January 15. 
COUNTilY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
! t I 
anything they may have seen, which bears on the 
question, I shall be tliankful ; but I want no ideas or 
surmises—my liead is too hill oF them as it is. 
JJ. Beaton. 
VIGOROUS CITMBERS ON RAEl’ERS, AND 
ON ROUND TRELLISES IN POTS. 
CoM.EA scandens. —“ A Regular Subscriber turned out 
two strong seedling plants last season ; one against a 
soutli'wall, the other against the back wall oF a green¬ 
house. The first bloomed the earliest oF the two, and 
most Freely. The other has grown very vigorously, but 
has not llowered much. It covers most oF the back 
wall and three raFters. What should be done to secure 
bloom in the spring? Should it bo quite cut down, or 
only pruned?” 
This is just one oF those simple matters about creepers 
which beginners say we are too apt to overlook. I have 
several letters now bet’orc me, to which 1 will shortly 
allude, where failure, or very limited success, has been 
owing to not clearly perceiving how flowering shoots 
arc produced; and, consequently, the kind care that is 
given is often prejudicial rather than otherwise. One 
great dilhculty is, whether the operator should prune 
back to a tew buds, removing the young shoots, or 
whether these should be so thinned out that the strongest 
and best ripened may remain. In the case of these that 
will to-day meet with a little attention, it matters not 
greatly what plan may be adopted, 2 '>^'ovidcd a stijjiciency 
of icell-ripened buds are secured. As most of our readers 
are Familiar, in some measure, with the culture of the 
Vhne, the treatment of that plant will give the key-note 
to the management of the climbers referred to. 
Secure a long, well-ripened shoot, with plump, pro¬ 
minent buds, and from these buds Flower and Fruiting 
shoots will be produced the following year. Cut back 
these shoots the Following season to a bud or two, and, 
provided these have been properly ripened, flowering 
shoots will again be produced. These explanatory 
remarks will apply to all those I intend to mention. 
The latter mode will generally be Found the best For 
! plants trained round trellises that are to be kept on year 
i after year. 
The Cobaea flowers very well as an annual, if sown 
I early, and planted in a warm place out-ofdoors. If 
1 such plants are cut over. From a yard to two yards in 
height, and taken up and protected before Frost comes, 
such will bloom more Freely the Following season than 
seedlings. The reason why the plant in the greenhouse 
bloomed so sparingly was owing to the deficiency of 
light it received against the back wall. Unless the 
house is very open it will not bloom much against 
that wall, unless From shoots that come From buds near 
the top of the house, which would hang down along the 
back, and bloom Freely enough. IF it be desirable to 
keep the back wall green, tiie present shoots may be 
allowed to remain so long as the foliage hangs. By 
no means think of cutting the plant down. All that 
will be necessary will be to cut back the greener part of 
the shoots at the top of the house and along the rafters. 
'The jilant should he kept as dry during the winter as will 
I just prevent its Hugging. If there is more room on the 
rafters to cover, the shoots may be allowed to grow on, 
and these will bloom early. It would be advisable, for 
Future management, to have only one shoot to each 
rafter. Provided that shoot has had a sufficiency of 
sun and air to ri[)en its buds, every side-shoot that 
comes From it next season will produce flowers in 
abundance. The plant is not at all suited for a round 
trellis, as the shoots grow a considerable length before 
they begin to show bloom, and then the bloom-buds 
j come as long as the shoots are allowed to lengthen. 
J 
'These shoots are, therefore, most in their element when 
dangling several yards in length from a lofty arch or 
rafter. When winter comes, cut these dangles back to 
within a bud or two of their base, and you will have 
similar shoots again next season. A primary shoot 
along the top of the back wall would furnish you with 
dangles along it in a similar manner. By securing 
main shoots in this way, at first, the culture of the 
plant would be as simple as growing a Vine on the spur- 
pruning system. I am almost tempted to introduce 
this old plant again into the lofty conservatory, as 
most people admire its bell-like flowers, changing From 
green to purple, and produced in such profusion. 'The 
only thing to be guarded against is its monopolising 
tendencies, as a plant would soon take possession of a 
house. Instead of jilantiug it in a border in such cir¬ 
cumstances, it would be better to place it in a large pot, 
tank, or make a small pit For its roots, about two feet 
square. 'That, with surface-dressings and manure- 
waterings, when necessary, will be suflicient For a plant 
destined to cover two or three ordinary rafters. 
li’OMEA Leauu. —“I have seen this fine on the roof 
of a greenhouse. I have no room for it there, but have 
tried it in a pot, round a trellis, six feet high, and 
eighteen inches in diameter, but with no success. I 
commenced with half-a-dozen shoots, and these soon 
covered the trellis with healthy foliage, but no flowers.” 
Perhaps you may be more successful next year, if your 
shoots were well ripened. I think, however, you erred 
in starting with so many shoots. I have had fair 
success by the Following mode:—A strong, two-year-old 
plant was selected, and placed in a fifteen-inch pot. 
'The ])laut was pruned back almost to the collar. It 
w^as placed in a warmer situation than the greenhouse 
until the end of April. Numbers of little shoots made 
their appearance ; these were all rubbed off, with the 
exception of one,—the strongest. 'That was brought 
From the centre of the pot to the outside of the trellis, 
and trained round it, leaving about a Foot between the 
volutes. 'When the shoot got towmrds the top it began 
to bloom, showing that the bud producing it had been 
W'ell ripened tbo previous year. Another plant, treated 
exactly alike, did not show bloom, but made a fine, 
healthy plant, with fine Foliage From top to bottom. 
After the shoot had turned over the top a little the 
extreme point was pinched out. 'The plant was then 
kept as much in the sun as possible, and water was 
given just to keep the foliage from flagging. In the 
latter end of August, and during September, the plant 
stood out-oFdoors, and here the foliage was frequently 
syringed to keep off Green Fly. One word, however, 
as to stopping the shoot. It is better to let it go a yard 
or two over the top of the trellis, and then stop it, in 
preference to stopping it so early as to cause side-shoots 
to break I'rom the buds. 'Towards the end of September, 
or the first Fortnight in October, it may be cut back to 
the height of the trellis, or thereabouts, without starting 
the buds. 
Under greenhouse treatment the plant will be de¬ 
ciduous, or nearly so. Any time during the winter 
the shoots should, therefore, bo well washed with soap 
and water, as a preventive against insects, especially 
White Scale, to which it is very lialile. In winter, 
provided the roots are dryish, but not dry, the plant will 
be safe in an average temperature oF From 40^^ to 45°, 
with a rise From sunshine. As the spring advances 
the buds will begin to break, and if all are allowed to 
come, you would have a Forest of weakly shoots. Go 
along your main shoot, and select the strongest buds 
every two Feet or eighteen inches apart, and rub the 
others off; and if the plant, as advised, was well 
hardened and ripened the previous autumn, these young 
shoots will Furnish plenty of splendid blue flowers. 
When the flush is over, the shoots may be shortened, to 
