302 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Cockscomb. See Celosia. 



Coleus. A class of plants with prettily marked leaves, some of 

 which form a pleasing feature in the greenhouse during the summer. 

 They are of very easy culture, and cuttings strike readily in the spring 

 in heat. Ordinary potting-soil. 



Cordyline australis is a plant of symmetrical growth, with long 

 ribbon-like leaves. It is suitable for vases, pedestals, or prominent 

 positions, as the long, arching leaves are then seen to great advantage. 

 Good loam and leaf-soil. 



Crassula coccinea. This, which is also known as Kalosanthes cocci- 

 nea, is a succulent plant that needs much the same treatment as a Pelar- 

 gonium. It grows about eighteen inches high, and the tubular flowers 

 are borne in clusters on the point of every shoot. In the common kind 

 they are deep scarlet in colour, but there are pink and white forms. 

 Soil : loam and sand with a little old mortar. 



Cyclamen persicum (Persian Cyclamen). The forms of Cyclamen 

 now in cultivation are endless, and the difference is not restricted to the 

 flowers alone, as the leaves are richly marked. During the winter the 

 Cyclamen is particularly valuable, and is obtained from seed sown in 

 July. When large enough to handle, the plants must be potted singly 

 into small pots, and shifted on when necessary. Pots five inches or six 

 inches in diameter are large enough for them to flower in. Good flowering 

 plants can be obtained in from fifteen to eighteen months from the 

 sowing of the seed. After blooming, the old corms should be kept 

 rather dry for a time, then, about July, they must be shaken clear of 

 the old soil and repotted. A mixture of two-parts loam to one-part 

 leaf-mould, with a fair sprinkling of well-decayed cow manure and 

 sand, will suit the Cyclamen well. There is a pretty group with fringed 

 flowers. 



Cyperus alternifolius. This is about eighteen inches high, the 

 bright green stems being terminated by a quantity of long, narrow 

 leaves, arranged like the ribs of an umbrella. There is also a variety 

 with variegated leaves. Being nearly related to the Sedges, this Cyperus 

 needs a copious supply of water and a mixture of loam and peat. 



Cytisus racemosus. A very popular greenhouse shrub of which 

 neat flowering examples may be grown in five-inch pots. The sweet- 

 scented golden flowers are borne in spring. Another species, namely, 

 Cytisus filipes, from Teneriffe, is an exceedingly graceful plant. Its 

 flowers are white, and produced in winter and spring. Soil : sandy loam. 



Daphne indica. This Daphne is a general favourite, because of 

 the delicious fragrance of its flowers. It is a neat-growing little ever- 

 green that flowers in the depth of winter. A mixture of loam, peat, 

 and sand, and a shady position in the greenhouse, suit it well. 



Echeveria. Succulent plants of symmetrical growth, and near 

 relatives of the House-leek. A prominent feature of some of the kinds 

 is the metallic or bluish tint, while one, E. fulgens, has pretty nodding 

 clusters of red and yellow blossoms. Soil : loam with some old mortar. 



Epacris. The Australian representative of the Heath family, of 



