July 3. 1884. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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t' ■ , 
... . ■■ 
COMING EVENTS 
s 
Tn 
Winchester, Bnry St. Ednaunds, Bath, and Chiswick Shows. 
4 
F 
Sutton (Roses). 
5 
S 
Crystal Palace (Roses). 
6 
SUN 
4th Scnuat .^fter Trinity. 
7 
M 
Brockham (Roses). 
8 
Tu 
Royal Horticultural Society’s Fruit and Floral Committees at 11 a.m. 
9 
W 
Edinburgh Show (two days); Salisbury (Roses) ; Lee (two days). 
CULTUEE OF POINSETTIA. PULCHEREIMA. 
HIS plant is too well known to need any eulo¬ 
gistic comments, and I will merely content 
myself with the introductory remark to the 
effect that I consider Poinsettias rank amongst 
the most showy and serviceable winter decora¬ 
tive plants we have. They are by no means 
difficult to cultivate, yet they are not generally 
seen in the best possible condition. This may 
be to a certain extent the fault of the cultivator, 
but more often it is owing to their being unavoidably crowded 
amongst heat-loving plants from the time they are housed 
for the winter. Oars usually share a house with flowering 
Begonias, this house being previously devoted to Cucumbers, 
and my fairly successful culture I propose to give in detail. 
The youngest of the old plants are always carefully 
rested on a stage in a Eose house, and there they remain for 
a long time fresh and plump without any water. They also 
keep their principal roots alive, and altogether, if a trifle 
unsightly, invariably give much better results than do plants 
that have been either stored in a dry warm potting shed or 
uuder the staging of a greenhouse. In the latter position 
especially they are apt to start prematurely, the growths 
being correspondingly weak. Some time during March these 
stored plants are cut down to about six eyes, but are not 
watered or induced to break; on the contrary, our aim is to 
retard them as much as possible. About the middle of May, 
and sometimes later still, they give signs of breaking, and 
then they receive a thorough soaking of tepid water. At the 
present time (June 17th) they have each pushed several 
shoots about half an inch in length, and, the roots becoming 
active, all the plants have much of the soil carefully 
removed from their roots and placed into pots of the same 
size or a size larger, according to their vigour. They are 
then stood in a warm light pit, and very lightly shaded for a 
few days. The upper two or three shoots soon become large 
enough to be made into cuttings, say about 3 inches in 
length, and these are then taken off with a heel or part of 
the old wood attached. If the lower eyes on the old plants 
have not already started, removing the cuttings will induce 
them to do so, and I always endeavour to have three shoots 
on each old plant, keeping these steadily growing till the 
young plants can be placed with them. 
Although I prefer to have short cuttings with a heel 
attached, the latter is not absolutely necessary to insure 
rooting. If allowed to grow much above 3 inches in length 
I should shorten them to a joint, trimming off the lower 
leaves, and if not hollow such cuttings will root readily. To 
prevent bleeding, and therefore the loss of what goes to form 
the callus, it is advisable to dip the base of the cuttings 
directly they are made into dry silver sand. Cuttings may 
be rooted round the sides of well-drained 5-inch pots, or a 
3-inch pot may be inverted on the drainage in the centre 
of a 5-inch pot, so as to bring the bottom on a level with the 
rim of the pot enclosing it, and the cuttings be then inserted 
in the soil placed in the open space. The cuttings root more 
No. 210.— VoL. IX., Third Series. 
quickly and are more safely potted when the latter method 
is adopted ; but it is a still better plan to insert the cuttings 
singly in 2^-inch pots, and in these they will strike in about 
three weeks and no check be experienced in potting off. The 
compost recommended for the cuttings is two parts of fine 
loam, one of leaf soil, and one of silver sand. The cuttings 
should rest on a little sand, be firmly fixed, and placed either 
in a propagating frame, handlights, or under bellglasses, and 
will be all the better for a little bottom heat. They should 
not be crowded, and require to be shaded from bright sun¬ 
shine, kept close and uniformly moist. If inclined to damp 
off, the glasses should be wiped dry every morning, or a little 
air be given for a time. 
Directly they are rooted they must be transferred to a 
shelf as close to the glass as possible, shaded at first, and 
gradually exposed to more light and air. Those struck 
several together should be potted in about a week, giving a 
size of pot according to the strength of plants and roots, or 
varying from 2l-inch to 4-inch pots, using a rich and rather 
loamy compost, giving another shift later on. Those rooted 
singly in small pots require to be shifted into larger pots 
before they become rootbound. The strongest are given 
5-inch and 6-inch pots, and the remainder 4^-inch pots; and 
as no other shift is given the compost is made rather rich, or 
similar to what has been given to the old plants. This 
consists of three parts of good turfy loam to one of well- 
decayed cow manure or old hotbed manure, adding a 6 inch 
potful of crushed bones to about 2 bushels of soil, and 
sufficient sand to keep the whole porous. The pots are 
carefully but not heavily drained ; the soil is used as roughly 
as the shift will allow, and is not rammed very hard. 
As it is necessary to keep both old and young plants 
rather close and warm until well established in the fresh 
soil, every care must be taken to have them as near the glass 
as possible, and only lightly shaded in order to prevent them 
becoming drawn. If the pits or frames are deep, or the 
shelves are at a considerable distance from the glass, it is 
advisable to elevate the plants on inverted pots, as so much 
depends upon maintaining sturdiness. When all are well 
rooted the old and young plants are placed in a sunny and 
rather shallow brick pit, and there they are stood on a hard 
bottom, are lightly shaded from bright sunshine, and receive 
abundance of air both night and day. An ordinary garden 
frame would answer equally as well. They are never allowed 
to suffer from insufficient supplies of water, and in order to 
preserve the lower leaves and maintain a healthy appearance 
liquid manure is given the plants twice and three times a 
week. No strong doses are administered, but the soot water 
and farmyard liquid manure are freely diluted. I have tried 
the plan of planting out on a sunny border, but they do not 
succeed well on our cold soil; and we find plants which have 
been grown in the open air in pots, although sturdy enough 
lose their lower leaves when transferred to heat in the 
autumn. For my part I prefer a tall plant, say 3 feet 
high, with perfect foliage to one half that height and badly 
clothed. 
By the end of September all the plants are removed to 
the house above mentioned, where they are grouped thinly 
rather near to the glass, a dry atmosphere being maintained 
and plenty of air given on all favourable occasions. Towards 
the end of October when the heads are forming, and when 
there is less danger of the plants growing too fast, the heat 
and moisture are increased to what is maintained in the 
ordinary plant stoves. This, coupled with close attendance 
in watering and liberal ventilation, serves to fully develope 
the floral leaves. 
It is surprising what fine heads can be grown on plants 
in comparatively small pots. Last season we had plenty of 
whorls on plants in 4J-inch pots which measured fully 
9 inches across, and those in larger pots were proportionately 
larger. The old plants, the majority of which were in 7 and 
8-inch pots and each perfected three fine whorls, we find the 
No. 186G VoL. LXXI., Old Series. 
