February, 1891. 
33 
ORCH RR bfRii'^GRRbE N \ 
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^KTx ARDEN \ 
— T7TPI 
Making Cuttings— Eulalia Cracillima Vittata— 
Dicentra Spectabilis and other Species— The New 
Hybrid Tea Rose , Meteni — Fuchsia Gracilis— Olhon- 
na Crassi folia— Carbolic Soap for Scale and Other 
Pests— Chrysanthemums in Cold Frames and Green- 
houses— Pruning for Tea Roses— Sweet Alyssum in 
Pots— Some Facts about the Cosmos Flower— Indoor 
Treatment of Fuchsias— Strelitzia Regince. 
If a good deal of propagation is to be 
done, it should be begun in good earnest 
now, beginning with hard-wooded plants 
and others that do not root quickly, and 
ending with the soft wooded kinds that 
root readily. The former require more 
time not only to root, but to make a new 
growth. It is a common mistake to ne- 
glect potting cuttings till the roots have 
become so long that many of them are 
destroyed in the handling. In this way 
much time is lost not only in handling the 
plants, but also in the recovery of the 
plants from the shock they have received. 
The window gardener need not bother 
himself much about cuttings till the month 
of March. 
The new Eulalia gracillima vittata is a 
welcome addition to the Eulalia family ani 
to the list of hardy plants. It is a delicate- 
looking and very beautiful grass, growing 
about three feet high. It has very narrow 
foliage, with a pure white stripe down the 
middle of the leaves. Though tli? leaves 
look so delicate, it requires a very strong 
wind to injure them. It is a very graceful 
plant, has proved to be thoroughly hardy, 
and is going to be widely grown. It is a 
suitable plant for either the border or the 
lawn. A small group would produce a very 
pleasing effect. 
The Dicentra ( Dielytra ) spectabilis, com- 
monly call- 
ed Bleed- 
ing Heart, 
is a hardy 
herbaceous 
plant quite 
gener ally 
known and 
much ad- 
mired, as it 
deserves to 
Dielytra spectabilis. be. Florists 
sometimes find it profitable to force it for 
winter bloom. It is a native of Si- 
beria. There are several native species 
of Dicentra, however, more or less inter- 
esting, two of them being the well-known 
Dutchman's Breeches and the Squirrel 
Corn, which, in their season of bloom, 
afford so much delight and healthy recrea- 
tion to country school children, who fairly 
load the school-ma’am's desk down with 
them. There are two other native species 
much finer than these, and by no means so 
common in the woods, D. formosa and D. 
eximia, the former being much confused 
with the latter. The true D. eximia was 
introduced into cultivation by the late Dr. 
Thurber, and is now cultivated for sale by 
J.T. Lovett Co., Little Silver, N. J. D. eximia, 
which is well named the “Plumy Bleeding 
Heart,” is worthy of a place in the border, 
if only for its very beautiful foliage. The 
leaves proceed directly from the roots, grow 
a foot or more high, are pinnatifid or much 
divided and cut, and possess all the grace- 
fulness of a Fern. The rosy-purple flowers 
are borne on a scape, and are produced all 
summer, or for about four months. The 
plant should have a place in the border, 
being quite hardy. Its fern-like foliage 
will be very effective in dinner-table decor- 
ation, or wherever flowers are made up 
loosely. 
The new Hybrid Tea Rose Meteor pro- 
mises to become a favorite, and it has 
something besides novelty to recommend 
it. It has the dark crimson color of 
Jacqueminot, but is much fuller in form. 
The form is good and the color pure. The 
flower is fragrant. It seems to force well, 
and may be said to be already fashionable, 
and that, in a certain direction, gives it 
additional value ; but its value as an 
amateur’s flower has not yet been suffici- 
ently proved, though it promises well. 
If the reader should happen to see or hear 
of the old Fuchsia gracilis, we advise him 
to buy a plant of it. It was hardy on Long 
Island, N. Y., with a slight protection over 
the crown. The top would usually be 
killed, but strong shoots would start from 
the crown in the spring. It is a handsome 
plant, but has not been in cultivation for 
many years. 
Othonna crassijolia is a very interesting 
plant for a hanging basket or pot. It may 
be called a good all-around plant, useful 
indoors and out. It is easily grown in a 
light, sandy soil, and needs but little water 
when dormant. Its bright yellow flowers 
are very pretty, and are produced abund- 
antly. Its odd habit and succulent leaves 
are particularly attractive. It is readily 
propagated, even by its succulent leaves. 
The use of the camel’s hair brush recom- 
mended last month was only intended for 
small collections of plants in rooms and 
conservatories, where the use of tobacco 
smoke is highly objectionable. There are 
some insects, however, such as scale, mealy 
bug, and thrips, which tobacco smoke fails 
to kill in any house, large or small. For 
these there is nothing, perhaps, so thorough 
and economical as carbolic soap, applied 
with a finger-nail brush in the case of the 
scale. There is nothing but special treat- 
ment of each plant affected that will subdue 
these destructive pests. A cure-all for such 
cases is a delusion. 
Where Chrysanthemums are stored in 
cold frames they should be looked after 
occasionally. If the soil gets too wet hard 
freezing will break the pots. Alternate 
freezing and thawing should be provided 
against as far as possible to prevent injury 
to the plants. The manner in which 
Chrysanthemums are now grown has a 
tendency to make them more or less tender. 
Those that are stored inside under the 
bench or table are apt to suffer from drip 
and too much moisture. Those who wish 
to start the plants early can do so now, 
slowly, and with only a moderate tempera- 
ture. Next month, however, will be quite 
time enough for cuttings, even for an early 
beginning. 
Adolph Miellez grows La France Roses 
superbly. Some reason for this may be 
found in the fact that he makes a pet or 
specialty of this lovely Rose, though he 
grows the flowers for the trade. The roof 
of his house has a rather flat pitch ; the bed 
is five or six feet from the glass, is about 
a foot deep, and the plants are not renewed 
every year. He always cuts his Roses with 
long stems, and this, as a rule, is about all 
the pruning that Teas and Hybrid Teas 
ever need, except now and then cutting out 
entirely an old shoot. At all events, we 
rarely give them more. If they are satis- 
fied, why shouldn’t we be ? 
Some of the plants of Sweet Alyssum 
that have been a long time in bloom will 
begin now to look a little lanky and weedy. 
These may be converted into good plants 
again by cutting them in pretty close with 
a pair of scissors. They may be trimmed 
within an inch or so of the crown with 
advantage. A new* giowth will soon begin, 
and in a week or two the plants will begin 
to bloom again, and soon look as well as 
ever ; perhaps better. If the plants thus 
cut in should happen to be double-flowered 
varieties, the young shoots will make fine 
cuttings. Tlie double flowers can not be 
raised from seed. These remarks will apply 
also to the variegated varieties, which must 
always be raised from cuttings. The cut- 
tings will root best in sand. 
The Cosmos or Cosmus Flower has lately 
gone the rounds of the daily press in a sort 
of “w*ant-of-information'’ way. The subject 
is only noticed here to correct a mistake 
that may prevent many from growing this 
handsome plant. The impression produced 
by tne newspaper articles is, that the plant 
is new, rare, very beautiful, mysterious, 
etc., and cannot be grown north of Wash- 
ington. The plant is certainly beautiful, 
but it can hardly be called rare, since it was 
in cultivation upward of fifty years ago, 
and was probably first introduced many 
years before that. The statement that it 
cannot be successfully grown north of 
Washington is a mistake, and is too broadly 
made, as the plant has been grown around 
New York for many years, and can be easily 
grown farther north with a little trouble. It 
doubtless finds a more congenial climate at 
the South, and can be grown there more 
easily than at the North, the plant being 
a native of Mexico, and blooming late. 
