o8 



THE FLOWER GROWERS GUIDE. 



plant out or plunge in succession to ten-week 

 stocks or other plants that cease to be gay in 

 August. They ought to have good soil to root in. 

 No dependence can be placed upon old plants left 

 in the open all the winter, either for flowering or 

 stock purposes, slugs preying upon the shoots, 

 and the cuttings that are obtained are apt to 

 damp off under glass. "Winter a sufficient number 

 of stock plants in pots in cold frames or houses, 

 and in March root the cuttings in gentle heat. 

 Top soon after they are struck, and then place 

 them 4 inches apart in boxes of good soil. Grow 

 them in cold frames till large enough to harden off 

 and plant out where they are to flower, or they 

 may be transferred to 7 -inch pots, and in these be 



Pig. 101. Raising Bedding Chrysanthemums. 



Plant starved in small pot; b, well prepared for 

 planting. 



prepared in the open for the beds when ready for 

 their reception. Striking the cuttings early and 

 keeping them starving in small pots does not 

 answer nearly so well as the plan recommended. 

 (See Fig. 101, a and b.) In any case what topping 

 of the growths is necessary should be done early, 

 a few strong, early-formed shoots branching and 

 flowering freely. Protect late beds with a light 

 framework of stakes and canvas. 

 PHEA platycentra (Mexico).— An old-fashioned but 

 pretty bedding plant, 6 to 9 inches high, producing 

 red tubular flowers in the greatest profusion ; 

 suitable for either margins of large beds, centres 

 of smaller ones, or for a groundwork among sub- 

 tropical plants. Cut back old pot plants in 

 January, and the young growths resulting will 



root freely in heat. Place the young plants in 

 2ij-inch pots and light soil, keep them growing in 

 gentle heat, and top sufficiently often to make 

 them bushy. Harden off and bed out early in 

 June, planting rather closely, as the growth is 

 compact rather than spreading. 

 Daiilias. — The more floriferous of the Cactus section 

 are effective when either massed in large beds or 

 arranged along the back of mixed borders. For 

 the smaller beds, the dwarf bedding pompons, 

 and dwarf single-flowering varieties are suitable. 

 Novelties of these are constantly superseding 

 the old varieties, and a responsible nursery- 

 man or specialist selection would meet all re- 

 quirements. For cultural details see Florists' 

 Flowers. 



Fuchsias. — Free-flowering varieties succeed well in 

 the flower garden. They are charming as stan- 

 dards, with clear stems 2 or more feet high, dotted 

 among tuberous begonias ; also as pyramids, 

 many of which are employed with effect in the 

 London parks. If plunged in pots, and allowed 

 to root out of the drainage and over the rims 

 into good soil, also kept well supplied with water 

 and liquid manure, they will prove continuous 

 flowering, and can be lifted, rested in a cool house, 

 pruned, restarted, shaken out of the soil, and re- 

 potted the following spring, in readiness for 

 another sojourn in the open beds. Fuchsias may 

 also be plunged in the turf among the flower-beds 

 or on lawns, and will do well, provided they 

 never suffer by want of water and liquid manure. 

 How to form standards and pyramids will be duly 

 set forth when fuchsias are treated upon under 

 the heading Greenhouse Plants. Cuttings of 

 soft, young shoots, taken off old plants in Feb- 

 ruary or March, root freely in moist, sandy soil 

 in heat, and if these are first placed singly in 

 thumb pots, and duly shifted into the 5-inch 

 size, topping the growths once or twice, good 

 bushy plants will be ready for the beds late in 

 May. Plant in moderately rich soil, and a moist 

 rather than a hot and dry position. Dunrobin 

 Bedder is recommended as a dwarf variety. It is 

 of compact growth, 10 to 15 inches high, and pro- 

 duces bright red flowers abundantly. 



Gazania splendens. — Cape of Good Hope. Not so 

 much bedded out as of old, but still worthy of a 

 place in most collections, and is grown in the 

 London parks. It is suitable for trailing over 

 the margins of raised beds, where the large, 

 single yellow flowers are seen to advantage. Un- 

 less planted in the most sunny positions poor 



