42 
DIFFERENT METHODS OF TREATING PASSION-FLOWERS. 
advantage may dictate. The portability which pots afford entails the capacity for 
a varied system of treatment, by which some may be had in flower for the greater 
part of the year ; and specimens grown in this way, with their shoots fastened to 
wire trellises and in full flower, with hardly an unproductive branch, are as 
ornamental as any of the leguminose green-house plants commonly treated in the 
same way. They are thus, moreover, brought, by their increased dwarfness, 
within the sphere of those who have not space for them in a larger state, and who, 
nevertheless, would rejoice to grow a specimen or two of this curious and 
universally admired genus. 
Besides the kinds which require to be kept constantly in the stove, there are 
many amongst the hybrids of latter years, that will flower well in the green-house 
if previously assisted in their growth by a higher temperature. Of this description 
we may instance P. Lambertiana, a kind which will even flower tolerably well 
without any additional warmth, but is very much improved and prolonged by it. 
P. Loudoni and P. Jcermesina are both species which ought to have a somewhat 
warmer temperature, although when grown in pots they flower pretty well in a 
greenhouse. The latter appears to grow and flower alternately, for whilst the 
shoots are growing freely the flowers rarely expand, and when they do open, and 
so long as they continue to be freely unfolded, the further growth is considerably 
checked. This peculiarity brings the flowers nearer together, and enables them to 
make a finer appearance. Whilst in flower it may be kept in the greenhouse, 
and as the number of blooms diminish, by removing it to a warmer place, the 
formation of other shoots will be encouraged to flower in their turn. P. Princeps 
and P. racemosa, though much stronger-growing plants, may also be grown well 
in pots, and from the quantity of flowers they produce in close proximity, and 
their rich colour, are valuable species : both, however, require a constant stove- 
heat. By placing a few specimens of some of the preceding kinds in the 
forcing-houses late in autumn, a constant succession of flowers may be had nearly 
all the winter. 
When cultivated in pots, the shoots should be secured to a trellis as they 
increase in length, always allowing a portion of the extremity to remain loose. 
They have perhaps the most elegant appearance trained to an umbrella-formed 
trellis, twining the shoots rather closely up the central pillar, and carrying them 
over the wire skeleton, so as to cover it neatly, and then permitting the ends 
of the shoots to descend from the margins. When they grow too long, some may 
be cut back to furnish fresh shoots, and others taken up and carried once more 
round the top, still permitting the extremities to fall over the edges. Another 
appropriate kind of basket is that with an expanding top, turning over like the 
upper outline of a vase, so that the same plan of leaving the end of the shoots 
flowing loosely may still be practised. 
To form a specimen of this kind, a healthy young plant should be selected and 
kept growing vigorously throughout the first season without allowing it to flower. 
