108 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
Achimenes should he transferred to baskets and 
will do nicely the coming summer. 
More syringing will now be required for all ])lants 
and the floors should be frequently damped. Keep 
Azaleas cool, also Camellia and Ericas and all their 
kindred subjects. 
Caladiums should now be potted on and they will 
give a delightful appearance to the warmest part of 
the house for a long season. 
Amaryllis are better .planted in leaf mould. They 
like bottom heat and as the flower spikes appear, feed 
well with cow manure and soot water. After bloom- 
ing any that so require, may be repotted. Use an 
open compost together with charcoal and sand. 
Nerines require similar treatment, although of smaller 
growth. When in flower in the cool house, arranged 
among scented geraniums, they look very prett}-. 
After blooming repot if necessary. They like a limy 
soil, and old mortar rubble is a fine thing to add to 
the soil. They will make their flowering bulbs in 
summer. 
Cannas that were started early, should be jjlaced in 
pots in a compost of old manure loam and sand. The 
main stock can now be started in shallow boxes. 
All seedlings in pots or pans should be watered by 
being held in a pail of water and given a thorough 
soaking when necessary. Sprinkling with a fine nosed 
can is the frequent cause of loss by damping oft". 
Clarkias that are now in three inch pots should be 
given a shift into larger jiots and they will help 
brighten up the house until outdoor flowers are more 
numerous. 
Carnations and Chrysanthemum plants in frames 
should be looked over carefully for water require- 
ments, and given all possible air and sunlight. 
Young Gardenias just struck should be potted on 
into a mixture of peat loam and sand and grown in 
the warmest and sunniest position. All pots should 
"be washed before using and those that have been 
roasted and stored away in a dry place should be 
soaked in water a few minutes before using, other- 
wise they absorb the moisture the young plants should 
"have, and the check will be unnecessary and bad for 
their welfare. 
M 
MEDINILLA CURTISII. 
By George F. Stewart, Massachusetts. 
EDINILLA AMABLIS, Magnifica and Sieboldii are 
well known to cultivators of tropical plants, but one 
very rarely sees the variety Curtisii. M. curtisii has many 
good points that recommend it to flowering plant lovers 
that are on the lookout for a free flowering plant. It is 
a native of Smnatra and was introduced to greenhouses 
about the year 1884. This variety can be grown at a 
much lower temperature than Medinilla amablis or 
magnifica. We have wintered it for several years at a 
night temperature of fifty degrees, and it flowered nearly 
all winter and kept in excellent health. M. curtisii is a 
dwarfer and more compact shrub than the more well 
known varieties, the foliage being also much smaller, 
and it is also a freer flowering plant. Cuttings may be 
secured at any time from the half ripened wood. Take 
them with a heel, and pot them in thumb pots in a mix- 
ture of finely sifted peat and sharp sand, adding a little 
powdered charcoal. Place them in a tight case with about 
■80 degrees bottom heat, having the overhead temperature 
around seventy degrees. They will be rooted in four 
weeks when they may be removed to the open house near 
the glass with a light shade over them. Pot the plants 
into larger pots as they require it, using a compost of 
equal parts of fibrous peat and loam, adding sand and 
charcoal to keep it open. Aledinilla curtisii will flower 
in the smallest pot and to encourage growth the flowers 
must be persistently picked off until the desired size is 
attained. We find the plants flower best during the fall 
and winter. During the early summer a slight rest, by 
withholding water, is beneficial, after which they may 
be trimmed into shape and repotted. We find after they 
are well rooted they may be stimulated by applications of 
Clay's fertilizer or similar plant food. 
A PRETTY SHRUBBY IRIS 
(Aristea Corymbosa) 
T X olden days this shrubby member of the Iris family 
was a great favorite for growing as a specimen 
plant in the greenhouse. Being of slow growth and 
somewhat exacting in its cultural requirements, it is 
now very rarely seen. Unlike most of the Iris family, it 
forms a sturdy stem of a stout, woody texture, which 
in its turn is well furnished with branches. The small, 
sword-like leaves are arranged in a fan-like man.ner at 
the points of the shoots. During the blooming season, 
which is in the early autumn, the lea\'es are overtopped 
bv racemes of charming blue flowers resembling those 
of a 
small Iris. 
Arislca Ci>ryiiibosa. 
Cuttings take a long time to root. They succeed 
best in a mi.xture of peat and sand, put singly into 
small pots, and covered with a bell-glass in a greenhouse 
temperature. The mature plants thrive best in fibrous 
peat and sand, with just a sprinkling of loam. The 
drainage must be effective and the potting firmly done ; 
indeed, the ■ general conditions stiitable for Cape 
Heaths will just meet its requirements. — The Garden 
(English). 
