ERICA 



359 



grown. Erica melanthera is 

 the ideal Christmas variety 

 and you should always have 

 a nice, well-balanced stock of 

 it on hand, from small-sized 

 ones for baskets to a few 

 large specimens. All they 

 need is a cool house and to 

 be kept well watered. The 

 plants may not show right 

 away when suffering for 

 want of sufficient moisture 

 around the roots, but the 

 first thing you know the little 

 buds turn brown and dry 

 up — and it is too late then 

 to keep them wet. 



How TO Propagate Ericas 



The specialist propa- 

 gates during Winter and 

 early Spring, using the tops 

 of the young growth. You 

 want washed sand and a 

 rather close atmosphere, but 

 no bottom heat is necessary. 

 It takes a couple of months 

 to root the cuttings. Some 

 growers practice pot cultiure 

 during Summer, and others 

 plant out in beds, making 

 use of a mixture of leaf- 

 mold, good mellow loam and 

 sand. A little shade is nec- 

 essary. If you grow from 

 cuttings, it takes two and 

 three years time to obtain 

 good specimens. During Winter, give them a house of about 40 

 deg., increasing the temperature, of course, for the plants that are 

 wanted to flower. Old plants left over should be cut back well and 

 if you can plant them outdoors during Summer, so much the 

 better; then lift in October and pot up. 



What is of more interest to the lover of Ericas if he is a retail 

 grower, however, is the fact that more plants than ever are being grown 

 today in the United States and in many beautiful varieties besides 

 E. melanthera. We actually note advertisements of firms quoting 



Fig. 151.— Erica WiLuaoKB ANA. One of 

 the several beautiful species of which 

 more are being grown each year. At 

 this rate they will soon be as popular 

 as they have long been in Europe 



