HARD-WOODED PLANTS FOR THE GREENHOUSE. 



297 



new growth has been made, is to ripen the wood. At 

 this time look over the plants frequently, as there is great 

 danger of the soil not getting sufficiently moistened. The 

 delicate roots quickly suffer when the soil remains dry for 

 any length of time, and especially avoid letting the sun 

 strike directly on the side ol the pot. There are many 

 varieties of Azalea suitable for the greenhouse, but a few 

 are necessary in most gardens, the chiel being the while- 

 flowered kinds i < 1 r culling. In some parts ol the British 

 Isles, where the climate is very favourable, such as in 

 Cornwall and Devonshire, the greenhouse A. indica is 

 sufficiently hardy to develop into large bushes out of doors. 

 Amcenum is very brighl under glass, but more so in the 

 open ground ; the flowers are of a curious hose-in-hose 

 shape, that is, 

 as if one bloom ] 

 developed out 

 of another. A. 

 indica obtusum 

 has pleasing 

 red • coloured 

 flowers. A. 

 mollis is a 

 delightful shrub 

 cither in pots 

 or in the open 

 ground, where 

 unfo r t u nately, 

 however, the 

 flowers are apt 

 to get injured 

 by late frosts. 

 A. mollis is dis- 

 tinguished by 

 flowers of large 

 size and won- 

 derful diversity 

 of colouring. 

 Few plants 

 grown under 

 glass are more 

 fascinating than 

 a good selec- 

 tion, the noble 

 clusters of 

 bloom ranging 

 in colour irom 

 while through 

 delicate shades 

 of yellow, in- 

 tense orange, 

 to rose, salmon, 

 and other tints. 

 A. mollis is the 

 same as A. 

 sinense. There 

 are 111 a n v 

 sections of 

 A z a 1 e as, 

 described as 

 hybrids and 

 otherwise, 

 and in some 

 cases describe! 



DORONIA II ETEROPHY LLA . 



as seedlings of mollis and sinensis, 

 or hybrids between the two. As these two supposed 

 distinct Azaleas are synonymous, it is misleading to 

 give beginners an idea that they are distinct. Anthony 

 Coster is a very line variety, with large, evenly-shaped 

 Mowers of an intense yellow. The mollis Azalea and its 

 varieties are very suitable for culling, and if the shrubs 

 are not forced too much the flowers last well in winter. 

 Use.'ul Azaleas for cutting are Fielder's While, the 

 familiar indica alba, Deutsche Perle, and Narcissi Ik ira. 

 Where cut flowers are desired in quantity, an old bush of 

 alba or Fielder's While will yield an abundance. 

 Boronias. — These are Australian plants, and comprise an 

 interesting family — one of the most important ol all the 

 hard-wooded sections. Few flowers Iruin Australia aie 



of much value for our houses, but the Boronias are 

 certainly an exception, B. heterophylla being as brighl as 

 anything one can possess. Boronias are of dwarf, 

 elegant growth, and are very suitable 'or small plant- 

 hous s, hence those wdio cannot grow things of stronger 

 growth may posse-is a collection. About fifty species 

 are known, but lew of great merit, ihese comprising the 

 kinds especially mentioned. In their native heathlands 

 the Boronias add beautiful colouring to the landscape, 

 and form as picturesque and pleasing a pi lure as the 

 Heather of our own country. As hard-wooded plants 

 require similar treatment, lengthy description of culture 

 is not necessary. When the growths are cut down, 

 alter the flowering time is over, make cuttings ol 



new shoots that 

 j result from giv- 

 ing warmth to 

 the older 

 plants. When 

 the young 

 shoots are 

 about I ' i n . 

 long is the time 

 to lake them, 

 treating them 

 much in the 

 same way as 

 re : o m m e n ded 

 in I he case of 



the Ericas, 

 m e r e 1 v u s i n g 

 for soil peat 

 and sharp silver 

 sand, and plac- 

 ing the pots in 

 a propagating 

 pit, assisting 

 quick rooting 

 with the aid ol 

 a bell-glass 

 When rooted 

 pot off singly 

 into pots 2 '.in. 

 across, ami to 

 developa bushy 

 growth pinch 

 the points occa- 

 sionally. Their 

 general treat- 

 in e n t is so 

 similar to I ha I 

 of the Heaths 

 that to deal 

 further with 

 their culture is 

 merely repeat- 

 i n g advice 

 already given. 



B. elatior. - 



This is a 

 \v e 1 1 - km >w n 

 species from 

 S nth- W e s t 

 if not so free and bright as B. 

 1 worthy of cultivation. It is not 



Australia, which 

 heterophylla is v 

 so graceful, but the flowers are very rich in colour, ros 

 red, and borne in great abundance, whilst their fragrance 

 is an addilii inal virtue. 



. heterophylla is a delightful plant. This should he 

 the first species of the family chosen, and although 

 known so long ago as 1S42, having been found by the 

 traveller Drummond, it is only now becoming generally 

 grown. It seemed to have been lost until that intrepid 

 traveller, Miss Marianne North, whose name is per- 

 petuated by her gallery of flower sketches in the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, sent home seeds from Western Australia. 

 The seedlings flowered at Kew in 1S86, and from thence 

 plants were distributed, until now in the early spring few 



