a more profit- 

 able plant than many others you grow. 

 It seems to thrive in any soil when 

 once established. When growing it 

 young we use a heavy loam. 



ANANAS. 



The beautiful variegated pine-apple 

 is the variegated form of the pine-ap- 

 ple that is grown for its fruit, Ananas 

 sativa. When well grown there is no 

 variegated ornamental plant surpass- 

 ing it in beauty. 



Pine-apples, when well grown, can 

 be fruited in two years. They were 

 once a great feature of British gar- 

 dens. The writer has helped or 

 watched the packing of tons of Black 



square off and put into sandy soil in 

 3-inch pots and plunged into a bed 

 where the heat of the house is not less 

 than 60 degrees and the sand or 

 plunging material is 80 degrees. Keep 

 only moderately moist till rooted. The 

 suckers appear at the time the plant 

 is fruiting, and the larger the suckers 

 when severed from the old plant, the 

 better. 



The soil best suited for them is a 

 good, loamy sod, no't too finely broken 

 up. If heavy add sand with a fifth or 

 sixth of leaf mould and rotted cow 

 manure in equal parts. They should 

 at all times be firmly potted. To 

 hasten their growth they should be 

 plunged during summer in a light 

 house and shaded only during the very 

 hottest hours of the day. If the g'.ass 

 is plate and there is no danger of 

 burning no shade is needed. Plenty 

 of water should be given in summer 

 but the plants should be kept rather 

 on the dry side in winter. By all 

 means avoid a stagnant, wet soil. 



This plant is beautiful at all stages 



