330 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1 9 10 



The Heliotrope as a Bedding Plant 



By Ida D. Bennett 



iOR carpet bedding, a low border between 

 lots or an encircling strip of color outlin- 

 ing the flower garden, there is no finer 

 plant than the heliotrope. It gives ex- 

 quisite color and perfume, together with 

 a luxuriance of foliage unsurpassed by 

 any other plant. It is very largely em- 

 ployed by the park gardeners, where long stretches of it 

 may be seen — a mass of riotous bloom, from late June un- 

 til frost. 



It is a plant which transplants easily and small ones from 

 the florist soon become established and break at once into 

 bloom. It is not, however, a plant which is easily propa- 

 gated either by cuttings or by seed. The cuttings require 

 special treatment to root readily and for home growing suc- 

 ceed best in shallow boxes of moist sand, covered with glass 

 and placed in a sunny window. The new growth should be 

 selected for cuttings and short lengths — not over two or 

 three inches in lengths used. These may set in the sand in 

 rows and the entire box covered closely with glass, or the 

 cuttings may be set in clusters of three or four and a tum- 

 bler turned over them, the rim being pressed into the sand. 

 The resulting close, warm, moist air, which would be in- 

 jurious to many kinds of plants, seems to suit the heliotrope 

 very well indeed and under these conditions they root read- 

 ily. If, however, very large drops of water gather on the 

 glass it will be well to remove it for a few moments, as it 

 is possible to overdo the matter. When the plants are 

 rooted and beginning to grow the glass should be removed 

 carefully and by degrees, and for this reason the glass over 

 the entire box is to be preferred, as it can be raised at the 

 lower edge a little — enough to allow surplus moisture to 

 pass off and a desirable amount of fresh air to enter, while 

 at the same time retaining the hot house temperature, so 

 desirable. 



Sand furnishes a very satisfactory medium for the grow- 

 ing of most plants and there need be no unnecessary haste 

 in potting off the young plants, better allow them to become 



well rooted and then pot them off in small pots — not more 

 than two and a-half inches in diameter — using a fine com- 

 post of leaf mold, sharp sand and fibrous loam, and mak- 

 ing a hole in the center of the pot of earth sufficient for the 

 roots of the plants, and lining this with the sand from the 

 box and placing the roots therein. This gives practically 

 the same nourishment at the start and allows the plant to 

 become accustomed to a change of diet gradually, which 

 makes for its general welfare. 



If cuttings have been struck in March the plants will have 

 filled the pots with earth and been transferred to a size 

 larger before it becomes time to plant out in the open 

 ground, which should not be done before the last of May, 

 or until the soil and nights are warm, for the heliotrope is 

 a tender shrub and easily chilled. 



In growing plants from seed the reverse treatment is in- 

 dicated. Here it is necessary to keep the seed nearly, but 

 not quite dry; too much moisture will infallibly cause the seed 

 to decay, while too little will result in a failure to germinate. 

 To keep the soil just at the point of drying out and never 

 allowing it to do so is the secret of growing heliotropes 

 from seed. Shallow cigar boxes or flats are best suited for 

 the sowing of the seeds, and these should have several holes 

 bored in the bottom, which should be covered with pieces 

 of glass or broken crockery. The soil should be a fine com- 

 post and the seed sown on the surface and pressed down 

 with a smooth piece of wood, or other object. A slight cov- 

 ering of fine, white sand should then be sprinkled over the 

 surface — just enough to cover the seed, and this, too, should 

 be pressed down and the whole moistened lightly by shak- 

 ing over it a whisk broom, dipped in tepid water. The box 

 should then be covered with glass and set in a warm place 

 free from drafts. It must be watched closely to guard 

 against too much or too little moisture. If much mist ap- 

 pears on the glass remove it for a time — there must never 

 be drops of moisture, and if the surface appears dry, water 

 ever so lightly. 



When the seedlings are up, give air and moisture as 



Heliotrope makes a wonderfully luxuriant growth and is a mass of flowers all summer 



