870 



THE I*RACT1CAL GARDENER. 



Mar. 



number of these and similar })lants in autumn. With httle 

 attention during winter, they will be fit to pot off in March, 

 and if placed afterwards in close frames, with a sliprlit heat, 

 will attain greater i^erfection by the season of planting out. 



i^ischias, Hydrangeas, and some other exotics, should l>e 

 annually propagated in quantities for this purpose, but these 

 seldom flower so well till tlie second year of their growth ; 

 whereas the former kinds produce their finest flowers the first 

 season when properly treated. 



PLANTING FERRARIAS. 



The Fcrraria pavonia is a plant of great beauty and of 

 easy culture, and would be one of the greatest ornaments of 

 our gardens, were the flowers less fugacious, their duration 

 being only for a few hours. This apparent defect is amply 

 remedied by planting them in masses, where a succession of 

 flowers will be produced for a considerable lime. The bulbs 

 of this plant should be potted in small pots in February or 

 March, and placed in a close frame, where they should con- 

 tinue until they be fit to plant out, which will be by the middle 

 of May. They can then be readily turned out of the pots 

 with the balls entire, and will produce their flowers in July, 

 August, and September. As the plants advance in growth, 

 they should be supported with neat sticks, as they arc liable 

 to be broken when exposed to rain and winds. At the natural 

 season when the bulbs are ripe, which, as in the case of all 

 bulbous plants, will be indicated by the decay of the leaves, 

 they should be taken up, and kept in a dry place till their 

 season of planting arrives. A correspondent in the Hort. 

 Trans., recommends that a portion of the mould in which 

 they grow, should be allowed to adhere to them, which will 

 prevent their being too much dried up, while in an inactive 

 state. The same end may be attained by packing them in 

 boxes of sand. They increase rapidly by offsets, and may be 

 purchased from the London nurserymen at five pounds per 

 hundred. 



