November 28, 1903. 
TUB GARDENING WORLD. 
987 
READERS’ COMPETITION. 
For details of this competition and prize offered, please 
see pa^c 989 Please post on Friday night. 
Two Useful and Pretty Stove Plants. 
First of all we will take the Pentas. There are two very pretty 
and useful varieties of Pentas, viz., P. carnea and P. kermesina, 
both of which, when well grown, produce their bunches of flesh- 
coloured flowers very freely from the ends of their shoots. The 
Pentas are soft-wooded, and thrive best in a moderate stove tem¬ 
perature. Their native country is Africa. They are very easy 
to propagate at any time of the year, but preferably in spring. 
The best way is to put five or six cuttings round the edge of a 
3-in. or 4-in. pot, filled with a mixture of sand, loam, and leaf- 
soil ; let the mixture be composed mainly of sand. Then place 
the pots of cuttings in a propagating frame, and keep them fairly 
moist and close, always shading from the hot sun. 
As soon as they are rooted, which will be in about 21 days or 
so, take them out of the frame, but keep them in a wai*m and 
moist temperature. When they have become used to the air 
of the house pot them off singly into 3-in. pots in a mixture of 
sandy loam and leaf soil. When the young plants commence 
to grow pinch out the tips of the shoots, and keep on pinching 
them three or four times during the summer, which _will cause 
them to make nice bushy plants with any quantity of flowering 
shoots. They ought to have a support by way of a few small 
stakes. As soon as the 3-in. pots have become full of roots they 
should have a good shift into a 6-in. pot. Put them in a posi¬ 
tion where they will' get plenty of light. When the pots get 
well filled with roots occasional waterings of dilrzted manure will 
help them greatly to make plenty of flowering shoots by the 
autumn. In the winter season give rather less water, as the 
roots are not then so active. In the following spring the old 
plants which have been blooming the preceding summer might 
be cut back, and some of the old soil taken from the roots, and 
then pot them up again, when they will soon break into growth 
again and form nice plants. When well grown the Pentas form 
beautiful, well-bloomed specimens, which will be much admired 
by any lover of flower’s and plants. 
Another beautiful stove plant is Thyrsacanthius rutilans. 
This plant is well worthy of much more attention than it seems 
to get, as its flowers appear at a time when bloom of any sort is 
much needed—that is, the winter season. It is a native of South 
America. It may be vei’y easily gi'own in either stove or inter¬ 
mediate temperature. The Thyrsacanthus is very easily pro- 
pagated by cuttings taken off about 3 in. long, in the spring. 
Put the cuttings singly into small pots in a mixture of sand 
and loam, then place them in a warm propagating case, and 
keep them warm, moist, and close. They will i*oot in about 
three weeks’ time. When l’ooted gradually inure them to the 
air of the house, and when they have got established pot them 
on into 5-in. pots in a mixture of sand, loam, and leaf soil. 
When they have begun to grow pinch out the tips of the shoots ; 
they will then form nice plants. 
They will be found to grow best in a warm, moist temperature, 
using the syringe freely in warm weather’. They will require 
pinching again about July or August. They will want potting 
on again into their blooming pots this time, say 7-in or 8-in. 
pots, or according to tire size of tire plant. Always keep the 
plants as near the glass as possible to encourage a short stui’dy 
growth. In the autumn apply occasional waterings of weak 
liquid manure. Then when the winter season is on us they 
will form their beautiful long panicles of red-coloured flowers, 
which are of a tubular shape. Japonica. 
The Cultivation of Poinsettias. 
Poinsettias are usually considered difficult plants to grow, but 
with good cultivation they make splendid plants, with bracts 
13 in. or 14 in. in diameter. Propagation is by lengths of the 
old, firm stem, placed in sandy soil in a bi’isk bottom heat in 
March. Cuttings can also be secured in April and May from 
the old plants, when these have been placed in heat and en¬ 
couraged to grow, after a season of rest- Each cutting should 
have a heel of old wood, and the cut ends dipped in fine sand 
to stop bleeding. The cuttings should be placed in thumb pots, 
one in each pot, the soil to be light and consist of loam three 
parts, one part each of leaf soil and silver sand. Pliznge the 
pots in a brisk bottom heat, when cai’e must be taken that the 
cuttings do not damp off, which they are prone to do. To pre¬ 
vent this the glass, on the inner side of the case; should be 
wiped each day. 
When the cuttings are struck they should be potted on into 
4g-in. pots, using the same compost as before, with an addition 
of one part well-rotted manure. The plants should be plunged 
in a slight bottom heat, but not sufficient to force them. When 
the pots are filled with roots the plants should be potted on into 
8-in. pots, and the plants must be gradually hardened after they 
have become established in these pots. They can be placed in 
a frame or pit for the summer’. Before the roots can have become 
chilled the plants should be removed to a temperature of 55 degs., 
where they will soon commence to grow, if carefully looked after 
as regards watering. The temperature may be gradually in¬ 
creased, but must not fluctuate, which must be guarded against. 
Very nice dwai’f plants can be gi’own fi-om cuttings struck in 
August and September if the plants are grown on without a 
check. When the bracts are showing a little weak liquid manure 
will be beneficial. Besides the type thei’e ai’e several varieties, 
one P. p. alba, with creamy-white bracts. R. Matbxjby. 
The Gardens, The Lindens, Tettenhall Road, 
Wolverhampton. 
Hoot Pruning. 
No hard and fast lines can be laid down as to when root 
pruning would be beneficial, it being an operation which must 
be perfoi-med when fi-uit trees make extz-a luxuriant growth, and 
bear, comparatively speaking, no fruit buds. The best time to 
take it in hand is the autumn, being more easily accomplished 
at this season of the year. Root pruning is an importaizt item 
in checking top growth and inducing the production of fruit bud 
in the place of extra strong growth. Root pruning has been 
considerably lessened of late years by a better selection of the 
stocks used for budding and grafting on, some producing more 
fibrous roots than others, which means they are not so vigorous 
in their growth, and what was at one time accomplished solely 
by pruning is now obtained by a better selection of stocks, which 
produces a more dwarf habit, likewise productiveness, instead of 
a rank vigorous wood gi’owth which seldom, if evei*, can be said 
to be a fruitful habit. 
Root pruning may safely be done to a certain extent at any 
time, with the exception of early spring. It would not be safe 
to attempt it before the trees have fully expanded and developed 
their leaves. Early autumn root pmzning is rightly preferred to 
the summer operation, and should commence by a trench being 
dug out a distance from the tree in proportion to the branches 
and size. The next thing to be done which will command great 
cai’e is to foi’k the soil from the ball outwards, taking care not 
to injui’e the roots by the point of the foi’k. When sufficient 
soil has been removed to allow an examination of the roots, those 
which are found long and destitute of fibres, or feeders, which 
they are usually called, should be cut off with a good sharp 
knife. This will be an inducement for the large roots to produce 
fibres or feeders, and, doubtless, have the desired effect of modi¬ 
fying and checking wood growth and increasing fertility. When 
cutting the large roots usually found when trees are making 
too much top growth, the cut should always be made clean from 
the underside ; this will induce the roots to come up for food. 
If the cut is made downwards the roots will surely go down and 
prove a great drawback to the well-being of the tree. 
Top growth is regulated by the roots ; therefore, the necessity 
of root pruning may be ascertained by the appearance above 
ground. Care will be needed in replacing the soil after the roots 
have had attention. Avoid bruising the roots in any shape or 
form, laying each one out straight and singly in tiers one above 
the other, with a tendency to point upwards towards the light 
and warmth ; and, no doubt, what was once barren will be 
turned into productiveness. 
Studley Castle Gardens. Wm. Jas. Pentok. 
The Autumn Queen. 
Most of the. annual exhibitions have again come and gone, 
and it is acknowledged by up-to-date experts on all sides that 
the season has been an indifferent one, and the quality of the 
bloom in many oases has been, perhaps, slightly under the 
average. Nevertheless, the popularity of these exhibitions, and 
the enthusiasm and energy of their organisers, are as great as 
ever. Nowhere within these ralms do I see any abatement; 
indeed, from observations which I hear from amateur friends, the 
popularity would even be increased if the moneyed amateur could 
