682 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 26, 1886. 
CULTURE OF THE CALANTHE* 
Amongst tlie many good winter-flowering plants now 
in cultivation, few, if any, are more worthy of the at¬ 
tention of the gardener than these showy terrestrial 
Orchids, for their variety of colour, great beauty, the 
length of time they remain in bloom, and great 
decorative qualities, render them very valuable from 
November to January. They are by no means difficult 
to cultivate, and will repay those who may have the 
means of growing them for any labour and care they 
may bestow upon them, and they are most acceptable 
for table decoration, for bouquets, ladies’ hair, or button 
holes. They throw up their spikes from 3 ft. to 5 ft. 
in height, and when tastefully arranged with Ferns, 
and other foliage plants, they are indeed handsome 
Orchids. 
Most of the Calanthes are natives of India, and I 
shall confine myself to noticing only Calantlie vestita, 
the flowers white with a blotch of rich crimson in 
the centre, from Moulmein ; C. vestita luteo-oculata, 
flowers white with a blotch of yellow in the centre, 
from Java ; and C. Yeitchii, a hybrid raised by Mr. 
Dominy, from a cross between Limatodes rosea and 
Calanthe vestita. It is one of the best of the class to 
which it belongs, and the flowers are of a rich rose 
colour. Bulbs of this variety are very large, being from 
12 ins. to 18 ins. in height, and the flower spikes are 
from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in height, a truly beautiful plant for 
many purposes. ; 
The Calanthes enumerated are all deciduous, and 
require a good season of rest, which should be about 
three months in a temperature not below 55°, care being 
taken not to allow any water to fall upon them ; they 
must be kept quite dry. Some gardeners put them 
under stages, or other out of the way places, but this prac¬ 
tice I consider unsafe for this reason, if the bulbs 
commence growing and are left in the dark, in a few 
weeks they become drawn, and are never so fine after¬ 
wards. I leave the pots in the full light when resting, 
and strong breaks and fine bulbs are the conse¬ 
quence. 
Propagation. —Calanthes are increased by the bulbs 
producing from two to four growths, each growth 
forming a bulb. By cutting vestita in two, crossways, 
and Yeitchii into three or four, according to the number 
of rings or joints, the number is easily increased ; place 
the cuttings on a dry shelf in a stove for a day or two 
for the wounds to dry up. Insert in pots or pans of 
sand, and place them on a shelf in a well-heated stove, 
where they will receive plenty of light and sun, also 
keep them dry or decay might set in. They will be 
ready for potting in about six weeks, and should then 
have the same treatment as the other bulbs. 
Cultivation. —The best time to pot Calanthes is 
when the growths are about half an inch long, and the 
compost should consist of equal parts of fibrous peat and 
turfy loam, broken up by the hand. Put this into a half¬ 
inch riddle and sift out all the fine soil, and add to 
this a fourth of well-decayed manure in a dry state, 
with a liberal dressing of charcoal broken into small 
pieces and a good dressing of sand. Fill a third of the 
pot with drainage, whatever the size may be. Over 
this place a good layer of sphagnum, fill the pots to 
within 1 in. of the rim, and put three bulbs in a 5-in. 
pot, and four or five in 7-in. pots. Place the bulbs 
round the edge of the pot with the growths to the rim, 
work-in about half an inch of the compost and make 
them very firm ; this applies to C. vestita. C. Yeitchii 
should have only one in a 5-in. pot, and three in a 
7-in pot. 
The whole of my plants were potted on the 
last Friday in February, and were not watered until 
the new roots commenced growing. When the roots 
are quite active they should never know the want of 
water, and they should also have plenty of heat after 
this, with light and atmospheric moisture ; but avoid, 
as far as possible, any water dropping on the young 
growths, as they are very liable to decay at this stage 
of their growth. As the season advances, slight shading 
will be required to prevent the points of the leaves 
being injured. As they advance in growth, and the 
pots become filled with roots, give them liquid manure, 
or guano-water water two or three times a week, care 
being taken not to give it too strong ; this is of great 
importance, as fine spikes of bloom cannot be produced 
without it. 
•A paper read Ly Mr. John Marsden, tVestbourne Conservatories, 
at a meeting of the Sheffield and Hallamshire Gardeners' Mutual 
Improvement Society. 
Scale is very fond of this plant, and if it makes its 
appearance sponge the leaves carefully with soft-soapy 
water. If green fly makes its appearance fumigate 
with tobacco-paper. The syringe should never be used 
for these plants. About September they will throw 
up their flower-spikes, and many of their leaves will 
begin decaying, but they should not be pulled off until 
quite dead. The Calanthe at this stage is a most un¬ 
sightly plant, but you must have patience with it, 
and it will repay you by and bye ; the action of the 
roots will also cease in a great measure. Yery little 
water will now be required—say, once a week until 
about the middle of December ; after that the spikes 
will derive their support from the bulbs, so that resting 
and flowering will be going on at the same time. The 
temperature at this time should range from 55° to 60°, 
and the house should be kept dry or the blooms will 
become spotted. — John Marsden. 
■--- 
ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE 
CHRYSANTHEMUM. —XI. 
Having treated each class of Chrysanthemum separ¬ 
ately so far as the cultivation is distinct I will now 
give directions which are applicable to all the classes 
alike. Growers will now be busy potting their plants 
into the blooming pots, directions for which were given 
on p. 296, but as this is a most important stage in 
Chiysanthemum culture, I must, at the risk of repetition, 
make a few remarks. The pots to be used should be 
perfectly clean ; if they have been previously used they 
should be thoroughly washed, and it is a good plan to 
lay them in water for a day before cleaning them, as 
the dirt can then be very easily scrubbed off. For 
this purpose we use brushes made of coir which last a 
long time, and every part of the inside of the pots can 
be very easily cleansed. The pots after being washed 
should be well dried before being used ; great care 
should be paid to drainage ; the compost for this final 
potting is described on p. 296. In potting, well ram 
the soil evenly all round the pot, and leave sufficient 
space (about 1 in.) to admit of top-dressing later on in 
the season ; finish off by leaving the surface perfectly 
even. 
The plants should then be stood in their summer 
quarters, and be treated according to the directions 
given on p. 296. For the first fortnight after this 
potting, the plants should not have any more water 
than is necessary to keep them from flagging, and the 
roots will then very quickly work amongst the new 
soil. 
I now come to a most inqiortant stage in the culti¬ 
vation—viz., feeding the plants. Up to the present 
time I have not given directions for this operation 
simply because if the plants are potted and attended 
to as previously directed, they will not require any 
feeding until the buds are set, except that when the 
pots get full of roots a little clear soot-water may be 
given occasionally ; but as soon as the buds are set, 
then is the time to commence feeding. The best time 
to apply manure-water is in the evening, after the plants 
have been watered, as usual, vuth clear water. 
Although the Chrysanthemum will take a large 
quantity of manure, yet great discretion should be 
used in applying it, as it is always better to give two 
weak doses rather than have the plants injured by 
using the manure too strong. 
As to the kinds of manure to use I will here give a 
few kinds, and the grower can select for himself ; at 
the same time it should be mentioned that the plants 
like a change of food, so that where convenient the 
grower should change the manure a few times during 
the season, An excellent manure is made by putting 
into a barrel (holding about forty gallons) two bushels 
of sheep manure, and about a peck of soot, over which 
pour enough water to cover the manure, and then with 
a stout stake mix the whole well together. When this 
is done fill up the barrel with water and let it well 
settle before using. In very hot weather the plants can 
have occasional waterings with manure w r ater made by 
using cow manure instead of sheep’s manure as above. 
Manure water made as above will necessitate the 
grower having a tub always standing in the garden. 
This is not convenient in all gardens, so where such is 
the case resort must be had to artificial manures, and 
with ordinary care equally good results follow from the 
use of such stimulants. In my next I will mention a 
few kinds, with directions for using them. — JV. E. 
Boyce, Archway Eoad, Highgate, N. 
FUCHSIAS ON ARCHES. 
Fuchsias are useful for many purposes when 
grown in pots, and large numbers are now propagated 
every year for the decoration of window boxes, rooms 
and conservatories. The market growers who make 
plants a speciality mostly include a good proportion 
of Fuchsias, which are at their best in May and June, 
the general nurseryman finds them an essential part 
of his stock, and to the gardener they are indispens¬ 
able where abundance of iiseful plants is needed. 
Bushy little specimens, a foot in height, in 4S size 
pots, are most valuable, such in fact as those shown from 
the Eoyal Horticultural Society’s Chiswick Gardens, 
which were excellent samples of their kind. In large 
conservatories and winter gardens, Fuchsias are often 
planted out in borders and trained to stakes 4 ft. to 
8 ft. high, in upright cordon fashion, being cut in each 
year to the one main stem, they are also grown in similar 
positionsin the form of standards of various heights, both 
these forms taking less space than the bush or pyramid 
methods of training. Out of doors a bed of free flower¬ 
ing dwarf Fuchsias is occasionally seen, but the varie¬ 
gated Sunray and Golden Treasure are most frequently 
used for bedding. The hardy shrubby Fuchsias render 
many homely gardens in the south of England, such as 
in the Isle of Wight, extremely gay during the early 
summer months, but it is seldom that the ordinary 
tender Fuchsias are grown in a way for which they are 
capitally adapted, namely, on arches out of doors. We 
have seen a garden where this method is adopted with 
admirable results, and it is surprising that the plan 
has not obtained more general notice. The plants are 
grown with a single stem in the cordon style already 
mentioned, the steins of the largest 7 ft. and 8 ft. long 
from the pots or more, according to the height of the 
arches. 
These are ordinary iron ornamental arches, and 
the pots are either stood on each side, or if the stems 
are long enough, are plunged, a preferable plan, as 
the plants are less likely to suffer from want of water 
in dry weather than when the pots are exposed. The 
stems are trained up and over the arch to meet in 
the centre, tying them securely as they are very liable 
to be damaged by wind if loose, and the arches should 
not have an exposed position or the plants will be un¬ 
satisfactory. Fuchsias grown in this way should be 
grown in a cool house, have a good season of rest, and 
not be placed out until all danger of frost is past, when, 
if they have been kept cool, the shoots will be short 
and sturdy, soon advancing in warm June weather if 
kept well supplied with water and liquid manure, 
occasionally syringing them in the evening after hot 
days. They will flower abundantly and render the 
arches very ornamental in the early summer.— 
J. Staines. 
-r—- 
HARDY PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
With what pleasure one can pen a few more remarks 
on these ever increasing popular plants after reading 
the reports of the Y r hit-week show at Manchester ; for 
some years the Botanic Gardens at Old Trafford have 
held the sway in bringing together collections of plants 
of all classes, and year by year it appears to be in the 
ascendent. What greater pleasure can be recorded 
than “The Orchids and Hardy Herbaceous Alpine and 
bulbous plants were the main attractions of the show,” 
to the advocates of either group, and still greater to 
those whose privilege it is to be not only advocate, 
but cultivators of both. But what shall I first write 
about ? this question is quick!}’ answered, for one of 
the brightest bits of colour in the garden now is 
Myosotis Imperatrice Elizabeth. —This kind is 
distinguished from all the other members of this 
favourite group of spring plants, by its erect and stout 
somewhat branching stem, to a height of about 9 ins. 
On these are situate numerous heads of purple-blue 
flowers, so very distinct, and so rich—a luxury in fact 
in the garden at the present time. This is a summer¬ 
flowering plant, and lasts many weeks in perfection ; 
it is a true perennial, and may be increased by seeds 
and division of the roots. Among old garden favourites 
may be seen 
The Old Fraxinella, Dictamnus fraxinella, and its 
white variety, both first-class border perennials attain¬ 
ing 2 ft. or more in height, and as much through. 
They root deeply in stiff loamy soil, and produce, well 
above the foliage, their pyramidal spikes of singular 
red and white flowers, which are highly fragrant. 
