March 16, 1895. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
469 
ARALIAS. 
I have been a reader for the last thirty-five years of 
many horticultural papers, and of the Gardening 
World since its advent, and I have been through 
many and various stages of propagating and growing 
both hardy and exotic plants, but I never yet found 
that Aralia Veitchii and A. Veitchii gracillima were 
so very easy to root from cuttings or eyes. I am 
well aware that A. reticulata, the general stock upon 
which these two and A. elegantissima are worked, can 
be rooted easily from cuttings, providing proper bottom 
heat and cases or bell glasses are at hand, but my 
experience leads me to think that supposing the 
species named can be rooted successfully, their root 
action would be so weak that they would not be able 
to maintain themselves in a healthy condition. 
No doubt, in their native habitats, all the species 
reproduce themselves from seeds, but anyone who 
has grown the species named knows that it is only 
in their very juvenile condition that they are at all 
graceful and elegant, that the plants as they grow in 
height and years become very coarse and ungainly 
objects, quite deceiving a new beginner in plant 
culture who may be expecting them to maintain 
their graceful and elegant appearance to the last. 
Nearly all the species of Aralia will root and grow 
freely, but some are better from seeds; and I have 
sometimes myself grafted A. Veitchii, gracillima, 
etc., upon strong roots of A. reticulata and A. 
Guilfoyleii, so as to take away the unsightly wart or 
callus at the union of the stock and scion often so 
visible when worked in the ordinary way. If your 
correspondent (p. 437) has found out a way by which 
he can multiply these species of Aralias as quickly as 
the process of grafting, and maintain them in good 
health and vigour, he certainly will have conferred a 
benefit upon trade growers by his notes on p. 437, 
who will be glad to take advantage of such an easy 
mode of reproducing good saleable stock, but at the 
same time I am of opinion that plants of the species 
named would not make saleable or usable plants as 
quickly as nice young points grafted upon A. reticu¬ 
lata. The remarks above put me in mind of an old 
gardener who once told me that he could root 
Camellia alba plena as easy as possible. I don't for a 
momentdisputebut what C.albaplena maybe rooted 
the sameas what C. japonica is, but at the same time I 
maintain that it would and could not make a sale¬ 
able plant as soon as if it were grafted upon the 
ordinary stock. The roots formed by C. alba plena 
are not so vigorous as the free-growing C. japonica, 
hence the necessity to graft a weak growing kind 
upon a free, vigorous-growing stock that will make 
roots freely. 
So with Camellias, so with Aralias, Tea Roses, or 
any kind of tender or delicate growing plants that 
are required to make good plants in a short time.— 
W. G. 
- H «- 
FOLIAGE PLANTS AND 
THEIR CULTURE.* 
In dealing with a subject so extensive as the one 
upon which I invite your attention, I have 
endeavoured to curtail the scope of my paper, so that 
in thirty minutes or so I might give you a rough 
description of some of the best foliage plants, to¬ 
gether with the most important points relating to 
their cultivation. 
My way out of the difficulty has been to confine 
myself to "exotic foliage plants ’’ entirely, but from 
the great numbers of these that are inmates of the 
plant houses, it would be impossible within such a 
limited time to do them justice. I must therefore 
solicit your indulgence for the many omissions I 
must necessarily make in what I have to say on a 
subject of such importance and interest to the lover 
of plants. I shall pass unnoticed many genera and 
numerous species, not because they are of less value, 
but in order to give precedence to such plants as 
appear to me to claim and deserve special mention. 
The Croton. 
This is a large genus containing some 500 species, 
none of which, however, are of any use from a 
garden point of view, their chief value consisting in 
the various products of economic value, which 
several of them furnish. C. Tiglium, a species 
common to the Indian Archipelago, is the source of 
the drastic cathartic medicine known as Croton oil. 
* A paper read at a meeting of the Devon and Exeter 
Gardeners' Association by Mr. G. Camp, gardener to E. Byron, 
Esq., Culver, near Exeter. 
C. Eleuteria supplies the Cascarilla Bark, also a 
product of considerable medicinal value. The 
highly ornamental foliage plants, which are known 
in many gardens as Crotons, should be referred to 
the genus Codiaeum, to which they rightfully 
belong. 
Of the Codiaeums, C. pictum is probably one of 
the oldest forms.' We are told that "in the Moluc¬ 
cas and South Sea Islands it is largely grown by the 
natives as a decorative shrub. It is also used for 
fencing the enclosures around their dwellings, and the 
branches are often employed for decorations on fes¬ 
tive occasions.” Within the past quarter of a cen¬ 
tury many of the older forms of Codiaeums, how¬ 
ever, have disappeared, giving place to new and 
more improved types. Several species have been 
imported from the South Sea Islands and elsewhere, 
whilst some of the most striking, handsome, and 
graceful varieties are the results of careful hybridisa¬ 
tion. 
There is a distinct section of varieties having 
broad, oblong, erect foliage, such as C. Andreanum, 
C. Baronne James de Rothschild, and C. Williamsii. 
Another which we may call the tri-lobed section, is 
represented by C. Disraeli and C. Earl of Derby. 
Then follows the convolute forms, of which C. 
volutum and C. recurvifolium are good examples. 
The broad, lanceolate, semi-pendulous leaved kinds, 
as C. Triomphans and C. Victoriae, must not be 
forgotten. 
I now come to the gems of the whole group, and 
undoubtedly the most useful as table plants, being 
graceful and symmetrical in habit. I refer to those 
kinds with long, narrow, pendulous, arching foliage, 
as in C. angustifolium and C. Johannis. Another 
type having all the good qualities of the last named, 
but even more effective, the foliage being spirally 
twisted, is represented by C. Prince of Wales, C. 
Warreni, and C. Chelsonii. 
Culture. 
Crotons are easily propagated from cuttings. Those 
having a straight stem with perfect foliage should be 
selected and inserted singly in small pots ; place 
them in a propagating pit or frame having a brisk 
bottom heat, where they will soon take root, shifting 
them on into larger pots as they require it. The 
system of ringing the stem of such plants as have 
become leggy, and tying moss around the wound 
(which will in a few weeks be matted with roots) is 
often adopted with great success. The compost for 
pottiDg should consist of about one part good rich 
loam and one part leaf mould and peat, to which 
may be added a little broken charcoal and a good 
sprinkling of silver sand. As the pots become filled 
with roots and the plants start to grow away freely 
occasional waterings with liquid manure should be 
given. 
When a separate house cannot be set apart for 
their culture they should be arranged at one end of 
it, as Crotons require more sun than most of the 
other occupants of the " stove.” They also revel in 
a high temperature with a moist humid atmosphere. 
During the growing season the syringe should also 
be used freely about three times daily. At the 
approach of winter, when growth is exceedingly 
slow, water should be sparingly given, indeed, but 
little will be required till the plants show signs of 
starling in the spring. Crotons are very susceptible 
to the attacks of various insects, such as thrips, 
mealy bug, and scale, and thus careful and constant 
attention will be necessary to keep the plants clean. 
The Dracaena. 
This highly decorative race of foliage plants belongs 
to the natural order Liliaceae. They inhabit various 
parts of the far East, including the South Sea 
Islands, Madagascar, and the East Indies. Many 
garden hybrids have been raised in this and other 
countries, affording several handsome and useful 
plants. One of the most beautiful of all the 
Dracaenas is unquestionably D. Goldieana, which 
was found by Mr. Goldie in western tropical Africa. 
A worthy rival to Goldieana is found in D. Lindenii, 
which makes a capital table plant when in a small 
state, whilst a good specimen plant forms a con¬ 
spicuous feature on the exhibition table. D. Gracilis 
and D. superba are of the narrow-leaved, pendulous 
type. But so rich is the genus in numbers of 
excellent decorative subjects that I need not weary 
you with a list of names. 
Culture. 
The Dracaena is so easy of propagation that the 
* From Garden, 
operator need not-confine himself to one special 
method. The system of cutting up the old stem into 
lengths, having three or four joints, inserting them 
in pans filled with peat and silver sand, and placing 
them in a good bottom heat is often adopted, whilst 
plants that have become denuded of their bottom 
foliage may be easily ringed and treated as recom¬ 
mended for Crotons. When the tops are severed 
from the old plants and potted they should be placed 
in a close propagating frame, where if shaded for a 
few days the plants will retain their foliage and form 
specimens at once. The tops and side growths if 
taken off and inserted in small pots and placed in a 
propagating pit will root without difficulty. The 
practice of cutting away the thick fleshy tubers often 
found at the base of old plants and laying them in a 
pot or pan is often resorted to, and from this method 
good sturdy young plants may be obtained. The 
Dracaena delights in a warm stove temperature with 
a moist atmosphere, and shade from strong sunshine. 
A vigilant watch should be kept for the appearance 
of thrips and red spider, which will soon disfigure 
the foliage if allowed to remain. Fumigate for the 
former, and sponge with soft soap, and syringe con¬ 
stantly for the latter. 
Caladiu.ms. 
Among the Aroids, the Caladium is one of the most 
elegant foliage plants for massing with Ferns and 
other subjects ; it is also most useful for decorating 
drawing-room, boudoir, etc., and some of the 
dwarfer kinds, such as C. argyrites and C. erubes- 
cecs make excellent table plants. Caladiums are, 
moreover, easy of culture, and maybe propagated by 
divisions of the young growths, which are produced 
in plenty around the old tubers when they com¬ 
mence growth in spring, but they should not be 
taken off until roots have been emitted from them, 
when they should be inserted singly in thumb pots 
and given a place in a propagating pit till they 
become established. The plants will now require a 
shift into larger pots, and after this should be grown 
on in the plant stove, where a light position can be 
accorded them and shade from bright sunshine. The 
compost for potting should be rich fibrous loam and 
good leaf mould. Caladiums may be grown to a 
very large size, but those plants occupying 5 6, and 
7 in. pots are always the most in request for general 
use. 
(To be continued.) 
-- 
Hardening Miscellany. 
ARUM ITALICUM MARMORATUM. 
Independently of the flowers, this hardy subject 
might well be cultivated for the beauty of its foliage. 
As far as this country is concerned the typical form 
of the plant is a native of Cornwall and the Channel 
Islands. This may not argue much in favour of its 
hardiness, seeing that it usually throws up fresh 
leaves before winter, and which would be liable to 
destruction in severe winters like the past. Not¬ 
withstanding this, the foliage of A. i. marmoratum 
is now very beautiful on one of the level areas at 
the base at the rockery at Kew. The variety is by 
no means new, but it does not appear to be so well 
known as it ought. Early spring flowers are by no 
means too common, and though the spathes may not 
be produced for some weeks to come, the foliage is 
already pretty. The leaves are between triangular 
and arrow-shaped, and bright, shining green, regu¬ 
larly netted all over with broadish, yellowish-grey 
bands or lines. The contrast of the marbling with 
the shining surface is well marked, and as pretty as 
in the case of many hot-house plants that have 
nothing more to recommend them. The spathes, 
which will appear later, vary from greenish-yellow 
to white, and the spadix from yellow to white in 
different individuals. While the occupants of the 
rockery are still resting, with few exceptions, this 
plant already constitutes an oasis of beauty amidst 
the nakedness of the soil. 
THE CHARLES COLLINS' FUND. 
The executive beg leave to tender their sincere thanks 
to all those who have so generously responded to their 
appeal for subscriptions to the above fund, and to say 
that they propose to close the latter on Wednesday, 
March 20th, after which date immediate steps will 
be taken to decide as to the most appropriate 
manner of administering the same for the benefit of 
