STOVE CLIMBERS. 



315 



Strobilanthes Dyerianus. — A pretty foliage plant of 



free growth and branching habit. The pointed leaves, 

 which are 4in. to 6in. long and 2in. to 3in. wide, are of 

 a bright metallic purple, veined and edged with deep 

 green. It needs full exposure to light in order to develop 

 the colour, which owing to its metallic lustre appears to 

 be of different tints according to the standpoint from 

 which it is viewed. During the summer this Strobilanthes 



may be grown in the greenhouse, or even used as a 

 bedding plant. Cuttings strike very easily in the spring. 

 Theophrasta imperialiS.— An upright shrub or tree 

 generally confined to a single stem, which is furnished 

 with huge leaves of a particularly harsh texture. In a 

 well-developed specimen the leaves are quite lyd. long 

 and nearly ift. w ide, deeply serrated at the edges. It 

 m ry be struck from cuttings, but is difficult to increase. 



STOVE CLIMBERS. 



NO plant-house is complete without a judicious selection of climbers, and those that require 

 a stove temperature are many and varied. One of the must popular is Stephanotis floribunda, 

 the waxy white fragrant flowers of w hich are so much used w hen cut. A select list of climbers 

 is as follows : 



Allamanda. Vigorous -growing rambling plants, that 

 bear during the summer a great prolusion of, for the most 

 part, large golden yellow blossoms. In common with 

 most other climbers, they succeed best when planted out 

 in a prepared border, though they are often grown in pots, 

 and trained round a trellis in bush form. A. cathartica, 

 A. Chelsoni, and A. Schotti are all good, while A. 

 grandiflora, which has blooms of a light yellow, must have 

 a place with the best. 



AriStolOChia. — Robust climbers, remarkable for the most 

 part for their quaintly- shaped and curiously - marked 

 blossoms. The majority require a good-sized structure 

 f >r their development, but there is one notable exception, 

 viz., A. elegans, with heart-shaped glaucous leaves, and 

 shell-like blossoms, about 4m. across, the ground colour 

 of which is whitish, marked in an irregular manner w ith 

 purplish brown. Its quaint yet pretty flowers are borne 

 e .en in a small state. Among the other species of this 

 extensive genus may be mentioned : A. gigas, known 

 as the Pelican - flower, from the huge blossom 

 when in a bud state bearing considerable resemblance 

 to a bird hung up by the beak. When expanded it is 

 more of a funnel shape, with a particularly long tail. 

 A. Goldieana is a difficult plant to succeed with, and one 

 that requires partially drying off in the winter. It is one 

 of the most singular of all flowers, being in shape some- 

 what like the cap of a brewer's drayman, but larger, 

 being nearly I ft. across. The colour is yellowish, 

 marked with chocolate. A. ornithocephala, greyish 

 purple, a singular flower, somewhat of a bird's head 

 shape ; A. ringens, green and blackish purple ; and A. 

 tricaudata, purplish brown, each flower with three long 

 tails. 



Bignonia. — The Bignonias require a sunny position to 

 flower them well, and the water supply should be lessened 

 during the winter months. They bear flowers usually in 

 clusters, and more or less of a Foxglove shape, the colour 

 being variable. A selection would include : B. Cham- 

 berlayni, yellow ; B. magnifica, crimson purple ; B. 

 Tweediana, yellow ; and B. venusta, orange crimson. 

 This last flowers in autumn and winter, the others prin- 

 cipally during the summer. 



CiSSUS discolor. — A free growing climber, nearly related 

 to the Vines ; it has elongated heart-shaped leaves 

 charmingly coloured with a blending of green, purple, 

 red, and silver. It is readily struck from cuttings in the 

 spring. 



Clerodendron. — Useful twining plants, remarkable for 

 the great profusion of their attractive blossoms, most of 

 which are borne during the summer months. The flowers 

 are produced in large crowded clusters. C. Balfouri, with 

 bright red flowers protruding from pure white inflated 

 calyces; C. speciosum, deep rose; and C. splendens, 

 bright scarlet, are the best. 



Clitoria temata. — This climber, which is best treated 

 as an annual, is remarkable for the intense rich blue of 

 its pea-shaped blossoms. There is a form with white 

 flowers, and another in which the two tints are blended 

 together, but the rich blue kind is the more showy. 



Dipladenia. — Some of the Dipladenias are among the 

 finest of stove plants, the large widely-expanded blossoms 

 bjing usually of some shade of rose or rosy red. They 

 need a compost principally consisting of sandy peat,, and 

 good drainage must be ensured. A notable feature of 

 some varieties is the manner in which the colour of the 

 flower deepens after expansion. Dipladenias, like Alla- 

 mandas, are often trained to a trellis in bush form. 



FiCUS. — Neat small-leaved evergreen climbers that will 

 attach themselves to a wall after the manner of Ivy. 

 Further details are given under the head of Greenhouse 

 Climbers. 



Gloriosa Sliperba. — A tuberous-rooted plant which has 

 elongated stems mounting upward by means of tendrils 

 produced from the point of each leaf. It passes the winter 

 in a dormant state, pushes up its succulent shoots in the 

 spring, and as these grow away the blossoms are borne 

 on the upper part towards the end of the summer. The 

 flowers are in shape somewhat like a Turk's Cap Lily, 

 but larger, and the petals reflex more abruptly. Their 

 colour is a mixture of green, vivid orange, and bright red. 



Hoya. — There are several species of Hoya, but they are 

 not all of a climbing habit. Far and away the best of 

 them is Hoya carnosa, known as the Wax-flower, the 

 star-shaped blossoms being of a thick wax-like nature. 

 The flowers are borne in rounded clusters, and are of a 

 pinkish white tint. A mixture of loam, broken brickbats, 

 and sand will suit it well. The clusters of flowers should 

 not be cut, as a succession of blooms is kept up from one 

 cluster. 



IportlEBa.- Convolvulus-like plants, some of which do best 

 treated as annuals, while others are of a more woody nature. 



Jasminum Sambae. — The flowers of this evergreen 

 climber are white, and very fragrant. There is a variety 

 named flore-pleno with double blossoms. A thriving 

 specimen of this Jasmine will flower, more or less, nearly 

 throughout the year. 



Passiflora. — A great many of the Passion-flowers will 

 succeed in the greenhouse, the best of those that requir e a 

 stove being : P. alata, crimson ; P. Decaisneana, carmine ; 

 P. edulis, white tinged purple, fruit eatable ; P. Kermesina, 

 bright red ; P. princeps or racemosa, bright scarlet ; P. 

 quadrangularis (The Granadilla), white and red, fruit 

 oblong, about Gin. in length, much eaten in tropical 

 countries ; P. trifasciata, white, the leaves hairy purple 

 midrib ; P. Watsoni, purplish red. 



Paullinia thalietrifolia. — A moderate-growing climber, 

 thriving well in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand. The 

 triangular-shaped leaves are almost as finely divided as a 

 Maiden-hair Fern, so that a thriving specimen forms an 

 exceedingly pretty feature. It is evergreen in character. 

 There is a variety argentea just like the preceding, except 

 that the leaflets are suffused with white. 



Solanum Seaforthianum and S. Wendlandi. — 



The Solanum family is very large, containing many 

 diverse forms, and including the universally - grown 

 Potato (S. tuberosum). The two species above mentioned 

 are worthy of a place among the best of stove climbers, 

 the first, S. Seaforthianum, having prettily - divided 



