FORCING SHRUBS FOR EARLY FLOWERING. 



303 



DEUTZIA GRACILIS. 



Spot well exposed to sun and 

 air, as such conditions are 

 conducive to the formation 

 of flower buds. Early potting 

 must, as far as possible, be 

 followed in the case of plants 

 intended lor forcing, as by 

 so doing the roots will to a 

 certain extent take possession 

 of the new soil before they 

 are required to be removed 

 indoors. Thus a good general 

 plan, whenever it can be 

 followed out, is to pot the 

 plants directly after the leaves 

 have fallen. They must be 

 carefully attended to in the 

 matter of water, and, if pos- 

 sible, plunged in a bed of 

 cocoa-nut fibre, as the roots 

 are thereby retained in an 

 even state of moisture, and at 

 the same time protected from 

 frost. About the middle of 

 December some of the earliest, 

 such as D e u t z i a gracilis, 

 Azalea mollis, Staph vlea colchica, and the pretty little Chinese Plum (Prunus sinensis), 

 may be taken into the greenhouse where there is a night temperature of about 4odeg., 

 and in a fortnight or three weeks remove them into a structure with a temperature 

 iodeg. higher. By this means they may be had in flower from the latter part of 

 January onwards, and several other kinds may soon be added to them. Right on to 

 March an I April forced shrubs are much appreciated in the greenhouse, and as these 

 latter flower with not one tithe of the trouble necessary to induce them to bloom at 

 Christmas, such early forcing is seldom indulged in unless absolutely necessary. In forcing 

 shrubs of all kinds the roots must be well supplied with water, and during bright days an 

 occasional syringing will be of great service in hastening the development of the flower buds. 

 As by March the sun commences to gain power, and the forced flowers are naturally more 

 delicate than those that expand in the open ground, they should, if possible, at that time be 

 shaded from bright sunshine, as then they will last much longer than if unprotected. 



Amonu, the several shrubs available for forcing, the best are : Azaleas, of many kinds, 

 particularly A. mollis, whose terra-cotta tinted blossoms are much admired ; Rhododendrons, of 

 different sorts ; Deutzia gracilis, with charming white blossoms ; Kalmia latifolia, leaves a good deal 

 like those of a Rhododendron, with large clusters of beautiful pink saucer-shaped blooms ; Almonds, 

 Cherries, Peaches, Plums, particularly the little Chinese one that when not more than i8in. 

 high has the branches closely packed with comparatively large double blossoms, in one kind 

 whits, and in the other slightly tinged with pink. Thorns, especially the double-flowered 

 crimson, are very telling in the greenhouse a month or two before they flower out of doors, 

 while much the same may be said of the long pendulous clusters of the Laburnum. Andromeda 

 floribunda and A. japonica are two evergreen shrubs with spikes of waxy white Lily of the 

 Valley-like flowers, which may with little trouble be had in bloom early, and are not only very 

 beautiful, but lasting. To these may be added Staphylea colchica, with dl'O ping heads cf white 



