376 MANUAL OF GARDENING 
Gloxinias must have a uniform moist and warm atmosphere and 
protection from the sun. They will not stand abuse or varying con- 
ditions. Propagated often by leaf-cuttings, which should give flower- 
ing plants in one year. From the leaf, inserted half its length in the 
soil (or sometimes only the petiole inserted) a tuber arises. This tuber, 
after resting until midwinter or later, is planted, and flowering plants 
soon arise. 
Gloxinias also grow readily from seeds, which may be germinated 
in a temperature of about 70°. Flowering plants may be had in August 
if seeds are sown in late winter, say in early February. This is the 
usual method. After the bloom is past, the tuber is partially dried 
off and kept dormant till the following season. It will usually show 
signs of activity in February or March, when it may be shaken out of 
the old earth and a little water may then be applied and the amount 
increased till the plant is in bloom. The same tubers may be bloomed 
several times. 
Success in the growing of gloxinias is largely a matter of proper 
watering. Keep the dormant tuber just dry enough to prevent 
shriveling, never trying to force it ahead of its time. Avoid wetting 
the leaves. Protect from direct sunlight. Protect from draughts on 
the plants. 
Grevillea.— The “she oak,” very graceful greenhouse plant, suit- 
able also for house culture. The plants grow freely from seed, and until 
they become too lurge are as decorative asferns. Grevilleas are really 
trees, and are valuable in greenhouses and rooms only in their young 
state. They withstand much abuse. They are now very popular 
as jardiniere subjects. Seeds sown in spring will give handsome 
plants by the next winter. Discard the plants as soon as they become 
ragged. 
Hollyhocks. — These old garden favorites have been neglected of 
late years, primarily because the hollyhock rust has been so preva- 
lent, destroying the plants or making them unsightly (see pp. 183, 210). 
Their culture is very simple. The seed is usually sown in July or 
August, and the plants set where wanted the following spring. They 
will bloom the same year in which they are transplanted — the year 
