452 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 19, 1892. 
FLORICULTURE. 
That March came in blusteringly there can be no 
doubt, Boreas, with his stormy train, was heard 
roaring angrily, frost and snow were in his train, and 
cold of an unusual character. Let us hope it will 
quickly change, becoming lusty and full of life, with 
"crown of buds upon his open brow,” and like a 
sturdy giant lead forth young Spring ere the month 
melts away into April. 
Auriculas. 
In cold houses these have had a rough time of it, and 
for days the frost-bound soil was about their roots. 
One could but leave them to the tender mercies of 
nature. That the plants move onward in the face 
of hostile influences there can be no doubt. Should 
the cold weather change to warm, they will come on 
rapidly, and then extremes of cold should be 
guarded against. Air and light are all important—a 
clean surface and clean pots. I heard that collec¬ 
tions that have had the advantage of a little artificial 
warmth promise remarkably well. 
Carnations and Picotees. 
Potting-up in blooming pots is now a work demand¬ 
ing immediate attention. Some growers have 
already completed potting, and perhaps it is best 
done early that the plants may root freely and 
quickly. Better to have pots of roots than soil only. 
Good fibry yellow loam, well-decomposed manure, 
leaf soil, and some rough sand make an excellent 
potting compost. While the weather is wintry, and 
cold biting winds abound, the plants are best under 
shelter, as frost will do much harm to those newly 
potted. Carnations in the open ground have suffered 
severely from frost and winds ; the shoots should be 
tied up to stakes where they need it, and the soil 
about the plants gently stirred, and some top soil 
added as a dressing. 
Cinerarias 
Are in flower or about to come into bloom. Light 
and air are indispensable, and water when the 
weather is drying. Care must be taken to keep 
down green-fly and have the plants as clean as 
possible. A little weak manure water will greatly 
benefit plants in flower, and especially such as are 
pot-bound. 
Calceolarias. 
Cleanliness is equally necessary in the cases of 
these plants, keeping them in as cool a temperature 
as possible, but not allowing frost to reach them. 
Watering must on no account be neglected, and if 
the plants are in a house or frame by themselves, a 
gentle syringing may be given of aji evening in mild 
sunny weather, and the floor of the house kept 
moistened. The Calceolaria is a great absorbent of 
moisture, much more so than is generally supposed. 
Chrysanthemums. 
Rooted cuttings should now be placed singly in 
small pots, using a compost made of good loam, 
leaf soil and sand in equal parts. They should 
be kept close for a few days and then have air 
admitted, placing the forwardest in a cold frame. 
Such early-flowering varieties as Madame C. 
Desgrange, Mrs. Burrell, G. Wermig, and Mrs. 
Hawkins represent a rather delicate family, and 
should occupy a shelf near the glass in the warmest 
part of the house. Lip to the end of the month the 
forwardest potted plants can begot into coldfiames, 
and towards the end of the month the most forward 
into 5-in. pots. A coarser compost can now be used, 
one that has not been riddled, and a fourth part of 
good rotten manure can be mixed with the leaf 
soil, such as that from a spent hot-bed, pressing 
the soil firmly with the fingers at the time of potting. 
In mild weather an abundance of air should be given 
so as to secure vigour of growth, indeed the frame 
lights may be entirely removed by day. 
Dahlias. 
A bed with a fairly brisk bottom heat can now be 
employed for striking cuttings of Dahlias. On the 
dung bed should be laid a couple of inches or so of 
light soil, then the roots can be placed upon it, and 
half covered with mould. Too high a temperature 
results in a spindly growth. What should be aimed 
at is short, stout cuttings. The earliest shoots put 
up are generally hollow and of little value for cuttings, 
and these may be destroyed. For striking the 
cuttings a light sandy soil should be employed, and 
the pots plunged in fermenting material up to their 
rims. They will root in three weeks or so according 
to the weather. 
Fuchsias. 
Early-struck cuttings of these may now be potted 
in a rich compost having an abundance of leaf soil. 
They should have a slight shift only, and if 
repotted once in three weeks or -so the plants 
can soon be grown on into size, When making a 
rapid growth they should be kept in warmth, be 
syringed frequently, and the floor of the house 
kept moist. Cuttings strike quickly in moistened 
sand in a brisk heat. 
Pansies. 
Beds of Pansies now need to have the surface stirred 
occasionally, and kept clean of weeds. The frost 
may have operated to lift some of the plants and 
loosen them ; they should be pressed firmly into the 
beds, and some surface soil added. Seedlings from 
autumn-sown seeds now in store pans or boxes 
should be planted out to flower as soon as the present 
wintry weather changes to something more in keep¬ 
ing with spring. A little seed may now be sown to 
give successional batches. Any loose shoots of old 
plants should be secured to stakes. The earliest 
opportunity should be taken of filling up vacancies 
in beds and lines of violas, from the store plants a 
wise gardener always keeps in reserve. Those who 
have wintered their plants in cold frames should now 
prepare beds for planting them out as soon as the 
weather becomes favourable. 
Pelargoniums. 
These are scarcely flowered so early in the year as 
formerly; time was when a good head of bloom in 
May was looked for by all cultivators. Those plants 
intended to bloom early should now be developing 
their trusses, the house should be kept moderately 
warm, but a gentle current of air allowed to circulate. 
On warm, mild evenings a syringing may be given 
with advantage. Later flowering plants should be 
led gently on to make a vigorous shorLjointed 
growth, and be useful for house decoration at the 
end of June, July, and August. Green-fly will soon 
appear: their first appearance should be watched 
for, and their career cut short by a timely fumiga¬ 
tion. The fancy varieties require to be kept a 
little closer and warmer than the large flowering 
kinds. 
Pinks. 
The cold frosty winds of late have been trying for 
Pinks, and if they can be warded off by using sprays 
of Evergreen the plants will be all the better for the 
shelter. The surface soil may be kept fairly loose 
and open, and a good liberal top-dressing of rich soil 
given. When a change of weather comes the plants 
will begin to show signs of growth. Seeds of Pinks 
and Carnations may now be sown. 
Polyanthuses 
In pots appear to be much affected this season with 
a kind of rot which affects the main stem at the sur¬ 
face of the soil. Those in borders look a little 
miserable from the effects of snow and frost. 
Happy are they who, having wintered their plants in 
the open ground can, now lift and pot them, with a 
good ball of earth adhering to the roots. Any 
plants in beds will be benefitted by a good top¬ 
dressing. 
Ranunculus. 
Does any one grow these ? It is not too late to plant 
in a well-prepared bed, placing the roots about i£in. 
deep in it. At this late season frost is scarcely 
likely to affect them injuriously. It is a pity these 
charming subjects are so much neglected. At one 
time the Scarlet Turban was largely grown round 
London for bunching for market, but it is rare 
indeed to see a bed now. 
Tulips. 
Hailstorms and high cutting \\dnds do injury to the 
unprotected leaves, hence the reason for growers 
covering their beds when storms and frost are im¬ 
minent. Any hurt to the leaf is sure to affect in 
some measure both the bloom and the future bulb. 
For bright sunshine to fall on the frozen leaves is 
very hurtful, and so there is need for protection from 
the sun also. If the leaves w'hen stiftened by frost 
are stirred by high winds much damage is done. 
Water accumulates round the embryo blossoms after 
rain, and, if frozen, the effect is highly injurious. It 
is wise then to insist upon protection for the beds. 
Verbenas. 
But very few plants are now grown in pots for 
exhibition purposes, in fact, the Verbena may be 
said to have fallen away from the lists of exhibition 
subjects. Seeds may now be sown in a gentle 
bottom heat to furnish plants for bedding out during 
the coming summer, for the usefulness of the 
Verbena as a bedder is yet acknowledged. Young 
struck cuttings can be grown on for the same pur¬ 
pose, hardened off in due course and made as stocky 
and hardy as possible. Prizes are still offered at 
some shows for cut blooms, but they are generally 
poorly represented, and the Verbena appears to be a 
sadly declining quantity among florists’ flowers.— 
R. D. 
SPRING FLOWERS AT 
CHELSEA. 
With the absence of fog of any duration since 
Christmas flowering plants even in the metropolis 
look quite gay again, and foggy times are almost 
forgotten. Although we have had comparatively 
little sunshine, the atmosphere has been tolerably 
clear, and all classes of plants have therefore 
profited. The frosty nights and cold north and east 
winds have retarded vegetation both under glass and 
out of doors, otherwise spring flowers would be 
more plentiful than they are. In various depart¬ 
ments the houses are now gay in the nursery of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, and a little later 
on the Amaryllis house will offer its own special 
attraction to admiring visitors. 
Orchids. 
The cool houses are not yet at their best, but several 
species of Odontoglossum are in bloom, including 
the popular O. crispum and its forms as well as 
some grand pieces of O. Edwardi having large 
panicles of rich mauve-violet flowers. The warmer 
divisions are gay with a great variety of Cypri- 
pediums, Dendrobiums, Phalaenopsis, Angraecum, 
and other subjects. The list of the first-named 
would be too lengthy to enumerate. Amongst 
Cypripediums however were C. vernixium, C. 
villosum albo-marginatum with a distinct pure white 
margin, C. Mrs. Canham with its soft rosy and 
purple petals and large lip, C. Creon, a hybrid with 
a rich purple upper sepal and black veins, and C. 
Winnianum. The latter is a distinct looking hybrid 
having the upper sepal oval and yellow' suffused with 
brown on the lower half, greenish upwards with a 
white edge and a broad rich dark brown midrib. 
Dendrobiums are represented by D. Findleyanum, 
D. Harveyanum, D. Ainsworthii, the hybrid 
D. Schneiderianum with its flattened orange-yello.v 
lip striated with crimson at the base, and 
others. 
Many plants of Dendrochilum glumaceum with 
their graceful, drooping spikes serve to brighten up 
the stages considerably. Amongst Angrsecums are 
the fragrant A. citratum, the curious and small but 
floriferous A. hyaloides and A. fastuosum. The 
latter, although a small plant naturally, has large 
pure white flowers and spurs 3 in. to 4 in. long. 
Many plants of Oncidium ampliatum majus are 
either flowering or will soon expand their showy 
blossoms. 
The house in this department fitted up with rock- 
work of Derbyshire tufa is always kept gay with a 
mixed assemblage of various Orchids, while the rocks 
themselves are clothed with the close creeping Ficus 
minima, Selaginella serpens and others. Amongst 
the things to be noted is a fine plant of Phaius 
Wallichi, with its pale brownish-yellow sepals and 
petals, and a yellow, purple, and white lip. A 
singular looking thing is Lycaste gigantea, with its 
long greenish sepals and petals, slightly tinted with 
a fuscous brown hue on the inner face, and its deep, 
rusty-red lip. Other choice plants in this house are 
Lycaste Skinneri alba, Coelogyne cristata alba, both 
pure white, and Dendrobium crassinode album, also 
pure white, with exception of a large orange-yellow 
blotch on the lip. D. Farmeri, with its dense, droop¬ 
ing raceme of delicate, blush-white flowers, is also 
very choice. 
Neither can Pleione humilis. with its lip 
beautifully marbled with a tawny brown, be over¬ 
looked. Oncidium luridum will also be fine in a 
short time. Ihe branching flower stem is 4 ft. to 
5 ft. high, and one leaf measures 25 in. in length by 
4J in. in width, while another is 19 in. long and 6in. 
wide. 
The display in the Cattleya house is also fine. At 
this early season the bulk of the plants in bloom 
consist of C. Trianae and its varieties, including 
numerous samples of C. 1 . alba. Then of this 
species alone there are about 650 blooms at the 
present time. The beautiful and interesting Laelia 
glauca is also in flower. 
