132 
RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF WINTER-BLOOMING PLANTS. 
some fresh soil, and a few weeks’ protection under glass, will quickly bring them 1 
right again. 
Plants thus treated, may he considered as safely set with bloom as any bulbc? 
flowering plant, and a plant or two of each kind introduced into a temperature if 
from 50° to 55° about every six weeks, will keep up a regular supply of flowers, frd 
November until May. After they have done blooming in the forcing-houses, f 
planted out in May or June, they make beautiful specimens for the lawn or flovi 
garden. For the same purpose, also, a few of the best of the variegated kinds shod 
be grown into neat specimens, as, apart from the flowers, their variegated folia? 
will make a house look gay in winter. 
Epiphyllum truncatum.— This is a well-known and very admirable wint- 
blooming plant, and when grafted on the Pereskia, or strong-growing Cera 
speciosissimus, it makes a large and very magnificent plant. It also strikes veil 
freely by cuttings of the ripe wood ; and neat plants in thumb pots, producing fra 
six to a dozen flowers at a time, are \ery useful and interesting decorations for U 
drawing-room. One of the most interesting groups of small plants we ever saw v| 
placed upon a lady’s drawing-room table on Christmas eve, and consisted of c* 
present subject, with the Cloth of Gold and common white and blue Crocuses, rjl 
and white Fairy Poses, Van Thol Tulips, and Portulacca Thellusonii, all grown i 
small pots, and so arranged and covered with moss as to hide the pots, and form 
remarkably neat group of miniature plants. 
To return, however, to our subject, the Epiphyllums may be grafted at any tip 
between Christmas and midsummer, and the only care necessary is to make 
incision in the stock, force the graft tightly in, and fasten it with a small peg I 
a thorn from white-thorn. A little moss may be tied round the graft if the atn 
sphere of the house is dry, but not otherwise. If large specimens of this kind at 
desired, every branch of a strong plant of Cereus speciosissimus may be grafted , 
about six inches apart, and in this manner immense plants may be produced in , 
very short time. In grafting it on the Pereskia it is only requisite to stick t| 
grafts on a young growing spine, and they will grow admirably. 
In growing the Epiphyllums it is necessary to treat them rather liberally, giviiij 
a brisk growing temperature of from 60° to 75°, with plenty of rich manure wate 
but after the growth is completed the plants must be gradually hardened off, so th 
by the beginning of August they can be placed under a south wall in the open a| 
where they will mature the wood and set their bloom. After the bloom is set, wat 
must be gradually withheld, and the plants must be kept in the greenhouse until 
is wished to start them for bloom. E. Pusselliana and violaceum are not le 
interesting than E. trunccitum ; indeed, where all are beautiful, I am not quite certa: 
that E. violaceum is not the most charming. For spring forcing, all the Epiphyllw, 
are very beautiful and easily managed, such as E. speciosum , Ackermannii, 'Jenkinsoni 
Conways Giant, &c., and the same treatment is applicable to all, viz., an early ar 
thoroughly matured growth, and gradual drying off afterwards. 
