94 STOVE PLANTS. 



moreover, no difficulty in blooming it. In habit it is erect, 

 branched, and leafy ; the leaves are about five inches long, 

 somewhat lanceolate in shape, dark green above and paler 

 below ; and the flowers are freely produced from the axils of 

 the leaves, the bright rose-coloured bracts, situated in oppo- 

 site pairs at the end of the pedicle, being somewhat heart- 

 shaped, nearly three inches long, and very fragrant. This 

 valuable addition to our stoves is a native of Vera Cruz, and 

 succeeds well in a temperature ranging from 60° to 75°. We 

 have found that, although this plant thrives best in a 

 tolerably warm atmosphere, it does not like much exposure 

 to the sun ; indeed, the difference betweep plants grown in 

 the shade is something extraordinary. It should be well 

 drained, and potted in a mixture of loam, peat, and leaf 

 mould, in equal parts, with a good portion of silver sand. If 

 size is required, the flowers must be kept picked off, and the 

 plant shifted on into a larger-sized pot whenever the roots 

 have filled the one it is occupying. 



DiPLADENIA. 



This genus of handsome flowering plants, all of which 

 are climbers, belongs to the Apocynacea. The species make 

 excellent specimens for exhibition purposes, or for the 

 decoration of the stove. If for exhibition, they should be 

 trained upon wire balloon-shaped trellises, but the young 

 growths should be allowed to grow upon strings up the 

 rafters of the house, and a short time before the blooms open 

 they should be taken down, and fixed upon the trellis. They 

 will be found to succeed admirably under the following 

 treatment : — Pot them in a mixture of peat and turfy loam, 

 in equal proportions, with the addition of a good portion of 

 silver sand ; good drainage is also of particular importance 



