Climbing Plants. 47 



that a bed should be prepared with at least a metre 

 of rich soil in order that the young plant may make 

 a good start. 



TRAINING AND PRUNING. 



The foundation of the future plant should, if pos- 

 sible, be made when the specimen is still young, and 

 the shoots should be spread out evenly, and trained in 

 a fan-shaped or upright form as the position may 

 suggest. Shoots should never be allowed to cross one 

 another, and only those should be permitted to remain 

 that the space can accommodate, all others being cut 

 away. Flowers can only be obtained from those shoots 

 that are exposed and ripened by the sun ; hence care 

 should be taken that each shoot is at an equal dis- 

 tance from the other, and no crossing or recrossing of 

 the branches should be allowed, as otherwise the plant 

 will present a confused mass, and only the upper and 

 exposed parts will flower. 



Old shoots should be replaced by young ones, and 

 in some species, the red Tecoma capensis^ for example, 

 the climber may be improved by having each 

 alternate shoot pruned half-way back, so that the 

 flowers may be distributed equally over the whole 

 plant, and not simply blossoms in a mass at the top, 

 as is so often seen at present. All climbers should 

 be pruned at least once a year, the usual time being 

 after flowering. 



It will be noticed that climbers on a wall invari- 

 ably suffer from the strong, latent heat, and therefore 

 if they can be trained over lattice-work or on bamboo 

 screens placed about ift. from the wall, so that the 

 air can pass at the back, better results will be 

 obtained. 



The following is a selection of some of the most 

 suitable for planting : 



Antigonon leptopus. A lovely deciduous climber 

 common in the gardens of Alexandria. It has small 

 heart-shaped leaves, and blooms in October with 

 drooping masses of small pink flowers. It propagates 



