THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 13, 1886. 
314 
canes, and from their'condition should by and bye render 
a good account of themselves. There is also another 
fine range of lean-to Peach and Vine houses all in perfect 
order. At the end of this range there is a large house 
formerly devoted to Camellias, but now converted into 
an Azalea house, where a large quantity of specimen 
and half specimen plants of all the leading sorts are to 
be seen in the picture of health, and well set with 
flower buds. While speaking of Azaleas let me com¬ 
mend to the notice of your readers what I consider one 
of the very best double white varieties for forcing, I mean 
Deutsche Perle. It is a very free flowering sort of the 
purest white, and very double, and I have never seen 
one to equal some young plants forced in this establish¬ 
ment ; I like, if possible, to recommend a goodthingwhen 
I can, and Deutsche Perle I can praise with the greatest 
confidence. Leading from this fine Azalea house is 
another large span-roofed structure in three divisions. 
The first is a stove containing a choice collection of Palms 
of the leading sorts, and such noble leaved Antliuriums 
as Veitchii, Warocqueanum, Regale, magnificum, crys- 
tallinum, and Andreanum, all fine specimens. Of 
flowering plants I noticed Euphorbias, Epiphyllum, and 
Plumbago, well in flower. Of the latter large quantities 
are grown, Mr. Duncan considering it, and rightly too, 
a good useful thing ; the variety being the bright scarlet 
coccinea, a grand plant for winter flowering. 
The next division is a fernery, in which grand 
specimens of all the leading varieties are in fine con¬ 
dition. A huge specimen of Microlepia hirta cristata, 
8 ft. through is in perfect health ; Davallia Mooreana 
also ; for suspending baskets Goniophlebium sub- 
aurieulatum is the favourite, and is undoubtedly one 
of the very best Perns for basket work. Leaving this 
house we find ourselves in a greenhouse which is very 
gay, the centre stage being filled with well grown 
Callas ; then three rows of well cultivated Cinerarias of 
a very fine strain. Around these is a row of nicely grown 
plants of the. bright yellow Linum tryginum, another 
useful plant well cared for at Warnham. In front of 
these Linums are well grown Primulas and Tulips, with 
between each pot a plant of Isolepis gracilis, its pendant 
habit making a fine finish. The side stages in this house 
are filled on one side with Cyclamen persicum and all 
its fine varieties (Williams’ strain) ; these include 
some enormous flowers of all the colours to be found in 
this lovely plant, while the other side is full of 
Cinerarias, the whole forming a nice display. In this 
house are suspending baskets filled with that fine old 
Pelargonium, Rollisson’s Unique, another grand old 
plant well suited for such work. 
Joining the mansion is a conservatory which is 
devoted to fine foliaged plants, principally Palms and 
Perns, joining which is a fernery where the Ferns are 
planted, and the whole in good keeping with the rest 
of this fine establishment. Soft-wooded plants seem 
also to be well cared for, for I noticed fine batches of 
well-grown Pelargoniums and Herbaceous Calceolarias, 
which will be ready to take the place of those enume¬ 
rated above. The Kitchen garden is extensive and well 
stocked with fruit trees. The demand for all kinds of 
garden produce is very great, but under the practical 
management of Mr. Duncan everything necessary is 
furnished in quantity .—Alfred Outram. 
--***«- 
G-LORIOSA SUPERBA. 
Your correspondent “H. P.” who asks for infor¬ 
mation as to the culture of this plant, will have no 
difficulty in growing it successfully if he has a warm 
stove with one side facing the south, as the sun is an 
important factor to its well being. The Gloriosa is not 
particular as to the soil, and ours have of recent years 
been potted in a mixture of three parts turfy loam, one of 
leaf mould, and one sixth of sand. At one time we 
thought peat indispensable, till it became a prohibitory 
article, and twenty years ago we were assured that 
decayed cow dung was necessary, and as soon as an oppor¬ 
tunity presented itself we gave it a trial, and in our 
first attempt we potted in different mixtures, but there 
was no apparent difference in the plants appearance. 
If the potting material is destitute of fibre, the ad¬ 
dition of a few pieces of charcoal will help to make up 
for that defect. At present the tubers will be at rest, 
but they shoidd be shook out and potted before they 
start to grow, which they generally do with us about 
the end of March. When potting is deferred till growth 
is visible there is considerable danger of breaking the 
growth, and there is no chance of a second. There can 
be really no harm done by potting them at once, but no 
water must be given till they start to grow, and then it 
must be done sparingly, or they will turn yellow and 
refuse to grow, especially if the temperature is rather 
low for their requirements. We had evidence of this 
two years ago, when we moved two healthy plants into 
an intermediate stove with high side lights, and ends 
running north and south ; the plants were 2 ft. high, 
and were watered a few hours previous to their removal, 
which with the altered conditions and the two or three 
following days being dull, gave them such a check that 
they did very little good. 
Last year we took the precaution to move them when 
they almost required water which was given to them 
the first sunny day, and their progress was all that 
could be desired, but not so rapid as those in another 
house which admits the maximum of light and sun 
with ends pointing east and west, and destitute of 
shading except a sprinkle of whitening in May for the' 
sake of the Pines if the sun should be powerful. In 
this house the pots stand within 6 in. of the hot water 
pipes but not over them, and the plants seem to enjoy 
this and other conditions which few other plants would 
exist under. When we pot we lay the tubers flat and 
cover them with 2 ins. of soil. The plant flowers best 
when trained near the glass, but if your correspondent 
wishes to have it in a balloon or any other shaped 
trellis, he must first train it on string near the glass, 
and when in flower cut the string at both ends and 
draw it out if it will come readily and then arrange the 
shoots on the trellis. If all the shoots are let down 
before commencing to train it will prove such a task to 
separate them as he never experienced before. Such is 
the eagerness of the tendrilled leaves to clutch hold of 
any object, that if the shoots are laid out 1 in. or 2 ins. 
apart and only one tendril allowed to get hold of the 
nearest shoot, the whole will in a short time be an en¬ 
tangled mass. 
It may be necessary to shade the house in which the 
Gloriosa is growing, and in that case the plants should 
be placed at one end, and the shading arranged so as 
not to screen them, or they may be trained lengthways 
of the house near the bottom and the blinds let down to 
them. When the plants are in active growth and the 
pots become crowded with roots they must not be 
allowed to get dry, and they may be syringed daily 
overhead which will help to check the attacks of red 
spider which will occasionally make its appearance. 
Ours generally go to rest at the end of October and we 
water them when dry so long as there is any life in the 
shoots. To winter these the pots are laid on their 
sides in the driest and warmest spot in the house and 
the temperature rarely falls below 55° and it would be 
nearer 60° where the pots are. — TV. P. P. 
-- 
LAPAGERIAS. 
Their Cultivation and Propagation. 
The white and red varieties of Lapageria are now 
so well known as excellent and showy greenhouse 
climbers, that any attempt to describe them would be 
superfluous. My object in the following remarks is to 
give the amateur or beginner an idea how to grow the 
plant well, and also how to increase his stock if he feels 
so disposed. These plants may be grown in pots for a 
considerable number of years before it will be necessary 
to make beds in which to plant them out. In potting 
care must be exercised not to break the roots, which are 
very brittle, and also not to give too large a shift at a 
time. After the plants have done flowering in the 
autumn, is a good time to pot them, for at this period 
they begin to make new roots. For young plants, peat 
and broken bricks, with a fair mixture of sharp sand, 
suits admirably, but larger plants should have an equal 
part of silky loam and peat, with the broken bricks 
and sand added. Great care must also be taken to see 
that the drainage is properly placed in the pots, and 
covered over with a layer of moss or rough peat; the 
soil must also be made moderately firm at the time of 
potting. 
Great care must also be taken in watering the newly 
potted plants, for a little too much will cause the roots 
to decay instead of penetrating into the new soil. 
When the roots begin to work well into the new com¬ 
post, a good soaking of water should be given that will 
thoroughly go through the whole ball, and this plan 
should be adopted afterwards, every time the plant 
requires water, and more especially from the time when 
the flower buds begin to make their appearance until 
the plant has finished flowering. When the plants 
are large enough to plant out, the same kind of soil 
will be required, only it must be broken up very much 
rougher. The same care must also be taken about the 
drainage, to see that the water gets clear away from 
the roots. Although these plants like water in large 
quantities, they are very impatient of being water¬ 
logged, hence the precaution about drainage. 
The propagation of this plant is a very different 
affair to growing a plant that you obtain well es¬ 
tablished in a pot. Seedlings grow freely, but they 
are not to be depended upon to produce the same 
variety from which you have taken the seed. If you 
have a good variety (and there are many at the present 
time) the best plan to adopt is to layer a few shoots to 
keep your variety true. The best plan to follow in 
this process is the following : — Make up a bed of 
peat and sand 9 ins. to 12 ins. deep and well drained, 
and about the size you think the shoots will take you 
intend to lay down. Take the weakest shoots you can 
get down to your bed and lay them carefully all over 
it, pegging them down at intervals where required to 
keep the shoots firm, and level with the surface of the 
peat and sand. When the bed is covered with a 
sufficient number of shoots, fill up all over the surface 
with silver sand to the depth of about 2 in., carefully 
lifting the leaves at the same time. When this 
operation is complete only just the points of the leaves 
should be visible. Give a thorough soaking of water 
to make the whole job firm, and during the time the 
layers are down a good soaking once a fortnight during 
summer and autumn, and as occasion may require 
afterwards. 
This operation of layering should be done about 
November, if possible, and should not be delayed beyond 
the end of February, and by the next autumn the 
whole should be rooted from nearly every eye on the 
shoots layered. It is not advisable to disturb them 
until about the end of January following, at which 
time the eyes will be something like large crowns of 
the Lily of the Valley. The old stem wants cutting 
through between these plump eyes, and each crown 
will lift out of the soil easily and have a nice tuft of 
roots attached. They should then be potted into 
similar soil as recommended for young plants at the 
commencement, and placed in a close house about 55° 
or 60°. Water sparingly at first until you see the 
crowns start away into active growth, at which time 
the roots will be active as well, they can then be 
treated in the ordinary way. 
Slugs are very fond of the young shoots, and great 
care must be taken to keep them in check. I have 
found the clippings from a brush factory placed round 
the plants an admirable thing to prevent them getting 
at the plant, or stand the plant on an inverted pot in 
a large saucer of water, being careful that it is kept 
full, but if one should get past the bristles it must be 
hunted for at night. If this precaution is neglected, 
the strongest shoots will be destroyed in a few hours, 
and the strength of the plants very much impaired. 
Enclosed I send you a shoot, so that you may see how 
well they root under this treatment. — TV. G. [We 
have never seen a better instance of the success of this 
method of propagating. —Ed. ] 
-- 
MUS^ENDA FRONDOSA. 
Though usually regarded as a curiosity more than as 
a useful plant, Musienda frondosa when grown in the 
right way deserves a place amongst the best winter¬ 
flowering plants for the stove ; few, however, seem to 
understand its merits, and a note or two respecting a 
system which has given much satisfaction will, perhaps, 
induce others to try it. My attention was first called to 
the plant two years ago by an able gardener in the south 
of England, and 1 was so pleased with the specimens he 
had flowering in a stove soon after Christmas, that I 
begged a few cuttings, and determined to try what I 
could do with it. For the information of those who 
may not know the plant I will briefly describe it. The 
flowers are borne in small heads, the corollas are small, 
tubular, and bright yellow, and would be inconspicuous 
if it were not for the comparatively large, oval, white, 
leaf-like bract or appendage which springs from the 
base of each, and thus together form another ring 
somewhat like the larger flowers in the outer portion of 
a Hydrangea head. The leaves are bright green, oval 
or lanceolate, and clothe the stems and branches 
thickly when the plants are dwarf and compact as they 
