32 Mrs. Theodosia B. Shepherd's Descriptive Catalogue of 



DRACENAS. 



Di Australis. Elegant decorative plants, fine for home decoration, and very effective for tropical planting 

 outside. Small, 20c each ; 2 feet, 85c; 3 feet, $1.25 ; 4 feet, $1.75 ; 5 feet, $2.50. 



CREVSLL/E. 



G. Bobiista. Silk Oak. This is a beautiful plant for table or hou-e decoration; of very rapid growth 

 and easy culture; not infested by insects. The name ''silk oak" has been given to it on account 

 of the tips being covered with a silky down; flowers are a bright orange-red. The foliage is also very 

 enduring in its character. 18-24 inches high, pot-grown, 2gc to 50c. 



MAGNOLIA. 



M. Grandiflora. 2 to 3 feet, $1 to $1.50 each. 



M. Exoiiiensis. From Japan, resembling M. Grandifiora, but with darker foliage, the underside of leaves 



being a rich brown. This variety is grafted and small plants bloom. The flowers are very beautiful, 



with the odor of a ripe lemon. 2 to 2k feet, $1.50 to §2.25. 



CYPRESS. Lawsoil. 2 to 3 feet, balled, $1.50. 

 ARBOR VIT>E. Golden. 2 to 3 feet, $1. 



PANSIES. 



" Of all the bonny buds that blow 

 In bright or cloudy weather; 

 Of all the flowers that come and go 



The whole twelve months together ; 

 This little purple pansy brings 



Thoughts of the saddest, sweetest things." 

 No flowers are more popular than pansies. The great improvement in color and form becomes more 

 marked each year. The varieties below are from the best strains of pansies offered. The common varieties 

 are ready now. The choice sorts will not be ready till April 15th. 



Highland. Per dozen, 50c. "Prize." Per dozen, 50c. Giant Triinardeau. Per dozen, 35c. 



Choice mixed, per dozen, 20c. 



PHORMIUM TENAX. 



Xew Zealand Flax. A stately decorative plant, fine for house decoration. Hardy outside in California. 

 Plain, 25c to $1 each. Green, with broad white stripes, $1 to $2 each. 



POINSETTIA PULCHERIMA. 



" The splendid appearance of this plant while in bloom comes not from the flower, for this is inconspic- 

 uous, but from the fiery scarlet floral bracts surrounding the former. These possess the texture, as they do 

 the appearance, of flowers ; but being very large, often measuring more than one foot across, they are much 

 in demand in all large towns for decorative purposes about the holidays. It may be added that the beauty 

 of these will be longer preserved, either on the plants or when cut, if care be taken that no water or dust 

 collects upon them. 



" While not classing the Poinsettia among plants difficult to grow even as a pot plant in a warm room, 

 still there are some peculiar requirements which if attended to at the proper time will promote needfully the 

 health and productiveness of the plant. For some time before they begin to flower, for one thing, the 

 temperature ought to rarely, if ever, get below the sixties, and still higher up than this will be enjoyed. 

 Watering freely at this time, and occasionally with liquid manure, which promotes a luxuriant growth, is 

 also to be closely attended to. After the bloom is over only enough water should be given to prevent a dust- 

 dry condition of the soil, and now the plants require no light beyond that received under the staging in the 

 hot-house or any part of a living room. 



" The time for re-potting and pruning is in the spring. As to the former operation, the roots should have 

 every bit of the old soil shook out ; then use any good rich soil that is light, and if some old leaf mold be 

 included all the better. The pots should be well drained. Cut back the plants to mere stumps of old wood. 

 The young plants should be brought along in heat until June, when they should be plunged in a frame out- 

 side, here to remain until the cool nights of September are at hand, when they must go into warmer quar- 

 ters, at least so far as the night time is concerned. 



" The Poinsettia is a native of Mexico. It was discovered as early as 1828 by, and was named in honor 

 of, Joel R. Poinsette, a gentleman who was then the American minister to that country. The plant belongs 

 to the natural order Euphorbiacese, and is a member of the Spurge family, largely represented in warm 

 climates, and containing many of our finest hot-house plants, among which are the Croton and Acalypha." 



The Poinsettia is perfectly hardy in California, where it grows 12 and 15 feet high ; it blooms in won- 

 derful perfection from December till the middle or last of March. I make a specialty of this plant and can 

 furnish it in any size desired, from small plants at 15c each up to 25c, 50c, 75c and §5 each. 



PITTOSPORIUM TOBIRA. 



P. T. Yariegata. A fine evergreen shrub, with shining green foliage irregularly marked on the edges 

 with creamy white. The fragrant white flowers are produced in clusters on the end of each branch, 

 the whole surrounded by a whorl of these beautiful leaves, making each branch a bouquet in itself, 

 which will last for ten days after cutting. Their chief charm is their fragrance ; even before the bud is 

 open you can smell the perfume and one cluster will fill the whole room with its fragrance. The 

 plant is much easier to grow and care for than an Oleander and will give a wealth of bloom from 

 March to October and can be stored in the cellar in the winter. It is hardy in the South and Southern 

 California. Small plants, 15c ; larger 25c and 35c each. May 1st. 



