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Gardening for Amateurs 



Nicotiana. The various forms of Nico- 

 tiana or Tobacco, with flowers varying from 

 white to crimson or purple, should be sown 

 early in March in slight warmth. If the 

 young plants are pricked of? into pots of light 

 soil as soon as they are large enough to handle, 

 and subsequently potted singly, they will, 

 if repotted as becomes necessary, form good 

 flowering plants by midsummer. The pots 

 in which they are to bloom may be from 6 

 to 8 inches in diameter. When at their 

 best they make a good show and maintain 

 a succession of blossom until late autumn. 

 As the pots become full of roots an occasional 

 application of fertiliser is very beneficial. 



Rhodanthe. Rhodanthe Manglesi is an 

 exceedingly pretty everlasting flower, native 

 of Australia. Both the white and pink 

 forms are fitted for growing in pots, and 

 splendid specimens grown in this way may 

 be frequently seen in Covent Garden Market 

 during summer. The seed is sown in the 

 greenhouse early in March, using a compost 

 of loam, leaf- mould and sand. When large 

 enough to handle about eight of the seed- 

 lings should be dibbled in each 5-inch pot, 

 in which they must be allowed to flower. 

 They need a light position in the greenhouse 

 or frame. 



Schizanthus. There is no other annual 

 so popular for greenhouse decoration as the 

 Schizanthus, or Butterfly Flower. It figures 

 largely at the various exhibitions held in 

 spring and early summer, and there are very 

 few gardens in which it is not freely grown. 

 Seed may be sown in August or September in 

 a mixture of three parts loam to one of leaf- 

 mould and a good sprinkling of sand. The 

 seed pots are placed in a frame, and when the 

 seedlings are large enough they should be 

 potted singly. After this they may be kept 

 in the frame until the nights get very cold, 

 when they are better in the greenhouse, but 

 they must have a light position and plenty 

 of air. When the young plants are about 

 2 inches high the points should* be pinched 

 out to encourage a lusty habit. From the 

 small pots the plants should be shifted into 

 pots 4 1 inches in diameter, and from these 

 into the flowering pots, which may be from 

 6 to 8 inches in diameter. If the plants are 

 needed early the most advanced may be 

 repotted finally before winter, though this 



work is usually done in February. By 

 potting at different times a succession of 

 bloom may be kept up. The soil must only 

 be pressed down moderately firm. For 

 flowering throughout summer the seeds 

 should be sown at different times in spring, 

 treating the young plants as advised for 

 those sown in autumn. Schizanthus form 

 good basket plants for conservatory or green- 

 house decoration. 



Stock. The fragrance of the different 

 Stocks causes them to be general favourites. 

 Though they are more generallv regarded as 

 flowers for the open ground, they are very 

 desirable under glass, especially during the 

 autumn, winter and spring months. For 

 this purpose there are now several suitable 

 selections, a good type of the East Lothian 

 being among the best. For autumn flowering 

 the seeds are sown in April, and the plants 

 grown in good soil. For spring the better 

 way is to sow in July and keep the plants in 

 a frame under as hardy conditions as pos- 

 sible. A tall-growing Stock suitable for 

 winter flowering is Beauty of Nice, with 

 pink blossoms. This should be sown in July, 

 and will flower well in 6-inch pots. 



Torenia. A pretty race of free-flowering 

 annuals. The best are Fournieri, a purple 

 and white flower, and Bailloni, of which the 

 blossoms are yellow with purple throat. 

 They form a pleasing summer feature in the 

 greenhouse if treated as recommended for 

 Lobelia tenuior. 



Wallflowers. Wallflowers are so uni- 

 versally met with out of doors that they are 

 often neglected for greenhouse decoration. 

 Those known as Double German Wallflowers 

 are very attractive under glass in late winter 

 and early spring. They form erect-growing 

 plants about 18 inches high, of which the 

 terminal half consists of a dense spike of 

 large, richly coloured, highly fragrant blos- 

 soms. Seed may be sown in June or July, 

 and the plants grown on in as sturdy a 

 manner as possible. For these vigorous-grow- 

 ing Wallflowers pots 6 inches in diameter 

 are required. Cheiranthus Kewensis is a 

 valuable Wallflower for the greenhouse in 

 spring : the flowers are of various shades 

 of colour. Seeds are sown in June, and 

 during summer the plants are grown in a 

 cold frame. 



