32 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



Firm, but not solid potting is correct. Topping and training must also be persevered 

 with, till the soil in the flowering pots is well occupied by the roots, after which the top 

 growth will harden and should be allowed to flower. 



Bush plants can be formed by topping the growths often enough to secure a good 

 number, tying the best of these to stakes slanting outwards, removing the weaker 

 growths, or the stems may be looped to a central stake. If wanted large, the plants 

 must be gradually shifted into 11-inch pots or- they may be flowered earlier in smaller 

 sizes. 



When standards are wanted, and these display the graceful flowering branches to 

 the best advantage, do not top the young plants till they afford signs of flowering. 

 Select the uppermost shoot after topping, and train vertically, pinching out all the side 

 shoots, this having the effect of causing the leader to grow with extra vigour. "When the 

 required height is reached, pinch out the point of the plant, and repeatedly top the 

 shoots that issue. In this way, other details being the same as recommended for the 

 pyramids, a fairly large head can be formed in one season. 



Fuchsias fail to make satisfactory progress in a dry atmosphere, and they ought to 

 be kept clear of the hot-water pipes in plant houses. Set the pots on a moist base, such as 

 a slate-covered staging ashed or mossed over, or, better still, a genial hot-bed of leaves. 

 The temperature may range from 55 p to 65° during May and June, and the plants 

 ought to be syringed every morning, and again when the house is closed early on clear 

 days with a view to retaining the sun heat. If these conditions cannot be complied 

 with, the plants during the summer will make better progress quite in the open, where 

 they are far less likely to form hard, "wiry" shoots than when subjected to a dry 

 heat. At no period of their growth ought the leaves to be seen flagging by want of 

 water, and if there is any unavoidable delay in shifting the plants into larger pots, 

 substitute clear liquid manure for the ordinary soft water. Liquid manure may be 

 applied freely, but not in a very strong state after the flowering stage has been reached. 



Treatment of old Plants. 



After the plants, large and small, have ceased flowering, they should be removed to 

 a sunny, sheltered position in the open. Give less water than previously, but avoid the 

 common mistake of withholding it altogether. They must be watered often enough to 

 prevent the young wood shrivelling. When the leaves change and commence falling in 

 the autumn, there ought to be no further delay in placing the plants in their winter 



