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THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



newly raised. If kept for a third season, the growths at pruning time should be cut 

 back to the second joint from the main stems. Poinsettias may be planted in beds at 

 the foot of the sunny back walls of lean-to and three-quarter span-roofed plant stoves, 

 and if trained thinly, also attended to properly, they will produce grand bracts. 

 After flowering, keep them perfectly dry at the roots, till they are pruned severely 

 in April. If the borders are narrow, lift and re - plant the Poinsettias when they 

 commence growing in May. 



Should seed-pods form on any of the plants, save the seed, and sow singly in small 

 pots early in April in a brisk heat. It will germinate in a few days, but unless the 

 seedlings are early moved to a shelf near the glass they will quickly become tall and 

 weak. Treat them similarly to plants raised from cuttings. A few of the seedlings 

 will differ from the rest, and in some instances prove superior to the type, especially as 

 regards the breadth and substance of the bracts. Mealy bug is the principal insect 

 enemy to Poinsettias. Keep the young plants clean, and there will not be much 

 further trouble. 



posoqueria.— Although comparatively little known, a few species of this genus are 

 worthy of being added to collections of stove plants. They are evergreen flowering 

 shrubs. P. longiflora, French Guiana, attains a height of 5 feet, and produces terminal 

 corymbs of white flowers with long tubes during the summer. P. multiflora, Brazil, is 

 also white-flowered and fragrant. They are propagated by cuttings of firm young 

 side shoots 2 to 3 inches long, inserted from January to April in pots of sandy peat, 

 and covered with a bell-glass in a temperature of 75° to 80°. Top the young plants 

 and soon after establish them singly in small pots, removing to larger sizes when the 

 roots require more room. Posoquerias also succeed well planted in narrow beds. For 

 either pots or beds, equal parts of loam, peat, and well-decayed manure, with sand and 

 charcoal, form a suitable rooting medium. Pot or plant firmly. Keep the plants 

 steadily moist at the roots, and during the growing season syringe twice daily. In 

 February or March prune into a good form, and re-pot a fortnight later. If these old 

 plants are properly attended to they will greatly surpass the younger, both in the 

 quality and quantity of the flowers produced. Feed those established in pots with 

 liquid manure. 



psidium. — P. Catleyanum, The Guava, Brazil, is cultivated principally for its fruit, 

 which is both ornamental and edible. The plant is evergreen, of a shrubby habit of 

 growth, flowering in May and June. Propagation is effected by cuttings of firm young 



