FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



73 



Some persons are very fond of Standard Fuchsias, 

 and when these are on stiff stout stems, four feet 

 in height, surmounted with free-growing heads of 

 foliage and covered with flowers, they are very 

 handsome indeed. Any one can form the Standard 

 Fuchsia simply by taking a young plant with a 

 straight main stem, and cutting away all side shoots, 

 leaving only the leading one. When this reaches 

 the height of 

 four feet or 

 so it should 

 be stopped, 

 and then en- 

 couraged to 

 break out in 

 side shoots 

 only at the 

 top, and with 

 these a stan- 

 dard head can 

 be formed. 

 Standard 

 Fuchsias are 

 very effective 

 indeed in a 

 conservatory. 

 Some gar- 

 deners place 

 their old 

 plants of 

 Fuchsias in 

 pots, and then 

 stand them 

 on the front 

 stage of a 

 green - house, 

 training the 

 shoots up on 

 to the roof, 

 where they 

 spread out and 

 form quite an 

 inside cover- 

 ing, producing 

 an abundance 



of flowers for several months. Old plants can also be 

 planted against sheltered sunny walls in the open air, 

 where they have an excellent decorative effect, and 

 unless a very severe winter happens, will last for years. 

 Fuchsias can be used in many ways in the garden ; 

 beds of young vigorous plants have a very pretty 

 effect and make charming masses when a number of 

 varieties are placed in a group. They can also be 

 used to grow in pots inside or outside windows; 

 they do well planted out in boxes placed on the 

 outside window-sill. In cottage windov/s many very 



Fuchsia spxendens. 



fine Fuchsias are grown, and they flower with groat 

 freedom. The Fuchsia does well in the crowded 

 parts of cities and towns, when grown in pots, but 

 owing to absence of sunlight it does not flower very 

 freely. It is a plant that loves light and air, and 

 especially the sunlight. 



Thousands of Fuchsias are gi'own for market in 

 the neighbourhood of London. They can be seen 



in Covent 

 Garden and 

 elsewhere, 

 pretty little 

 plants laden 

 with blos- 

 soms. They 

 are produced 

 in a few 

 weeks ; it is 

 rapid produc- 

 tion that en- 

 ables the 

 plants to be 

 sold so 

 cheaply, and 

 it is won- 

 derful what 

 c h a r m i E. g 

 plants a mar- 

 ket - gTower 

 can produce 

 in quite a 

 small pot. 

 They are all 

 from spring- 

 struck cut- 

 tings, and 

 they are ready 

 for market in 

 three months 

 or less. There 

 is no more 

 instructive or 

 interesting 

 sight than a 

 walk through 



one of the large nurseries where plants are largely 

 gTOwn for market purposes. The energy of produc- 

 tion is truly astonishing. 



New varieties of Fuchsias are obtained from seeds. 

 A few growers pay gi^eat attention to the production 

 of seedlings, and from the best of these, our list of 

 named varieties is augmented. The operation of 

 fertilising the flower is very easily performed in 

 the case of the Fuchsia, and if improved varieties 

 are to be obtained it can only be by careful fer- 

 tilisation. The pistil of the Fuchsia is always 



