116 
ON THE CULTURE OF LISIANTHUS RUSSELL!ANUS. 
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a Vinery or Melon-pit, whichever is kept at the highest temperature, with a humid atmosphere. As 
soon as they begin to fill their pots with roots, I give them once a-week a little clarified manure 
water. 
I repot into winter pots about the middle of August, using pots to suit the size of the plants, and 
replacing them in the same growing temperature as before, till their pots are filled with roots. After 
this I begin to prepare them for winter by giving them less moisture, more air, and a cooler temper¬ 
ature ; and finally they are placed on a shelf near the glass, in the coolest part of the stove, and win¬ 
tered rather dry. Early in February I begin to increase the heat and moisture; and as soon as they 
begin to grow freely, I repot them, which is generally about the second week in March. They receive 
another shift in April, and those that are intended for large specimens a third in May (using 18 or 20 
inch pots), and a mixture consisting of equal quantities of good strong maiden loam, peat, or bog mould, 
brunt clay, leaf mould, and cow 
manure, with a little white sand. 
These materials are well mixed 
together, and if dry are moistened 
to prevent their running too close 
in the pots. In potting I use a large 
quantity of drainage, and plenty 
of rubble stones, small potsherds, 
and coarse river sand amongst 
the mixture. I make the mixture 
just firm, but am very careful to 
leave it quite porous. I give very 
little water till the roots reach the 
sides of the pots: it is increased as 
the plants and the season advance, 
giving heat and moisture in pro¬ 
portion. Too much stress cannot 
be put upon making a proper me¬ 
chanical arrangement of rich, por¬ 
ous, and well-drained soils, wdiich 
are essential for the healthy de- 
velopement of plants of the nature 
of the Lisianthus. 
When the young shoots have be¬ 
come sufficiently advanced, I stop 
them immediatelv above the second 
«/ 
joint; each shoot will then produce 
four; they require stopping about 
three times. The last stopping for 
plants required to bloom early should take place in the first week in June, and for plants required to 
bloom later, in the first w r eek in July. As they advance in growth the branches will require to be tied 
out with sticks, to make round and well-formed plants. 
When the plants are growing freely, they are sometimes attacked with a disease at the base, which 
is produced by the moist and confined atmosphere that is required for their fine growth. To prevent 
this I allow the surface to become quite dry once a-week, during which the plants are supplied with 
moisture from feeders or pans in wdiich the pots are placed for a few hours, being careful not to allow 
any stagnant water to remain about them. As soon as the blooms begin to expand, I keep a drier 
atmosphere, and expose them to more air and light, which much improves their colour. 
As to the result of the above practice, I may mention, in conclusion that I grew some seedling 
plants in 1844, one of wdiich I exhibited at the Horticultural Society’s Garden in July, 1845, wdiich 
was awarded a silver Knightian medal, accompanied with this note by the judges:—“ Had this been 
exhibited in its proper place, it would have received a higher medal.” In July, 1846, a second 
plant received a large silver medal; and to a third the same award was made in July, 1847. Another 
plant w T as also showm in the same year at the Royal Botanic Society’s Garden, Regent’s Park, and was 
awarded the first prize as a single specimen of superior cultivation. The plant that I exhibited at the 
Horticultural Society in July, 1847, had five hundred blooms expanded at once, ten days after the ex¬ 
hibition. 
lisianthus russellianus, as exhibited at Chiswick. 
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