48 STOVE AND GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



NEPENTHES These are known as East India Pitcher plants. In 

 their native habitats they grow as vines. Under cultivation they are 

 usually seen as dwarf, pot or basket plants. Nepenthes are very suita- 

 ble for suspending from the roof of a greenhouse, as then the curiously- 

 shaped appendages, or " pitchers," at the ends of the leaves are best seen. 

 Moreover, some of the kinds have long leaves, and when the pitchers are 

 half filled with liquid they hang lower than the base of the pot or bas- 

 ket. In this case the plants must be suspended from the roof. Their 

 cultivation, with the exception of a few species, is not difficult. There 

 are between 30 and 40 ppecies, found principally in the East Indian 

 Islands. The temperature should not fall below 65 degrees at any time 

 of the year, and from this it may rise to 90 degrees with safety. At all 

 times I prefer growing these plants with as little ventilation as possible, 

 as under those conditions growth will be more vigorous and a heavier 

 crop of pitchers will be the result. Pruning is a very important matter 

 in their cultivation. With the possible exception of N. bicalcurata, none 

 of the kinds should be allowed to grow over a foot high. When a few 

 pitchers have been formed, or are forming on a shoot, cut the end out; 

 this will very materially help in the development of those in process of 

 formation, and will cause new shoots to burst out on which more 

 pitchers will be borne. The material in which to grow Nepenthes should 

 consist of fibrous peat and sphagnum in equal parts. Charcoal, crushed 

 bone and sand in small quantities may be added. During the growing 

 season the plants must never be allowed to get dry at the roots. One 

 and two-year-old specimens are the most satisfactory, although some 

 of the kinds will keep in good condition as long as they have good 

 material in which to make -fresh roots. Shade during bright sunshine, 

 and syringe frequently. The sexes are on different plants, and so far as 

 I have observed all the species and varieties will intercross. Seeds are 

 sown on a finely prepared surface of chopped moss, covered with glass. 

 As soon as they can be handled the seedlings are pricked off in small 

 pots. Cuttings should be taken from the half-ripened shoots about the 

 beginning of December; tbey should be cut to single eyes only when a 

 large number of plants are wanted. Terminal growths, short and 

 stocky, make the finest plants, and in a much shorter time than single- 

 eye cuttings. In a propagating frame, with a bottom heat of 80 de- 

 grees, plunge the cuttings in sphagnum; they may be either pushed 

 through the hole of an inverted thumb pot or put In small pots, using a 

 rooting medium composed of sphagnum, sand and charcoal. I much 

 prefer the first method. Many beautifully marked hybrids have been 

 raised in recent years; these are, as a rule, easiest grown. N. Masters- 

 iana is one of the best; N. Dominiana, N. Henryana, N. WilliamPii, N. 

 Outramiana, N. Siebrechtii and N. Amesiana are all well worth growing. 



NERIUM (OLEANDER) Much grown as a tub plant, for which it is 

 well suited. Old plants should be kept as dormant as possible during 

 the Winter. Cuttings are rooted early in the season, and plunged out- 

 side when established in pots. 



OCHNA MULTIFLORA is an interesting and beautiful cool greenhouse 

 shrub. The flowers are yellow. The calyx, at first green, changes to a 



