5o 



BOUVARDIA. 



four or five inches in d ; ameter, and are excellent for 

 bouquets. 



SOIL, PROPAGATION AND GENERAL TREATMENT. 



A suitable soil for Bouvardia is composed of leaf- 

 mold and loam and a little sand. 



They require a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees 

 during the day and not less than 55 degrees at 

 night, to bloom them in perfection. 



Give them a plentiful supply of water when in 

 bloom. 



Bouvardia is usually increased by root cuttings, 

 as those from the wood do not strike easily. The 

 roots are thickly studded with what are called ad- 

 ventitious buds, and are cut half an inch or so in 

 length, each piece containing a latent bud. These 

 pieces are strewn on a prepared bed and covered 

 with sand mixed with sifted leaf-mold. They are 

 watered sparingly until growth commences, and 

 when up two or three inches potted in two-inch 

 pots and planted out in the open ground. These 

 cuttings require a high temperature, and are gen- 

 erally propagated in April. A box covered by a 

 pane of window glass will answer the purpose of 

 the amateur for propagating the Bouvardia. Hav- 

 ing pinched back the tops of the young plants one 

 or more times during the summer they should be 

 taken up and potted early in September to give 

 them time to establish their roots in the pots be- 

 fore bringing them into the house, which must be 



