May 28, 1892. 
the gardening world. 
615 
Gardening Miscellany. 
COLEUS FOR EXHIBITION. 
I should be glad of a little information on the sub¬ 
ject of the culture of Coleuses for exhibition. Would 
some experienced reader tell me whether the plants 
should be exposed to bright sunshine at all times in 
order to heighten their colours, or is it best to give a 
slight shading during the middle of the day ? Also, 
having regard to the colour, is it advantageous to 
syringe them in the evening when the sun has gone 
down ? To what extent may stimulants be applied 
without affecting the colour ? It is an easy matter 
to grow the plants to almost any size—I have had 
them in 12-in. pots 6 ft. high and 4 ft. through—but 
it is not so easy to get them so large as that and well 
coloured by the middle of July. This year we are 
restricted to 8-in. pots, and to, get good plants they 
must be fed as much as possible so as not to affect 
the colour. Our plants are in a span-roofed house 
with a night temperature of from 65° to 70T— T. B. 
NEW ZEALAND WATER LILY. 
For some time past, that is, since its introduction 
in 1879, Ranunculus Lyalli has been looked upon as 
a greenhouse plant; but it is now evident that under 
certain favourable conditions it may be grown in the 
open air all the year round. A plant is now flower¬ 
ing on the rockery at Kew. It is planted in a cool 
peaty bed which was made up for peat-loving plants 
some years ago. The position where the Ranunculus 
is planted is exposed to sunshine for a short time in 
the morning only, while all the afternoon it is shaded 
by some Weymouth Pines high upon the bank above, 
and sufficiently distant to prevent the roots of the 
trees from interfering with the plant. It was only 
a small specimen when placed here two years ago, 
and consequently did not flower last year ; but now 
a fine stem has been thrown up bearing numerous 
flowers, of w'hich the first has been expanded for 
more than a week. The petals are wedge-shaped, 
pure white, and much more numerous than in any of 
our native Buttercups. The leaves are also strikingly 
different, being peltate, orbicular, rather deeply 
concave above, and of a rich dark green. In its 
native country the plant throws up stems 2 ft. to 
4 ft. high, with leaves occasionally i-J ft. in diameter, 
and when such is the case the foliage must simulate 
that of a Nelumbium except in colour. We can 
hardly expect the plant to attain such huge dimen¬ 
sions in this country, but specimens of moderate size 
would be very handsome. With regard to its hardi¬ 
ness it may be stated that the plant in bloom has 
been in its present position for the past two winters. 
COMBRETUM PURPUREUM. 
About 120 species of Combretum are known to 
science, but of these only a small number have 
been introduced to cultivation, and none of them 
are very common. That under notice is, per¬ 
haps, the most popular and oftenest flowered, 
although that does not frequently happen. In all 
probability they are not allowed to attain sufficient 
size to flower freely, as they are climbers in many 
cases and require age and size to bloom. At all events 
there is no difficulty in flowering C. purpureum when 
.allowed to attain anything like its natural dimensions. 
The flowers are of moderate or even small size, but 
'their numbers and rich red colour make up for any 
■ deficiency in this respect. They are borne in branch¬ 
ing or panicled racemes, and are so arranged that 
'they all turn to one side of the raceme, facing one 
way. The petals are much assisted in producing an 
effect by the long, projecting stamens which are of 
the same hue. There is nothing particularly striking 
about the foliage, but its dark green hue serves to 
show off the rich hue of the flowers. A plant trained 
along the roof of a stove in the gardens of E. M. 
Nelson, Esq., Hanger Hill House, Ealing, has been 
flowering for some time past. 
TROP/EOLUM MRS. CLIBRAN. 
Several continuous and free-flowering Tropaeolums 
have been raised from time to time and found very 
useful for bedding purposes. Some of the finest of 
them are of some shade of scarlet, but that here 
named is of a clear and bright orange-yellow without 
any spotting whatever. The variety is very suitable 
for bedding purposes, in fact more so than the varie¬ 
ties of T. minus which are raised from seeds, and are 
very apt in dry seasons to produce a blaze of colour. 
run to seed, and then become quite flowerless for the 
rest of the season. Besides the above use to which 
it may be put the plant may be grown in pots for the 
greenhouse or conservatory or be taken into the 
dwelling house. The cut flowers also last for some 
days in water, and look very elegant either by them¬ 
selves or in association with other cut flowers and 
foliage. We saw flowers of' it the other day at 
Regent’s Park from Messrs. W. Clibran & Son, Old¬ 
field Nurseries, Altrincham. 
ARISARUM PROBOSCIDIUM 
The spathe of this little Aroid reminds one very 
strongly of the uplifted proboscis or trunk of an 
elephant, as the specific name would imply. The 
lower part is bent, inflated, and of a grey colour with 
olive green veins, while all the upper portion is of a 
deep shining olive brown, ending in a long tail or 
point which is curved forward, then upward ; it is 
slender and sometimes attains a length of yin. The 
leaves are sagittate, of a deep shining green, and 
produced in great abundance. The spathes project¬ 
ing from amongst the leaves have a peculiar and 
interesting appearance. The plant is a native of the 
Upper Arno and the Apennines and is said to flower in 
February, and this it may do under greenhouse 
culture, but when planted in the open ground it 
flowers in May and June, as it may be seen at present 
upon the rockery at Kew, where there is a plant in 
full vigour and bloom. 
RHODODENDRON COLLETTIANUM. 
In its native country this is stated to attain a height 
of 8 ft. to 10 ft., but to see it flowering in this 
country at a height of 12 in. to 18 in. one would 
hardly suspect it capable of ultimately attaining such 
a height. The leaves in the dwarf condition at least 
are not very much larger than those of the European 
R. ferrugineum, being, however, rather broader and 
oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, deep opaque green 
above, paler beneath, scaly there, and of leathery 
texture. The flowers are much larger, however, 
than those of R. ferrugineum, pure white, and pro¬ 
duced in dense, terminal heads or corymbs. The 
species is a native of Afghanistan, and was grown 
for several years under the name of R. Afghanicum 
until it flowered. Plants die off occasionally, but 
apparently not under the influence of cold, as the 
past winter and that previous must have been a very 
fair test. 
DISPORUM SESSILE VARIEGATUM. 
The variegation of this plant is fine, but its beauty 
is in great part lost by the rambling habit of the 
underground stems or rhizomes, so that when planted 
out it rambles all over the place, so that its beauty 
is fritted away so to speak in little pieces. It might 
be treated like several other subjects such as Alstroe- 
maria aurantiaca, and plunged in pots, especially in 
places where it is desirable that it should be kept 
within a limited space. There is another reason, 
however, for confining it, and that is because the 
scattered stems lose that effect they would have in a 
mass. The leaves are lanceolate, sessile, and heavily 
variegated with a clear white. 
GENISTA HISPANICA. 
The species of Genista are both numerous and very 
varied both in size and habit. That under notice is 
very dwarf, compact and floriferous. The barren 
branches are short, very much ramified, and termi¬ 
nate in strong spines. The flowering branches on the 
contrary are short, erect, spineless, and furnished 
with small, oval or oblong, spineless leaves. The 
golden-yellow flowers are produced in great abun¬ 
dance in short, terminal capitate racemes. Being a 
native of the south-western countries of Europe, in¬ 
cluding Spain, it proves hardy here, and nowhere 
looks better than where planted on some elevated 
piece of ground amongst rocks, stones, and similar 
objects. Many of these shrubby Leguminous sub¬ 
jects like to be planted in elevated places or dry, half 
barren spots, where they become hardy, wiry, and 
flower in great profusion. Under different conditions 
the plant varies from 6 in. to 2 ft. in height, and is 
well worthy of the attention of the planter. 
DENTARIA BULBIFERA 
This is reckoned one of our native plants, but is by 
no means common either in gardens or in a wild 
state. The flowers may be compared to those of the 
Dame’s Violet, but are much fewer in number, of a 
pale lilac, with darker veins, and borne on the top of 
stems about 12 in or 18 in high. The lower leaves 
are pinnate, with oblong or lanceolate leaflets, while 
the uppermost ones are lanceolate and altogether un¬ 
divided. Most of those on the upper part of the 
stem are furnished with reddish bulbils in their axils, 
like Lilium bulbiferum and L tigrinum. It may be 
described as a pretty and interesting plant although 
by no means showy. 
SCOTTISHnSTOTES. 
Northof Scotland Horticultural Associai ion 
—A well-attended meeting of this Association was 
held in the Young Men’s Christian Institute, Aber¬ 
deen, on Wednesday evening, 18th inst , Mr. France, 
president, in the chair. A committee, appointed on 
a suggestion by the president to consider the advis 
ability of altering the name of the Association, 
reported that they had resolved unanimously to 
recommend to the annual meeting that the Associa¬ 
tion be designated in future “ The North of Scotland 
Horticultural and Arboricultural Association 
Further, the committee reported that it had had 
under consideration the question of differential rates 
of subscription, and considered that the only change 
necessary was that suggested at the last general 
meeting, viz., to fix the subscriptions of apprentices 
at is. per annum, and give awards for essays, etc., 
with the view of widening the work of the Associa¬ 
tion and stimulating young gardeners in the carrying 
out of their profession. It was decided to recom¬ 
mend the adoption of the proposals to the annual 
meeting. 
The secretary reported that he had communicated 
with Sir Arthur Grant, of Monymusk, asking that 
the members of the Association be permitted to visit 
Monymusk on 2nd June. Sir Arthur had replied 
that he would be glad to see the members on the 
date mentioned. The next business on the card was 
a paper on " Daffodils and Narcissi," by Mr. A. 
Hope, of Messrs. R. Veitch & Sons, Exeter, and 
which was read by the secretary, Mr. G. C. Minty. 
The paper was very much appreciated, and a hearty 
vote of thanks passed to Mr. Hope. A fine display 
of Daffodils and Narcissi, and other spring flowers, 
which was on view in the room, was inspected with 
interest by the members. 
-- 
PLANTING OUT RICH ARDIAS. 
As opinions differ somewhat respecting the benefits 
derived from planting out these m 1st useful Lilies, 
I will give a short outline of the method I follow, 
and can only say that the results are so satisfactory 
that I intend to continue in this way of treating my 
plants. I have uses for large quantities of these 
flowers, and have found the following an excellent 
and easy way of securing strong, healthy, and free 
flowering roots:—About the end of the present month 
(May), or early in June, I have a trench prepared in 
much the same way as that used for Celery, taking 
care to fork in a fair amount of well-decayed manure. 
The plants are now knocked out of their pots, parted 
and planted into the trench at once : receiving a 
thorough watering as soon as possible. 
I now afford them a generous mulching of short 
stable manure ; this keeps the moisture from 
evaporating and at the same time keeps the soil cool 
and uniform throughout the summer and autumn. 
Unless we get an exceptionally dry summer, they 
will not require more than one or two more water¬ 
ings, and these should always be thorough, so as to 
penetrate well down to the roots. When treated in 
this manner, much labour and time are saved com¬ 
pared to the system of growing them in pots all the 
summer; at the same time the plants make much 
freer and stouter growth under such conditions and 
with unrestricted root-run. 
Like almost all bulbous-rooted subjects, the Arum 
Lily will not flower nearly so satisfactory unless the 
previous growth has been strong, and the flower spikes 
practically stored up in the crown. By the middle 
of October I have the plants taken up, lifting them 
carefully and with large balls ; these should be re¬ 
duced by working away the soil with a stick until the 
lump of roots is of such a size as to go readily into the 
pot you have designed for them. Pot firmly and well 
drain. Now stand the plants on the shady side of a 
wall or hedge, and afford them a thorough soaking at 
the roots, and a slight syringe overhead ; this latter 
may begiven frequently, and will prevent theirflagging 
to any appreciable extent. 
As soon as they are recovered from their shift, it 
will be necessary to remove them to a cool house or 
