Kovemter 19, 189L ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
423 
N O time should now be lost in potting all shrubs intended 
for forcing, so that they may be in the right condition to 
respond to the demands made upon their energies while 
undergoing the operation. Any plants, or rather shrubs, intended 
for this purpose I always like to plunge over the rims of 
the pots in coal ashes in the open air for at least a month 
before taking them under glass, and if they remain in such 
a position for a still longer period they are all the better for 
it. In some cases the shrubs root surprisingly when so treated at 
this time of the year, in others they make no fresh roots before the 
influence of a warmer temperature is felt ; but in all cases the 
roots have time to heal their wounds, and therefore be in a 
position to establish themselves more quickly when taken under 
glass than they would do if potted and at once given shelter. They 
also start more freely if subjected to a few sharp frosts before 
forcing begins, and in the case of that useful shrub for this 
purpose, Deutzia gracilis, a few plants should be kept in pots 
throughout the summer for the purpose of very early forcing, a 3 if 
well cared for they may be depended upon to come into flower 
quickly when taken into a brisk heat as soon as the leaves have fallen. 
Taking them under glass before this stage has been reached is a 
mistake, as the points of the shoots start into growth, or rather 
continue the growth already nearly completed, and prevent many 
of the back buds from breaking, the natural consequence being 
that shoots which ought to be perfectly wreathed in flowers are 
only sparsely furnished with them. 
In other cases it sometimes happens that cultivators are sorely 
puzzled to know why their plants lifted from the open air and 
placed under glass do not succeed as they expected. Judging from 
the appearance of the ripened wood all goes well for a time ; each 
shoot in due course shows abundance of white buds, but just as 
these begin to unfold the greater portion of them turn yellow and 
fall, or at the best only open imperfectly. This undesirable state 
of affairs is caused by forcing too soon after potting, and by 
mutilating the roots too severely in order to place the plants in 
small pots. It is without doubt a great convenience to have plants, 
especially those required to be used for decorative purposes, in as 
small pots as is consistent with their well-being, but when this 
is carried too far great inconvenience often results. 
I have treated this particular plant at some length, because 
when well done this Deutzia is one of the best of all shrubs 
for forcing. It is therefore all the more important that 
mistakes in its culture should be avoided. It should also be 
borne in mind that those plants intended for flowering early in 
the ensuing season should, after flowering, be placed in a medium 
temperature to complete their growth, otherwise they will not 
make such vigorous growth as they should do, but later plants 
will only require the protection of a cold frame till they are 
sufficiently hardened to place in the open air. The chief plants 
should be planted out and allowed to stand for two seasons before 
being forced again. Any plants that are weak or stunted may be 
invigorated by being cut down to the ground as soon as they have 
done flowering. Some cultivators make a practice of treating their 
whole stock in that way, but I have on many occasions found 
vigorous plants produce very strong shoots under this system which 
do not yield nearly so much flower per plant as the unpruned 
No. 595.—Yol. XXIII., Third Series. 
ones, and I therefore advise pruning to be practised only in cases 
where additional vigour is required. D. corymbosa and D. crenata 
flore-pleno are also good varieties for forcing, but they are 
much stronger growers and produce larger flowers than the first- 
named. 
Azaleas of the Ghent and mollis types are excellent for 
forcing ; the varieties of the latter are perhaps the most showy 
on account of the larger flowers they produce, but I have a 
special liking for the Ghent type, because they possess so many 
lovely shades of colour, and have, moreover, in many instances a 
pleasing and uncommon scent. Both types should be largely grown 
where the cost of purchasing plants is practicable, and if only a few 
can be bought each year a stock is soon got together, as with proper 
attention they will serve for forcing purposes for an indefinite time 
by being planted out in the reserve garden in May or June and 
allowed to remain undisturbed for two seasons. Those who have 
a good yellow loam, fairly free from stones, will find these Azaleas 
may be grown successfully in it ; but in the case of ordinary 
garden soils peat with a little burnt refuse added should 
be procured to plant them in. Azalea amoena is also a pretty 
kind, which thrives well under the same conditions as those 
already named. It is generally grown throughout the year in 
pots, but is quite hardy enough to be planted out in the south 
of England. Nurserymen grow large quantities of it in the open 
air, but gardeners are, as a rule, rather sceptical about its hardiness. 
It is a capital plant for forcing, and will succeed under precisely 
the same treatment as the Azaleas first named. 
Rhododendrons are a useful and beautiful class of plants, 
alike for flowering in pots and in the open air, and fortunately 
they will endure fairly hard forcing. True, the trusses are 
not quite so fine as when the plants are allowed to come forward 
steadily, but the great aim with flowering shrubs for forcing is to 
get them in flower early in the spring, and for that purpose they 
are well adapted and will bear forcing better than many persons 
imagine. Any of the better varieties are good for pot work, but 
the early ones are of course preferable. The following varieties 
supply a good range of colour :—White Gem, very early ; Baron 
Osy, creamy white, dark blotch ; Caucasicum, yellowish ; Illumi¬ 
nator, rose ; Madame Wagner, bright pink ; Mirabile, deep rose ; 
Nobleanum in various shades of colour ; Prince Camille de Rohan, 
white shaded rose ; Vesuvius, deep crimson scarlet. 
Choisya ternata is especially good in pots when brought on in a 
greenhouse temperature. Its scented waxy white flowers are always- 
prized ; but, unlike the other plants named in this list, it should 
be grown in pots throughout the year, and taken under glass on 
the approach of sharp frosts. Staphylea colchica is another fine 
shrub, producing deliciously scented creamy white flowers, 
requiring the same treatment as Deutzias, and I am sometimes not 
a little curious to know why it is not more generally grown. I 
think it must be on account of a tendency with many gardeners 
not to grow anything till they have seen it for themselves. The 
consequence is many fine plants are only grown in certain localises 
where enterprising spirits have established them. I can confidently 
recommend this fine deciduous shrub for forcing. Viburnum Opulus, 
Prunus sinensis flore-pleno, and Weigelas rosea and alba are well 
known to be valuable for the same purpose ; and Ribes sanguineum 
and album, though not so much employed in that way, are quite a3 
suitable. I have also a belief that the Cydonias will bear forcing 
well, and I intend to try some this season. Should they prove a 
success they will, on account of their colours, be acquisitions in 
a list of shrubs for forcing. 
The value of plants which have been forced is often greatly 
lessened by cutting the flowers or using the plants for decorative 
purposes before they have been properly prepared, the result being 
that they do not last more than half the time they ought to. A.l 
cultivators should therefore have a regular system of placing forced 
plants and flowers into a comparatively cool structure for a few 
No. 2251 .—Yol. LXXXV., Old Series. 
