SUB-TROPICAL PLANTS. 



225 



proof against rough weather. Cuttings of tops 

 and side shoots root quickly in strong heat, and 

 plants should be grown with single stems. Soil : 

 equal parts loam, and peat with sand. Stove 

 or hothouse plants. Winter temperature 60° to 6o°. 



Acanthus. — A. latifolius is principally used, this 

 forming noble leaves, and is effective in isolated 

 groups on lawns. Increased by division ; ordinary 

 soil ; hardy herbaceous. 



Agave. — See Succulents (page 223). 



Alsophila excelsa. — This Norfolk Island tree fern 

 attains noble proportions. Good for grouping in 

 sheltered positions. See Fernery. 



Amaranthus. — A. caudatus (Love-lies-bleeding). — 

 Grown for the beauty of its arching crimson flowers. 

 Sow seed thinly in April where plants are to grow, 

 and thin out early and severely. A. tricolor, bicolor, 

 melancholicus ruber, versicolor and salicifolius are 

 cultivated for their elegant habit of growth, and 

 bright colouration of the leaves. Sow in heat 



Fig. 112. S03-TEOPICAL Plants in Sheltered Nook. 



References to Numbers. — 1, Gunnera scabra ; 2, Aralia canascens; 3, Bambusa falcata ; 4, Iris fcetidis- 

 sima variegata ; 5, Dracaena indivisa ; 6, Arundo Donax ; 7, Tree fern (Dicksonia) ; 8, Asplenium 

 nidus-avis; 9, Cham?erops excelsa; 10, Musa ensete ; 11, Acanthus latifolius ; 12, Phormium tenax ; 

 13, Monstera deliciosa ; 14, Yucca filamentosa variegata ; 15, Melianthus major. (All described in the 

 paragraphs.) 



during April, pot the seedlings singly, using ordi- 

 nary soil. Plant out during the second week in 

 June. Tender Annuals. 

 Anthericum variegatum. — An easily grown lilia- 

 ceous plant with narrow leaves, green striped with 

 white ; height, a foot to 1 8 inches ; grown between 

 tall green-leaved plants, such as Ficuses, in 



the London parks. Increased by division and 

 wintered in a greenhouse. 

 Aralia. — A highly ornamental family. A. canescens 

 and A. spinosa are hardy North American species, 

 and when confined to a single stem very handsome. 

 A. edulis, A. Sieboldi, A. S. variegata, and A. 

 papyrifera, evergreen shrubs from China, are 



VOL. I. 



Q G 



