234 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 13, 1890. 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
SEASONABLE WORK in the GARDEN. 
Amaryllis.—Those who grow a large stock of 
bulbs of this class of plants could now re-pot a batch 
for early work. Select well-ripened bulbs if the 
general stock was late in finishing its growth, and 
use a compost of good turfy loam with some well-rotted 
cow manure and sand, to render the whole porous and 
open. The pots containing them may be stood on a 
shelf over the hot-water pipes near the glass in the 
forcing house, taking care that a fair amount of 
ventilation is given after growth commences, to pre¬ 
vent the flower stems and ultimately the leaves from 
getting drawn. 
The Heating of Stoves. —During inclement 
weather a greater amount of fire heat is necessary than 
at other times. There is a danger, however, of over¬ 
doing it. The temperature should be slightly under 
the standard figure than over it. Then again, a bright 
fire may be made up early in the morning to counteract 
the natural and generally great fall of the temperature 
out-of-doors occurring at daybreak. There is generally 
a prospect of a bright day after frost, and the fires 
should be well damped down, so as not to raise the 
temperature of the house unduly, for positive harm is 
done when plants should be resting in the present 
feeble light. 
Bouvardias.—As the earlier plants go past their 
best, they may be placed in cool quarters for a time, 
preparatory to cutting them down, and re-starting 
them in order to get a stock of cuttings for next year’s 
work. Plants which are throwing up fresh shoots and 
flower buds should be encouraged to do so, for the 
flowers are always acceptable. 
Chinese Primulas.—The house in which these 
are grown should be kept buoyant during the prevalence 
of fog and wet. A small amount of ventilation should 
be given at the same time in order to permit of the 
escape of vapour. See also that the drainage of the 
pots is good, so that no undue amount of moisture may 
be allowed to lay about the collar of the plant to cause 
damping there. 
Soman Hyacinths.—As these come into bloom 
they may be removed to the greenhouse or conservatory. 
Those who object to the powerful odour given off by 
them in a high temperature, will find them much more 
bearable in a cool house. 
Cinerarias.—The liability of this class of plants to 
be attacked by green-fly is well known. Before they 
come into bloom they should be lightly fumigated with 
tobacco paper on two successive nights, to destroy any 
insects that may be present. -If done after the plants 
are in bloom, the flowers themselves are injured. 
Violets.—A few pots of the Neapolitan Violet may 
be staged amongst the plants in the conservatory, where 
they will make their presence felt, aided by the slightly 
higher temperature. 
Early Vines.—Growers should not be in too great. 
a hurry in the disbudding of the early Vines, choosing 
rather to wait and see which shoot is going to be the 
best before removing the others. If the Vines are old 
and the spurs long, care should of course be taken to 
preserve any back buds which may appear, with the 
view of shortening the spur at the next pruning. 
Figs .—The plants in houses that were closed in 
November should now be showing signs of growth by 
the elongating of the terminal bud, and the swelling 
of the young embryo fruits. Provided the temperature 
is being principally kept up by means of fermenting 
materials, it will be necessary now to examine the 
same as to its temperature. Should the latter range 
between 75° and 80° some fresh material will now have 
to be added. This should previously have been 
fermented in a heap in some place from which rain 
and snow were excluded. Syringe the plants once a 
day where fermenting materials are used, and twice a 
day where the temperature is kept up by means of 
piping alone. 
Cucumbers.—The temperature at present should 
be kept up to 60° or 65° at night, and where the house 
is entered from an outside door, care should be taken 
not to go into the house oftener than is absolutely 
necessary during frosty and inclement weather, for every 
time the door is opened there is a rush of cold air to 
the interior, which is greatly injurious to the tender 
foliage. Little stopping will now be required ; but all 
fruits should be gathered as soon as they are fit for use, 
and superfluous young fruit removed, so as to ease the 
plants as much as possible. 
Apples and Pears.—The fruit rooms should be 
carefully gone over from time to time, so as to remove 
all decayed fruit to prevent its tainting and spoiling 
the rest. The sound fruits should be handled as little 
as possible—in fact, if laid in siugle layers as they 
ought to be, scarcely any handling will be necessary. 
Forced Plants.—Continue to introduce fresh 
batches to the forcing houses, in order to keep up the 
requisite supplies of Roman Hyacinths, Azaleas, Lily of 
the Valley, Lilacs, Deutzias, Spiraeas and such things. 
H. P. Roses may also be introduced to a house where 
the temperature is not kept very high. They must be 
brought on gradually. 
Kitchen Garden.—Take advantage of frosty 
weather to wheel on to the ground all manure, rotted 
leaves, old vegetable refuse that has been well rotted by 
having lain for some time, also the ashe3 that have 
been obtained by the burning of wood. Every 
advantage should be taken of open weather to prune 
the bush and pyramid Apples and Pears often planted 
round the squares in the kitchen garden. The same 
applies to fruit trees on walls. Pruning cannot 
comfortably be carried on during hard frost or snow¬ 
storms, nor is it desirable to execute such work at that 
time. 
-- 
SHRUBS FOR PLANTING UNDER 
TREES. 
Under the spreading head of many a fine old tree it is 
impossible in many cases to get the grass to grow. 
Repeated sowings of seed and turfing dovn at last 
convince the gardener that something else must be 
tried. This is almost of a necessity the case when the 
branches sweep the ground, except, perhaps in the 
case of the Birch, Larch, Ash, Hawthorn and similar 
subjects with small leaves, which only partly obstruct 
the light. Broad-leaved trees, such as the Horse Chest¬ 
nut, Plane, Sycamore, and densely leafy trees like the 
Evergreen Oak, Spruces, Silver Firs and others have the 
same effect. Single specimens of the Beech, Oak, Elm, 
and similar trees are not so bad, unless planted thickly 
together, when of course hardly any kind of vegetation 
can exist. In close plantations it is a matter of little 
importance whether grass grows or not ; but when 
trees are planted singly on lawns and pleasure grounds, 
the ground underneath them becomes an eye-sore if 
wholty devoid of grass. On the other hand, the 
lopping of the lower branches in order to let in the 
light may not always be desirable. In such cases the 
best expedient is to fork up the ground lightly, and 
plant something which will thrive sufficiently in shade 
to hide the bare ground. 
Dwarf or moderately tall subjects may be used 
according to fancy or circumstances. For instance, a 
clump of the Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) 
under a tree would appear quite natural and feel at 
home, for it is often found growing naturally in copse 
and thicket, as well as in the most exposed and rocky 
places on the sea-shore, Under trees it would form 
compact bushes from 1 ft. to 2 ft. high. Being a 
native of Britain it is perfectly hardy, and may be 
grown in almost any part of the country. The 
flattened branches, resembling leaves and popularly 
termed so, terminate in spines, and the tissues when 
fully developed, being of a leathery character are not 
much troubled by animals of any kind after they 
become mature. The Double Tongue (Ruscus Hypo- 
phyllum), although a congener of the above, is 
considerably different in general appearance, because 
the cladodes or leaf-like branches are oblong-lanceolate, 
3 ins. to 5 ins. long, thinner in texture, and more 
leafy. The plant is also dwarfer, not exceeding 18 ins. 
in height, although more often seen only 12 ins. high. 
Like the Butcher’s Broom it maintains a dark green 
colour all the year round. It is a native of the 
Mediterranean region, but is not much cultivated in 
Britain at present, although introduced in 1640. 
The Alexandrian Laurel (Danre racemosa) is a native 
of Portugal, and closely allied to the above, but is 
taller and more graceful than either. It is usually 
seen about 2 ft. or 3 ft. high, and may even reach a 
height of 4 ft. under favourable circumstances. The 
cladodes are oblong or lanceolate, acute, narrow, and 
of a bright green. It is not so hardy as the Butcher’s 
Broom, but might be preferred by some. The berries 
are red, ripening in winter, and are borne in a terminal 
raceme, unlike those of the Butcher’s Broom and the 
Double Tongue, which spring from the flattened 
branches in clusters. The name Alexandrian Laurel 
has, no doubt, been applied from the fact that some 
authors supposed it to be the plant with which victors 
were crowned in ancient times. Laurus nobilis was, 
however, the subject used on those occasions. 
It may not be generally known that Ancuba japonica 
gives great satisfaction as a subject for planting under 
trees, but such is the case, and some gardeners prefer 
it to Ivy. A stock of small plants may soon be 
obtained’by taking cuttings and inserting them iu a 
north aspect border, slightly shaded, and treated much 
in the same way as cuttings of Cherry Laurel. If put 
in a cold frame the chances are that a much larger 
percentage of them would form roots. After one 
summer’s growth the young plants may be utilised for 
covering bare spaces under trees. As growth is slow 
for some years they may be planted thickly, and 
afterwards thinned out for planting elsewhere. By the 
use of the knife, not the shears, they may he kept low 
and bushy for some years, but if berries are wanted 
the knife should be withheld. It would be necessary 
also to use male and female plants in the clump or 
plantation. 
The Mahonia (Berberis aquifolium) will thrive in 
the full sun or in partial shade, and might be preferred 
by some for the sake of variety. Not only is the 
foliage handsome at all seasons, but the flowers and 
fruit are also very ornamental. For the sake of foliage 
alone the bushes may be kept dwarf by means of the 
knife. This may be done in spring just before growth 
commences, and after all danger from frost is over. 
No pruning would be required in the case of 
Hypericum calycinum, which grows about 1 ft. high, 
and flowers at the end of the shoots. The latter are 
often of a semi-deciduous character, consequently an 
abundance of shoots are annually thrown up from the 
rootstock. The foliage, if it can neither be considered 
striking nor handsome, forms a pleasing contrast to 
bare ground, while the yellow flowers are both large 
and handsome. This species might be more largely 
utilised than it is at present for this purpose. As far 
as culture is concerned it requires but a minimum of 
attention after the plantation has been established. 
Recourse is often had to Ivy as a subject to form a 
dwarf, green carpet under trees, and is perfectly 
adapted for the purpose ; but unless used in moderation 
it gets tiresome, on account of its sameness and lack of 
variety. It is true that there are many varieties of 
Ivy, but many of the small-leaved kinds are unsuitable. 
The Irish Ivy (Hedera Helix latifolia) is most commonly 
employed, but others less gross in their growth might 
he utilised, such as the common wild form, also H. H. 
palmata, H. H. digitata, H. H. himalaica, H. H. 
dentata and others. 
A dwarf and highly suitable subject that has been 
comparatively neglected of late years is the Lesser 
Periwinkle (Vinca minor), which naturally grows in 
shaded places, and even when allowed free scope in a 
wood or plantation thoroughly monopolises the ground, 
forming a rich carpet of the darkest green. Plantations 
of it under trees form dense masses, effectually keeping 
down all weeds. There are variegated forms, one 
having the leaves irregularly margined with white, and 
another with yellow. The flowers also differ in colour 
in different varieties, and all may be planted separately 
or in mixture. The Greater Periwinkle (V. major) has 
much larger ovate leaves and large flowers, and there is 
a variegated form. Both may he employed for the 
same purpose as the Lesser Periwinkle. 
-- 
HIBISCUS SURATTENSIS. 
Many species of Hibiscus have been introduced from 
time to time, hut at present comparatively few are in 
cultivation. The subject of this note was originally 
introduced from the East Indies in 1731, hut it is 
hardly probable that it has been cultivated continuously 
for half of the time since then till the present day. A 
specimen is now flowering in the stove at Kew. It has 
a long slender stem trained up imder one of the rafters, 
and deeply divided five-lobed leaves resembling those 
of the common Passion Flower to some extent. The 
flowers are of large size, and produced singly from the 
axils of the leaves along the stem, which does not 
appear to be much inclined to branch. They are of 
large size and yellow, slightly tinted with coppery red, 
while a large crimson blotch at the base of each petal 
forms a continuous band in the centre of the flower. 
Besides the true calyx, there is an outer one or whorl 
of ten or eleven bracts of curious appearance. They 
are stalked, and then expand into an oblong lamina, 
from which subulate, erect processes are given off 
The plant is of annual duration, and the stems are 
furnished with reversed prickles, so as to enable the 
plant to climb or scramble up amongst other kinds of 
vegetation. 
