GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



February 26, 1 



898. 



water, both overhead and at the roots, therefore, in the first place it is necessary to 

 afford good and abundant drainage, and m the second the compost must be porous 

 to allow the water to pass freely away ; good fibrous peat, sphagnum, crocks 

 charcoal, and coarse silv er sand are what they delight in, and if surfaced over with 

 growing sphagnum so much the better. Tubers of Gloriosa superba maybe started 

 now, and before starting put them into the pots m which they are to flower, as 

 they are impatient of beirg disturbed during their growing season ; use as a potting 

 medium equal parts of peat and loam, with leaf-soil and plenty of sand added ; 

 handle the tubers carefully as they are very brittle. Stare fresh batches of 

 caladiums, achimenes, gesneras, &c, and pot on those earlier started as they 

 require it. Allow a rise in the temperature of the stove of 5 degrees, both by day 

 and night, from fire heat, and with the lengthening days the syringe may be used 

 more freely. Keep a sharp look-out for insect pests, and attend to them directly 

 they are seen— not waiting for them to become numerous and cause injury to the 

 plants. Those whose business it is to water the plants should make a point of 

 crushing any mealy bug seen while watering ; also, when syringing, bear in mind 

 that the undersides of the leaves are the general hiding places of red spider and 

 thrips, and thus make it a special endeavour to dislodge any lurking there.— J. 

 Tunnington, Ripley Castle Gardens. 



CONSERVATORY AND GREENHOUSE. 



As the sun is gaining power daily no time should be lost in fixing blinds o 

 other means of shading to the different houses where flowering plants are arranged. 

 It is too early in the season to give a permanent shading to the roof, but most of 

 our spring-flowering plants, particularly azaleas, cinerarias, primulas, tulips, and 

 the like retain their true shades of colour, and last much longer in perfection when 

 not exposed to the full force of the sun's rays. Now is a good time to work up 

 a fresh batch of coleus, and as the tops of last year's plants will now be ready for 

 removal, it will be well to obtain the desired number of cuttings at once, and 

 destroy the old stools, as these become unsightly and may encourage the spread 

 of insect pests. The same remarks apply to all plants which have been kept for 

 stock purposes through the winter, as for the next few weeks space will be valuable 

 in all departments. 



The present opportunity of dividing and repotting ferns that require it should 

 not be lost. It is almost impossible to have too many plants of Adiantum cunea- 

 tum in small pots where there is much decorating, while many of the pterises are 

 equally valuable. To have neat plants, with erect fronds, it is very necessary that 

 the whole of the old frondage be removed before the young ones push through, or 

 the latter will be drawn up weakly. A well-established plant growing in a six-inch 

 pot could be divided into four, and the pieces potted into three-and-a-half or four- 

 inch pots ; these make capital material for margins of groups, conservatory stages, 

 or for filling baskets. I never use peat for these plants now, as I find the fronds 

 possess more substance when grown in loam alone. Having potted up a sufficient 

 number, stand the pots close together on a moist stage or bed, give them one good 

 watering, shade them from mid-day sun, and dew them overhead with tepid water 

 morning and evening. Fronds of a pale green colour are generally preferred for 

 use with cut bloom in floral designs, &c, and are obtained by keeping the plants 

 near the glass, and not shading. Of course the atmosphere of the house is kept 

 very moist, and the plants when well established receive abundance of 

 water. Hanging tuskets when well furnished make pleasing objects in the 

 conservatory, and for this purpose nothing is better than ferns in variety. We have 

 a couple of baskets of A. cuneatum four feet through. The baskets are made of 

 stout wire, perfectly plain, and form a true half globe. Those with broad, flat 

 bases, or a lot of fancy wirework, should be rejected, as it is difficult to cover 

 them evenly with fronds. Line the inside of the basket with moss— push the 

 pieces of fern through this, about two inches apart, and fill up gradually with 

 chopped turf and broken charcoal. Hang the baskets in a warm close house, and 

 keep them syringed until the fronds meet each other, when this should be discon- 

 tinued and copious watering afforded. 



Qivias have proved most useful throughout the winter in furnishing abundance 

 of flowers, which last quite a fortnight after being cut. These plants deserve more 

 attention than they generally receive. They are naturally late spring-flowering 

 plants, but we find them more useful for mid-winter and onwards, when other 

 things are scarce ; we are now dividing and increasing the stock as much as we 

 can A stiff soil suits the coarse -feeding roots best, such as rather heavy loam, 

 with a little spent mushroom-bed manure and charcoal. The newly-potted plants 

 should be kept together by themselves, and not stood about in cold dry houses, or 

 under the stages as they are sometimes found. Sow seed of mignonette in small 

 pots to provide useful material for filling window boxes and the like later on.— 



Richard Parker, Goodwood Gardens. 



FLOWER 



1 11 k f>ottmg-ofl of all bedding pelargoniums wintered in boxes or store poU 

 should be finished within the next few weeks. Pots of the size usually known as 

 large sixties are the most suitable, and the soil for potting should not be too light, 

 especially for the stronger growing varieties, but for the variegated and more 

 delicate ones that of a lighter nature may be used. No crocks should be placed in 

 the pots, fc as these are a nuisance when turning out at bedding time ; a small portion 

 of half-rotten leaves placed in the bottom of each pot will afford ample drainage. 

 A little extra heat should be given, and an occasional syringing over on bright 

 days, until partially re-established. Where desired to increase any variety, the 

 tops should be inserted in l>oxes or pots and stood in a warm house. Old plants 

 may also be placed in heat for the production of cuttings, and this will apply 

 also to store plants of coleus, alternantheras, and ageratums for the furnishing of 

 Quantities of cuttings in a few weeks' time. Old roots of cannas used in the 

 Mower garden should now be examined, and if desired to increase the number 

 the rhizomes may be cut up into pieces with one or more eyes to 

 each, and lie Pottedup into forty-eigfits or thirty-two sized pots. The 

 older portions should be rejected. After potting stand in a warm house 



wiin^hr e S i art< L d W ,?^° growth ' VVhere seedlin 8 verbCTas «e used for 



* n2££ fo «hwith. These seedlings form excellent 



3?2SiI! r * hlled 7 llh . th ^ ^ mixed colours are effective, and, providing 

 r,p?h.n r ff T a g0Od 5tra Ti the flow « trusses are ^d che growth more 



^S^^^S^^ CUttings * Verbena shou,d E *>™ ^ 



scS moderately light soil pressed down firmly, 



sifo^ soif If^I^ced in ^ iT^* ^ ™d just covering with a little finely- 

 t n JS f n P i r housc ° r P ir with a temperature of 60 degrees, germina- 



c^SeV£^ OW A 1 rtCCn da>S ' When the ^"P sh ™ ld ^ si ted in a 



^VtomlJt^* " SSS en ° Ugh to handle th *y * h ™ ld ** Pricked off into 

 off in ^ -\ cheS and w hen established, gradually hardened 



direct into a cold f^me S Wh/n* r «l ulr f ed ^ q ua ^ity, may be pricked off 

 former mav now hi 2 S£ 2 l°Zl^ Ce ^^rred to the beds or borders. The 



former 

 shades 



when in bloom. Antirrhinums are excellent dry- weather bedding 1 

 be used for massing in beds or filling up spare spaces in the herW i* 04 *! 



Hollyhocks, which, owing to the disease that has been prevalent 

 past, have somewhat fallen out of cultivation, but are easily raised f ^ 

 healthy plants for the year, at least, may generally be ensured if rai ^ 

 This fine old showy perennial is a grand subject for the back Dart J I T 5 

 KpHq nr borders, and a cheap way of raisins a stnrV ; c j^ i. 01 nwbacena 



lings into small pots as soon as large enough, and after growing on 

 mediate house until established, transfer to a cold frame, which should kL mter " 

 close for a few days. Pot on into five-inch pots, and by the middle 5** 

 May strong specimens should be ready for turning out into the borders** a* 

 good cultural attention after will produce fairly strong spikes of bloom th* 

 Herbaceous borders should now be lightly forked over, turning in any 55 ** 8011 " 

 placed over the surface early in the winter or added now. Although deer 

 about these established borders should never be done, pointing over carefull ~~ 

 flat-tined forks for the sake of tidiness is advisable annually in early spring Y TV 



vnnnor enrnwths starting from choice delnhirrinmc in tk«e^ U^a _i. • Jv 



season, 

 manure 



v*v,onv.vi ^ ^z^v' v — • — V iautI ' 1111:3 llid -y easily be done now 



by taking off the shoots, starting from the base of the old stools. The*/f 

 detached without roots and potted up singly into small pots, using sandy loamaal 

 leaf-soil, and stood in a cold frame, will soon form roots and make good plants 

 placing in the borders in a couple of months 5 time. When propagated in this wav 

 the most may be made of any new varieties, and if treated liberally, theyouJ 

 plants will produce fairly good spikes of bloom this season. T ' ' 



young 



grounds, lawns should be kept well swept and rolled as, owing to the mild weather* 

 mn,r;n,T ™™ K * early this year.— C. Herrin, Dropmore Gardens. ' 



H 



T 



For 



Management 



Unless in the case of the various railway companies and the owners of a few 

 large properties, the management of live fences in this country is sadly neglected, a 

 fact that is forcibly brought home to the observant traveller in almost ever)' part 

 of the kingdom. Agricultural depression and the consequent low state of the 

 farmers' funds have, no doubt, much to answer for in this particular, while not a 

 little is attributable to the want of a thorough knowledge not only of the formation 

 but after-management of these as well. Practically speaking, hedges may be 

 divided into two classes — useful and ornamental — or, in other words, such as are 

 employed for purely protective purposes, and such as find a place on the lawn, the 

 pleasure ground, and in the garden, and where ornament more than any specially 

 useful object is of first consideration. For farm or woodland purposes the quick 

 or hawthorn, the beech, hornbeam, and holly are the only plants that have been 

 found sufficiently thick, strong, and impenetrable to live stock ; while where orna- 

 mental qualities are desired almost any shrub can be utilised that fancy dictates, 

 special mention being made of the yew, box, privet, several kind of berberis, and 

 some of the low and compact-growing thuyas aud cypresses. 



The preparation of the ground is a most important operation in connection 

 with the formation of live fences, and one that should never be passed over, cither 

 on the pretext of time or expense. Thoroughly trench the ground to a depth of 

 not less than two feet and about four feet in width, turning the soil loosely up to 

 the ameliorating effects of the weather, and if this work can be performed a couple 

 of months before the plants are to be inserted so much the better. Where the 

 soil is poor and light a heavy dressing of thoroughly decomposed farmyard manure 

 will have the effect of causing the hedge plants to grow away freely and strong, 

 but such should be thoroughly incorporated with the soil and applied at time of 

 trenching. As it is advisable, particularly if the situation is at all damp or the soil 

 of a heavy retentive nature, to plant rather above than below the general ground 

 level, a low mound should be formed along the intended line of fence when trench- 

 ing the soil, such assisting materially in keeping the plants from excessive moisture 

 and likewise aiding in the clearing and after-management of the fence. Some- 

 times it is found necessary on low-lying ground to cut a ditch along the side of the 

 contemplated line of hedge, the soil so removed being utilised in forming a dry 

 bank or ridge on which the plants are placed. 



Planting should be performed in autumn or immediately after the fall of the 

 leaf, and should on no account be left to a later date than the end of February, toe 

 quick being one of our earliest shrubs to start into growth. The plants shouH 

 be stout, stocky, and of four years' growth. The size of the thorns is of more m> 

 portance, however, than the age, and those rather thicker than a pipe-stem, th<» 

 short in proportion, are infinitely preferable to others of taller and lankier growtn 

 When planting stretch a garden line along the prepared ground, and take out* 

 trench of sufficient depth and width to allow of the roots of the quicks being spre* 

 out to their full extent. The plants should be placed upright, six inches apart it ■ 

 single line, and nine inches apart if in double line, and not deeper in the P*** 

 than they stood whilst in the nursery, the conspicuous mark on the bark . oiw 

 stem clearly pointing out the depth to which they should be inserted in the so* 

 Fill in the finest soil next the roots and tread firmly, keeping the plants as eg 

 distant and upright as possible. It is not unusual to plant the quicks in dow 

 line, but with strong plants on well-prepared land a single line is to be ^reco» 



mended, many of our finest fences having been so formed. Cutting or beqgu? 



back the newly-planted thorns, so as to induce stout and thick bottom growtj 

 often successfully adopted, and especially when the plants are tall and *ea» > 

 growth The beech wants the rigidity of the thorn, but is better as a shelter p»-t 

 retaining, as it does, a great proportion of its leaves during winter 

 succeeds on chalky soil and on -exposed ennund at considerable elevatu 

 hornbeam is another niurfnf 



when not too exposed. 



hedge plant 



ice 



The pruning and after-management of "a hedge are of much importa--^. 



unfortunately, too often lost sight of. A yearly clearing away of all bottom gr 



of rough-growing weeds should never be neglected, while equally, it noi 

 important, is an annual cutting back of the young shoots, and J 

 everything else maintains that ' rigidity and closeness of growth whicn 

 important for either farm or plantation hedges. Ivy and elder are ^ 

 injurious to every kind of live fence, and should be at once ^movea ,^ 

 nettles and strong-growing grasses also act in a pernicious manner by acj^^ 

 the hedge plants of their sustenance. In pruning a fence, be it of wteue *c ^ ^ 



to a great extent. 



points 



putation 



the hands 



at 



any time after the fall of the leaf, but it is advisable not to prosecute 

 during severe frost. A. D. wi 



