J»6 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



culture. For more bushy plants, having three to six heads of blooms, H. Otaksa and 

 the small white Thomas Hogg are the more suitable to grow. Strong cuttings of 

 flowerless shoots, taken off in the spring, placed singly in small pots and plunged in a 

 propagating frame, usually root freely, and, during the summer, should be shifted into 

 5-inch or G-inch pots, growing the plants in frames exposed to the full sun. After a good 

 rest, these may be forced, and had in flower early. They will be somewhat tall. A 

 method of securing dwarfer plants is to wait till the flowerless shoots on old plants have 

 fully matured, and are forming a bold bud at the apex early in August. They are then 



moderately-rich loamy compost used for potting, will have the effect of causing the 

 blooms to assume a bluish tint, watering with alum water having the same result. To 

 have bush plants top the early-rooted cuttings, and if grown strongly the resulting 

 shoots should each form a good flower head a year later. Plants with single heads, 

 in 5-inch pots, fetch from 8s. to 10s. per dozen, those in 6-inch pots rather more ; 

 while the bush plants ought to realise 15s. to 18s. per dozen. Strong imported plants 

 of H. paniculata grandiflora can be bought cheaply. They ought to be placed in pots 

 that will hold the roots comfortably, and before forcing commences in January or 



taken off, and the short cuttings made from 

 them inserted singly in small pots, kept in 

 close frames. The young plants so raised 

 are subsequently partially dried at the 

 roots, the leaves falling off and leaving a 

 strong crown bud, in which an embryo 

 bloom was actually formed before the cut- 

 ting was made. Early in the New Year 

 these small plants may be started in brisk 

 heat and a moist atmosphere, and ought 

 to receive an early shift into 5 -inch or 

 6-inch pots. The majority will soon de- 

 velop flower heads, and should be ready 

 for marketing at Easter or thereabouts. 



Fig. 181. Hydrangea hoktensis (market plant). 



Hydrangeas in small pots must be very 

 liberally treated at the roots, especially 

 after the flower heads are commencing to 

 develop. Iron filings, mixed with the 



