34 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
THE FLOWERS OF JAPAN. 
(Continued from page 21.) 
trellises. There are numerous varieties and on one 1 
measured racemes of flowers sixty-four and a half inches 
long, and they were not mere individual examples but 
there were thousands upon thousands of them equally 
long. 
About wistaria time, too, the mountain paeonies, the 
iris and the azaleas make wonderful displays of color. 
Japanese maples with colored leaves of varied shape and 
form are well known in western lands, but only a few of 
the varieties thrive with us. Japanese gardeners who 
specialize in maples recognize over three hundred varie- 
ties, and Tokyo boasts its Maple Club; there everything 
from the tea-cups and the carved screens to the waiting- 
maids' dresses are marked with maple leaves. 
REPOTTING ASPIDISTRA. 
(Continued from page 14.) 
beautifully marked white and green leaves require more 
care and attention to grow them succesfully. As much 
light as possible must be given them, as in dark corners 
the leaves are inclined to gradually revert to green, from 
which in the first instance they have been selected as 
sports. There is nothing better than a little lukewarm 
soft water and soft soap for sponging the leaves of Aspi- 
distras. On warm, showery days, it is very beneficial to 
stand the plants outside for a few hours. — Exchange. 
GROWING VINCAS FROM SEED. 
f~)l' all summer flowering plants, vincas are perhaps 
^ J ^ the most desirable. They will thrive and produce a 
display of bloom all through a long, hot, dry summer when 
other flowering plants have ceased to flower at all. De- 
spile these qualifications, vincas have one great shortcom- 
ing, in that thev are difficult to raise from seed. Unless 
the greatest care is exercised when the seed has germi- 
nated they damp off wholesale. 
To have plants of flowering size by bedding out time 
it is necessarv to sow the seed as early as it can be pro- 
cured. If it is to be had in December so much the bet- 
ter. Sow the seeds in flats of nice sandy soil taking care 
not to cover too deeply. Set the flats in a temperature of 
60 to 65 degrees at night and cover with sheets of glass 
and newspapers, until the seed germinates. When this 
occurs remove the glass and paper and set the flats in a 
light position close up to the glass in a house where there 
is not too much moisture or you will lose most of them 
by damping off. Watering should be done by holding 
the flats in a tank and allowing the water to soak through. 
Never run the risk of watering over head with a can at 
this stage. 
As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle 
they should be pricked off into other flats, using a good 
compost. We have found that it greatly reduces the 
losses by damping to put a layer of sand en top of the 
flats before pricking- the young plants into the soil. 
Even when quite large, vincas will damp off at the 
point of contact between the stem and soil. A moderate 
degree of moisture and heat with extreme care in water- 
ing are, we believe, the essentials in raising vincas. They 
appear to grow rapidly in heat, but as this cannot be 
maintained for any length of time without moisture, the 
happy medium is what to aim at. Fimgine we have found 
useful for controlling the damping off fungus. 
THE CULTIVATION OF GLOXINIAS 
TICKING the last ten years gloxinias have been won- 
derfully developed by various growers. Flowers 
now range from pure white, pink, and pale blue to deep 
red and purple. The newer French, spotted hybrids, 
though less robust in habit and with more delicate flow- 
ers, are a valuable addition to the older types. These are 
marked and spotted with colors varying from pink and 
mauve to dark blue, red, and even chocolate. 
The cultivation of gloxinias is not so simple as that of 
calceolarias, but anyone with a warm greenhouse or even 
a hot bed at their disposal, by selecting good seed and 
following the hints given below should be able to produce 
a brilliant display of blooms within seven or eight months 
after sowing the seed. It is best to sow the seed in mid- 
winter in deep, well-drained pans filled with a mixture of 
rich soil and sand. The pans should be kept at a tem- 
perature of about 70 degrees F., and may be covered 
with glass until the seedlings appear. Great care should 
be taken to turn the glass night and morning as gloxinias 
are especially liable to "damp off" in too moist an atmos- 
phere. As soon as the first leaves develop, the plants 
should be pricked off into shallow pans or pots, and when 
the seedlings are established they may be removed from 
the hot bed into a fairly moist atmosphere at 65=70 de- 
grees F. When large enough to handle easily, the seed- 
lings must again be transplanted into a soil as fibrous 
and porous as possible ; peat, sand and leaf mold making 
a good combination. Careful watering is most important 
at this stage. If possible, the water should be slightly 
warmer than the air of the house, and moreover should 
never be applied unless really necessary. The atmos- 
phere, however, should always be moist, and the leaves 
may be lightly sprayed night and morning. 
In the final potting — this time into six or eight-inch 
pots — a good mixture of equal parts of peat, leaf mold, 
clay, and sand should be used, and the soil ought not to 
be colder than the house atmosphere. The plants should 
be kept at a temperature of from 65 degrees to 70 de- 
grees F., never less than 60 degrees, and given all the 
light possible without exposure to the direct rays of the 
sun. 
Further feeding is not necessary during the first sea- 
son. Plants started in January or February should bloom 
in July or August. When the flowers appear, a little 
weak manure water may be of benefit, but its use can 
easily be carried too far. It is sometimes advisable dur- 
ing the blooming period to remove some of the center 
leaves which may otherwise cramp and smother the 
opening flowers. 
After flowering, water should be gradually withheld, 
and as soon as the leaves have ripened, the plants should 
be stored at a temperature of about 45 degrees F. < )nly 
enough water should be given to prevent the tubers from 
withering. In February the tubers should be cleaned 
and placed in small pots filled with the soil mixture re- 
ferred to above. Until active root growth begins but 
little water should be given, and as soon as the pots are 
filled with roots, it is necessary to transfer the plants 
into six-inch pots. Plants from last year's tubers should 
bloom in about five months, and the same tuber may be 
grown for several years. 
To sum up : gloxinias require plenty of heat and moist- 
ure, protection from direct sunshine, a rich, open, light 
soil, and above all, unremitting and intelligent attention 
to watering and ventilation. To one who can give all 
these, the joy of growing them from seed to flower will 
be ample compensation for the time and labor expended. 
— From Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin. 
