712 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Cinerarias. — These are showy and extremely useful plants 

 (Fig. 460), but, like Calceolarias, are rather difficult to bring 

 to perfection. Sow seed in pans filled with very light sandy 

 soil, in May for winter, and in July for spring-flowering; place 

 in a cool frame, shading well and keeping close till the seed- 

 lings are well up. Pot singly into 3m. pots, keeping in the 

 frame, giving plenty of room, and continue to shift as required. 

 In the middle of September remove* to the cool pit, transferring 



to the warm pit for 

 a few days when 

 the flowers begin to 

 open. Great care 

 must always be ex- 

 ercised with regard 

 to shade, but as the 

 plants get big this 

 can gradually b e 

 lessened. Keep the 

 plants themselves 

 and the ground 

 they stand on moist. 

 In hot weather a 

 gentle spraying with 

 the syringe, is ad- 

 vantageous morning 

 and evening. 

 During the primary 

 and late periods of 

 growth great care 

 should be exercised 

 when watering, it 

 being most im- 

 portant at these 

 periods that no 

 water should be 

 allowed to settle on 

 the leaves ; thus 

 these should be 

 raised sufficient to 

 permit the passage 

 of the can's spout beneath them, and as they are very brittle this 

 requires to be done as gently as possible. Use a light compost 

 of fibrous loam, leaf-soil, and sand, and also feed with liquid 

 manure when the plants are big, but not after the blossoms have 

 begun to show. Cinerarias may also be raised from offsets, 

 obtained by cutting off the flower-heads as soon as they have 

 begun to fade, and top-dressing with light soil a week or two 

 after. When large enough, the off-sets may be removed with 



Fig. 460. — Single-flowered Cineraria. 



