Beptember 29, 1887, ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
269 
SOME NEGLECTED PLANTS. 
MUTISIA DECURRENS. 
■ iAR , 1 ' ha f d y climber of simple and easy culture. Too often 
, as IS plant been killed by kindness or by keeping it in heated 
' s one those plants that cannot and will not 
- l^t or coddling. It delights in a deep moist peaty 
j • we . dralne d ! it is a lover of cooling shade, and it rejoices in 
mg lert alone and undisturbed. Several years ago such a plant 
was o be seen at the end of one of the Orchid houses in the Pine 
pple Nursery, Maida Vale, where it attained to the height of 
, e< v, ™ or c> its only support being some strings or wires to 
ic l le tendrils at the extremities of the leaves readily clung ; 
ra ica growths were annually produced, and little or no care was 
es owed upon it. In flower it is always sure to attract attention, 
is not unlike a self-coloured Gazania, and possessing that deli- 
cious s ade of clear apricot red to be found in very few plants, 
•climbers especially, though it may be found in Lilium elegans 
a emanma and venustum. The flowers of this Mutisia are con¬ 
sequently very conspicuous, and it is a mystery why such plants 
a into neglect. I saw. the plant a year or two back at the 
o anic Gardens, Cambridge. It occupied a partially shaded 
position at the southern end of the bog garden, rambling over 
some old tree stumps. When I saw it, if I remember rightly, it 
naa not flowered, and was only recently planted. By giving it a 
i e attention at flowering time seeds may be procured and a 
a ock soon raised, which would be welcomed. Its other means of 
•propagation is by the small young growths as they emerge from the 
base ot the plant. These, if traced a little way, invariably have 
small root fibres attached to them, and should be potted in peaty 
soil and kept close till growth has commenced, taking care not to 
overwater. I may add that a spongy peat seems to suit it best, and 
■certainly it is one of those plants which the searchers after rarities 
would do well to take in hand. 
ROGIERAS. 
These we rarely see nowadays. They are plants of fairly easy 
•culture, and very beautiful stove shrubs. They will also thrive 
well in an intermediate temperature. The great enemy of these 
p ants is red spider, but by a constant and free use of the syringe 
it may be grown to perfection. A few plants, too, soon fill a house 
with tlieir delicious fragrance, which is not overpowering, but mild, 
and pervades the atmosphere in an agreeable form. In one parti- 
cular the Rogiera is like the Ixora—namely, in repaying the free 
luse of the knife ; in fact, hard pruning is, in my experience, essen- 
• n l j 1 ■ tree-flowering and general well-being, and cannot be 
indulged in too freely. This should be done when the plants have 
completed their flowering, withholding water for a time till the 
■plants have started well into growth, keeping them syringed two or 
three times daily. If required, they should be potted at this stage, 
‘using loam and peat in equal quantities, and a fair proportion of 
JKind and well-decayed stable manure to about one-fifth of the soil. 
-Lhe grouth should be completed in a warm temperature, and 
should some three or four growths take the lead, as is usual in 
these plants, particularly with R. cordata, they shou'd be pinched 
•back to within three or four joints from the break, to insure a 
w ° r u S row th. This completed they may be stood out of doors, 
after the manner of Azaleas, in a sunny spot, and so get the wood 
thoroughly ripened. The species above named is a vigorous grower, 
and in consequence pot room should be limited, by adopting which 
a great number of smaller growths will be forthcoming, and con¬ 
sequently smaller trusses of bloom, which may be taken as a still 
lurther advantage, as they are much more useful, and in a greater 
variety of ways. R. gratissima is smaller in all its parts, and 
produces exceedingly pretty trusses of bloom, which in bouquet 
arrangements have an almost unique appearance. This species is 
generally more compact than the first-named. I have never seen it 
grown in such quantity as it is in the nurseries of Messrs. Heath 
and Sons, Cheltenham, who appear to have a good idea of its value, 
and cultivate it accordingly. Both species are readily increased by 
cuttings made of half-ripe wood, and plunged in a good brisk heat 
as soon as rooted and the cutting pots have left the propagating 
frame. Attention should be given them at once, and as soon as 
fairly hardened they should be stopped, for they are in this respect 
to Bouvardias, and should never be allowed to become leggy, 
which they soon do if neglected in their early days. This species 
is more inclined to be bushy than tie first, and it makes shorter- 
jomted wood. Brown scale sometimes attack both species, but not 
to the same injurious extent as red spider, which is best kept at 
•bay with the syringe. Should it gain ground, however, it can be 
dispelled by using quassia chips and softsoap. Take a 48-potful 
® chips (I name the size pot, which is more likely to be at 
band than weights and scales) and 2) gallons of soft water, boiling 
the same for a quarter of an hour, or if the chips have not sunk in 
that time, boil a little longer, pour off the liquid, and add about 
2 ozs. of the soap, and stir well together. When cooled down it 
will be ready for use. 
HOVEAS. 
Hovea Celsi is a plant which from the intensity of its flowers and 
the rarity of its colour is deserving the attention of everyone who 
has a greenhouse and can command a temperature of about 40° in 
winter time. It is surprising how rarely one meets with this plant, 
and I am sure no one can see its lovely deep blue-purple flowers 
without admiring it. It flowers in the winter too. The plant is a 
native of New Holland, whence it came early in the present 
century. There are peculiarities about this plant. It is one of the 
slowest growing hardwooded plants. A straight clean stem is 
formed to nearly 2 feet long before it can be induced to form a 
bush, from which it may be inferred that it would make a good 
standard. According to my experience, however, seedlings are the 
more liable to this erect growth than cuttings. There is a little 
trouble with it afterwards, for it breaks and bushes naturally. 
Another peculiar point is in its flowering, in which respect it is 
more profuse, the flowers being produced throughout the length of 
the preceding year’s growth from the axils of the leaves ; and not 
only so, for flowers are again produced from the base of the old 
leaves. Though I have never tried it in such a position, I am in¬ 
clined to the belief that it would make a good plant against a wall 
the same as Camellias. Plants destined for this purpose will be 
best grown as standards to 3 or 4 feet high, which may be accom¬ 
plished without difficulty, after which tie out the branches to the 
wire trellis. It delights in sandy peat and old mortar rubbish, 
which must be pressed firmly about the roots. Seeds should be 
sown as soon as ripe in finely sifted peat and sand, and when above 
the soil should be grown on without a check. 
Like most members of the order to which it belongs this Hovea 
seeds somewhat freely, but as it weakens the plants it should be 
thinned out at an early stage. The raising plants from seeds is a 
comparatively easy matter. Cuttings, however, are not so simple 
a matter, for these, even in the hands of a professional propagator 
of hardwooded plants, require both skill and patience. The 
seedlings should be grown on in sandy peat, at first finely sifted, 
but in the rough chopped state when they are strong enough 
for G-inch pots, always potting firmly after the manner of New 
Holland plants generally. At no time does this plant require more 
than a greenhouse temperature, except perhaps in getting up the 
seedlings, which may be placed in an intermediate house, but 
given plenty of light and air as soon as the seedlings appear above 
the soil, and removing to a cooler house as the plants increase in 
size. Unless the plants are large enough for 4-inch pots by the end 
of July it will be as well to let them remain in the seed pans for 
the winter, keeping them in a temperature of from 40 3 to 50°, and 
pot them early in spring.—J. H. E. 
PREPARING STRAWBERRIES FOR FORCING- 
CROWN SPLITTING. 
I HAVE never tried the method described by Mr. Inglis, but intend to 
make preparation for doing so another year if circumstances allow me 
to carry it out. The main objection to the system appears to be “ crown¬ 
splitting,” but the system of preparing plants under review would not 
have been so forcibly advised if it had resulted in the majority of the 
plants “ splitting ” their crowns ; I therefore regard the mild criticism 
as intended to elicit information. That such will be gladly welcomed I 
do not doubt, but if this is the sole objection that can be raised against 
Mr. Inglis’s system it is scarcely worth attention. I pictured when I 
rea 1 the article objections of far more importance, which must certainly 
be considered in these days when the results have to be measured by the 
side of the outlay in production. 
I have tried every system, Mr. Inglis’s excepted, that has been 
advocated in the Journal for the past ten years or more, and have found 
none that entails less labour and time in preparation than layering the 
plants into the fruiting pots. In seasons like this various methods have 
to be adopted to raise the necessary stock of plants. This year we have 
had to de(art widely from our usual system, and the methods adopted 
have more firmly convinced me of the necessity of having plants reserved 
purposely for the supply of runners, the ground being mulched early in 
the season, so that the plants do not suffer by drought. 
The first objection, then, to Mr. Inglis’s system is the lengthened 
period the plants are on hand compared with layering direct into the 
fruiting pots. There is some uncertainty that the young plants will 
safely pass a trying winter and spring. For my own part I should 
hesitate before relying solely upon the stock of plants so raised. I am 
aware that the Strawberry is very tenacious of life, and is not easily 
destroyed, yet the trying weather of last winter and spring told heavily 
upon our stock of young plants. They suffered severely in spite of being 
established in the ground before Mr. Inglis thinks of severing his from 
the parent and planting them finally for the winter. If we suppose 
that they pass the winter safely after the labour of making them firm 
