30 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 14, 1870. 



many by Gnaphalium lanatum, a strong-growing but most 

 useful plant, as, owing to the trailing recumbent character of 

 its long flexible growth, by close attention to pinching and 

 pegging it becomes one of our neatest bedders. Its handsome 

 foliage, of a peculiar soft grey tint, is very telling next deep 

 crimson or pink. One other grey-leaved plant, Centaurea ragu- 

 sina, will complete my selection. It is the best plant of its 

 class for a central, or third or fourth row. It is quite hardy, 

 but as neat young plants are altogether preferable for bedding 

 purposes, an annual supply must either be raised from cuttings 

 or seed. By making cuttings as early in July as possible, and 

 keeping them in a moderate even temperature, they will strike 

 root as freely as a Pelargonium. If the stock is obtained from 

 seed it must be sown in January, as the seedlings are very 

 green at first, and require a considerable time before they 

 equal in appearance plants raised from cuttings. For my own 

 part, I very much prefer cuttings, for when once well rooted 

 they may be wintered with the greatest ease in a dry cold 

 pit. CuttiDgs of this plant also root in a brisk moist heat 

 in spring. 



I have selected these plants as being decidedly the best of 

 all in their section ; they are of the highest excellence, their 

 merits having been thoroughly tried and their stability proved 

 in a variety of seasons. 



Ceihson-leaved Plants I shall take next. Coleus Ver- 

 schaffelti worthily comes first, for now the excitement caused 

 by the much- vaunted splendour of its descendants has subsided, 

 our old favourite remains master of the field, the splendour of 

 its rich-coloured foliage never having been approached, much 

 less equalled by any of them. And here I would observe, that my 

 experience of this class of plants leads me to the conclusion, 

 that no fine-foliaged plant possessing maculated leaves is ever 

 so useful as those of a rich self-colour for bedding purposes. 



1 have tried most of the new varieties of Coleus, and find that 

 while Verschaffelti is undoubtedly the best for forming rich 

 masses, or as lines in a ribbon border, yet nearly all the newer 

 kinds are useful if grown in pots, trained in a conical shape 



2 or 3 feet high, and then turned out into beds to form mixed 

 groups, or as a background for brighter colours. 



Of the lrcsines, acuminata has fine, broad, handsome foliage, 

 and will very likely supersede Herbstii, but of this I am by no 

 means certain, as Herbstii is a fine plant when grown in a 

 deep, rich, cool soil. It is most effective when next foliage of 

 a similar character, such as that of Vinca major elegantissima, 

 or Gnaphalium lanatum. Of Lindeni I must not yet venture 

 to offer an opinion ; if its very elegant foliage only prove bright 

 enough in colour it is likely to be a great acquisition. Ama- 

 ranthus melancholicus ruber grown in a warm, sheltered situ- 

 ation, and pegged closely, makes a fine crimson mass, and is 

 very telling next bright yellow. Perilla nankinensis with its 

 rich, dark, chocolate leaves, often changing to a fine bronze in 

 autumn, is a first-class bedding plant ; its young stems are 

 very flexible, so that it may either be pegged closely and kept 

 pinched to form a dwarf edging, or it may be had of any 

 height up to a foot. 



Gold and Silver Vakiegated Plants. — Among these we have 

 in the very elegant Arabis lucida variegata a perfect gem, not 

 more than 2 or 3 inches high, and quite hardy. Arabis alpina 

 variegata is also useful. It is a stronger grower than the 

 former. Cuttings made in October and wintered in a cold pit, 

 make useful plants for the following summer. Next these 

 comes Polemonium cceruleum variegatum, a beautiful silvery- 

 variegated hardy plant, with elegant Fern-like foliage. This is 

 one of the most useful plants in its section ; it is best pro- 

 pagated by division of the crowns in spring, and in order to 

 increase the stock quickly the plants should be potted in 

 autumn, and wintered in a'cold pit. Another useful plant is 

 Koniga variegata. I have frequently used this between plants 

 of Lady Plymouth Pelargonium ; it grows quickly and has the 

 appearance of a fringe of lace around the Pelargoniums, and is 

 easily cut away as the Pelargoniums make growth. Vinca 

 major elegantissima is a valuable bedding plant, which by 

 judicious pinching and pegging becomes a sheet of pale yellow 

 a few inches high. It requires constant attention, as it grows 

 quickly, but it well repays one for all the care bestowed upon 

 it. Chrysanthemum Sensation and Ageratum variegatum are 

 alike useful ; both are easily propagated, and both bear pegging 

 and pinching well. The Variegated Japanese Honeysuckle 

 (Lonicera aureo-reticulata) also makes an elegant bedding plant, 

 if propagated in spring, potted singly in 3-inch pots, and 

 kept in heat and with the growth constantly pinched, so as to 

 form the plants into neat, compact, little bushes. These do 



admirably for a line in a ribbon border, but they require con- 

 stant pinching throughout the summer. All plants of this 

 kind possessing a long trailing habit should never be suffered 

 to produce long shoots when planted in flower beds, but should, 

 by pinching-off the tips of the young growth, be brought as 

 near to the appearance of a regular bedding plant as possible. 



Miscellaneous Plants. — Of these, Heliotrope Beauty of the 

 Boudoir, with its very dark foliage and abundance of grey 

 flowers, forms charming neutral beds. To have this in bloom 

 early, the plants must be propagated the previous autumn and 

 wintered singly in thumb pots. SpriDg-struck plants are fre- 

 quently as large when planted in the beds, but they are much 

 later in coming into flower. 



The tall Scarlet Lobelias are good in groups, or for back rows 

 in ribbon borders; they do not open their flowers, it is true, 

 till late in the season, but their dark stems and foliage are very 

 effective, and when the spikes of deep rich scarlet flowers do 

 expand, nothing can be finer, and yet how seldom are they 

 seen. Their culture is most simple ; pack the old stools closely 

 in pans or boxes in autumn, winter in a cold pit, avoiding 

 much damp, and early in March divide the old plants, potting 

 the offsets singly in small pots. These, placed in any position 

 under glass where they can have abundance of light and air, 

 as in a pit, frame, or cool house, become nice plants by May. 

 Care must be taken to guard them from the ravages of snails, 

 which are very fond of the young succulent shoots. 



Another useful member of this family, of more lowly growth, 

 is Lobelia speciosa. Coming early into bloom, and continuing 

 iu great beauty throughout summer, it forms a dense even 

 mass of deep blue, and is everywhere welcomed and admired. 

 It may be useful to some if I advert to two or three different 

 methods of culture. The simplest way of all to obtain a stock 

 is to sow a bed on a wsrm border early in September. The 

 young seedlings are protected in winter with a frame having 

 glass lights, which are covered with mats and litter in hard 

 frosts; the plants are slightly thinned, but nothing more is 

 done till they are taken up with a trowel and planted in the 

 flower beds in May. This plan answers very well for gardens 

 in which an early display is not required, otherwise the usual 

 plan of sowing seed in pans placed in heat in March is prefer- 

 able. In gardens having very poor soil, where strong plants 

 are required, I know no better way than to place a glazed 

 frame on a mild hotbed, fill it to within 3 inches of the glass 

 with light, rich, sandy soil, settle this gently down with the 

 back of a spade, and prick out the young seedlings 2 inches 

 apart. Wash the glass lights with a thin mixture of lime and 

 water for shading, sprinkle the plants twice a-day with warm 

 water, and give a thorough watering when necessary, and a 

 little air on hot days. When the plants are growing freely, 

 more and more air may be given, till the lights are drawn en- 

 tirely off, care being taken that the tender foliage is not 

 scorched by the sun. Seedlings so treated grow with amazing 

 rapidity, and some care has to be exercised that the plants do 

 not become too robust, and so, when removed to the flower 

 beds, continue to grow too strongly. 



The method I prefer to all others is to select a dozen or two 

 of plants from a late batch of seedlings or cuttings, to pot 

 them singly in 3-inch pots, and plunge them in the open gar- 

 den till the end of August, when they are taken up and shifted 

 into 5-inch pots, and then plunged to thf: rim in coal ashes till 

 October ; they are then taken into the houses along with the 

 other bedding stock. In the following February they are fur- 

 nished with a good crop of cuttings, and the required quantity 

 of young plants is raised with the greatest ease. By shifting 

 the stock plants in the end of August, ample time is afforded 

 for them to become thoroughly established in the 5-inch pots 

 before they are housed. I lay some stress on this, because 

 Lobelias shifted late in autumn are very liable to damp off. 



Viola cornuta is another very useful plant of most easy 

 culture. In order to insure a lasting summer display, cuttings 

 must be taken in March, and the young plants planted in the 

 flower beds in a deep rich soil at the same time as the other 

 bedding plants. It grows freely, and soon becomes a mass of 

 bloom of a peculiarly fresh and pleasing appearance. 



This selection of plants may be thought a small one, but if 

 to these are added the splendid varieties of bedding Pelargo- 

 niums now in cultivation, together with Verbenas and Calceo- 

 larias, ample materials of all shades of colour may be had in 

 sufficient variety to fill a design, however large, in the most 

 satisfactory manner. Of the relative merits of Pelargoniums, 

 Verbenas, and Calceolarias I shall say nothing, as they have 

 been fully treated of in former paper 1 ;, but will next proceed to 



