PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part HI. 



588 



Pelargonium 

 \ ALdlva \ Cranium ^^Metresidercs 



in some of the nurseries, and more particularly m Messrs. Loddiges", where this arrangement, both in the 

 extensive green-houses and beds of pots of alpines and other herbaceous plants, is adopted on account of 

 its utility. 



6209. The following directions rejecting the particular plant-habitations of floricul- 

 ture, are chiefly taken from Sweet's Botanical Cultivator (of 1820), and Cushing's Exotic 

 Gardener (of 1814). 



6210. Frame. Very little management is requisite for this department, as the plants 

 kept in cold-frames are so hardy, that for seven or nine months of the year the sashes do 

 not require to be put on. All that is requisite is to expose the plants to the air the whole 

 of every day during winter when the weather is open, by drawing off the lights ; to 

 attend to watering them moderately, during winter in mild weather in the morning 

 after sunrise, and in summer in the evening. Once a-year in spring each plant 

 should be examined, and such changes made in the soil, size of the pot, head of the 

 plant, roots, &c. as the experience of the gardener, the appearance of the plant, or the 

 object desired by cultivating it may dictate. The routine culture of weeding, staking, 

 picking off decayed flowers, leaves, &c. need not be insisted on ; and the culture of par- 

 ticular species or even tribes cannot here be entered into. ( See the Catalogue of Frame 

 Plants, in Chap. VIII.) 



6211. Green-house. The plants of this department, Sweet observes, only require 

 protection from frost in winter. The more air they have given them when not frosty, 

 the more healthy they will be. On a fine morning, the sooner air is admitted the 

 better ; but it is best to shut up pretty early in the afternoon, particularly if likely to be 

 a cold night. No fire is required, except frost is expected in the night, or the house 

 should be damp with continued wet weather; then a little fire is requisite to dry the house, 

 as plants are more liable to be injured by damp than by cold. The plants should be 

 looked over most days to see if any require water, which must only be given when quite 

 dry, in the winter season : from nine to twelve o'clock in the morning is the best time 

 for watering them ; for, if watered in the afternoon, they are apt to be chilled at night, 

 which makes their leaves look yellow and unhealthy. When the surface of the mould is 

 green witli moss, &C. the top should be taken off, and the surface moved with a flat stick, 

 but not deep enough to disturb the roots ; if a little fresh mould is wanting on any of 

 them, it should be added. Always be careful to put the same kind of soil they are al- 

 ready grown in ; for a different kind put on injures plants more than some cultivators 

 are aware of. 



6212. When the tveather begins to get warm in spring, some air should be left all night to harden the 

 plants before they are set out ; a little must be left at first, and continue to increase it every night till 

 they have full air, if the weather will allow of it. The time of setting them out in the open air depends 

 entirely on the weather. Sometimes they may be put out with safety by the middle of May, in other sea- 

 sons not till the latter end ; but they had better stay in a little too long than be put out too soon. Calm 

 cloudy weather is the best time for setting them out, when as sheltered a situation as possible should be 

 chosen for them. The best time for shifting them in fresh pots is early in spring : some shift them before 

 they are set out, and let them make fre>h roots while in the green-house, which is a very good plan, par- 

 ticularly for young or tender plants. If any plants are too tall, and want cutting back, it should be done 

 early in spring, as soon as they begin to grow ; then they have time to recover themselves, and make good 

 bushy plants by autumn. 



6213. Cuttings require to be put in at various seasons, and in different situations. From Christmas to 

 May may be considered the best time for cuttings in general ; but some will require to be put in at various 

 seasons throughout the year, according to the state of the shoots. The best time for watering green- 

 house plants in summer is as late as possible in the afternoon, then they have all the night to refresh 

 them. If watered in the morning of a warm day, they will dry again almost immediately. Plants should 

 not remain out too long in autumn, as they are liable to get too much wet, and the worms get in the pots. 

 The middle of September should be the latest, but give them full air as long as the weather will permit. 

 (Bot. Cultivator, 121.) 



6214. Stove. The management of stove plants, according to the same author, 

 whose experience and success are exceeded by none in the cultivation of exotics, de- 

 pends a great deal on the kind of house in which they are grown ; but there is little 

 difficulty in growing them well, if the house can be kept up to a proper heat, and a suf- 

 ficient quantity of air can be given when required. Close glazing is to be preferred ; 



