800 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 10, 1901. 
Ilints for jlinateilrs. 
August is a busy moDth with gardeners, as it is at 
this time that they are beginning to prepare for the 
next year’s display and also to look after plants for 
the dull winter months. 
Seed Saving.—Where there is a mixed variety of 
plants of the same species from which it is desired 
to save seed they should be gone over before they 
pass out of bloom and the best varieties marked; by 
doing this the multiplication of inferior ones is 
avoided. A few pods should now be allowed to 
remain on each of the plants from which seed is 
required; if they are left till later in the season 
they will not ripen so well. Tomato seed is easily 
saved from home grown fruit. As the fruits ripen a 
few of the best should be selected and a piece of 
tape or bast tied to the stalk as a mark to prevent 
them from being gathered by mistake. When the 
fruits are thoroughly ripe they should be squeezed 
into a piece of canvas or into a very fine seive and 
washed with milk-warm water until the whole of 
the pulp has gone and the seeds are left clean. Do 
not dry them artificially, but leave them for a few 
hours in the air. When they are quite dry they 
may be packed in bags and kept in a dry place until 
the time for sowing comes round again. Always 
bear in mind that, when seeds are put away in bags, 
unless they are perfectly dry and are kept dry until 
time to sow them they will very soon spoil. It is a 
good plan to expose the seeds to the sun and air on 
ne vspapers for several hours a day for a week when 
they are first gathered. 
Cuttings.—I will not attempt to enumerate the 
legion of plants which should now be struck if young 
plants are required ; it would fill a book, as August 
is a month of cuttings. Almost all herbaceous 
border plants may be struck with ease now with a 
little careful treatment. The majority of plants, 
especially the hardy herbaceous plants, strike best 
from sturdy half-ripened cuttings. For hardy plants 
a sheltered cool border will generally answer the 
purpose, but of course a cool shady frame is generally 
better. 
Zonal Pelargoniums.—It is during this month 
that the myriads of these showy bedding plants are 
struck. They differ from most other plants in the 
method of striking. The majority of plants strike 
best in a close frame, or at least in a shady moist 
place. Either of these conditions would almost 
surely mean failure with Pelargoniums, as they 
would rot. The shoots which are chosen for cut¬ 
tings should always be as hard as possible, as when 
free from an abundance of sap they are not so likely 
to damp off. The general method of striking them, 
in establishments where thousands are used an¬ 
nually, is to place them five in a small pot, close 
round the sides, and after giving them a good 
watering they are stood on a sunny walk. Given all 
the sun possible they very soon take root. If the 
autumn is a wet one they are protected from the 
excess of moisture by lights. Most people know 
how to make ordinary cuttings, but few outside the 
professional sphere and the most skilful of amateurs 
know how to put one in. The common mistake is 
what is known in the trade as hanging the cutting! 
A hole is made and the cutting put in, and the soil 
pressed round it, and the shoot is expected to grow. 
The mistake is made in not making sure that the 
base of the cutting rests on. the bottom of the hole ; 
too often it does not do so by a quarter of an inch 
or even more than that. When the base of the 
cutting is thus hanging in space it cannot be 
expected to put out roots from that portion, and in 
the great majority of plants it is from the base of 
the cutting that the first roots proceed. If amateurs 
will only take notice of this little hint when striking 
their cuttings this year they will be pleased that 
they did so, as they will find that a much larger 
majority will root. 
Plants in Bloom. —Do not neglect to keep the 
old flowers picked off as soon as they fade, and in 
those flowers where one is likely to crowd the other 
it is advisable to resort to disbudding. Disbudding 
I know is distasteful to most amateurs, but surely 
one good bloom is far better than two inferior ones. 
Dahlias ofien require this treatment to get perfect 
blooms. When the plants are to be disbudded it 
should almays be done as early as possible so as not 
to waste the energy of the plants on useless growth. 
— Hortus. 
Correspondence. 
Questions ashed by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
" Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Galax aphylla.— S. Spires: Mr. Spires says that he 
has heard several recommend this plant for the 
rockery, and he has written to ask us what kind of 
a plant it is. The question might be answered in 
one word—excellent. It is a dwarf plant, but very 
showy at all times, as the leaves differ in colour at 
their various ages and are always beautifully veined, 
the colour being best developed in autumn. The 
young leaves are pale green, tinged with yellow ; the 
older ones are nearly red and round. Their prettily 
serrated margins are scarlet, giving them a very 
ornamental appearance. The flowers are milk- 
white, and produced on clean stems about 18 in. 
high. It is a trifle fastidious as to its requirements, 
but they are very simple, being only a partly shaded 
situation and a moist, sweet soil composed of three 
parts vegetable matter. Good plants may be 
obtained from any first class nurseryman for about 
is. or 2s. 
The Best Gentian.— Rhus: The best for all 
general purposes is Gentiaua acaulis. It is one of 
the cheapest and also one of the most floriferous. 
Its flowers are of a large size and of the most intense 
blue. The tube of the flower is often 3 in. long and 
over 1 in. across the mouth. If given a light soil 
and a sunny, well drained position with plenty of 
summer moisture, it will grow like a weed, and is 
not the least trouble all the year round. It often 
blooms right into the winter, and, in fact, can 
hardly be said to have any definite blooming period 
in the south, owing to the uncertainty of rain, which 
often causes the plant to make late growth. Spring 
is the proper time for it to bloom. 
Harpalium rigidum not Thriving.— J. M .: This 
is a plant which is a very gross feeder, and like all 
the other Sunflowers, it delights in a rich soil and an 
abundance of water while growing. Unless these 
conditions are supplied, especially the latter, the 
plants always present a starved appearance. Try 
giving them a dose of liquid manure, made either 
from cow or sheep dung, and give them plenty of 
water. 
The Best Position for the Christmas Rose.— 
H. H.: It is best to grow this beautiful species of 
Helleborus in a moist, sheltered position, and if 
possible in a deep, rich soil. It will grow well 
under trees, and is invaluable for covering the 
ground in such spots. But when grown under trees 
or anywhere else, it must never be allowed to become 
dry. It generally begins to bloom in December, 
thus giving rise to its common name of Christmas 
Rose. As the flowers are produced at this wet, 
rainy season, they very soon get dirty if not pro¬ 
tected. It will grow well in pots, or clumps may be 
lifted in the autumn and placed in boxes of leaf soil 
in light, open sheds or in cool greenhouses, and 
thus produce an abundant supply of flowers in the 
dullest part of the year. There is a variety known 
as Helleborus niger n aximus, which has flowers 
over 4 in. across, and is quite as hardy, and will 
grow under exactly the same conditions as the 
common Helleborus niger. 
Bee Balm (Monardia didyma) .— B. M. : This 
handsome hardy border plant is one of the most 
easy of the herbaceous plants to cultivate. It is 
nearly allied to the common White Dead-nettle 
(Lamium album) and will grow under the same 
conditions as that familiar weed, which grows on 
ordinary fertile soil, with plenty of light and plenty 
of room. It is easily increased by division in the 
winter. It is a very welcome flower and makes a 
brilliant display of scarlet from midsummer until 
cut down by frost. It is a North American plant 
and perfectly hardy. 
The proper time for planting the Grape 
Hyacinth.— A .: Any time in the autumn will suit 
the species of Muscari, and if given the same treat¬ 
ment as other spring flowering bulbs, such as Snow¬ 
drops, Crocuses, etc., they will grow and flower 
freely without any further attention. 
How to produce large plumes on Celosias.— V : 
The only way is to give them generous treatment. 
They do not like codaling in a close house, but 
grand specimens may be grown in a cool greenhouse 
if they are given plenty of light and pot room, but 
not too much at a time, and a good soil, and when 
they have well filled their pots with roots and are 
showing their plumes they will be greatly benefited 
by occasional applications of liquid manure. If 
treated thus you will find that they are easy 
subjects to deal with, and that your plants will be as 
good as those seen in the markets. 
Tecoma [radicans outdoors — Escott : This most 
magnificent of climbers, we are sorry to inform you, 
only proves hardy in very favourable situations, 
such as a south wall in warm and sheltered districts, 
as far north as London at least. For a cool green¬ 
house it is difficult to find anything more suitable 
for covering the roof. It requires a large amount of 
water during the summer season, but must be kept 
drier during the winter. The soil which suits it 
best is a rich and loamy one with plenty of drainage 
under it. It may either be increased by layers or 
by cuttings. Seeds, when obtainable, germinate 
q uickly in a gentle heat in the spring. There are 
several good plants of it outdoors at Kew, so you 
might venture with a couple, planting one against a 
wall and the other in a greenhouse. But we should 
not advise you to waste too much money on it until 
you have made a few trials. We shall be very 
pleased to hear if you are successful. 
To obtain a stock of Bedding Coleus .—Capps 
This is very easily done if you have a heated glass 
house at your disposal. It is not necessary to keep 
a large stock through the winter, as you can raise 
hundreds cf plants from about half-a-dozen pots of 
cuttings taken this month. If they are placed in a 
good growing temperature in the spring cuttings 
will be produced in abundance and will strike easily 
if put into pots of light soil. Coleus are very 
sensitive to cold, so you must avoid frost and cold 
draughts or you will soon lose your stock. 
Ivies.— A. Ross : In answer to your question as to 
how many Ivies there are, you will be surprised to 
hear that there are only two species, the Australian 
one, Hedera australiana, and the British one, Hedera 
Helix. It is from this latter species that the num¬ 
ber of varieties now met with have been derived, 
and you are quite right in saying you scarcely ever 
find two alike. 
Fertility. — G R.: Chemical analysis may show that 
aboil contains a large amount of certain plant food, 
but this is not sufficient to point out whether the soil 
is fertile or not. Analysis may show that the soil is 
rich in such valuable plant foods as phosphorus 
and potash, but these are absolutely useless to a 
plant unless they are present in forms suitable for 
the plants to avail themselves of the same, and 
thus we get many mistakes in manuring through 
the farmer and gardener having his soil analysed by 
a good chemist, and finding it contains large 
quantities of certain valuable foods does not go to 
the expense of providing for these when he applies 
his fertilisers ; hence the plants often starve from 
lack of a certain food when they are in the midst of 
plenty, but which must be acted on by some means 
before it can be utilised by them. Therefore when 
you are assured that your land contains plenty 
of a certain food you must find out whether the food 
is in an available form before you act on the advice 
of the analyst. 
Geranium pratense .—Border Perennial : It is 
not often that our British wild flowers are found 
in their natural state on our flower borders. 
This handsome species does not require the florists’ 
art of crossing and selecting to be applied to it to 
make it worthy of a place. Its handsome, large blue 
flowers and deeply cut foliage ought to be seen in 
even the most select herbaceous border, as it is 
well worth growing. There is a double variety 
which you might also get, as the flowers last longer 
