Gardening for Amateurs 



8 49 



net kept too close, or that the cuttings are 

 not overwatered, as they are somewhat 

 liable to damp off. They do not take long 

 to root, and by April will be ready to shift 

 into larger pots. As they are apt to become 

 tall, many cultivators pot them three in a 

 pot, in order to obviate so much " pinch- 

 ing " or " stopping." Single plants need to 

 have the growing point stopped two or three 

 times during the season in order to induce a 

 bushy habit. They should be potted in a 

 mixture of loam, leaf-mould, and sand, and 

 may be grown in a temperature of 55 to 60 

 during summer. When the flowering pots, 5 

 to 6 inches in diameter, are furnished with 

 roots, weak liquid manure should be given. 



Fittonia. Creeping plants, valuable for 

 clothing bare ground in the hothouse and 

 for similar purposes. They also make hand- 

 some pot specimens. The leaves form their 

 most attractive feature. The chief kinds 

 are F. argyroneura, brilliant green, netted 

 with silvery white, and Pearcei, dark green, 

 veined red. If the stems are placed on a 

 damp surface roots are produced from the 

 joints, so that they can be readily increased 

 in that way. They thrive best in a light 

 compost of equal parts loam and leaf-mould 

 with a little sand. They are very pretty in 

 suspended baskets. 



Franciscea (Brunfelsia). This is a free- 

 flowering class of tropical shrubs, of which 

 the blossoms are for the most part of some 

 shade of blue or lilac. Cuttings of the half 

 woody shoots, put in a mixture of loam, 

 peat, and sand in equal parts in a closed 

 propagating case where there is bottom 

 heat, will strike readily. Shifted on as soon 

 as large enough in a similar compost, the 

 young plants will flower freely in a small 

 state. They bloom in late spring and early 

 summer. Established plants should be kept 

 somewhat drier during the winter months. 

 The best are F. calycina floribunda, rich 

 mauve, and confertiflora, soft lilac blue. 



Gardenia. The double-flowered Gardenia 

 florida. though not such a favourite as 

 it once was, is still admired by many. By 

 some its fragrance is looked upon as too 

 pronounced, while by others it is regarded 

 as its most valuable feature. Gardenias 

 are readily propagated in spring from 

 cuttings of the young shoots taken just 

 54 



as they have become partially woody. They 

 need a closed propagating case with bottom 

 heat. The plants will succeed perfectly in 

 a mixture of loam, leaf-mould and sand. 

 Frequent syringeing is beneficial. When 

 the pots are well filled with roots an occa- 

 sional dose of liquid manure and soot water 

 combined is of great service. Gardenias 

 are particularly fond of soot water, and this 

 tends to deepen the colour of the leaves. 

 Beside Gardenia florida, there are also G. 

 citriodora and G. radicans. 



Gloneria jasminiflora. A freely- 

 branched shrub that bears in spring or early 

 summer clusters of blossoms much resemb- 

 ling those of Bouvardia, and of the purest 



Heliconia, grown for its vividly coloured 

 foliage. 



white. It will succeed in a mixture of loam, 

 peat and sand in the coolest part of the hot- 

 house. Cuttings, which take some time to 

 strike, should be formed of the half -ripened 

 shoots and placed in a mixture of equal 

 parts of peat and sand in a propagating 

 case with bottom heat. 



Gloriosa. (See " Climbing Plants for the 

 Hothouse.") 



Heliconia. Large handsome leaves, 

 somewhat like those of a Canna, but in 

 Heliconia aureo-striata they are green with a 

 close network of golden yellow, and in H. 

 illustris they are of a dark olive green with 

 bright red veins and leaf stalks. In a com- 

 post of equal parts of loam and leaf-mould 

 in a shaded part of the hothouse they will 

 do well. They should be watered freely in 



