DIFFERENT WAYS OF TREATING INDIAN AZALEAS. 
161 
shrubs of such very similar characteristics, a very great dissimilarity of appearance 
is, nevertheless, obtained, and that this difference is of a most pleasing description. 
There are, first, the lovely dwarf bushes, which, while not being higher tlian 
nine inches or a foot, spread out into a dense mass of foliage and flowers, and often 
hang far over the sides of the pots. These are perhaps the most natural and 
elegant of all the shapes which the Azalea is made to assume. And they are 
produced by the propagation of the respective varieties from small cuttings, instead 
of by grafting or inarching on other stocks. The cutting, once struck, is imme- 
diately subjected to pruning, the young leading shoot being pinched off to make 
it produce laterals. This pruning is likewise continued throughout all the early 
growths of the plant, and is, in fact, the sole peculiar process by which dwarfness 
is obtained. 
Plants thus pruned and stopped soon begin to acquire that individuality of 
character which makes them so interesting. The pruning must not, however, be 
confined to a winter dressing back of the mature wood. It should be more 
especially practised on the young growing shoots during the spring and summer. 
The acquirement of compact dwarfness may also be facilitated by pegging 
down some cf the lowermost shoots, or tying them to small stakes inserted in the 
soil, or to a ring of wire fastened round the pot, just below the rim. By bending 
down the shoots in this unnatural direction, the current of their juices will be 
partially interrupted, and they will be induced to put forth laterals more liberally. 
Another system of treating these Azaleas, with a view of conferring diversity^ 
is to convert them into dwarf standards, varying in height from one to three or 
four feet. Where only a low-stemmed specimen is required, it may be raised 
from a cutting, and the young side-shoots kept pruned off directly they begin to 
show themselves, till the stem is strong and tall enough to be capable of 
developing a sufficient number of laterals. These laterals can also be stopped 
while they are young, that they, too, may produce numerous side-branches. And 
after an ample density of head has been obtained, the shoots can be left almost 
wholly to their own progress, when they will droop slightly, and take a most 
natural and beautiful figure. 
The perfection of a standard, whether it be an Azalea or any other plant, is 
unquestionably in having a sufficiently dense head, while all the outer branches 
hang and curve about as loosely and gracefully as possible, provided they do not 
degenerate into absolute wildness. 
"When, however, a specimen taller than one foot is desired, or when it is 
required to be peculiarly strong, or is wanted to be reared in a very short time, 
the best plan of getting it is to graft on stocks of A. indica phoenicia. The young 
grafts can be inserted in the spring, just before they begin to grow, and the plant 
should be put in a warm shaded house till they are well established. Afterwards, 
they should be freely cut back, in order to impart bushiness, and otherwise pruned 
till a proper density of branches is realised. 
VOL. XI. — NO. CXXVII. Y 
