i-'ehri;ary 3, 1912. 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



97 



r ■ 



SAINTPAULIA lONANTHA. 



This beautiful little gesneriad is a ]}ar- 

 icilarly charming plant for the warm 

 „re<nhouse or intermediate house, and, as 

 ith a little extra care it can be induced 

 o produce its bright violet-blue flowers to- 

 wards the end of winter, as readily as at 

 tlie end of summer, it becomes the more 

 valuable. At no time is propagation diffi- 

 \\t either by seeds or from leaf cuttings, 



ii»d if two or three sets of plants are pro- 

 !uced the flowering season is thereby ex- 

 ,-nded. Mr. H. Prime, gardener to the 

 Marquis of Salisbury, Hatfield House, Hat- 



Id, grows Saintpaulia ionantha Till. d \ y 

 ;vell, and the plant illustrated in the pre- 

 cnt issue is one of many equally as good 

 •xhibited by him at the meeting of the 



IJoyal Horticultural Society, held at West- flowers from year to year. 



DIANTHUS CHINENSIS. 



Tlio Heddewigi group of Dianthus clii- 

 nensis is one of the best, and affords cut 

 flowers in abundance, and fine floral dis- 

 plays in the garden from the early part 

 of summer to the month of NovemlxM-. 

 Indeed, I have had batclies of plants flower- 

 ing almost as late as Christmas in a mild 

 season. 



From a packet of mixed seeds a large 

 percentage of double flowers may be ob- 

 tained, but I prefer to sow seeds of single 

 and double-flowered varieties separately. 

 Some of the double flowers are exquisite, 

 and gr^at beauty is to be found among 

 the singles. For many years I have grown 

 large numbers of these plants from seeds, 

 and have bev^n much struck with the de- 

 cided improvement in the quality of the 



prod action of early flowei s. A second 

 sowing may be made at the end of April 

 in a cold frame. 



Instead of disturbing the seedlings and 

 transplanting them very early — as they do 

 not then possess many roots — keep them 

 in a cool frame so as to induce a stocky 

 growth. One transplanting in a prepared 



bed in a cold frame prior to removing them 

 to their flowering quarters will b(^ .suffi- 

 cient. The ground must bt> dwply dug, 

 well enriched witli rottinl numure if poor 

 in quality, and made inodiM ately firm while 

 fairly dry, if light in elia racttM-. before the 

 plants are put in about onr foot apart 

 each way. 



Suitable varieties are: Dianthus Hedde- 

 wigi alba; I). atr()pur])urea, blood-red; I), 

 diadematus, 1). hvbridus, ami D. lacinia- 



tus Liirif(M\ orange ;uu! s(*arl4^t, iwo excel- 

 lout d()nl)le-ll()\v(M'r(l vari<^tios. Of singles 



V - 



_ r 



it I 



SAINTPAULIA IONANTHA. 



Oi^e of several finely-flowered examples of this liandsoiiie blue-flowered stove plant, exhibited at R.H.S. Aleeting, January 2:]. bv 



Mr. H. Prime. 



p ■ 



r 



' S^JIis' ^T^' our- readers how 

 ^^tains suck hno plants of thi« useful 



nhject 



111 Januarv. 



^^'^^^ureoffhi. prominent 

 '^''^ ^>njM ^1^^ l^^gth of time 



^^ l^v thiH is so ^^^""^ y^^^'^ ago. 



^'^^amentai snW r'^^'^'^y^ is a very 



^^^PPedup trsi^ and nothing else has 

 ^^'^^*^rod t^as ? T"^"*^ ^1^- sometimes 

 f^^^ture of th^t ''''f P^^^^*' the tem- 



?^nhon^ o?' in \i ^ ^^arm 



There / V^ ^'"'^**^^^^ tempera- 

 . ^^arly as showy as the typical 



The seeds should be sown in boxes or 

 pans (1 prefer the latter) filled with sandy 

 h)am, and well-rotted leaf so'l. in equal 

 proportions, with coarse sand added. 

 Wliere a steady temi)erature (*f about 60 

 degrees can be'maintained during the day 

 seeds may be sown early in March; if a 

 lower temperature prevails then defer the 

 sowing until early in April. 



I do not believe in covering the seed 

 pans with paper to keep the surface of the 

 soil in darkness, as it weakens the seed- 

 lings ; but a .square of glass may i)e ns*'d 

 to retain moisture and in<lu(e 



germination, 

 removed at 



eai'lv 



The glass must. li.)wr\er, be 

 an early stage, or it would 

 have a similar effect on the seedlings. The 

 ])lants mu.st afterw-ards be grown in a cool 

 frame; the heat applied in the first place 

 is only to aid in securing stock for the 



the following may be grown : Sahnnn 

 Queen, .salmon : Eastern Queen, niauvi^ and 

 lila<- ; ('i inisoii Belhv, crinison-lakc ; Qu+mmi 

 of Holland, pure white; and Snowdrift, 

 pure wliite. Geo. Garxer. 



1 ics 

 liut 



Antirrhinums. — There are sonic lovely 

 varieties mnong the sna])dra^on-. asid when 

 massed iu the niixed border they are very 

 effective, as indeed they are if ])lant<^ in 

 narrow borders in one colour. The tall varie- 

 are useful f(>r the back tlie l>i>rders. 

 the intermediate^ 1 ype a re .-jM-ei a i 

 favourites, and when sneli col<nns ;i> a])] i- 

 cot, yellows rosi^-pink. hriq-ht scarlet . and 

 crimson are c»rowiK tln-y are very pleasing. 

 Sown in boxes at tlu^ i)resent time, and 

 pricked off earlv, they make vigorous plants 

 that tlower freely and continuou^^ly over a 

 long period.— J. Garoner. 



