OLIVIA 



THE BULB BOOK 



COiDONOl'Slg 



place, they seem to thrive and flower 

 better year after year; and it is 

 possible to develop specimen plants 

 in the course of time to a diameter of 

 5 or 6 ft. in pots not more than 15 

 or 16 ins. in diameter. During 

 growth in spring and summer 

 plenty of water must be supplied, but 

 when resting only sufficient should be 

 given to keep the plants from shrivel- 

 ling. Olivias may be forced into 

 early blossom by placing them in a 

 temperature of 65° to 70°, about 

 January, but when in flower it is 

 well to remove to a cooler place so 

 as to keep the blossoms fresh for a 

 longer period. 



Olivias are easily propagated by 

 carefully dividing the tufts in spring 

 just as the plants are about to start 

 into growth. The plants should be 

 taken out of the pots, and have all 

 the old soil shaken away, or washed 

 away in a bucket of tepid water. 

 One can then see more easily where 

 it is possible to divide the root-stocks 

 with a strong, sharp knife. Each 

 portion — large or small according to 

 requirements — should be potted up 

 singly in pots varying in size accord- 

 ing to the portions, using good loamy 

 soil and a little sharp sand and leaf- 

 mould. If placed in a temperature 

 of 55° F., the divided portions soon 

 become established, if kept nicely 

 syringed or sprinkled, and with a 

 fairly humid atmosphere surrounding 

 them. Olivias may be also raised 

 from seeds. These are large, round, 

 and white, and produced in bright 

 red berry -like fruits. They should be 

 sown in sandy loam and leaf-soil 

 when thoroughly ripe, and should 

 be kept warm and moist. When 

 the seedlings are a few inches high, 

 they should be potted up singly in 

 small pots, and grown on until large 

 enough to be moved into a larger 

 size. Unless one is engaged com- 



mercially in the production of new 

 varieties, it is scarcely worth while 

 raising Olivias from seeds'. 



CODONOFSIS (kodon, a bell ; opsis, 

 like ; in reference to the shape of the 

 flowers). Nat. Ord. Campanulacese. — 

 A genus containing about a dozen 

 species of annual or perennial herbs, 

 the latter having tuberous root-stocks, 

 climbing, erect, or decumbent stems, 

 and alternate or irregularly opposite- 

 stalked leaves. Oalyx tube adnate, 

 hemispherical, five - parted, leafy ; 

 corolla broadly tubular or bell-shaped, 

 five-cleft. Stamens free. Ovary 

 inferior, or half superior, three- to 

 five-celled. The genus Glossocomia 

 is now included in Oodonopsis. 



These plants are not very well 

 known, although they are well worth a 

 place in the flower - border. They 

 thrive in ordinary good garden soil 

 of a gritty nature, and are probably 

 better raised from seeds than by 

 dividing the roots. They are not 

 quite hardy except in the most 

 favoured parts of the Kingdom, 

 hence it becomes necessary either to 

 protect the root-stocks in winter with 

 hand-lights, bell-glasses, or a covering 

 of litter, etc. Grown in pots, they 

 are handsome for the decoration of 

 the cool greenhouse. The following 

 kinds may be grown :. — 



C. olematlde a. — A Himalayan 

 perennial 2 to 3 ft. high, with ovate- 

 pointed leaves, and white bell-shaped 

 flowers tinged with blue. 



C. o V a t a. — Another Himalayan 

 species, 12 to 18 ins. high, having 

 opposite and alternate ovate leaves, 

 and pretty, drooping, bell-shaped 

 flowers about 1^ ins. long, borne in 

 June and July. They are pale blue 

 with deeper coloured veins, a purple 

 basal zone outside, and two zones of 

 yellow and one of black inside. 

 {Gard. Ghron. 1886, 468.) Fig. 96. 



143 



