CONSERVATORY PLANTS— FINE FOLIAGED. 



2 '3 



Bambusa. — Bamboos, for either open-air or conservatory decoration, are deservedly 

 gaining in popularity. They are among the most elegant fme-foliaged plants we have. 

 B. aurea, a Chinese species, is one of the best for growing under glass. It attains a 

 height of 6 feet or more, the long slender stems being furnished with elegant tufts of 

 leaves of a soft green, at first deepening to yellow with age. B. Fortunei variegata 

 (Fig. 131, page 219), Japan, has variegated leaves, borne on stems 2 feet or so high. 

 B. nigra, synonym Phyllostachys nigra, forms long, hard, black stems, which grow 

 to a height of 5 feet, branching near the top, and are furnished with tender green 

 leaves. The propagation of bamboos is effected by careful division of old plants in 

 February or March, this being when growth recommences. Place the divisions in pots 

 just large enough to hold the roots without cramping them, a mixture of equal parts of 

 loam and leaf soil, with sharp sand freely added, suiting either young or old plants. 

 When well established, which soon takes place in gentle heat, the plants may either be 

 transferred to larger pots or planted in the beds. 



Beaucarnea. — One species of this family of fine-foliaged plants — B. recurvata 

 (Fig. 133, page 222), from Mexico — is recommended for conservatory cultivation. It 

 has slender stems, with swollen joints, furnished with long, gracefully-recurving leaves, 

 bright green in colour. It may be propagated by seeds sown in heat during February 

 or March. Pot in rich fibrous loam and sand. 



Begonia. — For rock beds and pockets in walls constructed so as to admit of clothing 

 them with live plants, Begonia Eex is of the greatest value, and this handsome species 

 also succeeds admirably in pots. Many and beautiful are the varieties, and they are 

 continually increasing. The type is too well known to need any description here, while 

 a selection of varieties would soon be out of date. Hints upon propagation and general 

 culture have already been given. (Page 291, Vol. II.) 



Coprosma. — C. Baueriana variegata, a handsome evergreen variegated shrub from 

 New Zealand, is good either for the margins of conservatory beds or for covering low 

 walls. It is propagated by cuttings in March, securing these with a heel of the old 

 wood, inserting in sandy soil, and placing in a temperature of 85° till rooted. Pot in a 

 mixture of loam, leaf soil, and sand. Plants may be brought into good form by topping, 

 and kept so by training or pruning. 



Dracaena. — This is the popular name for those species which botanists would 

 strictly call Cordylines. D. australis is nearly hardy, and is well adapted for greenhouse 

 and conservatory decoration. It will attain a height of 10 feet to 16 feet, and when it 



