46 



THE PLOKIST AND P0M010GI8T. 



bushy plants, that well -furnished specimens of them can hardly be obtained, 

 save by grafting them on good-sized well-bottomed plants of some better- 

 habited variety. Coccinea is, judging from my own experience arid observation, 

 the best for grafting upon, and I use it in preference to javanica (Veitch's), 

 which, although a freer grower, does not with me prove as good a stock as 

 coccinea. I also graft fioribunda, which, although of a sufficiently bushy 

 habit, is rather delicate, and but a slow grower on its own roots ; but there is 

 no necessity to graft this upon large plants, and I propagate it by putting a 

 single graft upon a plant of coccinea with a single shoot. Grafting these is 

 very easily accomplished. I prefer doing it early in spring, although it may 

 be done at any time ; but I fancy that the sap flows more freely after the 

 plants have had their winter's rest, and that the operation is more certain to be 

 successful then than at any other season. The plants to be grafted I cut down, 

 and clear off all weak shoots and such as are badly placed, and put on the grafts 

 exactly as I would in the case of young fruit trees, only that I put on a graft 

 on any bend, &c, where I think it likely to help to fill- up or form the plant, 

 as well as on the point of every shoot. After grafting it is advisable to afford 

 the plant a gentle bottom heat of from 80° to 85°, and it must be covered with 

 hand-glasses, or something to keep it close and moist. For grafts I select well- 

 ripened wood, and, save in the case of fioribunda, one joint is sufficient for a 

 graft. I neither clay nor wax the grafts — merely tie them on, and if the 

 plants are kept close and moist almost every graft will take. 



The varieties which are propagated by cuttings will require some attention 

 to cause them to form bushy specimens, and some growers stop over-luxuriant 

 shoots when they appear ; but, save in the case of very small plants, I prefer 

 to grow the plants as vigorously as I can for a season, then allow them a short 

 period of rest, during which they are placed in a cooler and drier house for a 

 few weeks, so as to get the wood well ripened ; they are then cut back and 

 tied into form, bringing the strong shoots down to form the bottom of the 

 plant, as far as can be safely done, and they are again encouraged to make 

 growth. Treated in this way, the plants will make two growths during the 

 year, and such varieties as alba, amboynensis, &c, will bloom twice in the 

 year ; but they must be kept at work in winter, merely resting them for a 

 few weeks while they are in bloom. But, save where it may be desirable to 

 get the plants into large specimens as quickly as possible, I do not recommend 

 driving them so as to cause them to make two growths annually ; for when 

 this is done. they very soon get larger than, in most cases, is desirable for home 

 use. When the plants are intended to be used for conservatory decoration, I 

 aim at having them in bloom from the beginning of June to the middle of 

 August, when they will stand the conservatory without any risk of their being 

 injured, which they will hardly do save when the weather is warm, or when 

 the house is kept rather close. To have them in bloom in June they should be 

 cut back, and placed in the warmest part of the stove in January, and those 

 intended for blooming in August may be put in from the middle to the end of 

 March. They should be shaded from bright sunshine while making their 

 growth, and afforded a moist atmosphere with plenty of water at the root ; 

 but when they have made sufficient growth the shading should be discontinued 

 as far as can be done without danger of scorching the foliage, and the plants 

 should be kept on the side of dryness at the root, giving air more freely against 

 them. This treatment should be continued until the points of the shoots 

 appear plump, without exhibiting any appearance of growth, which will 

 generally be the case in about three weeks. They should then be freely 

 watered at the root, and kept close and moist, and may be expected to show 

 bloom at almost every point. This treatment is unnecessary save in the case 



