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THE FLOWER GROWERS GUIDE. 



will be given as applicable to plants which are regarded as the more important in the 

 tropical section and obtainable from nurserymen. Plants of extreme rarity, or botanical 

 curiosities, do not come within the scope of an essentially practical work of this nature. 



SELECTIONS OF STOVE PLANTS. 

 acalypha. — A small family, but the few species are well worthy of cultivation in 

 most plant stoves. They are showy by their bold bright leafage, and being easily 

 propagated, also quickly grown to a serviceable size, they are largely used for house 

 decoration. A. macrophylla has large, russet-brown leaves, handsomely blotched with 

 paler spots. A. musaica, the best-known species, has large, bronzy-green leaves, varie- 

 gated with orange and dull red. A. Wilkesiana (syn. tricolor) forms fine bold leaves, ground 

 colour coppery-green, curiously blotched, mottled and splashed with red and crimson ; 

 there is also an attractive variety of it, named marginata. Both the tops of shoots and 

 short lengths of moderately firm wood inserted during April, in sandy soil, and placed in a 

 temperature of about 80°, emit roots freely. Place the rooted cuttings in 3-inch pots, 

 and keep them growing in brisk heat. Top once or twice to make the plants branch, 

 and before they become root-bound shift into 6-inch pots, using a compost of equal parts 

 loam, leaf soil, peat and sand. Single-stemmed plants in various sizes are perhaps the 

 more generally useful for house decoration. If larger are needed, top the plants when 

 young. Prom three to five strong growths are ample for the first year. During the 

 summer the plants should have abundance of water and liquid manure, and they may 

 be kept fresh and ornamental all through the winter. Eeduce the supply of water in 

 January, and the plants may then be cut back severely in February or March. When 

 fresh shoots are forming, shake the roots nearly free of the old soil, trim them and repot, 

 using sizes just large enough to hold the roots. When growing strongly, assign the 

 plants a light position and afford them ample room, as much of their beauty is lost when 

 crowding is permitted. If given a timely shift, large specimens should be produced in 

 the summer. 



ACHIMENES. 



Achimenes have long been popular, and fully deserve the praise bestowed upon 

 them. Although usually classed as stove plants, they are most successfully grown in the 

 cooler compartments, and several of them flourish in warm greenhouses. Propagation 

 is effected by means of cuttings, or the tops of growing plants, taken off with a view 

 to making the latter branch, duly inserted in sandy peat soil, and given the benefit 



