MAY. 
143 
blossoms will wave in the autumnal breeze. Out of this beautiful 
family of plants I select for this article the lovely Bignonia venusta. 
This splendid climber is an inmate of the stove, delighting in a tem¬ 
perature of 55° or 60°, and a slight degree of bottom heat; it .only 
requires seeing in the acme of floral beauty to be admired. The flowers 
come in large panicles, and are of an orange hue, contrasting beauti¬ 
fully with the neat dark foliage which clothes the plant all the year 
round. This climber cannot fail to be a great acquisition, as it pro¬ 
duces its flowers late in the season, and continues in a flowering state 
over three months, and sometimes longer if the stove is kept compara¬ 
tively free from moisture, a humid atmosphere being injurious to the 
flowers when fully expanded. 
This Bignonia is admirably adapted for covering trellises, walls, 
rafters, &c. ; having tendrils like a Vine it will cling to any kind of 
support, requiring considerable space to run over—but must be duly 
attended to during the growing season, keeping the shoots neatly tied 
and well spread out on the trellis, so as to cover all vacant places, for 
if allowed to ramble wildly the flowers cannot be seen to advantage. 
In tying the shoots always leave five or six inches of their tops at 
liberty, for tying close to the point is apt to check their growth. 
The most suitable compost for this Bignonia is equal parts of turfy 
loam and peat well mixed together, adding at the same time a good 
sprinkling of sand to ensure porosity. The bed or border should be well 
drained previous to the compost being put in (a point of the greatest 
importance to all stove and greenhouse climbers.) A young plant of the 
above may be some years before it flowers much; but once at a certain 
stage of maturity, it will flower regularly every season. 
When once well established, it requires to be cut back every year 
—say in February or early in March, as the wood by that time will 
be well matured and the sap beginning to flow. In pruning, the spur 
system should be adopted as much as possible, as it is necessary there 
should be a good supply of young wood all over the plant, the blossoms 
being produced on the same ; but avoid, if possible, cutting too hard 
into the old wood, otherwise it may be a long time before it breaks 
freely, and when it does break it is apt to grow too luxuriantly, thus 
exhausting the energies of the plant, making a quantity of strong 
shoots, not likely the first season to yield a single flower. The fine 
string-like shoots bear the most flowers—hence the use of the spur 
system. 
To propagate this Bignonia, cuttings should be taken off the plant 
when about two or three inches long, leaving what is technically termed 
a heel adhering to each; these may be inserted in fine sandy soil in a 
pot; then, by plunging in a gentle heat and covering with a bell- 
glass, they will make roots freely. Another way is increasing this 
plant from eyes of the half-ripened wood, taking care not to injure the 
leaf; then put them in fine mould in a shallow pan, and treat them in 
the same manner as cuttings. Some of the Bignonia tribe (chiefly 
the deciduous kinds), may be propagated from eyes of the ripened 
wood, in the same way as Vine eyes. 
c. 
