84 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
variety; Daphne Indica, Jasminurn nudijlorutn, Deutzla | 
gracilis, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Poses of the China group, 
and double Wallflowers of various colours. All kinds ot 
scarlet Geraniums and other bedding plants may also be j 
propagated for the balcony and flower garden.. | 
The other modes of propagation are chiefly two, the J 
separating the tubers and bulbs of tuberous and bulbous j 
plants, and the dividing of the roots in the case of a her- i 
baceous plant. For the first Ave may have an example in j 
; the case of a Snowdrop, or a Tulip, or a Ranunculus; in the 
second in the case of a Violet, or a Daisy, or a Hepatica, | 
when the flowering is over. . > j 
When there is room the following may be in bloom in the 
spring months : Acacia armala,grandis, juniperina; Auriculas, 
Primroses, and Polyanthuses ; bulbs in the shape of Hya- ! 
cinths, Tulips, Snowdrops, Crocuses, Narcissuses, Jonquils, | 
8cilia tenuifolia, Leucojum vernum, Lackenalia tricolor, Oxalis 
grata, flava, tricolor , sericea, all potted in autumn and kept in 
a dark place, free from frost and much heat, until the pots | 
are full of roots, and the bulbs shooting freely upwards; j 
Calceolarias; Camellias, such as double white, &c.; Carna¬ 
tions, Tree kinds; Coronilla glauca, Cyclamen Persicum, &c.; 
Daphne odora, Dielytra spectabiRs, Deutzia scabra, Genista 
Canariensis, Jasminurn nudiflorum , Lily of the Valley, Mig¬ 
nonette; Mimulus, florist varieties, from seed in July or divi- 
! sions in August; Mimulus moschatus (Musk), though not in 
flower, from division ; Primula Sinensis, Salvia Gcsneraflora, 
Weigela rosea; Violets, Neapolitan, Russian, &c. 
The earlier Cinerarias and Violets will be those chiefly to 
which the operations of planting out and dividing will be 
I necessary. I shall give a short outline of the culture of 
most of those mentioned. I will merely mention at present 
that though double and other Primroses, Auriculas, and 
Polyanthuses are not usually groAvn or shown in windoAvs, 
yet feAv things are more beautiful and interesting in April. 
I lately saw some beauties in such a position in a cool room, 
and also a fine collection in the front of a broad shelf of a 
i greenhouse, Avith plenty of air and a gauze shade to break the 
foi’ce of the sun’s rays. The one had been kept on a bal¬ 
cony all the Avinter, covered Avith glazed calico in cold 
Aveather, with a rug over that in very cold Aveather, and both 
removed in fine; the other was kept in a frame in the 
usual Avay. The chief thing in both Avas securing medium 
dryness all the winter. As the spring days came they were 
top dressed, and received more Avater. Whoever saxv either 
j would like to have some in his Avindow, and Avith less bother 
and more pleasure than going to see them in frames, &c. 
R. Fish. 
(To be continued.) 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENIA FLORIDA NOT BLOOMING. 
“ I have some plants of the double Gardenia Jlorida which 
| refuse to open their fioAvers. They are tAvo-year-okl plants, 
| in six-inch pots, in apparent good health, and the buds 
progress favourably until they begin to open, Avlien they 
drop off. The plants potted last summer are potted in sandy 
' loam and peat in equal quantities, and standing on a shelf 
over the hot-Avater pipes in the stove. The temperature is 
from U5° to 75°, and moderately moist. I have given the 
; plants several waterings of Avcak guano water, but the only 
i improvement A’isible is the more rapid growth of young shoots 
I an( l darker green leaves. Would plunging the pots in a 
i sweet hotbed be a help ?”— A Young Gardener. 
[Ihc plants would be better Avith a moist bottom heat 
before the blossoms begin to open, but under the circum- 
! stances they ought to answer. They will do better Avlien a 
year older. We suspect that, unknown to yourself, the roots 
have been several times over-dried. If the pots are full of 
roots, and you suspect anything of the sort, set them for 
half an hour in a pail of water at 70° or 75°. When the 
bloom expands the temperature must be lower and drier, j 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, May 12, 1857. 
TREATMENT OF HEATHS DONE FLOWERING, 
AND OF FUCHSIAS WINTERED IN THE 
DARK. 
« Be so good as to tell me what I ought to do with Heaths 
and Andromedas as soon as they are out of bloom. I 
bought many handsome ones in lloAver last year, AA'hich are 
noAV with scarcely a fioAver on them, and long, straggling, 
untidy branches. 
“Several young Fuchsias about one foot high which 
flowered late last year, and which 1 kept alive, as you desired, 
in the winter in an airy closet, with occasional waterings, were 
put into the greenhouse in February, but are stunted- 
looking, not shooting vigorously or growing fast, though all 
alive. What ought I to have done with them F. C. 
[Heaths require someAvhat different treatment according 
to their species, and so do Andromedas. One thing is 
common to them all. Prune aAvay all dead floAA r ers and the 
flowering shoots freely or moderately, according to the habit 
of the plant, shortly after it has done floAvering. After a 
Aveek or two of comparative rest, from a Ioav temperature and 
comparative dryness, encourage groAvth by more moisture at 
the roots and a closer atmosphere, to give the young shoots 
a fair start. When this is secured, then, shift if the plants 
require it, and encourage growth by similar means to those 
specified, taking care to give abundance of air and light 
early enough in the autumn to harden and mature the Avood 
made. We should almost require to see your plants to tell 
you exactly what to do with them, as many oldish plants, 
bought in full bloom, may be made to bloom on if treated 
as mentioned above without the shifting ; but many such old 
plants, after being thoroughly pot-bound, never recover a 
shifting process, and so well is this knoAvn by the practicals 
that they Avould prefer a healthy young plant in a two-inch 
pot to such a flourishing old plant in a six-inch one when 
their object was to groiv a specimen. 
As you have no fioAvers to speak of, and you can hardly 
make the plants Avorse, Ave would advise the following:— 
Prune back all these straggling shoots as soon as this 
reaches you, and as much more as will give the basis for a 
compact specimen. Place the plants in a corner of the 
greenhouse, or in a pit Avhere you can keep them close and 
Avarm, say in a temperature averaging from 55° to 65°; be 
rather sparing of Avater at the root for some time, but 
syringe the top frequently, and shade from sunshine, giving 
but little air until the fresh shoots break freely and are 
lengthening nicely, when more air and less shade and 
syringing must be given by degrees. When the young 
shoots have come aivay nicely, and are from one to two 
inches in length, then you must decide Avlietlier you Avill 
fresh pot or not. If the plant seems old and pot-bound, 
and fioAvers are chiefly your object, then Ave would advise 
i picking off a portion of the surface soil, fresh surfacing, and 
' giving abundance of Avater to secure growth, making sure 
1 the drainage is all right. If you aim not only at flowers for 
next year, but a groAving, healthy specimen, then you must 
try to repot, but, under the circumstances give only a 
| small shift at first, and, after turning the plant out of the 
j pot, gently disengage the fibres of the hard ball at the out- 
| side of it, and use sandy, rough peat in repotting it in a pot 
i only one size larger. Be sure the old ball is Avell moistened 
before doing this. If from defective drainage or other causes 
the old pot is not full of roots, and these are not over healthy, 
root pruning to a certain extent may be necessary, and in 
such a case the plant should be transferred to a smaller pot, 
and be placed in very sandy, rough heath soil. After pot¬ 
ting keep the plants close, shaded from sun, and in a moist 
atmosphere until fresh growth is proceeding freely, Avhen 
i a * r and light must be gradually and then freely admitted, 
j If your greenhouse has been kept cool we do not see 
I hoAv you could expect your Fuchsias to be in bloom so 
early. You say you kept them as Ave desired in an airy 
closet all the winter. We notice this for the purpose of 
stating that we should be obliged to correspondents to 
give us the chapter and verse Avhere such instructions are 
given, and not to expect, as many seem to do, that we are to 
Avade through the contents of volumes to find what inquirers 
should find ready for us. Many friends must imagine that 
Ave have a peculiar pleasure in hunting up some particular 
