Gardening for Amateurs 



785 



Flowers of Epacris. 



upright-growing shrubs with drooping blos- 

 soms. Correa cardinalis, with handsome red- 

 coloured blossoms in winter and spring, is 

 the best. It needs the same treatment as 

 the preceding. 



Growea. There are two species of 

 Crowea, namely, C. latifolia, also known as 

 C. saligna, which forms a free-growing bushy 

 plant, with somewhat upright shoots clothed 

 with Willow-like leaves. The clear rose- 

 coloured blossoms, about 1| inches in dia- 

 meter, are produced from the axils of the 

 leaves during winter and early spring. A 

 second kind, C. angustifolia, is of slender 

 growth, while the flowers are also paler. It 

 comes into bloom about the time that C. 

 latifolia is past its best. Cultural require- 

 ments are the same as for Boronia. 



Epacris. The Epacris very much re- 

 sembles some members of the Heath family, 

 and the cultural requirements are about the 

 same. The blossoms vary from white to 

 red, and are borne for a considerable dis- 

 tance along the erect shoots. Individually 

 they are rather small and tubular in shape, 

 50 



but owing to their profusion they make a 

 good show. The plants should be cut back 

 hard after flowering, and their subsequent 

 treatment is much the same as that recom- 

 mended for Boronia. The different forms 

 of Epacris flower in winter and spring. 



Erica. This typifies the extensive Heath 

 family which forms such a striking feature 

 of South African vegetation ; several of them 

 are popular as decorative plants in this 

 country. Among the best known and most 

 generally cultivated are Erica caffra, white, 

 winter ; E. candidissima, white, spring ; 

 E. cavendishiana, yellow, spring and early 

 summer ; E. cerinthoides, scarlet, summer ; 

 E. gracilis, purple, autumn ; E. hyemalis, 

 white and rose, winter ; E. melanthera, 

 mauve, winter ; E. persoluta alba, white, 

 spring ; E. propendens, lilac, spring ; E. 

 spenceriana, pinkish- lilac, spring ; E. ventri- 

 cosa, purplish-rose, summer ; and E. will- 

 moreana, rosy-pink, late winter. In the 

 method of propagation and general cultural 

 requirements these Ericas may be treated 

 as recommended for Boronia. except that 



Winter-flowering Heath (Erica hyemalis alba). 



