1882.J 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



153 



Ike Ipiitif fiwlei 



AND GREENHOUSE. 



THE AGAPANTHTJS, 



I have in my conservatory, in full bloom, 

 an Agapanihus umbellatus, and the plant is 

 so beautiful that I want to describe it for 

 the readers of the Americak Garden who 

 love flowers. 



My plant I have had about five years. It 

 blooms regularly each year in July or August. 

 It has leaves like those of the Vallota 

 or Amaryllis, only much longer and rather 

 wider. My plant is a thrifty one, and its 

 leaves may be larger than the average. I 

 don't know about that, as I have not seen 

 many plants of this flower, and never one in 

 bloom except my own. Why this is so I am 

 unable to say, as the plant is one of rare 

 beauty and of the easiest culture. It needs 

 only to become known to be popular. The 

 leaves on my plant are about eighteen inches 

 in length, and droop enough to nearly cover 

 the pot in which it grows — one of the largest 

 size, for the roots are many and very stout, 

 and, therefore, require a good deal of room. 

 My plant has two crowns from which the 

 leaves are thrown up. The foliage is ever- 

 green. 



The style of growth and the large number 

 of leaves always on the plant, makes it 

 very attractive for a large vase in exposed 

 situations, as on verandas or porches, or 

 for the center of groups, even if it did not 

 bloom. No insect ever troubles it, and the 

 leaves do not turn yellow and fall as those of 

 the Amaryllis do. On the contrary, its crowns 

 are always well supplied with prolific foliage, 

 so that the plant is useful all the year round. 

 I have kept mine over winter in the conserva- 

 tory, and, also, in the cellar, and I have not 

 seen that it exhibited any preference for 

 either place. It does well when kept warm 

 and wet, and growing, as it does, when in 

 the dark, and given an opportunity to rest, 

 it resembles the Calla in this respect. It 

 can rest if you want it to, or it can get along 

 without it. Mine is potted in ordinary gar- 

 den soil, and I have not removed it from its 

 pot in four years. Each spring I remove 

 part of the old soil and substitute new. 

 That is all. 



The blossoms are born on stalks about 

 three feet in height. They are small,— 

 about one inch and a half or two inches in 

 length,— shaped like the White Easter Lily. 

 They are borne in clusters of seventy-five or 

 a hundred, each flower having a stem about 

 two inches long. These stems all spring from 

 one common center, at the top of the stalk. 

 The flowers are of a bright lavender blue, 

 with a darker stripe through the center of 

 each thick petal. When in full blossom, 

 there is a bunch of flowers six or seven 

 inches across, forming a ball of bloom ; it 

 always attracts attention. Most persons 

 suppose it to be some rare plant. The 

 flowers are quite durable. The plant is in 

 bloom for a month or six weeks, with blos- 

 soms in all stages of development. I prefer 

 it to any Amaryllis I have ever grown. It 

 is not as showy, but I consider it more beau- 

 tiful and much more easily grown. 



Eben E. Rexford. 



IXIAS AND SPARAXIS. 



The various species and varieties of these 

 nearly allied genera are among the most 

 beautiful and attractive Cape Bulbs, and 

 for pot culture in the house or window-gar- 

 den few bulbous plants are more desirable. 



Their culture is of the easiest kind. They 

 may be planted at any time during October 

 or November, in a soil composed of equal 

 parts of rich loam, leaf-mold, and sand, 



placing four or five bulbs in a five-inch pot. 

 Broken potsherds and a few pieces of char- 

 coal should be placed on the bottom of the 

 pots, perfect drainage being of first impor- 

 tance, as any considerable stagnation of 

 water at the roots is fatal to the plants. 

 The bulbs should be covered about an inch 

 deep, and have the soil pressed firmly around 

 them. The pots should then be plunged in 

 coal ashes in a cold frame, or under a bench 



of a e old-house, and kept moderately dry 

 until the plants appear above ground, when 

 they have to be brought to a light, moder- 

 ately warm sitting-room or conservatory, 

 watered sparingly at first, and more copi- 

 ously as they grow and bloom. 



After flowering, water should be withheld, 

 and the pots exposed to full sun, to promote 

 the ripening of the bulbs, which, treated in 

 this manner, will bloom the following season 

 as well as the first. 



PLANTS FOR SMALL GREENHOUSES, 



We receive frequent inquiries about the 

 kinds of plants best adapted for stocking a 

 small amateur greenhouse. It is not possible 

 to give directions suitable for all conditions, 

 as all classes of plants cannot be grown 

 in the same temperature. Much depends, 

 also, on the situation, exposure, facilities 

 for heating and ventilating, and principally 

 on the amount of time and intelligent care 

 that can be devoted to the management of 

 the house. 



For the beginner in plant culture, it is ad- 

 visable not to invest in many expensive and 

 delicate plants, but to confine himself prin- 

 cipally to those of the easiest culture, and 

 the loss of which would not be seriously felt. 

 Apprenticeship has to be served in either 

 way, and it might as well be paid in cheap 

 plants as in expensive ones. 



Geraniums, Verbenas, Cupheas, Salvias, 

 Lobelias, Tropseolums, Calceolarias, Ciner- 

 arias, and many other soft-wooded plants, 

 that are easily raised from seed or propa- 

 gated from cuttings, and, of course, any of 

 the various "Dutch Bulbs," should form the 

 main reliance. 



To those who desire a greater variety, and 

 choicer plants in addition, the following list, 

 given by Mr. E. S. Rand, Jr., may serve as 

 a guide in selecting a collection for a general 

 greenhouse of about twenty-five feet in 

 length : 



12 Camellia Japonica. 

 4 Orange Trees. 

 1 Mandarin Orange. 



1 Lemon. 



C Daphne odorata. 



2 " " rubra. 

 4 Diosina odorata. 



1 " capitate. 

 4 Erica Caffra alba. 

 4 " " rubra. 



1 Cytisrus racemosa. 

 G Heliotropes in var. 



2 Oestrum aurantiacum 

 2 Dwarf Acacias. 



1 Lemon Verbena. 

 1 Bureuellia Capensis. 



1 Ooronilla glauca. 



2 Stevia. 



2 Eupatorhun elegans. 

 2 Abutilon. 

 2 Cliorizema. 



1 Fabiana imbricate. 



2 Jamuinum odoratissi- 



miun. 

 2 Do. multiflorum. 

 2 Kennedias. 

 10 Azalea Indica. 

 G Puclisias. 



1 Justicia carnea. 



2 Correas. 



1 Linum Trigynum. 



3 Mahermas. 



2 Manettias. 

 . 2 Myrtles. 



1 Pittosporum Tobira. 



1 Sparmannia Africana. 



2 Passiflora (for rafters). 

 1 Olea fragrans. 



1 Teeoma Jasmmoides. 

 1 Thea viridis. 

 1 Veronica Andersonii. 

 Roses ad libitum. 



PETUNIAS AS WINDOW PLANTS. 



These make excellent window plants and 

 are very showy, especially the flaked varie- 

 ties, both single and double. To have them 

 stoutly and short jointed they should be 

 grown out-of-doors, fully exposed to the sun, 

 and be stopped frequently to induce them to 

 form bushy plants. When grown under glass, 

 the stems become drawn, which they likewise 

 do in the green-house while producing their 

 blooms. To obviate this as much as pos- 

 sible, they should be placed in light, airy 

 positions, where they only get a small 

 amount of shade, if any at all. By cutting 

 back any that have become straggling and 

 drawn, and replacing them out in the open 

 air, they soon break again, and flower with 

 great freedom, so that a constant supply 

 may be kept up by growing a few plants, and 

 treating them in this way. While out-of- 

 doors, the pots should be plunged, so as to 

 prevent the sun from drying the roots. — 

 Gardening Illustrated. 



