December 14, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 545 
mended with great success. It may appear that much preparation 
is required, but in practice it is not so. A man can soon prepare 
the sets, and it takes but little time to plant them, and if done 
well success is certain.—S. J. A. 
BOUVARDIA ALFRED NEUNER. 
It is questionable if any new plant of recent years has more 
fully sustained the character given it when first sent out than this 
Bouvardia. Those who have grown it will be able to say that a 
word too much has not been said in its favour. The merits of the 
single forms are well known for purposes of button-holes and 
bouquets, but this beautiful pure white double form surpasses 
them for such purposes. It is very free-flowering, and I do not 
think any single form in cultivation is superior to it in this 
respect. It is of robust growth and good habit, and will, without 
doubt, become one of our most popular winter-flowering plants. 
The flowers last a long time after they are fully expanded, both 
in a cut state and upon the plant, and on this account are valuable 
for cutting. Those cultivators who have white flowers to produce 
during winter and have not grown it may safely obtain it at 
once, so as to raise a stock for another year. It is worth a place 
in every garden.— Scientia. 
WINTER-FLOWERING PLANTS. 
( Continued from page 527.) 
An abstract of a paper read before the Young Gardeners’ Mutual 
Improvement Society, Royal Gardens, Kew, by Mr. Garrett, fore¬ 
man of the flower garden department. 
HARDWOODED PLANTS—ERICAS. 
So far I have referred only to plants that are more or less soft- 
wooded, except those that were selected from the stove and Orchid 
houses. In addition to these there is a considerable variety amongst 
hardwooded greenhouse plants that flower in the autumn and winter, 
and as these are totally distinct in their growth they require very 
different soils and treatment. Many hardwooded plants are annually 
killed by overwatering after being newly potted, and others meet 
with a similar fate from being allowed to become too dry. Careful 
treatment as regards potting and watering are absolutely necessary 
for the successful cultivation of such plants as Ericas, Epacrises, 
Azaleas, Eriostemons, Chorozemas, and many others. Ericas are 
supplied in the greatest quantity in autumn and winter in two varie¬ 
ties—namely, E. gracilis autumnalis and E. hyemalis. These are 
probably grown as well in the neighbourhood of London as any¬ 
where. Several extensive growers, who know exactly how to treat 
them, grow and supply them annually by the thousand to nursery¬ 
men and salesmen at a cheaper rate than the latter could grow them 
themselves. An enormous number is also grown annually to supply 
Covent Garden Market. Another canse of failure with many hard¬ 
wooded plants is caused by insufficient care in potting. They should 
never have their stems buried below the surface of the soil, neither 
should the balls of soil be dry when repotted, or they will not be 
soaked through without saturating the new soil. Although water 
must be applied sparingly after repotting in spring, the plant will 
bear a copious supply when established in the summer, but much 
depends on the strength or the variety of plant as to whether it will 
require little or much. Ericas and Epacrises begin to flower early in 
autumn, and will last a long time in a cool house where fire heat is 
seldom used except for keeping out frost. 
AZALEAS. 
Azaleas mostly flower after Christmas, but if the plants are well 
ripened and forced a little each year some of the early varieties will 
flower some time before this. Those with white flowers are ex¬ 
tremely useful for cutting if the plants are large enough to allow of 
it being done. Two of the best for forcing are A. anemonseflora 
plena and A. indica alba. A. amcena is generally the first to flower 
amongst the coloured ones ; it will force well, and is very bright and 
pleasing. 
CAMELLIAS. 
Camellias invariably flower well in winter if supplied with plenty 
of water and air on all favourable occasions. A place is found in 
many gardens for planting them out either in a part of the conser¬ 
vatory or against back walls in other houses ; they are much better 
treated in this way, and do not require attention so often in water¬ 
ing, &c., as when grown in pots or tubs. The old white variety C. alba 
plena is one of the best and is generally the first to flower. 
BULBS. 
We have yet another class of plants that are extensively grown, 
and are amongst the most beautiful when forced early—namely, 
Dutch bulbs and Lilies of the Valley. The earliest consignments 
of bulbs are received from Holland about the middle of August. If 
potted soon after their arrival and carefully forced the early Roman 
Hyacinths, Double Roman, and Paper White Narcissus will begin to 
flower by the end of October, and if successional batches are potted 
and brought on in the same way these beautiful sweet-scented flowers 
may be had the whole winter. Most of the large-flowering Hj’acinths 
arrive later, and it requires a much longer time to get them in flower. 
Lily of the Valley is imported in quantity about the end of October 
as clumps and also as single crowns. The single crowns imported 
from Berlin are the best for early forcing; those from Hamburg, 
which are larger and are much grown, will not force well until later 
in the season. They require potting lightly and plunging in a bottom 
heat of about 90° to start them. As soon as they commence growing 
the crowns should be kept in a little cooler temperature to assist the 
leaves to come with the flowers, leaving the pots still in the bottom 
heat. A small frame purposely for them affords the best means of 
treating them in this way. The flowers often appear when early 
forced without the leaves, and sometimes this cannot be avoided, but 
if the leaves can be had at the same time they are almost equally 
valuable with the flowers. 
Early Tulips, especially the Due Van Thol varieties, may be had 
in flower by the end of November, and are always much admired. 
The first pots of bulbs in flower are always looked forward to with 
much interest and pleasure, as they seem to bring with them many 
of the beauties of spring to brighten some of the dullest days of 
winter. While on the subject of bulbs the American Tuberose must 
not be omitted. The bulbs of these are imported, I believe, about 
February, and should be potted in batches and grown in frames in 
the summer, introducingthem to a little heat as their flower spikes ad¬ 
vance in growth. When the bulbs commence growing the numerous 
shoots on them should be reduced to one to form a flower spike, and 
naturally the best one should be selected. The flowers may be taken 
singly from the stem and used for buttonhole or other bouquets. 
Being highly perfumed and pure white they form worthy companions 
to the Gardenia and Eucharis. 
The flowers of the Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) are very 
useful for cutting purposes. The plants flower in the open air in 
winter, but are very much improved if placed in a house where there 
is a little heat. Good clumps produce a quantity of flowers which 
command at times a high price in the flower market, especially if 
they have expanded under glass or protected from the weather in 
some other way. 
VIOLETS. 
I now come to the last, but by no means the least in point of merit 
or usefulness, of the winter-flowering plants. What may be justly 
termed universal favourites at any time in the year, when even only 
a few can be obtained, are Violets. These are found in almost every 
garden where there are a few frames, but in many cases the plants 
are small and infested with red spider, consequently the flowers are 
small both in size and quantity. Violets for winter must be started 
as young single plants in May in a piece of prepared ground, and 
be kept watered and syringed freely to have good plants by the end 
of September, when they should be transferred to their winter quarters 
in frames where a little dung heat has been previously prepared. 
Fire Reat is very injurious to them, and should be avoided if possible, 
as the plants are so subject to the attacks of spider. They require 
plenty of ventilation on sunny days or when the weather is mild. 
One of the worst enemies to Violets grown in the neighbourhood of 
London is fog. So far from flowering, the plants will scarcely exist 
if exposed to many London fogs. If they are in frames as advised 
and a fog is expected, the best plan is to close them and keep them 
so until it is past. This will sometimes cause the plants to damp, 
but of the two evils the least must be chosen. Some of the single 
Violets are very hardy, and will do well outside in the country ex¬ 
cept in severe winters, but most of the double varieties require glass 
protection to open their flowers satisfactorily. The best double 
variety for winter that I have seen is Marie Louise. The old Nea¬ 
politan is perhaps the sweetest scented, but it does not flower much 
before spring, while Marie Louise is much hardier, and begins to 
flower as early as August or September, and continues in favourable 
weather until the plants begin to grow in spring. Violets are in 
great demand in all private gardens, hence the importance of giving 
them special attention. 
ROTTING, SOILS, AND MANURE. 
A few words in conclusion on the subject of potting as applied to 
the plants I have mentioned. Some of the principles may be extended 
to all plants, according to their growth and requirements. This may 
seem somewhat elementary, as most gardeners, even the younger 
members of the profession, think themselves proficient in this 
important branch. Plants, however, by their sickly appearance often 
tell a different tale. Wherever fibry loam can be obtained it should 
be used in a large proportion for ail plants of the softwooded class 
that have to remain in the pots for any length of time. Neither 
peat nor sand is necessary after they are established and ready for 
the final potting if a little leaf soil and plenty of charcoal can be 
obtained. In many places this cannot be obtained in quantity, but 
in many others it is not used when an application would bring a 
plentiful supply. Soils that quickly decompose should be limited 
with this class of plants, as in my opinion it is better to supply a 
plant with liquid manure as it is required, or some of the artificial 
manures, of which Standen’s and Clay’s fertiliser are two good forms. 
Loams are very variable in different places. In the neighbourhood 
of London it is difficult to get soil with much fibre in it, consequently 
something lighter has to be mixed with it to keep it from clodding 
