November 21.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
115 
exception of some new ones; the double white and 
striped red aro about the cheapest and best; and young 
gentlemen who by means of a camellia-bud would 
sound their way into the good graces of the fair patron¬ 
esses of gardening—when all around in the open atmo¬ 
sphere is bleak and dreary—are likely to know more of 
the value of such flowers, at such times, than their 
humble servant, Robert Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
STOVE PLANTS. 
Hibiscus.— This genus comprises a great variety of 
plants from various parts of the world. There are in it 
annuals, biennials, perennials, shrubs, and trees. The 
greater part of the genus is from warm climates, and it 
is with them that we have to do on the present occasion. 
Some of these are very fine objects, with large crimson, 
scarlet, and yellow flowers. In so large a family there 
are, as might be expected, various degrees of merit. We 
shall select a few that require the stove and are the most 
doserving of cultivation, arranging them for conveni¬ 
ence alphabetically. 
Hibiscus Gameronii (Mr. Cameron’s H.).—This hybrid 
is named in honour of the late D. Cameron, Curator of 
the Birmingham Botanic Garden; a most worthy man, 
zealously devoted to the culture of plants, especially of 
ferns. It is a handsome variety, with pink flowers 
spotted with chocolate colour in the centre. It is a 
dwarf evergreen shrub, flowering most of the summer 
and autumnal months. 
H. grandiflorus (Large-flowered IT.); Georgia. — A 
very large-flowered species, requiring a moderate stove ; 
it will live in a greenhouse, but will not flower well 
there. Its flowers are flesh-coloured. 
H. heterophyllus (Various-leaved H.); Asia.—Flowers 
white and red. A species with leaves deeply divided, 
growing rather tall, with large handsome flowers. 
H. lilliijiorus (Lily-flowered); I. of Bourbon.—Scarlet 
flowered. A very handsome free-flowering evergreen 
shrub. 
II. Manihot (Manihot, the native name); China.— 
Clear bright yellow, with dark spot in the centre. 
Perhaps there is no flower that captivates the spectator 
so much as this. He may see a large promising bud in 
the evening, and in the morning the large beauteous 
flower is fully expanded, measuring five inches across, 
of the most beautiful yellow imaginable, and set off by a 
rich dark blood coloured spot in the centre; its ex¬ 
traordinary beauty compensating in a great measure for 
its short duration and rather bad habit. 
H. Rosa sinensis (Chinese Rose H.); China.—Dark red. 
„ ,, Harrisii (bright rose). 
„ ,, Parkerii (scarlet). 
„ „ rubra plenus (double red). 
„ „ rubra Jtavens (double yellow). 
„ ,, variegata plenus (Double-varie¬ 
gated) ; scarlet. 
„ „ bellitlifiorus (Daisy-flowered); dark 
red. 
,, „ regina (Queen-like); scarlet. 
The last seven are all varieties of what is commonly 
called the China Rose. They are great favourites with 
; the Chinese, who cultivate them largely in their fantastic 
j gardens. In our stoves they form, with moderate ma- 
j nagement, handsome evergreen shrubs, producing then- 
showy flowers, of various hues, from May to September. 
H. Rosa Malabarica (Malabar rose); East Indies.— 
Scarlet. A splendid dwarf evergreen shrub, with large 
scarlet flowers. 
H. speciosus (Showy H.); Carolina.—Bright rose. A 
fine species, with large light green woolly leaves and 
large showy flowers. 
Culture. —As the plants of this handsome genus are 
all free growers, they require a liberal treatment with 
rich compost and abundance of water during the season 
of growth and flowering. The compost for them should 
consist of light turfy loam, fibrous sandy peat, and very 
rotten dung, two years old. It should be mixed twelve 
months previously to using, and be frequently turned 
over in dry weather to thoroughly incorporate the parts. 
The best season for potting is the month of March. 
Bring the plants into the potting-shed, prune them in 
freely, and clean the leaves and stems thoroughly by j 
sponging them all over with a wet sponge, frequently , 
washing the sponge in tepid water. Set them on one j 
side to dry, and prepare the pots for the repotting by 
either using new ones or very well washed old ones. 
The compost should also be prepared by being brought 
in some time previously to dry and warm. Then take a 
plant, turn it out of the pot, and with a pointed stick 
loosen the sides and top of the ball, removing all the 
loose soil. The ball will then present an appearance of 
a bundle of fibrous roots; any that are dead, or very 
straggling, should be pruned off witli a sharp knife. The 
plant is now ready for its new pot and fresh food. Let 
it be moderately drained, and have about one inch of 
fresh soil round the ball. Give a gentle watering, and 
place the plants in a heat of 60° by day and 55° by 
night. Syringe them every day with a very fine rosed 
syringe, and shade from bright sunshine. They will 
soon show the effects of this care and attention, by send 
ing forth fresh lively shoots and dark green healthy 
leaves. The next point to attend to, then, will be to stop 
the strong shoots, to cause more shoots to be produced, 
so as to form a handsome compact bush. The II. Rosa 
sinensis is particularly capable of being so managed, and 
when well stopped and trained, will form as pretty a 
plant as need be desired. The finest sight of these hand¬ 
some flowers we ever saw was at a place called Thornes 
House, the seat of Milnes Gaskell, Esq., near Wakefield, 
in Yorkshire. They were placed on the top of a flue 
next to the back wall of a pine stove. The wall had a 
trellis fixed against it, and the II. Rosa sinensis, hi 
varieties, were slightly trained to it the whole length. 
There were hundreds of their gorgeous flowers in bloom, 
and they certainly were a fine sight. These plants, also, 
are very fitting objects to plant out in the central border j 
of a stove-conservatory. In that situation they form 
finer shaped bushes and flower more abundantly than 
they can possibly do in pots with the best management. 
Propagation. — Some species produce seeds abun¬ 
dantly, the II. Manihot for instance, and are easily in¬ 
creased by it. Sow the seed in a rich light compost, in j 
shallow pots, in a cucumber bed, or any other place | 
where there is a brisk heat; as soon as they come up 
pot them off into 21-inch pots, in the compost described j 
above for the established plants; replace them in the 
bed, shade for a few days until they make fresh roots, 1 
and then by degrees accustom them to bear the sun, ! 
giving plenty of air during the day in mild weather. Nip 
off the tops of each plant to cause them to send forth side 
shoots at a very early stage of their growth ; repot them 
as soon as they have filled the pots with roots, and keep 
them in the frame for a fortnight longer, then remove J 
them into the stove, and place them under the usual j 
routine of the other plants in that house: with good ! 
management they will flower the same year. The H. 
Rosa sinensis is a species that sports into varieties, as the 
above list shows ; we think it highly probable that other 
species with large flowers would hybridize with it, at 
least it is worth the trial. 
By Cuttings .—This tribe of plants strike readily in 
heat, in sand, placed under glasses. Take the young 
shoots three inches long, cut otf the bottom leaves, fill a 
pot four inches wide with drainage at the bottom and 
compost to within an inch of the top, fill it up with pure 
