CALADIUM, CALCEOLARIA 291 



CACTUS, CHRISTMAS 



See Epiphyllum 



CALADIUM ESCULENTUM (ELEPHANT'S EAR) 



Caladiums are mainly used for bedding where a sub-tropical 

 efFect is wanted, or as border material for large Canna beds. The 

 richer the soil and the warmer the Summer and the more water 

 you can give them, the larger the leaves will be. Outside of that 

 we have but little call for them. 



Start new tubers the same as you would Cannas, about early 

 March. They are too cheap for you to try to keep them over. The 

 fancy-leaved sorts are among the finest decorative foliage plants 

 for the Summer months and should be carried by every florist 

 who realizes the necessity of keeping up an attractive looking store 

 or show house during the Summer. Start the tubers with good 

 bottom heat; as soon as they show growth pot them up into 33^s 

 in a mellow, sandy soil, and keep in a 60-deg. house. If you can still 

 give them a little bottom heat, so much the better. 



When these plants are well established, you can plant four or 

 five in a 7- or 8-in. bulb pan. These pans, during Summer, make a 

 better showing than single plants would. Or you can use 33^- or 

 4-in. stock for the filling of window boxes in sheltered locations, a 

 Uttle protected from the sun. You can make a pleasing arrangement 

 by planting them with tuberous-rooted Begonias and they can also 

 be used for bedding, doing finely where neither heavy winds nor 

 too much sun can get at them. But in order to see them at their 

 best you want to grow them under glass with just a little shade, 

 where you can obtain the beautifully colored and veined leaves, 

 such as no other plant possesses. 



You can dry the plants off toward Fall and keep the tubers in 

 the pots in a dry place to be started into growth again the following 

 February. 



CALCEOLARIA 



We keep on talking about new things and keep our eyes open for 

 anything offered as a novelty in order to grow a greater assortment; 

 yet, at tiie same time, we don't take trouble to look up the old ones, 

 some of which are so old and so little seen that if they were shown the 

 public would consider them novelties. The Calceolarias,' when well 

 grown, are among this class, and to get them that way isn't hard. They 

 are as fine flowering pot plants as you can wish for and quite different 

 from anything else; even if you never sell a plant, they will repay 

 you by making your greenhouses look attractive. 



If I had to pick out just a few plants that the average retail 

 grower should grow, I would certainly have the Calceolarias arnong 

 them, and I would want to help make them as popular as possible, 

 for they are among the plants which deserve it. A display of them 



