152 VINES 
it long- enough to extend to the top ring of the 
balloon which is firmly tied to it, as is the bottom 
one also. 
Nearly all the tropical vines are evergreen, 
and, therefore, as a rule, require very little 
pruning; however, in the case of vines grown 
for flowers produced on the new wood, hard prun- 
ing naturally becomes an essential, because it 
tends to the development of a greater profusion 
of lateral shoots. 
As a flowering subject, the allamanda is un- 
questionably the superior of all other greenhouse 
vines. It bears clusters of from three to 
six tubular, yellow flowers with a flat expansion, 
or limb, measuring five to six inches across. The 
allamandas are weakling vines; that is, they 
twine, but so slightly, that the habit is of but 
little benefit to the plant from our point of view, 
and training is necessary. 
The best way to handle such vines is to stretch 
wires about three feet apart, lengthwise of the 
house, about ten inches from the glass, and to keep 
the shoots tied to these. Prune hard if you want 
flowers for cutting — they are produced on the 
extreme tip of the new growth, and only a couple 
of eyes of the previous season’s growth should 
be left. If, however, the plant is being grown 
