136 THE FLORIST AND 



them in a house where the night temperature might average about 50°, and 

 when the plants started into active growth, I would give a moderate shift, 

 and stop the shoots once or twice, to ensure an abundance of young wood; 

 "When the pots became filled with roots, I would shift into the flowering 

 pots, which should be 15 or 18 inch ones, according to the strength of the 

 plants. The vigorous habit of the plant renders a good sized trellis iiefc'es- 

 sary,which should be applied at once, and the shoots neatly and regularly 

 tied over it. Water should be given rather sparingly at the root from the 

 time when the plants are placed in the flowering pots; but the syringe 

 should be used freely, and the plants kept in an airy, light part of the 

 house, and if the night heat can be conveniently kept as low as from 50° to 

 55°, it will be more suitable than a higher temperature. When the trellises 

 are well covered with wood, which probably may be the case by the middle 

 of June, remove the plants to the greenhouse, placing them in the warmest 

 end of it for a few days, to avoid injuring the foliage by a sudden removal 

 from a moist atmosphere to a dry one ; and when they are inured to the 

 change, expose them freely to sun and air, giving no more water at the 

 root than will suffice to keep the foliage from flagging. This treatment con- 

 tinued for three weeks or a month, will effectually check the tendency of the 

 plants to make wood, and when this is effected, they may be placed in the 

 warmest corner of the greenhouse, where they will speedily begin to open 

 their blossoms. 



The plants of the Mandevilla which I grew in pots were treated in the 

 above manner^ and I distinctly recollect that one of the specimens was very 

 much admired, and produced a great number of clusters of flowers during 

 August and September ; the other was a weak plant when received from the 

 nursery, and produced but a few clusters, owing doubtless to its having 

 been stopped back later in the season than the stronger specimen, both were 

 planted in the conservatory the following spring, where they have been so 

 satisfactory that I have never cared to attempt cultivating it as a pot plant. 

 Those, however, who possess a conservatory or greenhouse where climbers 

 can be grown will find the rafters the best possible situation for its growth, 

 especially if the roof of the house is kept close, and the roots can be af- 

 forded a moderate space in a border composed of light sandy loam, which is 

 the soil I would also recommend for its pot culture. 



Whether in pots or turned ont in the conservatory border, the soil should 

 be kept rather dry after flowering, and till it may be desired to start the 

 plants into growth in spring, and severe pruning is absolutely necessary to 

 keep the plant within bounds ; the young wood should be cut back to the 

 last joint, except in the case of plants that may not have attained the de- 

 sired size, and plenty of water should be given to keep the border in a 

 healthy moist condition during the growing and flowering seasons. 



It is readily propagated by means of cuttings of the shortest jointed 

 wood, taken when rather firm, and planted in light sandy soil, covered with 

 a glass and placed in a gentle bottom-heat, but the plant seeds very freely, 

 and thus affords an easy means of increasing it to any extent. 



Alpha, [in Gard. CJwon., April 23.) 



