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THE CULTUEE OF HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. 
THE CULTURE OF HERBACEOUS PHLOXES. 
By Mk. BAENES, Dane Croft Nukseries, Stowmarket. 
fHE perennial Phlox is fast approaching perfection in form, and the mimerous varieties make it a 
veiy valuable addition to our summer gardens ; and, although a plant of easy cultivation, it is 
much enhanced in beauty by a little care and attention to its management. March is the time that 
cuttings shotdd be propagated to form good plants for flowering dm'ing the summer. "When rooted, 
they should be potted, and kept gently growing till they are slk inches high, at which time they 
requii'e to be repotted and the top pinched out ; in a short time they will form new shoots, four of the 
best of which should be selected and tied out, in order to form them into good plants. In May the 
plants will have attained sufficient size to receive theh final shift, or to be planted in the beds iu which 
they are intended to bloom. If the former, the pots should be at least 11 inches in diameter; and 
the compost should be two parts good loam, one part peat, and one leaf mould, with a little addition 
of charcoal and sand. If grown in beds, a good rich soil should be chosen, which, if not natm'ally 
rich, may be made so by adding a sufficiency of good rotten manure. The distance the plants require 
to bloom well is 2 feet by 18 inches apart. Phloxes are much benefited by occasional water- 
ings with guano. I find the whites, and some of the more delicate colours, improved by a slight 
shade, as the whole panicle is, by that means, brought into full beauty at one time. 
The only means of obtaining new varieties of the Phlox is by raising seedlings, and the present 
is the most suitable time to common c?. The best method is to nearly fill the pots or pans in which the 
seed is to be sown with rough leaf mould, scatter the seeds, cover lightly, and place the same in a 
gentle heat. The plants, when up, may be treated in the manner directed for the cuttmgs, only 
when planted in beds, they need have but half the space recommended for the blooming plants. 
The annual Phlox — of which we now possess nearly every shade, from pui'e white to deep ciimson 
— is one of the most beautiful summer plants grown. The plants should be raised in the manner 
directed above ; and as soon as they have made fom- leaves they should be potted off singly into small 
pots, placed in a gentle heat for a few days to re-establish them, and afterwards be subjected to all 
the air possible, as the plants must be stout and strong to give good flowers, and to remain long in 
blossom ; but if, on the contrary, the seedlings are weak and spindKng, they will never form good 
plants, or produce a fine bloom. 
We are indebted to Messrs. Henderson for a valuable addition to this class of flowers — 
B. Deprissa ; it is one nearly allied to the annuals, but has the desii-able property of longer dm-ation, 
is perfect in form, and merits a place in every collection. It is also easy of cultm'e, and, I have no 
doubt, will become a general favourite. 
The following selection of distinct perennial Phloxes wiU he found first-rate : — 
Alba compacta. IpHginie. Nitens. Eeiue des Phlox. 
Alexandrina. Madame Frobel. Prsestaus. Triomphe de Louvain. 
Eximia striata. Madame Jacotot. Eodigazii. Venusta. 
E.xquisite. Madame Eigot. Eosetta. Alba Magmflora (new). 
General Lamoriciere. Madame Jolly. 
JilistillraiEnus JSntire. 
NURSERY CALLS. 
Knight and Perry, Chelsea.— Jan. S.^We 
here saw a large stock of the Pei-petual Carnation, of 
which several varieties were blooming freely, even at 
this dull season, of the year, and, aa we were informed, 
with scarcely any artificial excitement. Of these Per- 
petual Carnations, which appear to be varieties of the 
tree Carnation, there are various colours, — mostly, we 
believe, self-colom-s, at least all that we saw were whole 
coloured flowers. Though the blossoms of these are 
not to be compared, for size and fullness, with the Car- 
nations of siunmer, or with the richly-varied markings 
of the florists' Carnation, yet, during the winter season, 
they are invaluable to gardeners, who have to furnish 
a supply of cut flowers ; and their fragrance is equal to 
that of any other Carnation. — M. 
Messrs. JS. G. Bmderson, St. John's Wood. — Jan. 22. 
— Besides the Chorozema flava, figured at p. 73, and 
the new winter-flowered heath, figm'ed at p. 81, we 
noted a vai-iety of novelties, not yet in flower, of 
which we shall report fm-ther on some futui'e occa- 
sion. Among them were some continental varieties 
of EpiphyUiun ti'uncatum, including sahnoneum, the 
flowers of which are of a salmon-red, and spectahUis, 
which has crimson flowers tinged with violet ; Centra- 
denia floribimda, a species much more ornamental than 
C. rosea ; Tropseolum Deckerianum, of which, according 
to the German figures, the flowers are scarlet, blue, and 
