ACHIMENES 



THE BULB BOOK 



ACHIMENES 



species like A. longijlora, A. mvlti- 

 flora, A. tuUflora, and others. They 

 are all easily grown in a stove or 

 warm greenhouse, having a fairly 

 humid atmosphere. They are chiefly 

 valuable for flowering during the 

 summer months, but may be had by 

 forcing into growth, or by retarding, 

 at almost any period of the year. 

 The stems die down naturally in the 

 autumn, and the catkin-like rhizomes, 

 the individual scales of which remind 

 one of the granules of a hard-roed 

 herring, remain dormant during 

 the winter months. In this con- 

 dition they are kept dry by plac- 

 ing the pots on their sides, or by 

 shaking out the rhizomes and storing 

 in gritty soil in a cool place, at least 

 free from frost until required; but 

 about 45° to 50° is the safest tempera- 

 ture. 



When starting them into growth a 

 mixture of sandy peat, and a little 

 turfy loam, leaf -mould, and well- 

 rotted manure is used for potting. 

 To keep up a succession of blossom, 

 batches of the scaly root-stocks should 

 be potted up at intervals of five or 

 six weeks, the first batch being 

 started about the end of January or 

 during February. Pots or pans of 

 various sizes may be used according 

 to taste. In all cases drainage with 

 clean crocks should be given at the 

 base ; over these a layer of moss or 

 fibre, and then fill up about two- 

 thirds with the prepared compost. 

 The roots are spaced out on this an 

 inch or more apart, and covered with 

 an inch of soil, which should be moist 

 but not sodden. The pots are then 

 placed in a temperature of 60° by 

 night, the soil being kept just moist 

 until growths appear. Water is then 

 given in increased quantities accord- 

 ing to the rapidity of growth, and 

 plenty of light must be allowed to get 

 to the plants to keep them sturdy. 



According to the season, however, 

 shade must be given during the 

 hottest part of the day. The syringe 

 should also be used freely early in the 

 morning and late in the afternoons, 

 especially during the summer season, 

 to keep the foliage fresh and clean 

 and free from attacks of red spider 

 and mealy bug. The plants usually 

 grow from 12 to 18 ins. high, and 

 as the soft juicy stems are unable to 

 stand up well by themselves, a few 

 thin sticks should be placed to give 

 them support. When grown in hang- 

 ing baskets lined with moss, the 

 shoots may be tied down horizontally 

 to sticks, and in this way they look 

 very efiective. 



Achimenes are easily increased by 

 splitting up the scaly rhizomes when 



Fig. 34. — Achimenes, leaf-cutting. 



repotting ; by cuttings of the young 

 shoots with two or three joints inserted 

 in light sandy peat and kept moist and 

 shaded till rooted ; by ripened leaves, 

 the stalks of which are inserted up 

 to the blade; and from seeds sown 

 on a finely prepared surface in spring, 

 in a temperature of 65° to 75° F., in 

 the same way as Gloxinias. 

 There are innumerable varieties 



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