USEFUL GREENHOUSE PLANTS 



BELOW is given a list of the finer greenhouse plants, with 

 simple directions as to their culture. 



Abutilon. The Abutilons are shrubby plants six feet or more high, 

 and will flower well when about eighteen inches high, and in pots five 

 inches or six inches in diameter. They are also valuable for training to 

 the roof of a greenhouse, or for clothing the back wall of that structure, 

 in which positions their drooping, bell-shaped blossoms are seen to ad- 

 vantage. The flowers vary in colour from white to deep red, through 

 different shades of yellow and pink, while in a few kinds the leaves are 

 prettily variegated. In a warm structure they will flower almost 

 throughout the year, but in an ordinary greenhouse need much the same 

 treatment as a Fuchsia. Cuttings strike root readily by following 

 general details previously given, and ordinary potting soil will suffice 

 for their successful culture. A few good kinds are : Boule de Neige, 

 white ; Golden Fleece, yellow ; Royal Scarlet, and Sanglant, red ; Anna 

 Crozy, pink ; Emperor, purplish. With variegated leaves Darwini 

 tessellatum, Ncevium marmoratum, Sellowianum variegatum, Souvenir de 

 Bonn, Sowitzi, Thomsoni, and Vexillarium variegatum. The white 

 Boule de Neige is as useful as any ; its bell-like flowers are quite white, 

 and vigorous plants seems always in bloom. 



Acacia. A family of trees and shrubs, for the most part natives of 

 Australia, and producing their yellow flowers during the spring months. 

 They succeed in a mixture of equal parts of loam and peat, with a 

 little sand. Cuttings are difficult to strike except in nurseries, where 

 there are ample appliances for the purpose ; and though seeds can often 

 be obtained, plants raised in this way must attain a large size before 

 they flower. Acacia dealbata is the plant so well known as " Mimosa," 

 cut sprays of which form such a familiar object in London and provincial 

 towns during the early months of the year. They are sent from the 

 Mediterranean shore, where this Acacia grows into large trees. The 

 following kinds produce thin little globular tufts of golden blossom in 

 great profusion, even when the plants are quite small : Acacia armata, 

 grandis, platyptera, and pulchella, while in A. Drummondi the flower 

 clusters are in the shape of a bottle brush. A. riceana is a pretty climbing 

 kind, with pale yellow blossoms. All the Acacias may be placed out of 

 doors during the summer months. 



Achimenes. Pretty, little, soft growing plants that flower during 



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