3io 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Foinsettia puleherrima, also known as Euphorbia 

 pulcherrima, is a popular decorative plant, Lit its best 

 during the winter months. The beauty consists not in the 

 flowers themselves, which are small and inconspicuous, 

 but in i he large leaf-like bracts which surround them. 

 They are of a bright scarlet colour, and arranged in a 

 horizontal tier at the ends of the branches. The usual 

 way is to grow the plant with a single stem, which is 

 crowned with a huge head of its gorgeously-coloured 

 bracts. There is a variety (alba) in which they are white, 

 while the double form (plenisshna) has an increa-ed 

 number of bracts. Plants are, as a ru'e, propagated each 

 year from cuttings, which are yielded by those that have 

 flowered. Alter their beauty is over the plants should be 

 put in a warm greenhouse rather than a stove, and kept 

 dry in order to give them a rest. They must, of course, 

 be occasionally w atered to prevent them becoming quite 

 dried up. Then, towards the end "I April, it more 

 moisture both at the roots and overhead is given, the 

 young shoots will soon lie freely pushed out from different 

 parts of the | hints. As soon as the shoots ; re 4111. long 

 they may be la Is en as cuttings, stripping them from the old 

 wood and leaving what is commonly known as a heel at 

 tile base. They must then be inserted firmly into small 

 pots of sandy soil, putting one cutting in each pot. If 

 I ul in a close propagating case, and care is taken not 

 to overwater them, they will soon mot. Directly this 

 happens the voting plants must he inured to the ordinary 

 atmosphere of the structure, and soon shifted into larger 

 pots, which should be lmm 5m. to bin. in diameter. A 

 soil consisting of equal parts ol loam and leaf mould with 

 a sprinkling ol sand will suit lliein well liming the 

 summer the plants can be grown in a cold frame, but if a 

 lew are kept a little wanner they will flower earlier than 

 the bulk. To prolong the season the cuttings may be put 

 in at intervals of a fortnight or so, providingthe last crop 

 is taken about the middle of June. As the flow ering pots 

 get full of roots liberal doses of liquid manure may be 

 given, foi the size of the bracts is largely increased 

 thereby When grown in cold frames care must betaken 

 to remove them to a warmer structure by the end of 

 August, or 

 earlier, accord- 



ing to 

 weather, 



chill Will 



many ol 

 leaves to 

 v e 1 1 o w 



l h e 

 as a 

 cause 

 the 



turn 

 a 11 d 



drop. 

 Prctea eyna- 

 roides. This 



strange plant 

 has been seldi mi 

 illustrated. 1 ul 

 it is interesting, 

 though few 

 possess it in 

 their green- 

 houses or con- 

 servatories. It 

 requires rather 

 the cool stove 

 or intermediate 

 house than the 

 true stove : the 

 flowers are 

 gathered in a 

 bold head, the 

 thick envelop- 

 ing scales 

 reminding one 

 of the Globe 

 Artichoke, but 

 inside t h e 

 head is a tassel 

 of pi n k 

 blossom. 



Reinwardtia. — A near ally of the Linums, indeed it was 

 at one time classed with the members of this last-named 

 genus. There are two species, R. tetragynum, with pale 

 yellow blossoms, and R. trigynum, in which they are of a 

 much deeper tint. Both are free-growing plants of 

 easy culture, from I ft. to 2ft. high, and flowering during 

 the winter months, from which circumstance they are 

 paitDularly valuable. 

 Rivina. — Slender-growing plants whose blossoms, borne in 

 racemes, are not at all conspicuous, but being succeeded 

 by small berries, which are brightly coloured when ripe, 

 the plants are in this stage very ornamental. R. humilis 

 has bright red berries, and in R. flava they are yellow. 

 They will remain on the plant throughout the greater 

 part of the winter. Increased from seed sown in the 

 spring, and the young plants given ordinary stove treat- 

 ment, while in summer they may be kept cooler. 

 Rondeletia. A large class of shrubs, natives principally 

 of the West In lies and tropical America, all of which 

 succeed with ordinary stove treatment. The flowers, 

 whii h are borne in compact heads, are not unlike those of 

 the Laurestinus, hut of a different colour. A selection 

 would include: R. amcena, pink, golden centre, spring 

 and summer ; R. cordata, pink, summer ; R. speciosj. 

 (odorata), which flowers at different periods, and in the 

 autumn is particularly attractive. The flowers of this 

 are of a bright vermilion colour, while two good varieties 

 of it are brilliantissima and major. 

 Ruellia.— Soft-wooded plants, most of which are of a 

 somewhat upright style of growth. They all strike readily 

 from cuttings in the spring, and grow freely in ordinaiy 

 potting compost. The young plants must have their tops 

 pinched out during the earlier stages of growth, in order 

 to encourage the production of branches, as if this is not 

 done they w ill run up tall and thin. Some of them are 

 particularly valuable lmm the fact that they bloom during 

 the winter months. The best are: R. Baikiei, scarlet, 

 Herbsti, purple, autumn; R. macrantha, 

 winter; R. Portellse, rose pink, autumn 

 ; R. rosea, carmine rose, summer ; 

 pale purplish lilac, winter. 



R u s s e 1 i a 

 juneea. — 



This forms a 

 mass of twiggy 

 R u s h - 1 i k e 

 branches, while 

 the leaves are 

 but small and 

 lew in number. 

 The tips of the 

 droop 



w inter ; K. 

 rosy purple 

 and winter 

 R. solitaria, 



1 n a 

 man- 

 T h e 



which 



PROTE.i CYNAR01DES 



shoots 



v e r 

 graceful 



II e r . 

 flowers, 

 are freely pro- 

 duced about 



III i d s u m 111 e r , 

 are tubular in 

 shape, I in. 

 long, and bright 

 scarlet in 

 colour. When 



1 a d e n w i 1 h 

 I lossonv aplant 

 of this Russeiia 

 forms a charm- 

 ing object. It 

 succeeds in a 

 m i x t u r e o f 

 equal parts of 

 loam, leaf 

 mould, a 11 d 

 peat, with 

 about hilf a 

 part of sand. 

 TI.e dram--.: 



