June 15, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



391 



PLANTS UNDER GLASS. 



By Thomas Stevenson, Gardener to K. Mocatta, Esq., 



Woburn Place, Addleslone, Surrey. 



Zonal Pelargoniums. — Plants of Zonal 

 Pelargoniums that were rooted in February or 

 March, and nit ided fur autumn or winter 

 flowerin may be trsnsferr 1 to their flowering 

 pots. Six-inch poti are generally employed, and 

 the plants do best in a fairly retentive but not 

 too rich compost; it is not advisable to use a 

 large amount of leaf mould, but some old mortar 

 rubble and bone-meal may be added with advan- 

 tage. Pot firmly, and place the plants on boards 

 in the open, or, if there is plenty of room in 

 frames, they may be accommodated in these, 

 keeping the lights off except in very wet weather. 

 The object should be to procure plants of a 

 hardy growth, as these flower best during win- 

 ter. Strong shoots should be pinched as soon 

 as they have attained to a sufficient length, in 

 order to obtain shapely specimens, and the stop- 

 ping should be continued until early in August. 

 Do not give the roots too much water; rather 

 keep them on the dry side. Plants that are in- 

 tended to bloom throughout the summer should 

 be afforded a little mild stim ilant occa- 

 sionally, soot water being very suitable for the 

 purpose. Show, Kancv and Regal Pelargoniums 

 should be placed out-of-doors exposed to full sun 

 shine as soon as they have finished blooming or 

 become unsightly, in these conditions the wood 

 will become thoroughly matured, which is neces- 

 sary if the plants are intended to be grown for a 

 second season. 



Cuttings of Pelargoniums. — If a further 

 batch of young plants is required, cuttings may 

 be inserted now, or the work may be deferred 

 until the plants are cut down at about the end 

 of August. If strong plants are desired, I pre- 

 fer to root them as early in the season as pos- 

 sible. Place the cuttings in pots singly, and 

 they will root freely in any glasshouse, whether 

 kept close or not. The only precaution neces- 

 sary is not to shade them too densely, or the 

 shoots will grow weak and spindly. 



Tuberous-rooted Beqonias. 



are growing freely 

 they will flower. 



pets may require 

 if this is necessary, 

 delayed much longer. 



-These plants 



in the pots in which 



Seedling Begonias in 



larger receptacles, and, 



the work should not be 



or there will not be suffi- 



cient time for the roots to fill the pots and the 

 rowths to mature before the season finishes. 

 eedling Begonias that are planted out must be 

 attended to carefully, especially in the matter of 

 watering, as it is essential, in order to judge of 

 their rn its, to have them in active growth early, 

 so that the best may be select, d and grown in 



>ots for the following season. Large plants hiv- 

 ing several shoots should lie staked, as this will 

 allow the rowths to receive the maximum 

 amount of liv'ht. 



Streptosolen and Hsliotropium.— Plants 

 of 8treptnsrili-n and Heliotrope- are very useful 

 for flow, ring early in the season. For tins reason 



some of those rooted this spring should be potted 



and grown on They may be placed in a 1 

 houa or, if this is not practicable, in a sheltered 

 position out-of-doors. The stronger shoots 

 should be pinched to make the plants shapely. 

 When trained in pyramidal form they are useful 

 for many decorative purposes in the spring. 



Humea ELCGANs.— Plants of Humea elegans 

 may with advantage be removed out-of-doors, 

 sheltering them somewhat from the heat of the 

 sun, in order that the inflorescences may attain 

 a deeper colour. If the work has not been 

 done already, a furth r sowing may be made; 

 late plants often retain their foliage" better than 

 the earlier ones, though they seldom make such 

 good specimens. 



Salvia splendens orandiflora. — Plants 

 of this and other varieties of Salvia splendens 

 should now be in a suitable cond t n for plac- 

 es in their flowering .ts. either 24's, 16's, or 

 ^o. 12 pots, according to the size of the speci- 

 mens required. A fairly rich compost is m'ces- 

 sary and firm potting is best. The points of 



tne she* i should be pinched out as often as tbey 

 ■now flower-buds, treating the plants la prac- 

 tically the rue manner as Chrvsanth .nuns. 

 •>ome prefer to plunge the poU in'ashes, bttt 

 uns induces a quirk, sappv growth, I am not 

 favour of the practice. 



THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



By F. Jordan, Gardener to Lady Nunbuknholme, 



Warter Priory, Yorkshire. 



Strawberries. — Early varieties of Straw- 

 berries planted in warm borders look most 

 Promising, and their fruits are swelling rapidly, 

 f the weather continues dry, afford the plants 

 copious soakings of water. Manure water should 

 not be given whilst the fruits are on the 

 plants. After the watering is completed, a 

 framework should be erected on which to place 

 nets, as when the latter are only spread over the 

 beds many of the best berries are spoiled by 

 birds; also, by using a framework, the fruits 

 are more easily gathered. The supporting of the 

 trusses of fruits on young plants, if practised, 

 should be done at once, and if extra fine berries 

 are required, the trusses should be well thinned. 

 Slugs and snails are great pests of Strawberries, 

 and every precaution should be taken to protect 

 the fruits from them, also from birds. Notes 

 should be taken at this season of varieties best 

 suited to the district, and preparations should 

 be made for layering a sufficient number of the 

 most suitable sorts for forming new beds in the 

 autumn. Stock plants put out last August for 

 the special purpose of furnishing layers for forc- 

 ing, having Ibeen denuded of all their flowers, will 

 soon provide runners. These should be layered 

 in 3- inch pots, or, as many prefer for early 

 forcing, direct in 5 and 6-inch pots. By layering 

 direct in their fruiting pots, the plants grow 

 without a check, the crowns ripen well, and much 

 labour is saved. Good runners from maiden 



Sdants are best for forcing. The ground 

 or planting Strawberries should be in readiness 

 by the end of July, as after that date the plants 

 become starved in small pots, and their growing 

 season in the open is too short. Soil in which 

 Strawberries are planted should be trenched and 

 manured the previous winter, and then cropped 

 with early Potatos, simply forking over the 

 ground afterwards, and making it firm when 

 planting. Mulching is a great help in giving 

 the plants a start, and is a most important factor 

 in high culture. 



General Work. — The most important work 

 in the fruit garden during the past month 

 has been the destruction of caterpillars, grubs, 

 and other insects. Notwithstanding the presence 

 of all these enemies, there is promise of average 

 crops of most kinds of fruits, although it is yet 

 early to estimate the fruit harvest. Every care 

 must be taken in picking and pinching, cleansing, 

 and training the trees, as next year's success will 

 depend largely on the proper management of the 

 trees this summer. Autumn-fruiting Raspberries 

 must be attended to, tying the young canes to 

 the wires, or whatever else they are trained to. 

 Cleanse the foliage and shoots of May Duke and 



her Cherries on walls before placing nets over 

 the trees to protect the fruits from birds, which 

 commence their attacks as soon as the fruits de- 



elop the first tinge of colour. Half inch netting, 

 fastened securely to the wall and pegged down, 

 is the most efficient and durable protection for 

 the purpose. Examine the trees of Apricot fre- 



S [gently for maggots, which are unusually preya- 

 ent this year, also afford another good soaking 

 of liquid manure to the roots, after which no 

 more moisture will be required until after the 

 stoning period. Wall trees are growing freely, 

 and. in stopping and disbudding the shoots, 

 that those intended for extension are kept 

 tied in the proper direction. Leading shoots of 

 cordon trees should be also tied constantly, pinch- 

 ing the side shoots closely. 



FRUITS UNDER GLASS. 



By E. Harriss, Fruit Foreman, The Royal Gardens, 



Windsor. 



Layering Strawberries. — To obtain suit- 

 able plants for very early forcing, preparations 

 should be made at once for securing the layers. 

 Assuming that a quarter was planted last autumn 

 with a view to supplying early runners for the 



fmrpose. there will now be plenty of young plants 

 arge enough for layering. No time should be 

 lost in placing the* i arly runners in pots, as they 

 v 1 then be well grown and the crowns 

 horoughlv matured by the end of the season. It 



is essential to have perfectly -ripened plants if 



fo i berries are required sarly In the sprint:. 

 f ] i loan i is available, there m 1 be no other 



inrno 1 ts mixed with It, unless it is intended 



to laver th JTOung plants straight in their fruiting 



?>ots, in which case a small quantity of manure 

 rom an old Mushroom bed and a quantity of 

 crushed bones, more or less according to the 



Jruality of the soil, should be added. The soil 

 or growing Strawberries in pots should be as 

 rich and substantial as possible, as the roots 

 grow rapidly, and, if the soil is light and poor in 

 quality, the plants will be in need of stimulating 

 food before the season is far advanced. Under 

 such conditions it is useless to expect to obtain 

 plants suitable for early forcing. At Frogmore 

 we layer the runners in 2^-inch pots, which are 

 filled with loam in the potting shed and carried to 

 the bed, where they are plunged in the soil be- 

 tween the rows. The small amount of extra work 

 involved in plunging the pots will be amply re- 

 paid during very hot weather, when it will be 

 found that the plants will not require half so 

 much water as those not plunged. It will also be 

 noticed that the plants root more readily in the 

 new soil when treated in this manner. Much care 

 must be exercised in selecting the runners ; those 

 which have already become firmly rooted in the 

 ground should be discarded. The layers which 



Sive the best results are those just beginning to 

 evelop roots. Select only one plant on each 

 runner. Secure the young plants on the surface 

 of the soil by means of pegs or pieces of raffia 

 pressed firmly into the soil. The layers should be 

 damped frequently by means of a rose can dur- 

 ing bright weather till they have become well 

 established in their pots. They may then be 

 detached from the old plants and placed in a 

 shady situation till they are ready for potting in 

 their* fruiting pots. Another batch of layers may, 

 if necessary, te taken from the eame plants for 

 furnishing late plants. Although w r e have tried 

 several varieties of recent introduction, we have 

 been unable to find one to surpass or even ap- 

 proach Royal Sovereign for forcing, and we rely 

 on this variety alone to furnish the early crops 

 under glass. 



Tk* Early Vinery.— The last few bunches of 

 Grapes on early vines may be cut and placed in 

 bottle* in a cool room, where they will keep quite 

 as well aa if left on the vines. When the Grapes 

 are removed, the vines may be syringed 

 thoroughly with a strong mixture of soft soap 

 and sulphur to cleanse them of red spider and 

 thrip. The syringing may be done two or three 

 times, at intervals of a few days. Afterwards 

 the vines may be washed with clear water every 

 evening when the weather is hot. See that the 

 roots are thoroughly soaked with clear water, 

 and, later, diluted liquid manure will be bene- 

 ficial if the roots are in a healthy condition. Let 

 the ventilators be thrown wide open at all times. 



MB 



Eucalyptus.— The 14th part of Mr. J. H. 

 Maiden's Critical Br view of the Genus Eucalyp- 

 tus, pp. 133-164, plates 61 64, treats of E. mellio- 

 dora, E. fasciculosa, E. uncinata, E. decipiens, E. 

 concolor, E. Cloeziana, and E. oligantha, bringing 

 the total number of species dealt with up to 72. 

 It is well known that the species of Eucalyptus 

 bear juvenile leaves or seedling leaves, very dif- 

 ferent in shape from those of the flowering or 

 more mature branches. Other species have very 

 variable leaves in the adult stage. E. melliodora. 

 and E. uncinata belong to these categories. In 

 the former the leaves vary from nearly linear and 

 6 inches long to oblong, rounded at both ends, 

 lanceolate and ovate, and either acute or obtuse. 

 The juvenile leaves of E. uncinata are heart- 

 shaped or oval, and the succeeding ones linear to 

 lanceolate. Sometimes, in this species, the 

 juvenile leaves persist to maturity, so that 

 the leaves are permanently dimorphic. The 

 tendency to variability in foliage has led to much 

 confusion of species, and Mr. Maiden has mad* a 

 point of including the whole range of variation in 

 his illustrations. E. oligantha is a remarkable 

 species, with large, orbicular or ovate leaves, of 



which onlv flowers are known. 



lly 



found in Opeland Island, Mountnorris Bay, N. 

 Australia, and Mr. Maiden identifies with it 

 *pe mens coll' ted between Tabh j» Mountain 

 and Artesian Flange, West Australia. The specie,* 

 cultivated in the south of Europe under the nan.e 

 of H. ccerulescens is the same as E. melliodora. 



