698 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS nibebmbeegia 



single and double flowers, while it would 

 be impossible to describe the innumerable 

 shades of colour which exist, from the 

 purest white to the deepest violet through 

 rose, pink, purple, magenta, crimson &c., 

 with intermediate shades in streaks, 

 blotches, bands, and all kinds of combi- 

 nations. The simple outline of the origi- 

 nal parts has also disappeared, and in its 

 place exist frilled, crimped, cut, and 

 fringed varieties rivalling the double 

 Begonia and Carnation. 



At one time it was the custom to 

 name almost every variation, but so many 

 extraordinary forms appeared from seeds 

 that it was impossible to keep pace with 

 them, and only a few of the very finest 

 and most distinct are now singled out 

 for naming. All the large-flowering forms 

 are known as the grandifiora section, 

 which includes single white, striped, 

 flaked, and fringed forms, and double ones 

 called fimbriata, robusta, Liliput &c. 

 Every year some new name will be found 

 in nurserymen's catalogues, but as a rule 

 some of the very finest forms can be ob- 

 tained from a packet of mixed seeds. Any 

 really excellent forms should be increased 

 by cuttings, as seedlings never or rarely 

 ever come true. 



Culture and Propagation. — The 

 cultivation of Petimias is fairly easy. 

 They like a deep rich soU and open sunny 

 situations, and produce charming effects 

 in beds or borders, or trailing over the 

 sides of vases &c. For outdoor cultiva- 

 tion Petunia seeds, which are ^•ery small 

 and require to be carefully handled, may 

 be sown very thinly, in February or 

 March, on an even surface, and barely 

 covered with fine sandy soil. The 

 temperature should be about 60° to 65° 

 Fahr. and the atmosphere should be kept 

 fairly moist. When large enough to 

 handle, the seedlings may be pricked off 

 about 1 in. apart in shallow boxes or pans 

 in a rich light soil.' By April they will be 

 ready for putting singly into small pots 

 from which they may be transferred to 

 the open border by the end of May or 

 beginning of June. To make sturdy 

 bushy plants, pinch out the tips early and 

 gradually give more air and always plenty 

 of light. 



Cuttings of choice varieties may be 

 inserted in sandy soil in August, and 

 plunged in bottom heat of about 70° to 75° 

 Fahr. When well rooted they may be 

 shifted to cooler quarters and after a short 



time potted up singly. Until the frosty 

 weather sets in they may be grown in a 

 cold frame, but during the winter- they 

 are safer on the shelves of a warm green- 

 house. In February and March the tops 

 may be taken oif and rooted in bottom 

 heat in the same way as the cuttings in 

 August, and thus by planting-out time 

 two batches of plants from cuttings will 

 be ready. 



NIEREMBERGIA.— A genus con- 

 taining about 20 species of dwarf creeping, 

 diffuse or somewhat erect perennial 

 herbs, often slender and smooth, with 

 quite entire leaves. Flowers solitary, 

 pale violet or white, with an expanded 

 corolla lobe, often elegant. Calyx tubular 

 or beU-shaped, 5-cleft. Corolla tube 

 slender, elongated, becoming abruptly bell- 

 or cup-shaped at the top ; Umb broadly 

 5-lobed, plaited. Stamens 5, attached at 

 the top of the tube or slightly protruding, 

 the top one small, the other 4 didyna- 

 mous (2 long, 2 short). Fruit a many- 

 seeded 2-celled capsule. 



Culture and Propagation. — Nierem- 

 bergias thrive best in a rich and some- 

 what heavy soil, and prefer sunny posi- 

 tions. For outdoor cultivation they may 

 be grown like tender annuals and raised 

 from seeds sown in heat about February 

 or March, the seedlings being pricked off 

 into pots or pans, and gradually hardened 

 off in a cooler atmosphere and with plenty 

 of light. They may also be increased by 

 cuttings of the young shoots in spring, 

 from plants that have been wintered in 

 the greenhouse or ft-ame or from those 

 raised from seeds sown in autumn. 

 Inserted in sandy soil with a little bottom 

 heat they soon root, and may then be 

 potted on and hardened off like the 

 seedlings. 



N. calycina. — A tender glandular and 

 downy species, native of Buenos Ayres. 

 Stems procumbent, bearing opposite and 

 alternate roundish obovate stalked 

 leaves. Flowers in August and Sep- 

 tember, white, with a yellowish tube and 

 a yellow base. 



Culture d-c. as above. 



N. filicaulis. — A smooth erect very 

 slender-stemmed plant, 6-12 in. high, 

 native of Btienos Ayres. Leaves linear 

 lance-shaped, acute or bluntish. Flowers 

 in May, usually lilac with a yellow centre 

 and a slender glandular tube. 



Cnltin-c dc. as above. 



