Gardening for Amateurs 



853 



with a golden band. May be struck from 

 cuttings in the spring and will thrive with 

 ordinary stove treatment. 



Scutellaria mociniana. An upright- 

 growing plant of easy culture ; if grown 

 under conditions recommended for Aphe- 

 landra it will, during the summer months, 

 produce terminal heads of scarlet and yellow 

 tubular blossoms. 



Sonerila. Small compact plants, re- 

 markable for their handsome foliage. The 

 leaves are ovate in shape and of bright green 

 colour, marked in various ways with silvery- 

 white. The most ornamental are the differ- 

 ent forms of Sonerila margaritacea. They 

 need a compost of one part loam to two parts 

 of fibrous peat and a good sprinkling of 

 sand. They are readily increased by cuttings 

 or division in the spring, the young plants 

 being kept during their earlier stages in a 

 closed propagating case as they need a con- 

 siderable amount of atmospheric moisture. 

 They also need to be shaded from the sun. 



Stephanotis floribunda. (See " Climb- 

 ing Plants for the Hothouse.") 



Storbilanthes dyerianus. This is a 

 most easily grown plant, for it will strike 

 root in a few days from cuttings and thrives 

 in ordinary potting compost. The leaves, 

 which are lance-shaped and soft in texture, 

 are, when young, of a rich pink suffused with 

 a peculiar metallic shade of blue. A light 

 position in a warm house suits it best. 



Thyrsacanthus rutilans. A tall-grow- 

 ing plant somewhat in the way of the Ruellia 

 and just as easily grown. The deep scarlet 

 tubular-shaped blossoms are borne in long 

 pendulous racemes, so that they hang down 

 for a considerable distance. From this cir- 

 cumstance they are most effective when the 

 plants are tall ; cuttings, which readily strike 

 root in the spring, should be allowed to grow 

 on without stopping. Two-year-old plants 

 may be grown as standards, under which 

 conditions their flowers are seen to the best 

 advantage. 



Tillandsia. Bromeliaceous plants, of 

 which T. Lindeni bears bright blue flowers 

 in winter, while the brilliant crimson spikes 

 of T. splendens are produced at different 

 seasons of the year. From the fact that 

 the leaves are transversely marked with 

 brown this is sometimes known as T. zebrina. 

 Both succeed perfectly if potted in spring 

 in fibrous peat and sand, with a liberal allow- 

 ance of water especially during the growing 

 season. 



Tradescantia zebrina. This is a free- 

 growing creeping plant, with leaves marked 

 with silvery-grey and green. It is suitable 

 for furnishing bare places under the stage 

 or for similar purposes. The variety White 

 Wings is smaller in growth, and the variega- 

 tion whiter, with, when exposed, a rosy 

 suffusion. Will grow under any conditions 

 in a warm house. 



Gooseberry and Currant Cuttings. 



The amateur need have no fear of undertak- 

 ing the propagation of these bush fruits, for 

 few shrubby plants give less trouble, provid- 

 ing a few salient points are observed. Cut- 

 tings may be taken any time during late 

 autumn or early winter, but the earlier the 

 better after the leaves have fallen. Make 

 the cuttings about 1 foot in length, cutting 

 just below a bud at the base and above 

 another at the apex. In the case of Red 

 and White Currants and Gooseberries all the 

 buds must be removed from the cuttings 

 except three or four at the apex, for, if left, 

 they will produce suckers at some future 

 period, a condition which is detrimental to 

 all three kinds. In the case of Black Cur- 



rants, however, all the buds must be allowed 

 to remain, as suckers in this case are an 

 advantage. Insert the cuttings firmly in a 

 border to within 3 inches of the top, but in 

 order that the bases of the cuttings may not 

 be buried too deeply they may be planted 

 in a slanting direction. At the end of a year 

 lift the plants, trim all the roots from the 

 stems except the two lowest layers, prune 

 the branches back to within two or three 

 buds of the base, cutting to buds pointing 

 outwards, and replant simply to the neces- 

 sary depth required to cover the roots. 

 Should signs of suckers be observed on the 

 Gooseberries or Red and White Currants, 

 remove them whilst the unnecessary roots 

 are being trimmed off. 



