112 STOVE PLANTS. 



blooming during the summer months. Native of Sierra 

 Leone. 



GrESNEEA. 



This genus contains many beautiful species, varieties, and 

 hybrids — -plants which, when well grown, are invaluable for 

 winter decoration, their ornamental foliage and numerous 

 showy-coloured flowers rendering them highly ornamental 

 objects at any time, and doubly so during the dull winter 

 months. Gesneras are for the most part tuberous-rooted 

 plants, and, by judicious management, they can be had in 

 bloom during the whole year ; but as autumn and winter are 

 their natural seasons of flowering, they can be grown to 

 greater perfection during summer, for blooming at that 

 season, than at any other. As happens with so many other 

 plants, the members of this genus are so neglected by many 

 growers after flowering, that they dwindle away instead of 

 increasing in vigour and beauty. To keep them in robust 

 health, they must be well attended to after flowering, for 

 then the bulbs for the following season have to be matured. 

 In order to efiect this, they must be carefully tended, giving 

 them occasional waterings with weak liquid manure ; but 

 as the foliage begins to decay, less water will be required, 

 and when the growth is finished, it must be entirely withheld. 

 After this, though requiring to be kept dry, they must not 

 be baked, but should be stored away in their pots in a cool 

 dry place until again required. It is a common practice to 

 shake the soil away from them when dry, and store the bulbs 

 in dry sand ; but we believe the best system is to leave them 

 in their pots, and just start them into growth in the old soil 

 before repotting, for by this treatment the bulbs are not so 

 liable to injury, and the plants consequently flower much 

 stronger. We have included some varieties here which have 



