90 BULBS AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



Verschaffelt, white; carminata, splendens, rose; Hender- 

 son!, orange; Mauve Queen, mauve; Masterpiece, purple 

 and white; and Bosy Queen, rose. 



Amaryllis See Hippeastrum. 



Caladium. Handsome ornamental-leaved tuberous- 

 rooted plants, natives of tropical America, requiring a high 

 temperature and a moist atmosphere to grow them really 

 well. Few plants possess such richly-coloured leaves as 

 the Caladium. They require great care and skill to 

 produce the foliage to the highest perfection. The plants 

 make their growth in spring and summer, gradually lose 

 their foliage in autumn, and go to complete rest in winter. 



Their culture should commence in January or early in 

 February. The tubers should then be taken out of the old 

 soil and repotted in pots just large enough to accommodate 

 them. The compost throughout should consist of two 

 parts loam and one part each of peat, leaf-mould, and 

 coarse silver sand. After potting plunge the pots to their 

 rims in cocoanut-fibre refuse over a hotbed, or in a 

 propagating frame heated to a temperature of 75 to 80 

 deg. Give no water, but syringe the pots two or three 

 times daily. As soon as growth begins, apply water to 

 the soil, increasing the supply as growth proceeds. When 

 the small pots are filled with roots transfer the plants, 

 according to size of tuber and habit of growth, to 6in. or 

 Sin. pots, or even a larger size if specially big specimens 

 are desired. Give plenty of water, maintain a moist 

 atmosphere and a uniform temperature of 75 to 85 deg., 

 shade from sun, and give weak liquid manure occasionally 

 to fully-grown plants. If any flower stems form remove 

 them. The three main points to consider are: plenty of 

 heat, and moisture, and shade from sun. In autumn, 

 when the leaves begin to fade, gradually withhold water, 

 keeping the soil quite dry after the foliage is dead. From 

 then to spring lay the pots on their sides under the staging 

 in the hothouse. 



