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Gardening for Amateurs 



the others. Allamandas may be readily 

 raised from cuttings in warmth, and the 

 young plants grow freely afterwards. They 

 need liberal treatment during the growing 

 season, and should be kept moderately dry 

 during the winter. The flowering season is 

 throughout the summer months, and is often 

 continued into the autumn. For large 

 houses Hendersoni and Schottii are the 

 best, the others being suited for smaller 

 houses. When pruning Allamandas, early 

 in the year, the vigorous kinds may be cut 

 back fairly hard. 



Aristolochia elegans. This is by far 

 the most desirable of the hothouse Aristo- 

 lochias and a very beautiful free-flowering 

 climber. The slender, twining shoots are 

 clothed with dark green leaves, somewhat 

 heart - shaped, while the drooping flowers, 

 supported by long, slender stalks, are of 

 deep maroon-purple in the centre, marbled 

 with white towards the edge. It blooms 

 throughout the summer, and the marking 

 of the blossoms is so attractive that it should 

 be so situated as to allow of their close 

 inspection. This Aristolochia can be readily 

 struck from cuttings of the young shoots in 

 spring. 



Bougainvillea. The Bougainvilleas de- 

 pend for their beauty not upon the 

 flowers, which are small and insignificant, 

 but upon the leaf -like bracts that surround 

 them, these being chiefly of some shade of 

 purple or mauve. Bougainvillea glabra and 

 its variety sanderiana are the most useful. 

 If trained to the roof or on the wall of a 

 greenhouse, or at the coolest end of the 

 hothouse, they will flower well during summer, 

 especially if freely exposed to the sun. They 

 are often used for flower beds out-of-doors in 

 summer. Bougainvilleas need to be kept 

 fairly dry during the winter months. The 

 shoots are cut back in February, when, with 

 increased moisture at the roots and syringe- 

 ing, they will start quickly into growth and 

 soon flower. A mixture of loam, peat and 

 sand suits them well, and cuttings strike 

 root readily in spring. 



Gissus discolor. A free-growing climber, 

 nearly related to the Vine. The leaves are 

 greenish-purple, marked with white and 

 shaded with rose. When young, the foliage 

 is remarkably bright. In the warmest 



part of the hothouse this climber is of very 

 rapid growth. Cuttings root easily during 

 the growing season if put in a close pro- 

 pagating case, and the plants will grow in am 

 ordinary light potting compost. 



Glerodendron. Included among Clero- 

 dendron are some good climbers, especially 

 C. Balfouri (also known as C. Thomsonae), 



C. speciosum and C. splendens. C. Balfouri 

 has bright crimson flowers, protruding from 

 large inflated white calyces, which retain 

 their freshness long after the blossoms drop. 

 In C. speciosum the flowers, borne in large 

 panicles, are of rosy-red colour, and in C. 

 splendens they are deep crimson scarlet. 

 All bloom during the summer months. 

 Clerodendron speciosum and C. splendent 

 need the warmest part of the hothouse, 

 while C. Balfouri will thrive under cooler 

 conditions. All of them can be raised from 

 cuttings of the young growing shoots put in. 

 sandy soil in a propagating case where there 

 is a slight bottom heat, and they thrive 

 in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand. 



Dipladenia. A showy class of climbing 

 plants of moderate vigour. They are fre- 

 quently trained around a few sticks, as in 

 this way their blossoms can be brought 

 nearer to the eye than if the plants are 

 grown on the roof. The Dipladenias thrive 

 best in a compost of one-third loam to two- 

 thirds fibrous peat and some sand. Re- 

 potting should be done in early spring. The 

 best are : D. amabilis. purplish-crimson ; 



D. amoena, rose ; D. Boliviensis, white, 

 golden throat ; D. brearleyana. rich crimson : 

 D. hybrida, crimson-red ; and D. insignis. 

 rosy-purple. May be propagated by cuttings 

 of the young shoots in spring. 



Gloriosa. The Gloriosas are members 

 of the Lily family, and the roots pass the 

 winter in a dormant state, when they must 

 be kept quite dry. The curious elongated 

 tubers should be potted in good loamy 

 soil about the end of February, and given 

 a little water. The new shoots will then soon 

 make their appearance, when the water 

 supply must be increased. The stems will 

 grow rapidly and secure themselves by 

 means of tendrils produced from the points 

 of the leaves. The Lily-like flowers, which 

 are borne in great profusion towards the 

 latter part of the summer, are very brightly 



