102 



THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



do not give them poor, worn-out soil 

 as you can a tulip. 



Pots that have flowered can be stored 

 away after the foliage is ripe and the 

 bulbs shaken out and started again the 

 following fall, but as stated above the 

 bulbs are now produced so fine and 

 cheap that it is better to buy every 

 year. Freesias will endure a few de- 

 grees of frost without any harm, but 

 don't let the dry bulbs freeze when 

 out of the ground. 



FUCHSIA. 



Plants that have been grown in 

 greenhouses for more than a century, 

 and a favorite with all. There are a 

 great many species, mostly all from 

 South America, but the true species 

 are now seldom seen. The hybrid va- 

 rieties are those of the commercial 

 florists, and firms that make a special - 

 ty of soft-wooded plants are con- 

 tinually sending out new varieties. 

 Many of my readers will remember old 

 Fuchsia fulgens, with its clustered ra- 

 ceme of flowers at the end of the 

 shoots; and many are also acquainted 

 with F. macrostema; both true spe- 

 cies, but very unlike. 



In the milder parts of Great Britain 

 you will see such varieties as Rose of 

 Castile trained up the front of veran- 

 das as we do clematis, showing that 

 they withstand a good freezing, and 

 many of the species are treated as 

 hardy shrubs, the winter killing the 

 tops, but the plant makes a strong 

 growth again in the spring, just as 

 our basket willows are cut down and 

 an annual growth is made. Where the 

 thermometer does not go below 15 de- 

 grees these species will winter very 

 well. We treat the fuchsia as a very 

 short-lived plant, seldom growing the 

 plant more than one year, but in its 

 native Andes it is a shrub, or even 

 small tree. 



With us fuchsias are often used for 

 summer bedding, but they never can 

 be any part of a formal flower garden 

 because they would conform with no 

 other beds. Nor will they thrive in 

 the broad sun. Behind buildings or 

 hedges or where they will get only the 

 morning sun, and where they are no 

 part of any design, they make very 

 pleasing beds. The soil should be 

 deep and rich and where the hose can 

 reach them a number of varieties can 

 be used; one-year-old plants are al- 

 ways better for this purpose than the 

 spring struck plants. Plants that have 

 been wintered almost dormant and 

 bedded out in early May before they 

 are started will be much surer of suc- 

 cess than plants out of a warm green- 

 house. 



Thousands of fuchsias are sold in 

 our cities during April and May and 

 used up among the class of people 

 who want a few plants for their win- 

 dow. The latest arrivals from Europe 

 are the largest consumers of fuchsias. 

 Plants should be selected or obtained 

 in the spring, not later than May, and 

 grown on carefully. By July they, 

 should be at their best. In July these 

 plants should be plunged outside in 



Wreath of Laurel with Lilacs and Cycas Leaves. 



the sun, or only partial shade. They 

 will grow very little more, but will 

 ripen their wood. Leave them out of 

 doors till after the first very slight 

 frost. By that time (say middle of Oc- 

 tober) the shoots will be ripe and the 

 leaves off. Bring them in and for two 

 weeks they can stand in a cool shed, 

 or be laid under a bench. 



By November 1st shorten back the 

 lateral growths to firm, ripe wood and 

 start them in a house at 55 to 60 de- 

 grees. Syringe daily. Soon you will 

 see signs of new growth, when they 

 should be shaken out and repotted in 

 fresh soil and in two or three weeks 

 you will get your first batch of cut- 

 tings, and successive lots to the fol- 

 lowing February. That is as late as 

 you can propagate fuchsias and make 

 plants that are any goo.d that summer. 

 Few cuttings root more freely than 

 fuchsias. With the sand at 70 and the 

 atmosphere at 55 you will root just 

 five-score fop every 100 cuttings you 

 put in. 



Fuchsias when grown in pots want 

 a very rich soil; two parts loam, one 

 part rotten manure and one part leaf- 

 mold will grow them finely. Pot fair- 

 ly firm, but not as solid as you would 



with geraniums. Fifty to fifty-five de- 

 grees at night is about right. An abun- 

 dance of water, daily syringing and a 

 shade from the hottest suns in April 

 and May is the treatment. 



Most of our fuchsias are sold in 4 

 and 5-inch pots. From the cutting bed 

 to a 2^-inch and from that to a 4-inch 

 and from that to a 5-inch. With some 

 varieties (such a one was old Elm 

 City) they were allowed to go straight 

 up and the plant formed a most sym- 

 metrical pyramid shape, but few of 

 the varieties will do that, and they are 

 generally pinched when a few inches 

 high, which gives them two or three 

 leading shoots and makes a more com- 

 pact plant. Some varieties can be 

 stopped the second time, which makes 

 them fine little bushes. 



In selecting varieties see that they 

 are good growers and of a good habit; 

 that is everything. Raisers of new 

 varieties have produced some enor- 

 mous double flowers, both white and 

 purple or red corollas, but the plants 

 are not good. Broadly it may be said 

 that in producing the double corolla 

 you have added nothing to the beauty 

 of the fuchsia. Many of the single 

 varieties have the most grace and 



