September, 18.J 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
387 
goes, was the common, but very pretty, shrub, Oestrum 
aurantiacum, with its rich golden hunches of deep yellow 
(approaching orange) flowers, the plant not eighteen 
inches high. Although the plant is familiar, we never 
saw it at a show before, nor observed it flowering so 
small. Odontoglossum grande was exhibited by two 
different showers, but they were not like the same plants; 
one had the flowers so large, that the wings measured 
ten inches across from tip to tip; the other was a 
starved plant in bad colour. It is a grand orchidaceous 
plant. There is a prospect of the Society meeting soon 
to determine on steps to place it on a more substantial 
footing, and to infuse more vigour into the management, 
as it has been confessedly declining, but with materials 
in it capable of great things, if properly managed. 
Carnations, Picotees, and Gladiolus (H. L. Wells, 
and W. PL. T). —Yellow-ground Picotees will never be 
worth growing until the ground is entirely free from all 
speckles and pouncey^ spots, or small bars. If on growing 
a pair or two next year the spots should disappear, it may 
he worth saving ; hut unless some of the flowers were per¬ 
fectly free from the speckles, it is hardly worth while 
even to try it. The red-ground Carnations are worthless, 
however nicely marked. The Gladiolus is pretty, hut 
very little varied from what we already have; the rosy- 
ground is lighter and prettier, perhaps, than those in 
the same class already known, and when grown better 
next year may produce blooms in higher character. 
Black’s Charles Turner Hollyhock, a very deep 
maroon, or red, of good substance, guard petals too large, 
but a showy distinct variety. 
Charles Perry’s Little Dahlia, not named, is beau¬ 
tiful in colour and habit, and, perhaps, under different 
treatment, may be large enough for a front row. 
Verbenas : Woodcock’s Magnificent, certainly the 
largest bright one, and the best large one, in cultivation, 
though not a first-rate trusser. (AT. Y. Z.) —All too 
narrow in the petal, and no new colours. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS CULTURE. 
the pelargonium — (continued from page 371). 
General Management. —Autumn plants that were cut 
down after the bloom was over will now have made 
some shoots. Those that are in large pots should be 
turned out of them, have most of the soil shaken off 
the ball, the roots trimmed in considerably, and be 
repotted into much smaller pots, in a compost not too 
rich, the object being now to cause them to grow slowly, 
and make short, stout shoots, in moderately-sized pots. 
Those that are in small pots and have been cut down, 
will not need repotting now, but a little top-dressing 
will be of service. Cuttings struck early, and potted 
oft’ when rooted, should be repotted immediately, and 
their tops nipped off, to cause them to branch and make 
bushy plants. Seedlings, if not potted off singly, should 
be attended to at once; such as were potted early, will 
now require a slight second shift. Seedlings should 
not be stopped, because the florist will naturally wish 
them to flower as soon as possible, and taking the tops 
off has a tendency to retard early bloom. 
Winter Management. —During this dreary season for 
plants, pelargoniums will not require much manipula¬ 
tion. Strict attention to giving air on all favourable 
occasions; keeping the house as dry as possible ; giving 
a due supply of water, but no more; pulling off every 
decaying leaf as soon as it appears, and keeping the 
surface of the soil frequently stirred, to prevent moss 
growing, are the main points to attend to during winter. 
The temperature of the greenhouse during winter should 
never exceed 45°, nor fall lower than 34° or 36°. Too 
much heat is quite as injurious as too little. If kept 
too warm, the plants will draw up weak and spindling; 
if too cold, the leaves will turn yellow, or spot, or damp 
off, all of which are fatal evils in pelargoniums culti¬ 
vated for exhibition, or, indeed, for any purpose. It will, 
we fear, be always necessary in this country to use 
artificial heat during winter, for these plants do not seem 
to become any hardier, or, in other words, more capable 
of enduring any greater degree of cold, than they did 
when the original species were introduced from the 
Cape of Good Hope more than two centuries ago. 
Spring .—As the days lengthen, and the sun, with his 
invigorating power, causes vegetation to push forth into 
fresh foliage and flowers, it will be necessary to give to 
the pelargoniums the due attention this season requires. 
In potting them care should be taken that it is not 
overdone. Buds should be visible first, or the plants 
will continue to grow, and will not flower till late in the 
season. Many an anxious exhibitor, desirous of having 
bis plants large and fine, has split upon this rock. 
Again, the size of the pots should be taken into consi¬ 
deration. The grand collections exhibited at Chiswick 
and the Park, are generally grown in, comparatively 
speaking, small pots. A plant two-and-a-half feet high, 
and three feet through, is placed there in a pot only 
eight inches diameter. The support for such an enor¬ 
mous mass of branches, leaves, and flowers, is supplied 
by means of liquid-manure, given at intervals only, and 
in a diluted state. It is in proportion to the skill and 
attention bestowed upon these plants, that such men as 
Messrs. Robinson, Turner, Gaines, Parker, Cook, and a 
host of others, succeed in producing such noble spe¬ 
cimens. The two grand points being—First, to grow 
them into a good size and fine form; and, secondly, to 
give them just sufficient support to produce abundance 
of bloom without too gross or large foliage. 
Training .—During spring, attention must bo given to 
tying out the plants, so as to give the best form to them. 
The day of flat sloping tops, with a bristling phalanx of 
sticks, lias, thanks to the good taste of both exhibitors 
and judges, passed away. The great object, now, is to 
hide every appearance of art in training them, using 
but few sticks, and those kept out of sight as much as 
possible. A good plan is to tie round each pot a broad 
piece of strong bass mat, and when the shoots are long, 
to bring them down with short pieces of bass tied to the 
piece which is tied round each pot. This does away 
with the sticks in a great measure, and gives a direction 
to the branches, so as to open out the centre, and allow 
more air to the whole. 
Summer .—The plants will now be in their greatest 
beauty, and will require shading, to prolong the season 
of bloom. Too much air cannot be given, and to pre¬ 
vent the approach of bees and other honey-seeking in¬ 
sects, the apertures where air is admitted should be 
covered witli worsted, or some other nettiug. It is found 
by experience, that if bees are admitted, they, in gathering 
their food, carry the pollen from flower to flower, and 
scatter it upon the stigma, the consequence is, the petals 
of flowers so covered with pollen drop off much sooner 
than if no such occurrence had taken place. This is a 
point worth attending to by persons growing for exhi¬ 
bition ; for if the flowers in bloom to-day can be pre¬ 
served by such simple means till to-morrow, the bloom 
that will open on that morrow will do the same, and there 
will be a greater number in flower at once, and, in con 
sequence, a greater chance of winning a prize, besides 
rendering the plant longer attractive. As the weather 
is, during this season, often hot and dry, a much larger 
amount of water is required; frequently twice a-day will 
be necessary. If a dash or two of water were thrown 
upon the floor occasionally, during hot sunshine, it 
would create a moist and cooler atmosphere. Insects 
may abound, especially green fly — smoke frequently 
with tobacco, to destroy them. As the plants go out of 
bloom, cut them down, and set them out-of-doors to be 
repotted, as directed in the autumn-treatment above. 
T. Appleby. 
