February 27, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



lOI 



Cultural Department. . 

 Green-house Plants — I. Correas. 



THE genus Correa is composed of about half a dozen very 

 variable species, all natives of Australia, where they are 

 known among the colonists as "Native Fuchsias." They 

 Ijelong to the order Rtitacecv, and are nearly related to Boronia, 

 Crowea and Eriostemou. They form couipact shrubs, usually 

 about six feet high, though at least one has been seen as high 

 as thirty feet. Under cultivation, however, they rarely exceed 

 a yard in height. All the known species have been in culti- 

 vation in England, 

 where, from about 

 1820 until a few years 

 ago, the Correas, along 

 with many other Aus- 

 tralian yjlants, were 

 among the most popu- 

 lar of green-house 

 tlowering plants. Sev- 

 eral reputed hybrid 

 Correas were raised in 

 England, and mnner- 

 ous varieties were 

 known, so that at least 

 a score of named 

 kinds may be found 

 mentioned in old lists. 

 For garden ])m-poses 

 it will be most conve- 

 nient to call the kinds 

 by the names imder 

 \vliich they are grown, 

 as it is somewhat dif- 

 ficult to understand 

 why Ijotanists refer C. 

 cardinalis, C. Back- 

 housiana and C. pul- 

 chella to C. speciosa, 

 the plants Icnown in 

 gardens under these 

 names being abund- 

 antly distinct. 



Correas are among 

 the most beautiful of 

 hard- wooded green- 

 house plants. They 

 are easily managed, 

 form nice shapely 

 bushes and blossom 

 freely every spring, 

 often continuing in 

 flower till midsum- 

 mer. They are rarely 

 seen in modern col- 

 lections, having been 

 crowded out by quick- 

 er growing and more 

 gaudy-colored plants. 

 A beginner often fails 

 with them through 

 treating them as if they 

 were Fuchsias or Pe- 

 largoniums, and, 

 growing disgusted 

 v.'ith their behavior, 

 disca rds t h e m as 

 worthless. And yet a 

 wel 1-grown Correa 

 when in full flower is 

 a perfect picture o f 

 elegance. 



When propagated by cuttings these should be about three 

 inches long, and composed of ripened wood of the last year's 

 growth. They should be planted in very sandy jieat and 

 placed in a close frame, where the temperature is about 65°. 

 Here they ought to be rooted in about two months. Grafting- 

 is, however, the most common method, as good plants are 

 obtained more quickly, and the weaker kinds thrive better 

 when grafted on a strong-growing stock than when on their 

 own roots. C. alba forms the best stock for all the kinds 

 except C. cardinalis, wliich should be grafted on a sturd\' 

 variety of C. speciosa. The stocks siiould l>e young, and the 

 grafts similar to the pieces preferred for cuttings. Side graft- 



Fig. 97. — Japanese Chrysanthemum — Medusa. — See page 100. 



ing, close to the base of the stock, and allowing the top to 

 remain, always proves successful. P'ebruary is the most 

 favorable time for this operation. The worked plants should 

 be placed in a close fi'ame where the temperature is about 

 60°, and if looked after they will be united in about six weeks. 

 The top of the stock may then be pinched out, leaving the 

 lower part till after the cion has made a little growth. The 

 )'Oung plants should be grown in an intermediate and some- 

 \N'hat close temperature, and kept bushy by pinching out the 

 tops of the strongest shoots. In winter a temperature of not 

 lower than 45" at night, should be maintained. In April the 

 plants should be re-potted in a mixture of peat two parts, leaf- 

 mould one part, and a 

 good addition of silver 

 sand. Tlie soil should 

 be pressed in firmly. 

 During summer a 

 sprinkling of water 

 overhead sho u Id be 

 given twice daily. 

 Some of the kinds 

 branch freely and 

 keep compact in habit, 

 whilst others must be 

 frequently stopped to 

 prevent them from 

 becoming leggy. The 

 plants require suffici- 

 ent water to keep the 

 soil moist, without its 

 ever l)ecoming satu- 

 rated. They like plenty 

 of sunlight, shading 

 only for an hour or 

 two at midday during 

 s II ni m e r. As the 

 plants get larger a 

 shift into a larger pot 

 every two years or so 

 will be sufficient. Bv 

 jutliciously staking the 

 young plants, hand- 

 some bushy speci- 

 mens can be grown in 

 about four years. Of 

 course the plants 

 flower freely and regu- 

 larly every year from 

 the first. Small speci- 

 mens in four-inch pots 

 make pretty table 

 plants. The flowers 

 are useful for cutting, 

 and last several days 

 in \\ater. The robust 

 growing kinds such as 

 C. alba, C. Lauren- 

 ciana, C. Backhoiisiana 

 antl C. speciosa will 

 thrive well when plant- 

 ed in a bed in a sunnv 

 position in an ordin- 

 ary conservatory. 

 Lai-ge examples of 

 these kinds ha\'e l)ecn 

 grf)wn by tr ea t i n g 

 tliem in this wa\' at 

 Kew. They bear cut- 

 ting hack heavilv with- 

 out suffering; this 

 treatment is recom- 

 mended for leggv or 

 unshapely specimens. 

 The following are the best of the culti\ated kinds : 

 C. cardinalis ; introduced by \''eitch in 1856. It has an erect, 

 somewhat thin habit, the branches tlark brown and shining 

 when old, tomentose when young. The leaves are one and a 

 half inches long, half an inch broad, recurved afthe edges, 

 dark green above, pale and woolyonthe imderside. Flowers 

 droo])ing on the ends of the numerous small branches, one 

 and a half inches long, tulnilar, l)right scarlet, with segments 

 reflexed, greenish yellow ; anthers exserted, yellow. 



C. speciosa-major ; introduced in the last century. An erect, 

 bushy species, covered with a rusty tomentum, branching 

 freelv, and crowded with oblong leaves one inch long. 



