July 7, 1888. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
715 
is so pure and distinct that there is no possibility of 
confounding it with P. javanicus variegatus, hut it has 
an occasional bad habit of running out quite green. 
"When it does this it may as well he thrown away, for 
it will never come back to its variegated form. 
Evidently the best way to maintain it pure is to select 
cuttings from a good variegated form, placing them 
singly into small pots in a rather poor sandy loam, 
and keeping the plants in a very high temperature. 
The best variegated kinds do not grow so quickly as 
the semi-variegated species, but for richness of char¬ 
acter they amply repay a little time and labour 
expended upon them to maintain the good variegation 
intact, which will impart to a collection of plants a 
very distinct and unique appearance. 
P. javanicus variegatus is a narrower-leaved form than 
the above, generally with a good white variegation and 
graceful habit, but the principal drawback to its 
general culture is the vast number of spines it produces 
on the foliage, and which are not very pleasant to come 
in contact with. For effect it has a good appearance 
in large plants, hut I should not recommend its general 
cultivation where P. Yeitchii can be kept of a good 
colour. 
Paullinia thalictiiifolia. 
This handsome stove climber or trailer produces leaves 
somewhat resembling the frond of a Maidenhair Fern. 
Its foliage when young has a distinct rosy tint which 
gradually changes to a dark green. The foliage 
produced in abundance on well-grown plants, and after 
it has attained maturity it may he utilised for cutting 
purposes to mix with cut flowers, &c. It may he used 
in various ways in the decoration of the stove, by 
growing it as a trellis plant or by suspending it from 
baskets, when it shows its elegant foliage to perfection, 
or it may be utilised for the purpose of clinging to a 
damp warm wall in a stove, in which position I think 
it seems to revel and show itself off to the best 
advantage. If the wall be a slimy one and plenty of 
heat is kept up this plant will cling to it like Ivy, or as 
Ficus repens will do on a warm slimy wall, and I am 
sure the elegant foliage of the Paullinia is to he preferred 
to that of the former. A mixture of loam and peat will 
suit admirably in which to pot the plant, and if 
growing vigorously it will bear potting several times 
during its growing period—that is, the summer season— 
more especially in the case of young plants. 
It roots freely from cuttings, and a batch put in any 
time during the early autumn will generally root and 
make nice little subjects for winter decoration, or for 
running up into small table plants in the following 
spring, provided a neat stake is placed in the centre of 
the pot by which to support its thin stem. 
Reedia gladcescexs. 
This makes a very handsome little decorative plant, the 
peculiar tint on the pinnate foliage rendering it very 
conspicuous. The peculiar manner in which it bears 
its numerous flowers also causes it to be a very attractive 
object to many not particularly interested in plant 
growing. The flowers being produced from the under¬ 
side of the foliage, and in large quantities, it soon 
becomes leggy in appearance, and consequently often 
requires cutting down and the tops struck in order to 
keep up a supply of nice usable plants. 
One great drawback to the general use of this subject 
as a table plant is that it closes its foliage during the 
evening, and often in dark or rainy weather, more 
especially if a good stove heat be not kept up where the 
plant is growing. Any ordinary compost suits it, and 
an abundance of water is necessary to keep the plant in 
a healthy condition, more especially after the pots have 
become full of roots. 
Rhopalas. 
These are very elegant-foliaged plants, bearing pinnate 
leaves that may be described as falcate. They grow 
rapidly in a stove, and may he rooted from cuttings 
placed in a good bottom heat. In a small state they 
are very handsome as decorative plants, and are well 
deserving of a place amongst a general collection. 
Teeminalia elegans. 
A nice plant in a small state, its tri-lohed foliage being 
distinctly marked with veins of a rich rosy carmine 
colour, showing very conspicuously on the glaucous 
green of the narrow leaf. It is an erect-growing plant, 
somewhat resembling an Aralia, and may be propagated 
by cuttings in a strong heat. It is not a free-rooting 
plant at the best of times, therefore care must he 
taken that the drainage is ample, or it will soon suffer 
from the effects of a sour compost. Peat and loam in 
equal parts suit it very well, but be sure the compost 
is rough and porous enough for its roots to penetrate 
freely, or it will soon become a miserable object, and 
very probably be not an easy matter to bring back to a 
satisfactory condition. 
Xylophyllas. 
"With this handsome class of pinnate-foliaged stove 
shrubs, I will close these remarks, having enumerated 
sufficient variety from which a good selection may be 
made, in forms of ornamental and graceful habited 
plants, and which, by good cultivation, will add to the 
general wealth of a collection of stove plants.— IV. G. 
-- 
HARDY PLANTS IN FLOWER. 
Digitalis obscuea. 
This is an interesting species of Foxglove, somewhat 
resembling a Pentstemon in growth. The leaves are 
ovate, pointed, rather fleshy, and glabrous. The 
flowers are smaller than D. purpurea, light yellow, 
shaded and striped with a brown tint. On a warm 
border or sheltered part of the rock garden it forms an 
attractive plant, the colouring of the flowers being soft 
and pleasing, whilst the glossy dark green leaves give 
it a character distinct from the rough leaves and more 
robust growth of our indigenous species. On heavy 
soil this plant is by no means hardy ; but when planted 
on that which is well drained and in a fairly protected 
position, it will live out our ordinary winters. 
Centaurea dealbata. 
A large plant of this species is a very graceful object on 
an elevated part of the rock garden. The leaves con¬ 
tribute a fair share towards the general result, being 
pinnatifid and rather pubescent, the hairs white and 
more dense on the under-part of the leaf. The flowers 
are a pleasing shade of rose-pink, and well set off with 
the ornamental foliage. Any ordinary garden soil 
will suit this plant. 
Cephalaria tartarica. 
"Where yellow or sulphur-coloured flowers are in 
demand, this is a valuable plant to grow. It attains to 
large dimensions—quite 5 ft. in height, with large 
spreading foliage. The flowers are of a clear sulphur 
colour, resembling a large Scabious. These are pro¬ 
duced in great numbers, and are exceedingly useful for 
cutting. Plants of this species have a fine appearance 
when isolated on grass. 
Liliuji pomponium veruji. 
This Lily is one of the most brilliant flowers in the 
garden at the present time. The blooms are of an 
intense shade of scarlet, produced in a very graceful 
manner. Our plants of this Lily are growing in a 
border of light loam without peat, and seem to be 
enjoying their position. In some catalogues peat is 
recommended. No doubt this is the most natural soil, 
but I have found loam to be equally suitable.— 
J. W. 0., Pinner. 
The Alpine Catchfly. 
What a charming little plant is Silene alpestris for 
rockwork, and being perennial and perfectly hardy, 
requires merely to be planted in a suitable place, and 
allowed to establish itself. It will make the best 
progress in a soil that is friable and rather loose than 
otherwise ; but will, perhaps, be most floriferous when 
grown more slowly. Short, creeping, underground 
stems permeate the soil a little beneath the surface, and 
soon form a compact mass, living and blooming for 
many years on the same spot, and often flowering so 
freely that some little difficulty is experienced in 
getting cuttings by which to propagate the plant. The 
flowers are pure white, the petals four-toothed, and the 
whole plant does not exceed 6 ins. in height. In the 
gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, at Chiswick, 
it has grown and flowered on the same spot for the last 
ten years probably. 
Achillea umbellata. 
The silvery-leaved species of this genus might be more 
frequently used for the higher and drier parts of the 
rockwork than they are at present. Whether in leaf 
merely, or in flower, it is rightly described as pretty. 
The flower stems reach a height of 6 ins., hearing an 
umbel of white heads, while the barren stems are 
prostrate, forming a carpet of a silvery grey colour. 
It requires very little soil, provided that it is deep 
enough to allow the roots to penetrate beyond the 
reach of drought; and when it has obtained firm foot¬ 
hold, the barren stems spread over the soil or stones to 
some distance. Of course, growth will be much more 
rapid if the procumbent stems can root into soil as 
they advance. It is chiefly prized for its foliage, and 
comes from Greece, but proves perfectly hardy in this 
country. 
The Taitrian Golden Drop. 
Botanically tills is Onosma stellulatum tauricum, 
generally known in gardens by the latter name only. 
It is one of the prettiest of Borageworts, exhibiting a 
colour by no means common in the order—blue, purple, 
and white being much more frequent. The cylindrical 
corolla is of a deep yellow, and almost truncate at the 
mouth, produced in one-sided racemes ; and the flowers 
even after expansion hang mouth downward, so that 
the popular name Golden Drop is an appropriate one. 
The plant, like many others of the Borageworts, proves 
short-lived or difficult to grow in the hands of some 
growers, while in other case3 it does not seem to 
present any difficulty whatever. A rather dry situation 
is more to its liking than a wet one, and a large plant 
on the rockery in the Royal Horticultural Society’s 
Gardens, Chiswick, seems to be perfectly happy. 
The Large-leaved Yarrow. 
The great size of the leaves of Achillea macrophyllum 
are unusual in the genus, giving rise to the specific 
name. The flower-heads being comparatively small 
and wholly white do not attract much attention, but 
as a strong-growing subject for naturalising in the 
wild garden it has probably few equals in the genus. 
A broad patch of it in a semi-wild part of the garden 
at Devonhurst, Chiswick, has been growing there ever 
since the garden formed part of that of the Royal 
Horticultural Society aud was probably planted many 
years previous to the giving up of that part of the 
garden known as the arboretum. 
-- 
NEWLY-PLANTED SUBJECTS. 
Having read the sensible and timely remarks of your 
correspondent, “ R. D.,” on the above subject, I may 
perhaps, be allowed to add a few words. Bedding out 
has been described as “twelve months’ labour, nine 
months’ fallow, and three months’ beauty,” and the 
assertion is correct as regards the system carried out in 
the majority of gardens, so that when dealing with 
subjects to make a summer display, it is absolutely 
necessary to success to put out good strong plants, and 
assist by watering, hoeing, and mulching, in order that 
they may soon become established in their new quarters, 
and give a bright and effective display in return for the 
labour bestowed upon them. Having always practised 
the plan of potting Pelargoniums singly in 60’s during 
February, giving them a little warmth, such as a 
vinery or Peach house at work would afford, and 
gradually hardening them off, so as to be able to stand 
them on an ash bottom outdoors as early in May as the 
weather would permit in some sheltered position, where 
covering might be applied should frost occur, it seemed 
somewhat strange to take charge, on May 1st, of a 
considerable quantity of Pelargoniums in boxes, and 
mostly old plants that were bedded out last season. 
They looked well—in fact, too well, for having had 
fire-heat, they presented that glowing appearance which 
they should have possessed when established in the 
beds. Well, I lost no time in removing them to cooler 
quarters—a sheltered position outdoors, not having 
cold frames at disposal. 
I was rather troubled about those plants, and 
wondered what sort of a figure they would cut should 
the weather prove hot and dry after they were planted 
out, as I found it impossible to take them out of the 
boxes with any ball attached. Having a good stock, 
I planted them thickly, and well firmed the soil around 
the roots, giving them a good soaking of water and a 
dewing with a rose water-pot every evening. The 
weather has proved to be in their favour, for we have 
had it dull with plenty of rain. Such things as 
African and French Marigolds, Ten-week Stocks, 
Phlox Drummondi, and Asters I prefer to treat as 
follows :—On a hard level bottom place a two or three- 
light box, according to the number of plants required, 
then put in a layer of well-rotted manure, beat or tread 
down firmly, so that it be about 3 ins. in depth, and on 
that place a layer of about 1 in. of finely sifted loam 
and leaf-soil. Prick out the seedlings about 3 ins. 
apart as soon as they are large enough to handle, and 
give them a gentle watering, keeping them close and 
shading them from sunshine until they have taken 
hold of the new soil. When established and ready to 
plant out they can he individually taken up with a 
good ball of roots attached, when they will still have 
something to feed on in their new quarters. Frames 
used for such a purpose can, of course, be taken off as 
soon as the plants are established. If such pricking 
out is done early in May and the little plants are 
attended to, they will be quite large enough by bedding- 
out time. Nothing is gained by having large leggy 
plants. 
