FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
75 
this reason a bed of Angelonia Gardneri 
is always a beautiful sight. 
Hibiscus (Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis Linn). 
There are a number of varieties belong¬ 
ing to this species, the single flowered, 
double flowered, pink, magenta, salmon- 
colored, and even nearly white. In some 
cases the foliage is variously mottled, in 
others the corolla is of varied shapes. To 
the average fruit growers in Florida only 
a few of these varieties are known. They 
are all, however, equally decorative and 
equally easily grown. Cuttings of ma¬ 
ture wood strike very readily so that they 
may be propagated in endless numbers. 
I wish particularly to call attention to 
one fact that is very generally overlooked 
by people who live north of South Florida, 
and that is that it is quite as easy to have 
these beautiful blooming plants in the 
dooryard during the summer months as 
many of the other forms, such as 
geraniums, fuchsias, etc. The difficulty 
has been that they have not been consider¬ 
ed pot plants, consequently after growing 
during the summer, they have been allow¬ 
ed to freeze in fall. On the other hand, 
those who have considered them pot plants 
have not been aware of the fact that they 
may be set out of doors during the summer 
time, and then taken back to cover for 
protection duriqg the winter. This is a 
point I wish to bring out especially. The 
Hibiscus plants should be grown in large 
pots, say about eight or ten inch ones. 
These pots are then set out in summer, 
‘‘plunged,’’ as the gardeners say, and the 
pots covered with garden soil so as to pro¬ 
tect them from being broken, and to hide 
their unsightliness. The Hibiscus will 
then grow and bloom profusely during 
the summer. It will do no particular 
harm for the roots to run through the bot¬ 
tom or over the sides of the pots. In the 
fall when there is danger of frost or freez¬ 
ing weather, the pots with the plants in 
them should be lifted and the plants cut 
back to within a foot or two, and then 
placed in a moderately dry house. Here 
the plants need but little protection. They 
should be watered sparingly, but not per¬ 
mitted to dry out. Then as soon as the 
danger of freezing is past, the pots can 
be plunged again in the bed, and the plants 
will go merrily on blooming as before. 
When the next winter comes the same 
operation may be repeated. 
The Hibiscus which is usually called 
the Chinese Hibiscus, that is Hibiscus 
SchizopetelouSj is grown to a very large 
extent in pots throughout northern and 
central Florida. It requires a great deal 
of petting and many times as much care 
as the common Hibiscus, and does not 
give one-tenth of the return in bloom and 
pleasure. 
I would not be loyal to my home place, 
Palmhurst, did I not include palms in this 
paper. 
Palms. 
Biologically speaking, the palm trees 
are among the highest of the plant crea¬ 
tions. They are, likewise, the most beau¬ 
tiful and aesthetic of plants. A fine palm 
adds more value to the selling price of a 
place than an}^ other single tree, not ex¬ 
cepting the fruit-bearing ones. Of course 
we should not expect a grove of palm trees 
to sell for the same price as a grove of 
grape fruit trees. A reasonable number 
of palm trees, however, distributed at the 
proper locations about the home place, 
adds immensely to the desirability of the 
location. In fact, very few palms come to 
their grandest stature before twenty-five 
to fifty years of age. They, however. 
