848 



Gardening for Amateurs 



Shuttle worthii, green, with a white band 

 along the midrib. While cuttings strike root 

 without difficulty at almost any season of 

 the year, spring is the best time for the pur- 

 pose, as the young plants so obtained will 

 grow freely and soon reach a good size. If 

 the bare stems are laid in a bed of coco-nut 

 refuse the latent buds will push forth and 

 soon give a crop of young shoots which will 

 quickly root. 



Dipladenia. (See " Climbing Plants for 

 the Hothouse.") 



Dracaena. Handsome foliage plants, in 

 considerable demand for table decoration 

 and similar purposes. Dracaenas in time 

 form a bare stem ; they are readily propa- 

 gated by cutting the stem into lengths of 3 

 or 4 inches, and placing the pieces horizont- 

 ally in a box of coco-nut refuse where there 

 is bottom heat. The buried stems should be 

 covered with about -i inch of refuse. Early 

 spring is the best time of the year to do 

 this. From these stems young shoots will 

 in time appear. They will form a few roots 

 at their base, when they must be separated 

 from the old stem and potted singly in a 

 mixture of peat and sand. After this they 

 should be placed in a closed propagating 

 case until the roots take possession of the 

 new soil ; subsequently they are inured to 

 the ordinary atmosphere of the hothouse. 

 If the crown of leaves at the top of the plant 

 is in good condition it may be rooted as a 

 separate plant before the stem is cut down. 

 All that is needed is to cut the stem partially 

 through just below the leaves with an up- 

 ward cut, as in making a Carnation layer, 

 then insert a piece of broken flower-pot to 

 keep the cut open. After this bind round 

 with a quantity of sphagnum moss, in which, 

 if kept damp, roots will soon appear, and 

 when they are sufficiently developed the 

 shortened plant may be cut off and potted. 

 A mixture of equal parts of peat and loam, 

 with a liberal sprinkling of sand, suits 

 Dracaenas. They need to be shaded from 

 the sun's rays, and frequent syringeing is 

 very beneficial. A good selection is as fol- 

 lows : Alexander Laing, leaves bright red ; 

 angustifolia, narrow, deep red ; Baptistii, 

 large and broad, creamy-red to orange ; 

 Duchess of York, narrow, pink to pale rose ; 

 godseffiana, of bushy growth, the dark green 



ovate leaves being spotted with cream ; gol- 

 dieana, bright green, barred and striped 

 with dark olive green ; Jamesii, narrow, 

 reddish-crimson ; Lord Wolseley, medium, 

 brilliant red leaves ; Prince Manouk Bey, 

 deep red leaves of medium width, a particu- 

 larly vigorous grower ; sanderiana, small, 

 narrow leaves, striped white and green ; and 

 Victoria, long broad leathery leaves, mainty 

 golden yellow with a few greenish stripes. 



Eranthemum. A free-flowering class of 

 easily grown plants that will succeed under 

 the same treatment as Aphelandra, pre- 

 viously mentioned. A good selection in- 

 cludes : Andersonii, white, crimson lip, 

 autumn ; cinnabarinum, rosy-purple, spring ; 

 pulchellum, blue, winter ; and tuberculatum, 

 white, summer and autumn. 



Eucharis amazonica. A very popular 

 bulbous plant, of which the pure white Lily- 

 like flowers are much appreciated for many 

 purposes. The bulbs should be potted in a 

 compost mainly consisting of good loam, 

 lightened to the necessary extent by a mix- 

 ture of peat and sand. The pots must be 

 clean and well drained, for if the roots keep 

 in good condition the plants may be allowed 

 to stand for some years without repotting. 

 In this case they should be assisted with 

 occasional doses of some stimulant. The 

 flowers are borne at different periods of the 

 year. At no time must the Eucharis be 

 dried off, but after a heavy crop of blossoms 

 it is benefited by being shifted to the coolest 

 end of the hothouse and kept somewhat 

 drier, so as to give it a partial rest for a 

 month or so. 



Euphorbia jacquiniaeflora. A charm- 

 ing winter-flowering plant (also known as 

 E. fulgens), producing wreaths of small but 

 bright orange-scarlet flowers. It is much 

 used for decorative purposes. After the 

 plants have done flowering they should be 

 placed in the coolest part of the hothouse 

 and kept somewhat drier at the root. This 

 will give them a rest, after which, if freely 

 syringed, they will send forth new shoots. 

 When 3 inches or so long these shoots fur- 

 nish cuttings to yield the next season's dis- 

 play. They will strike without difficulty in 

 sandy soil if placed in a closed propagating 

 case. As they are of a somewhat succulent 

 nature care should be taken that the case is 



