Gardening for Amateurs 



203 



and a temperature of about 60. Pot them 

 into 5-inch pots, and finally harden them 

 off in May. 



Centaurea candidissima. A valuable 

 dwarf, grey-leaved plant for bedding. Sow 

 seeds in a warm house in January, and grow 

 the seedlings in small pots, in which sturdy 

 plants can be obtained to plant out in June. 



Coleus Verschaffeltii. This effective 

 red-leaved plant is propagated from cut- 

 tings in February or March. Insert them 

 singly in small pots, and plunge in coco- 

 fibre in a propagating case until rooted. 

 Grow them on in a temperature of 60 to 

 65, and subsequently repot in 5-inch pots, 

 in which they will make sturdy plants to 

 bed out in June. 



Guphea platycentra. An attractive 

 half-hardy plant with small tube-shaped 

 scarlet flowers marked with black and 

 white. It is of slender growth, and about 

 15 inches high. In August or September 

 insert cuttings in 5-inch pots filled with 

 light, sandy soil, and place them in a slightly 

 heated frame, where a little shade can be 

 given until they are rooted. Grow them 

 near the glass during the winter, and in 

 the new year pot them separately in small 

 pots. 



Kcheveria. The well-known succulent 

 plant with flat, broad, grey leaves that is so 

 much used for edging beds. The different 

 varieties of this plant are increased by 

 side growths, and they are obtained when 

 the plants are taken up from tin- I ><!-. 

 Echeveria farinosa is not very hardy, and 

 should be placed in lx>xes and kept in a 

 frame for the winter, but give very little 

 water, as the plants are liable to damp off. 

 Echeveria metallica is best in a frame, but 

 E. secunda glauca is usually hardy out of 

 doors. 



Fuchsia. Take cuttings in August <r 

 September, and insert them around the 

 edge of 5-inch pots filled with light, sandy 

 compost. Water them, and place the p.t> 

 in a frame, slightly heated for preference : 

 there the cuttings will soon root if shaded 

 from sunshine and sprayed with the syringe 

 on bright (lays. When nicely muted, pnt 

 them oil separately in -mall jn>ts, and grow 

 them in a temperature of 55 during the 

 winter. In February r< -p.t them into larger 



pots. Cuttings can also be taken in Feb- 

 ruary or March, when the old plants have 

 produced shoots 3 inches long. If standards 



Designs for beds of summer flowers. 



