16 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



P. Veitclii in a small state makes one of the best of table plants, but not if the start 

 is made with large coarse offsets. Select the smallest offsets with elegant, prettily- 

 striped leaves ; establish these first in small pots, and then shift into the 5-inch size, 

 arranging the plants in a light position. Even these selected plants are liable to 

 degenerate when grown to a large size. A great amount of root room is not needed by 

 Pandanuses, especially if they are grown in a moist position. They may be shifted into 

 larger pots in the spring, and thrive in a mixture of two parts loam to one of leaf soil, 

 with a little sand for porosity. Good drainage must be provided, and copious supplies 

 of water ought to be given to well established plants duriug the summer. An ordinary 

 stove temperature suits Pandanuses. 



panicum.— For fringing the fronts of plant stages, groups of plants, and for house 

 decoration, large quantities of P. variegatum are grown. This native of Tropical Asia 

 is an elegant little variegated perennial grass, with leaves striped with pink and white. 

 It can be readily propagated by cuttings. Five or six cuttings placed in a well-drained 

 4-inch pot filled with a mixture of loam, peat, leaf soil and sand, kept somewhat close 

 and shaded, watered carefully till rooted, and then freely exposed to light and sunshine, 

 will quickly develop into dense tufts whether topped or not. 



passiflora. — As a rule Passifloras, commonly termed Passion Flowers, grow too 

 strongly and require too much space for many of them to be grown in plant stoves. 

 They are better adapted for planting in lofty structures, and will be referred to under 

 the heading " Conservatory Climbers." Exceptions may be made in favour of P. 

 Decaisneana, a hybrid between P. alata and P. quadrangularis, flowers about 4 inches 

 in diameter, sepals and petals brilliant carmine on the inside, rays of the corona purple 

 and white ; P. Kermesina (syn. P. Kaddiana), Brazil, flowers nearly all blood colour 

 and very freely produced; and P. prinseps (syn. P. racemosa), Brazil, flowers deep red 

 or scarlet, in pendulous racemes. P. Buonapartea, P. Madonna, and P. Bijou are hybrids, 

 and are handsome stove climbers. Passifloras may be raised by sowing seeds in sandy 

 soil in a temperature of 65° to 75° at any time. They are increased by cuttings of 

 young shoots 4 to G inches long, inserted in sandy soil, under a bell-glass in a tempera- 

 ture of 65°, from April to September. First establish the young plants in small pots, 

 and then, before they become stunted, move them into either large pots, tubs, or beds of 

 loam and peat. Train up pillars, over archways, girders and trellisses. Every Feburary 

 prune the laterals or loosely hanging growths nearly back to the main stems, the 

 flowers being produced from the fresh growth resulting. Passifloras are gross feeders, 



