3.30 THE COTTAGE GARDENER. [August 20. 
treats it as an evergreen shrub, his flowers will every 
year become more diminutive and scanty, and that to 
have fine bloom it must be supported by strong, some¬ 
what succulent, shoots. Taking other plants of a 
similar nature as a guide, he sees the importance—first, 
of thinning the shoots, to increase their luxuriance; and 
then, when that does not altogether answer, of pruning 
them back, that fresh and vigorous growth may be 
made by the stirred-up energies of the unmutilated 
roots: upon the same principle that the forester cuts 
down the stunted young tree through which the juices 
cannot pass freely, in order that he may obtain a more 
luxuriant sapling from the stump that is left. By-and- 
bye he will find, that if naturally an evergreen, the 
Clerodendrum maybe treated as a deciduous plant, and 
pruned as closely as an amateur would do in the case of 
a rose from which he wished to obtain a few very fine, 
rather than a multitude of middling flowers. 
Treated as a deciduous plant, the first thing of im¬ 
portance that presents itself is, the necessity of having 
the wood well ripened, at least near the base of the 
shoots; the second, giving the plants a season of rest; 
and the third, is the ability to give them a fair start in 
the spring, by proper attention to potting, warmth, and 
moisture. These things kept in mind, most of the 
Clerodendrums may be made subservient to greenhouse 
decoration from July to the middle of October, and with 
as little or rather less trouble than is required for an 
Achimenes, or even a Balsam. 
The species we have found to answer best for this 
purpose are, Kccmpherii, fallax, paniculatuni, and the 
old fragransflorepleno. With the exception of the last, 
the first is the easiest managed. On smallish healthy 
plants four or five large heads of bloom may be ob¬ 
tained. 
I shall now give the mode of treatment pursued, 
commencing from the present time. Wherever the 
plants are situated they will want a liberal supply of 
water; and weak liquid manure may either be given, 
or a dressing of rotten cowdung placed over the pot, 
through which the water may percolate. If close to the 
glass, strong sunshine will disfigure both flowers and 
foliage. It is better, therefore, either to place the plants 
farther from the glass, or give shade during the heat of 
the day. A little size put on the glass answers well with 
me. If kept in a good place a few seeds may ripen, 
which make nice little plants ; but these, in your cir¬ 
cumstances, you must keep dry during winter, and sow 
in a hot-bed in spring. If you could have commanded 
a temperature of from 55° to (15° during winter, we 
should have advised sowing them when gathered. The 
next thing is, in the autumn, to place your plants in the 
warmest part of the house, and in the full sunshine, and 
giving little or no air where they stand, and gradually 
lessening the supply of water, in order that your wood 
may be well hardened, especially near the base of the 
shoots; if the ends are green and spongy it will be of 
less consequence. By-and-bye, the ripening of the wood 
and the unsightly look of the plants will be effected to¬ 
gether ; and instead of staring your visitors in the face, 
remove them under your stage, at the end of the house 
where your furnace is situated. We used to leave them 
there unpruned; but two things must be here attended 
to :—First, drippings from the plants on the stage should 
not reach them to any extent, though damping the 
stems at times with the syringe will be advisable; a 
piece of glazed calico will prevent the drip. Secondly, 
the roots must be kept moistish, but scarcely ever 
watered; it is better to pack the pots loosely in moss, 
and damp the moss at times. Here, if the wood is 
moderately ripe, they will exist very well in a tempera¬ 
ture of 4.1°; of course it would be higher in a bright 
sunny day. 
About the beginning of March examine them, and 
prune away the shrivelled unripened wood from the ends 
of the shoots. If from four to six inches are left alter¬ 
nately it would be enough, as from three to six shoots 
will be enough finally to leave ; but we do not recom¬ 
mend pruning back at first for two reasons: the first is, 
that the breaking of a number of buds will promote a 
vigorous root action; and, secondly, the young shoots 
themselves, when removed afterwards, will be valuable 
for propagating. After pruning thus partially, and 
stirring up the soil in the pot, place them where the 
plants will have more light and heat; if in a vinery, 
peach-house, &c , where forcing has commenced, and 
the temperature ranges from 55° to 00°, that will be the 
situation for them; if not, by one of the contrivances 
frequently alluded to, give less air, and more heat in the 
greenhouse; this would suit your geraniums, heaths, &c. 
When you perceive that the plant is giving signs of 
active vitality, remove it to a cucumber pit, and where 
the top heat will range from 00° to 70°, and the bottom 
heat will average 80°. Set the plant on the surface of 
the bed for a few days; then partially plunge it. When 
the young shoots are from half an inch to an inch in 
length, prepare for repotting it, by getting a mixture of 
peat and loam, and a little silver sand, using it in a 
lumpy state. Shake the most of the old soil from the 
roots; reshift into a similar or a smaller pot, pruning the 
roots a little, and laying them nicely among the fresh 
loam; plunge the pots in the bed, and use water at a 
temperature of 80°. Keep them close and shaded for 
a short time until fresh growth has freely commenced; 
then select the number of shoots you wish to have: 
prune back accordingly. The free growth will prevent 
the check being felt. 
Flower-buds even now, especially on the Koempherii, 
will very likely appear; but they must be pinched off, as 
they will not be worth looking at until you get large 
leaves; the strongest bud will soon break into a shoot 
again, and your patience will be well rewarded. It is of 
no use having many shoots, as a few of the uppermost 
will monopolise all the strength. 
If a huge head of bloom is desired, one shoot only 
should be left. If a compact plant with from four to six 
heads of bloom is wanted, then the strongest shoots will 
very likely require stopping, so as to get two shoots, and 
two flowers instead of one. In a month or six weeks 
the plants may be potted again—plunged; but by-and- 
bye when the pot is filled with roots pretty well, 
gradually removed from bottom-heat, and by Juno either 
removed to a warm close place in the greenhouse, or, 
what is better, placed in a cold-pit, where they can be 
kept rather close for a fortnight or three weeks. In this 
last potting, either use very rotten cow-dung—but dried 
into lumps, along with the compost—or make up your 
mind to top-dressing or manure waterings. As soon as 
the first flowers are opened they will stand anywhere 
under glass, provided they are shaded from very bright 
sunshine, and will be beautiful objects for three months ; 
individual panicles remaining in bloom much longer 
than in a stove. 
We return now for a moment to the young shoots 
adhering to the part cut off. These, of from one to 
three inches in length, if taken off with a heel close to 
the old stem, inserted in sand under a bell-glass, and in 
a good bottom-heat, and potted twice will furnish nice 
little plants by August and September, from one foot in 
height, and each with a pretty panicle of flowers. These, 
however, must be kept in the cucumber-bed until the 
flowers begin to open, and then bo gradually hardened 
off to suit the greenhouse. The Kcempherii succeeds 
best with us as young plants in this manner. 
R. Fish. 
