c 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 1. 
CAPE HEATHS. 
(Continued from pay e 334, Vol. vii.) 
Temperature—Winter Blooming Heaths. —Having 
adverted in my last article to the potting of heaths, and 
to their being planted out in beds as a substitute for pot- 
| ting, 1 now proceed to notice a few matters more in 
j detail, that have hitherto only been incidentally alluded 
I to, and, 1st., as respects temperature .—We have reason 
to believe that heaths are often, as respects the tops at 
least, subjected to a low temperature on the mountains 
of Cape Colony. Almost the whole of the varieties may 
be kept in a comparatively low temperature in winter in 
this country. Growing or flowering in such circum¬ 
stances, if continued any length of time, are however 
out of the question. There is much difference in many 
of the varieties as respects hardiness. Plants of varieties 
of Ventricosa, Campamdata, Cennthoides,Tene!Ia , Gracilis, 
V/ilmoreana, Linnceoicles, Oafl'ra, Persoluta, Hyemalis, 
l Hybrida, &c. have stood 1° below the freezing point un¬ 
injured, while plants of Hartnalli, Aristata major, 
Cavendishii, Ampidlacea, Refulgens, Inflata, &c. in simi¬ 
lar circumstances, were next to totally destroyed. In 
addition to some kinds being less hardy than others, 
much would also depend upon the state of the plant at 
the time; resting rather than growing, its roots supplied 
with a sufficiency of moisture, but the soil not wet, and 
the atmosphere surrounding it free from damp fog on 
the one hand, or a dry air on the other, while in the 
previous season the wood has been consolidated and 
ripened by exposure to bright sunlight and a dryish at¬ 
mosphere. Had we the clear atmosphere of the dry 
season in the South of Africa, we might let many of our 
heaths stand in a temperature at the freezing point with¬ 
out danger. It is our moist climate, always furnishing 
a stimulus to growth, that renders them so easily affected 
by cold. The present spring has had its fair share of 
cold, frosty, north and east winds, but as yet they have 
done little injury, because the weather has been so dry ; 
vegetation lias not progressed, but that has been its 
safety. A thin tube filled with dry material, or altogether 
empty, will not be hurt by frost. A similar tube, con¬ 
taining fluid matter, would soon be shivered by the ex¬ 
pansion. So much is all this the case, that they who 
would wish to acclimatize tender exotics, must depend 
for their success on short-jointed, well-ripened, slow- 
growing, rather than luxuriant wood. 
Our treatment of Cape heaths, therefore, must be re¬ 
gulated not so much by any abstract rules as by the cir¬ 
cumstances of the case; inattention to this has been 
attended with many a bitter disappointment. Plants in¬ 
tended to bloom in summer, kept in winter in an 
average temperature of 50° to suit growing and blooming 
; soft-wooded plants, will run the risk of having their 
shoots loose-textured, and a visit paid them by mildew. 
Plants growing, however, slowly, intended to bloom in 
winter and spring, cooled down and frosted, will run the 
risk of shedding flowers and foliage too. That Cape 
heaths may be kept safely at the very verge of the 
freezing point, nay, several degrees below it, is certain, if 
all the circumstances are suitable. It is equally certain, 
that attending to the instructions of those who advocate 
a low temperature for heaths in winter, who speak of 
letting them be frozen as a matter of no moment, with¬ 
out erecting one finger-post as a note of “ beware ,” has 
too successfully cooled the ardour of many an anxious 
enthusiast. What may be done by experienced hands is 
not so much the question, as what can be done so as to 
ensure safety and success by beginners. 
Leaving, then, the summer temperature just now to 
take care of itself, as unless, in circumstances to be speci¬ 
fied, exposure in a free atmosphere to the expanding in¬ 
fluence of heat will be counterbalanced by the con¬ 
solidating agency of light, I would for the winter recom¬ 
mend 40° as the average night temperature for heaths 
and heatheries in ordinary circumstances. The outside 
temperature will often be higher than that, and this the 
heaths should have the advantage of, along with plenty 
of air; but, unless when requisite to force a plant into 
growth or bloom, we would not raise the temperature 
higher by means of pipes and flues. In very severe 
frost we would use coverings, and allow the temperature 
to fall 5° or 7 U lower, much rather than 5° higher. In 
all cases, hut especially with such hard wooded plants as 
heaths, whose shoots are so easily robbed of their 
moisture, the true point of safety is to approximate the 
temperature inside and outside of the house as far as 
the circumstances will permit. Not so long ago, our 
forcing gardeners would insist upon the proscribed 
degree of temperature, no matter what the weather. 
These things are better understood now, and much 
saving in labour, and expense for fuel, has been the 
consequence. The best heat is sun-heat, and the 
cheapest too, though many of us recollect shadings 
during the days, and firings at nights, when under a 
more natural system neither would have been neces¬ 
sary. Extremes, sooner or later, will always meet in 
their effects. A low, dry, fiosty air, a comparatively high 
temperature with such weather outside, and little or no 
covering on the glass, have exactly the same effects ; they 
both rob the plants of their juices, that is, technically, 
scald and burn them. This has, however, been several 
times alluded to in detail. Keeping these jottings in 
view, the temperature of 40° in ordinary circumstances 
will be found a good average one. The plants will not 
become lanky or drawn, and for those in bloom, or 
coming into bloom, a rise of 10° from sunshine will be 
sufficient. When there is no sun, and the weather is 
cold, the temperature may be raised 5° during the day by 
artificial means. If more is attempted, water should be 
supplied on paths and evaporating pans, that the atmo¬ 
sphere thus may be supplied with moisture, instead of 
taking it from, and thus cooling, the soil in the pots. Tn 
very severe weather, instead of using much artificial 
heat during the day, it would be better to keep the house 
covered. 
These remarks will apply to all heaths blooming in 
spring, summer, and autumn. To bring those blooming 
late in autumn into the list, however, we must suppose 
them to be kinds that require little pruning, or that that 
pruning is deferred until the lengthening days of spring. 
This is on the principle that after pruning back free- 
growing kinds, it is advisable to break the plants in a 
temperature some 5* or 10° higher than that they for¬ 
merly stood in. We have little fear in spring of the 
heat that comes from the sun, with a free circulation of 
air in unison, when that air, from being frosty, is not too 
dry. Anything as respects temperature in summer and 
early autumn would come more appropriately under a 
few words on position. Any shading and petting they i 
may require during these periods, is more for the sake 
of the roots than the tops; but whilst the want of much 
stimulus in winter is a luxury to Cape heaths in general, 
there is a very useful section that will stand well from 
• r >° to 10° more heat then, namely 
The heaths that Jdoom freely in winter and spring .— 
This is one of the most valuable sections of the group 
for all lovers of floral beauty, and who have only one 
house to depend upon. Wherever there is a brick-pit, 
or turf-pit for summer use, this section may be managed 
successfully in a bouse which is devoted in summer to 
the growing of a crop of grapes. Many of our economi¬ 
cal friends strive to combine the useful with the agree¬ 
able, and these come in as nice auxiliaries, either by 
themselves, or in unison with epacrises, a few cytisuses, 
acacias, and winter blooming cinerarias, primulas, and 
bulbs. In such a mixed house they would be quite at 
home after being settled in the airiest part. Even a 
