488 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 31, 1894 
Smaller plants are best kept over the first winter 
in small 6o’s. These should be placed in a cold 
frame, having the lights off on all favourable 
occasions, so that growth is not prematurely excited. 
From the middle to the end of March is a good 
time to repot these plants into 48’s, using a compost 
of good turfy loam, three parts and one third well 
decayed stable manure, with enough coarse sand to 
keep it open. Pot firm, place in a cold frame, and 
guard against late spring frost, reduce the number 
of shoots when potting to three or four, attend well 
to watering, never letting them suffer from want of 
it. The best of these plants may have another shift 
into six inch pots during May, and are best plunged 
outside in ashes, old tan, etc. In doing this, allow 
plenty of room for proper exposure to the influences 
of sun and air. Stake the plants when about nine 
inches high, for if left till much longer than that 
they frequently get broken off by strong winds. 
Place a stick to each shoot and tie out so that each 
spike of flower will be shown to the best advantage. 
During the first season give manure water rather 
sparingly. 
These plants may be used for any decorative pur¬ 
pose, or allowed to remain in the plunge bed. After 
the flowering season is over cut them back, and let 
them remain plunged in the open till the following 
spring, when if large specimens are desired shift on 
into number 24 and 16 pots, using the same compost, 
only let it be rougher. Reduce the number of shoots, 
allowing from eight to twelve to a number 24, and 
twelve to eighteen to a number 16 pot. They are 
much benefited by sprinkling with the syringe 
during hot dry weather in the evening, and frequent 
waterings of liquid manure. Where large plants in 
pots are net desired the two year old plants come in 
admirably for planting out. Do this early in March. 
Enrich the ground well with decayed manure, mulch 
and water copiously at all times during dry weather. 
To have them succeed well in borders frequent 
renewals are necessary, as they soon exhaust the soil 
and in consequence become poor ; the stools in open 
borders are much benefited by having the number 
of growths thinned out as advocated for those grown 
in pots, stronger shoots and larger trusses of bloom 
resulting therefrom. Being surface rooters watering 
during dry weather is essential to their well being, 
and if liquid manure is given every third or fourth 
time the extra labour will meet with its due reward. 
The following is a choice selection of present day 
varieties :— Phlox suffruticosa : Mrs. James Robert¬ 
son, rich lilac, shaded with purple; Forerunner, 
white and rose clouded, fine crimson eye—a new 
type; James Thomson, deep rose, large flower and 
spike; Miss Cooke, white shaded rose, fine crimson 
eye; Miss R. Martin, pure white, deep rosy crimson 
eye ; Allan McLean, rosy purple and of the finest 
form. Phlox decussaia : Snowflake, finest white, 
dwarf and free flowering; Mrs. Laing, delicate soft 
rosy lilac; Lothair, light scarlet, shaded with 
purple; George Greive, rosy salmon, crimson eye, 
distinct and beautiful ; J. K. Lord ; Gloire d’Orleans, 
white, with rose centre, foliage broadly and evenly 
margined, extremely effective ; Ivanhoe ; Le Soliel, 
rose, with bright centre, dwarf habit; Madame 
Barillet, delicate pink, with bright rose centre, late ; 
William Gorrie ; Henri Brisson ; Henri Regnault, 
clear magenta rose, with salmon shade towards the 
edges, extra large flowers, and grand spike.— 
IF. B. G. 
—-- 
EXOTIC FERNS AND THEIR CULTURE. 
[Continued from p. 471.) 
Large baskets of Nephrolepsis exaltata, suspended 
from the roof in prominent positions impart a feature to 
the conservatory that seldom fails to be appreciated. 
N. davallioides, N.tuberosa, and others, make graceful 
baskets. When the plants become established in the 
baskets, abundance of water should be given, 
inasmuch as if a basket is allowed to get dry, the 
pinnae of the frond will assume a yellow appearance 
and eventually drop off. The quaint old Platycerium 
should never be forgotten where basket Ferns are in 
requisition; being an epiphytic Fern, it succeeds 
best when grown in baskets or on blocks of wood. 
P. alcicorne, commonly called the Elk’s-horn Fern, 
P. Willinckii, and P. Grande, are three of the best. 
The latter requires stove temperature. The Platy- 
ceriums do best in peat and sphagnum moss. 
Woodwardia radicans makes a capital basket plant, 
so also do some of the Aspleniums, namely, A. 
flabellifolium, A. flaccidum, and A. longissimum. 
Time will only permit me to name a few of the most 
noteworthy Ferns suitable for baskets. Indeed, tbe 
great number of them from their pendulous habit, 
and the graceful elegance of their fronds, renders 
them so desirable that it is with reluctance I have to 
make many important omissions of various kinds 
that are indispensable for basket culture. Careful 
attention should be paid with regard to watering, 
especially in the case of large baskets of Adiantums, 
which should be carefully watered around the out¬ 
side of the basket, and if the outside be thoroughly 
watered, the centre will generally keep sufficiently 
moist. Unless attention is given in this direction, 
the centre of the basket will be saturated and the 
under portion become nude of fronds. 
Tree Ferns. 
Whether for the embellishment of the fernery or for 
effectively decorating the conservatory, no other 
class of plants is more useful than well grown speci¬ 
mens of the Arboreal forms of Ferns. Alsophila 
australis, with its graceful arching, fronds elevated 
on a long stem, is very effective, so also is A. 
excelsa. Cyathea has many valuable species to 
recommend it. The under surface of the fronds of 
C. dealbata, being silvery-white, contrast favourably 
with C. medullaris, C. princeps, and the delightful 
green and densely-clothed fronds of C. Smithii. 
Dicksonias are invaluable for decorative purposes, 
D. Squarrosa and D. Antarctica being of graceful habit 
are much appreciated. Didymochlaena lunatata 
makes a handsome specimen, and deserves to be 
more extensively grown. There are several species 
of Lomaria that are worthy of a position in every 
collection of Tree Ferns. Healthy plants of L. gibba, 
grown in from 5in. to yin. pots, are most useful for filling 
vases, nor are the larger specimens when furnished 
with perfect heads less valuable. Blechnum 
corcovadense, though erect in habit, produces' 
brightly-tinted fronds in the first stage of their 
development, and is very attractive. Tree Ferns 
should never be allowed to get dry, and the trunk of 
the tree should be syringed or otherwise constantly 
damped over, for a considerable amount of moisture 
is inhaled by the white tipped roots that are 
produced on the trunk. Cyathea medullaris is a 
free-growing species, and requires a lofty house to 
show itself to advantage, and even in lofty houses I 
have seen its handsome fronds disfigured and 
crippled for want of head room. 
If a tree Fern becomes too tall for its present 
position, by placing a box up to the stem filled with 
Fern compost (which should be made firm), it will 
root into the compost as freely as a Croton or 
Dracaena ; the process will be of longer duration 
certainly, but none the less sure. I give two 
examples, in the rooting of which I was personally 
concerned, namely, large specimens of Cyathea 
medullaris and Alsophila australis. Both experi¬ 
ments were attended with the most satisfactory 
results. The time required before the under portion 
can with safety be severed from the upper will be 
from twelve to eighteen months. It should be cut 
away by degrees, commencing by cutting a notch in 
the stem under the box, repeating the operation at 
intervals until it is safe to disconnect it altogether. 
Filmy Ferns. 
Anyone acquainted with their culture is aware how 
extravagantly fond the charming Filmy Ferns are of 
shade and moisture. They do not require so much 
heat as the country in which some of them are found 
would suggest, for the species that are found grow¬ 
ing in tropical America, West Indies, etc., are at 
considerable elevations, and in humid and densely- 
shaded localities, so that the coolest and most shady 
position in the fernery should be selected for their 
accommodation. The safest method of culture is to 
place them in a case or under a bell glass, by which 
means a greater amount of moisture will be con¬ 
served. The compost should be fibrous peat that 
has been well beaten out, so that nothing but the 
fibre remains; with this mix chopped sphagnum 
moss and sharp silver sand. Those having rhizomes 
succeed satisfactorily on a portion of the trunk of a 
Tree Fern, or on blocks of wood that have been 
charred, and sandstone is sometimes used. Hymeno- 
phyllum includes many handsome species, so also 
does Trichomanes, both requiring precisely the same 
treatment. 
The Todea, though not in reality a filmy Fern, 
so closely resembles one in appearance, and also 
requires precisely the same method of culture. 
Todea is composed of some half-a-dozen species, 
but that which commands the greatest admiration is 
unquestionably T. superba, and a well-grown speci¬ 
men of it for symmetry and for the depth of 
colouring of its exquisite green fronds is rarely if 
ever surpassed by any other species of the whole 
family of Ferns. 
Compost for Potting. 
Unless in cases to. which I have referred in my 
preceding remarks, when good fibrous loam can be 
obtained, preference should be given to a mixture of 
tw'o parts fibrous loam, two parts leaf mould, one 
part peat, and a sprinkling of sharp silver sand, to 
which should be added a few handfuls of broken 
potsherds or charcoal to keep the compost open, so 
that the water may percolate freely through it. I 
have found the majority of Ferns succeed better in 
the above compost than when a greater proportion 
of peat has been used. 
[To bt continued.) 
--»*•-- 
|aRDEN1NG ^ISCELLANY. 
PRUNUS CERASlFcRA PISSARDII. 
The purple-leaved form of the Myrobalan Plum has 
a double or even treble interest for the cultivator. 
In the first place it is perfectly hardy and flowers in 
the open ground during March, April or May, appa¬ 
rently varying considerably with the season in 
different localities. At present it is flowering finely 
in the neighbourhood of London, including KeW 
Gardens, and does not appear to have suffered from 
the comparatively severe frosts which occurred about 
the middle of the month, for several nights in suc¬ 
cession. The flowers are white or slightly tinted 
with blush, and as they fall, the deep purple foliage 
makes the tree a conspicuous object in the garden or 
pleasure grounds until the leaves fall in autumn. 
The purple hue is so decided that very fine effects 
are produced by growing a few trees in clumps or 
large beds for the sake of contrast with green or 
variegated leaved trees or shrubs of other colours. 
The tree with which it is most often contrasted is 
perhaps Negundo aceroides variegatum, the leaves 
of which are heavily variegated with a clear white, 
and have a very telling effect in shrubbery or land¬ 
scape when the trees are sufficiently established to be 
well furnished with foliage. Then again the purple 
Myrobalan Plum sometimes produces fruit, thereby 
giving it an additional interest. Another point in 
favour of this shrub or small tree is that it can be 
forced with the greatest facility, so that its flowers 
can be turned to excellent account in the conserva¬ 
tory during the winter and spring months. 
ABUTILON SOUVENIR DE BONN. 
Amongst variegated plants of recent introduction, 
this seems capable of being turned to account for 
decorative purposes, both for the sake of its foliage 
and flowers. The five-lobed and palmated leaves 
are distinctly edged with an irregular silvery grey 
margin, that is most decided perhaps in winter, or 
at all events when the leaves are fully developed. 
The flowers are large and orange, with red veins, 
and are produced by plants that are still quite small. 
The chief value of the plant depends upon the foli¬ 
age, and it should be grown for that purpose alone. 
It is easily propagated from cuttings like the other 
sorts in cultivation, so that small plants can always 
be obtained for dotting about the stove, greenhouse, 
or conservatory, for it can be grown in either. 
Under the low temperature of a greenhouse the 
stems would be more sturdy, with shorter joints, 
and the foliage therefore more compact. Small 
plants could be put to a great variety of purposes, 
and even contrast strongly with A. megapotamicum 
variegatum, A. Darwini, and A. Thompsoni, all of 
which have yellow and not white variegation. The 
variety under notice is comparatively new, and may 
be seen in the nursery of Messrs. J. Laing & Sons, 
Forest Hill. 
GAS LIME. 
This substance has never been a favourite with me, 
and I have for some time questioned its utility for 
garden purposes. A note in your paper two or three 
weeks ago in reference to the forthcoming examina¬ 
tions of the R.H.S. remmds me of one of the ques¬ 
tions asked last year, " For what purpose is gas lime 
of value.” A most foolish question, I think, con¬ 
sidering that its value is not generally recognised. 
It was stated that the examination would be based 
