May 11, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



383 



HIPPEASTRUMS. 



The gorgeous flowers of the hippeastrums 

 are well known to many outside the circle 

 of those engaged or interested in horticul- 

 ture as very creditable displays are to be 

 seen' in the winter gardens and other glass 

 structures connected with some of the 

 public parks and gardens throughout the 

 country, thus giving thousands of people 

 the opportunity of enjoying their brilhance. 



Many of us have the opportunity each 

 season of seeing fine examples of the cul- 

 tivation of these plants at shows, or at 

 establishments where a collection of hip- 

 peastrums is a special and valuable fea- 

 ture. In many such places specially-con- 

 structed houses are devoted entirely to 

 hippeastrums, and these offer every facility 

 for ventilation, bottom heat, plunging, etc. 

 But every grower is not in the enviable 

 position of having these facilities, and has 

 t4) make the best use of less convenient 

 arrangements. 



It is most gratifying to notice what good 

 results are often attained without special 

 advantages, though, on the other hand, 

 some very indiflFerent results are sometimes 

 met with, usually through sheer neglect. 

 In some instances, once the plants are out 

 of flower they are stood in any out-of-the- 

 way corner, and left to take care of them- 

 selves, consequently they become dried off 

 at a season when they ought to be in full 

 growth, and when they should be Under- 

 going a resting period it is not infrequent 

 to find them quite producing premature 

 flowers. 



The cultivation of hippeastrums is com- 

 ])aratively easy, but a few important points 

 in connection with it have to be borne in 

 mind, and, providing these receive due at- 

 tention, the result will be that a very small 

 percentage of bulbs, once they reach the 

 flowering stage, will fail to produce their 

 flowers annually, and continue to do so for 

 several years. It is very essential that the 

 Inilbs shall receive good treatment during 

 their growing season, and every encourage- 

 ment should be given them at that period 

 to make vigorous leaves, which, when com- 

 pleted, must be gradually and thoroughly 

 ripened off. To accomplish this the plants, 

 when out of flower, require a position near 

 the glass in a house where a moist atmo- 



the hippeastrums will be well advanced 

 in growth, and the change in the atmo- 

 sphere will be in no way detrimental to 

 them, but will assist in hardening the 

 foliage; feeding can still be continued for 

 some little time; indeed, until about the 

 middle of August, when they will begin to 

 show signs of ripening. When this change 

 comes about, gradually reduce the water 

 supply. The vinery at this season will be 

 kept dry, and freely ventilated during all 

 fine weather, a condition very essential to 

 the hippeastrums at this period to ensure 

 the bulbs becoming thoroughly ripened. 



If such a position as the one describecl 

 cannot be provided, a warm greenhouse or 

 palm house will be suitable through the 

 growing season, provided the plants are 

 kept near the glass, and not in a too shady 

 position. Under these circumstances they 

 will require a more airy and drier house for 

 ripening, as a close moist atmosphere, eveai 

 when water is withheld from the roots, ex- 

 cites growth. When the ripening process 

 is completed, and the foliage has died down, 

 the pots containing the bulbs can be stored 

 in any cool, dry place, where they may 

 remain until early in January; it will be 

 then necessary that the bulbs should be 

 turned out of the pots, and the soil shaken 

 away from the roots, which should be quite 

 inactive at that time of the year. If any 

 offsets have formed, these should be pulled 

 away from the parent bulb, if far enough 

 advanced to support themselves, and then 

 all dead or decaying roots must be cut 

 away. For potting, use a compost con- 

 sisting of three parts good fibrous loam and 

 one part leaf-soil, with a plentiful addition 

 of grit or coarse silver sand ; if only very 

 heavy loam is available, add one part of 

 peat to the compost. Put the bulbs singly 

 in well-drained pots, press the soil firmly 

 round them, but only the lower half should 

 be covered with compost, Overpotting 

 must be strictly guarded against; a Gin. 

 pot usually suffices for the largest bulbs, 

 while a Sin. pot will be found quite large 

 enough to accommodate bulbs of average 

 size. The offsets can be potted singly into 



60-size pots. 



When potting has been completed^ stand 



the pots containing the bulbs in a cool, dry 

 house until they are required for starting ; 

 fliATi ihov can be taken into a moderately 



sphere is maintained, with a night tempera- warm house with a moist atmosphere, and 

 ture of 60 deg. to 65 deg., air being ad- 

 mitted on all favourable occasions through 

 the day. Close the house in the afternoon 



before the sun is entirely gone, thoroughly 

 damping it down and spraying the foliage 

 at the same time. The increased tempera- 

 ture, with plenty of moisture resulting 



from this practice, is very beneficial to the 

 plants. 



. These conditions will prevail in a vinery 

 m which the vines have passed out of flower, 

 and if the structure be a three-quarter 

 span, with the vine rods not extending 

 '>evond the ridge of the roof, and provided 

 with a shelf fixed to the back wall, about 

 -n. 'Hii. from the glass, this latter will be 

 round an ideal position for the hippeas- 

 Tnims. as they will revel in the moist 

 ■•tniosphere maintained for the welfare of 

 ne vmes. Usually such houses face south- 



•nT^ provided for the plants, as thev 

 « iu be on the north side of the house, and 

 tohage of the vines will break the sun's 

 jays through the hottest part of the day. 



1 ,m ^^^"^^ active, and providing the 

 1 ihs are not overpotted, they will require 

 0 if ; ' "^/'■^"ently, with occasional appli- 



r ^rlT 11*^ and liquid manure ; if 



^^irermiy used blood man.ure forms a good 



By the time the atmosphere of 



ff^i-tiliser 



t) 



0 



r ilTV ^ ^ ^«P^^ on account 



truit showing signs of ripening, 



here they will require but little water at 

 the roots until they have pushed up their 

 flower scapes a few inches in height, and 

 then only sparingly until root action is 

 quite brisk. A careful watfeh must be kept 

 for any trace of slugs at this stage, a^ they 

 are very partial to the young foliage, and 

 if allowed to continue their depredations 

 for only a short time they will cause much 

 disfigurement to the leaves and flower 



scapes. 



When in flower hippeastrums are excel- 

 lent subjects for the conservatory and for 

 indoor decoration, and if, while being used 

 for these purposes, they are not carelessly 

 watered or subjected to cold draughts, they 

 will not derive any injury whatever. 



Hippeastrums are liable to attacks of 

 red-spider and thrips during hot dry 

 weather, but if the foliage is kept well 

 syringed, such pests will be held m check, 

 otherwise sponging with some insecticide 

 .must be resorted to. Mealy bug at times 

 becomes troublesome, and is difficult to 

 eradicate when once established, as the 

 scaly coverings of the bulbs offer a har- 

 bour for it; affected bulbs should be 

 thoroughly looked over and cleansed of this 

 pest while in a dormant state. Basal rot 

 and bulb mite sometimes appear, and are 

 usually the result of over-watering and bad 

 management. T. B. Field. 



Wych Cross Place Gardens, 



JAPANESE OR TREE PEONIES* 



The land of the Mikado is responsible for 

 a host of exceedingly beautiful subjects 

 which adorn our gardens, including the 

 Japanese pseonies. As distinguished from 

 the herbaceous section, they assume a 

 shrubby or tree-like habit, the w^ood being 

 of a fairly hard texture, and, further, it is 

 idle to expect these plants to flourish unless 

 they are given sheltered spots secure fi-oni 

 cold and biting winds. In the North of 

 England^ and bleak districts generally, 

 it is found necessary to protect the plants 

 with straw, reed mats, etc., during severe 

 winters, and to prevent damage to the 

 young growths from spring frosts. 



Tlie Japanese or Tree Pseonies are by no 

 means fastidious as to soil, and I have 

 failed to note any appreciable difference in 

 their behavious when cultivated in light 

 and porous or heavy and tenacious ground. 

 They do, however, demand manurial assist- 

 ance on a liberal scale, including a mulch 

 of manure in early summer. It may be 

 said that their value as decorative material 

 for the 



vatory in e^irly spring is 

 fully recognised by professional gardeners, 

 and, as a matter of course, they are culti- 

 vated' in pots for this purpose. The chief 

 points in their management in pots are to 

 afford sufficient pot-room to allow for un- 

 restrained development, to employ turfy 

 maiden loam, enriched with manure, and 

 rendered porous by the addition of sand, 

 and to pot them in early autumn if in- 

 tended for flowering the following spring. 

 They do not lend themselves to Ijeing forced 

 into bloom in winter, but they may be 

 brought along gradually in a cool house so 

 as to be available in early spring. It will 

 occur to the cultivator to syringe the 

 plants overhead twice daily, dating from 

 the time they are brought inside, and until 

 the floA-ers appear, and it is hardly neces- 

 sary to point out that after flowering they 

 must be allowed to remain in a cold pit 

 until danger from frost is past, when they 

 should be plunged in coal ashes or fibre 

 in an open position in the reserve plot. 



Propagation is easily effected by graft- 

 iuii. the operation being carried out in 



?ring shoot is grafted 

 of the herbaceous 



upon 



summer. A non-flow 



a strong root 

 species. After the operation has l^een 

 completed the soil must be brought above 

 the union when potting, and if placed in 

 a propagating case a union is readily 

 formed. Layering is a simple method, 

 and if a pot plant is slightly tilted when 

 plunged, a number of fine growths can 

 be layei-ed and converted into independt^nt 

 plants. Something must be said a^ to 

 varieties. The type of Pseony montana is 

 ix)sy-lilac in colour, and semi-double, an<l 



• • the fol- 



amongst the numerous varieties 



Margaret 



Gerard, 



lowing are of merit : 

 flesh colour; Snowflake, of great 



General Baden Powell, brilliant 



Yokohama Beaut\ 



beauty ; 

 scarlet ; 



The Sultan, crimson; 

 white outer petals and a primrose centre; 

 Edward VII., a combination of purple and 

 crimson ; Triomphe de Malines, violet ; Ne 

 Plus ritra, lilac and white; M, Kleyer, 

 rosy-salmon; Captain Champion, white; 

 and Hessiana, white, with crimson stripes, 

 form a selection of exquisite colouring and 

 beautv. Walter H. Aggett, 



Cineraria Feltham Beauty, 



Dark Blue. — This is a particularly strik- 

 ing form of cineraria, which gained many 

 admirers at one of the April meetings of the 

 Eoyal Horticultural Society. The Feltham 

 Beauty strain, while it is of neat, compact 

 habit, is less formal than the florists* varie- 

 ties. In this form the flowers are of a rich 

 deep blue, a tone of colour which is always 

 uch appreciated. — K. 



