19+ 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



and small ; May. H. perfoliata, West Australia, may be trained to form a loose bush, 

 being less of a trailer than the others, and floriferous ; colour soft pale yellow. H. 

 volubilis, New South Wales, is strictly a twiner, producing showy yellow flowers in 

 summer. Hibbertias are propagated by means of short cuttings of moderately firm 

 shoots, from April to August inclusive, inserted in sandy peat, and covered with glass 

 in a temperature of 55° to G0°. From small pots they should be gradually shifted into 

 larger sizes, employing a compost of equal parts good loam and peat, with plenty of 

 sharp sand. During the growing season give water freely, but it must be applied 

 in moderation at other times. Train frequently. All the pruning needed is the 

 removal of loose, irregular growths in February. Hibbertias succeed best in the 

 warmest part of a greenhouse or light conservatory. 



hoya. — For greenhouse culture there is only one species of the Wax Flower avail- 

 able — H. carno3a. This is a native of Queensland, and may be classed as one of the 

 most beautiful of greenhouse and conservatory climbers. It forms thick, durable 

 leaves, and if properly treated produces numerous trusses of pinkish-white waxy 

 flowers during the summer. H. c. variegata has white-margined leaves. Cuttings of 

 growths formed in the preceding year, inserted in March or April, in well-drained 

 pots filled with sandy peat, covered with a bell-glass and placed in a temperature of 

 7 5° to 85°, root freely. Layering is a quicker method of securing fairly large plants. 

 In the spring remove some of the leaves from selected growths where they can be 

 pegged down into pots of sandy peat, and keep the soil uniformly moist till the roots 

 are plentiful, when the layers may be detached from the parent plant. Train the plants 

 in a light sunny position, the glazed end of a greenhouse answering well, and allow 

 them to spread and branch naturally. They may be either planted out in narrow 

 borders or gradually shifted into large-sized pots, in either case using a mixture of 

 equal parts of peat and loam, adding charcoal, mortar rubbish, and sand rather freely. 

 Well-established plants should have abundance of water during the summer, but must 

 be kept somewhat dry during the winter. The leaves ought to be sponged clean 

 occasionally, and mealy bug prevented from taking possession of the plants. It is a 

 mistake to cut the flower-heads, the same footstalks if left on the plants producing 

 flowers for several seasons. A drop of pellucid nectar hangs like a tear on many of 

 them, and hence the Hoya is popularly called the "honey plant." 



Humea elegans. — See Subtropical Plants, page 228, Vol. I. 



