404 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
May 14, 1904. 
Growing Single Stem Crotons. 
In this instance particular varieties must be selected. The 
best sorts for the purpose are as follows :—Broad-leaved: 
Thompsonii, Reidii, russellianum, Disraelii, and Baron James 
de Rothschild. Narrow-leaved: Superbum, Golden Ring, War- 
renii, Chelsoni, Countess, Mrs. Dorman, and Aigburthense. 
Queen Victoria and Undulatum, with leaves of medium width, 
may also be added to the collection. 
The usual mode of propagation is the taking of upright 
growths and striking them in a bottom heat of 80 deg. This 
operation is best carried out in the autumn. The growths at 
that time of the year are firmer and less sappy than in the 
spring or summer, thereby giving less check to the plant. "W ell- 
coloured pieces should always be taken, with leaves to the base 
of the .cutting. 
Another method, and a decidedly better one, of obtaining 
plants is to take off rings of the outer skin from round the 
stems of good strong growths, and tie moss—sphagnum is 
preferable—round the stems above the wounds. 
The best time to do this work is about March 1st. In five or 
six weeks the moss mill be filled with roots, having, of course, 
been kept moist during that time with the syringe. The tops 
may then be cut off, placed in small pots, and transferred to 
the propagating house for a period of ten days or so to en¬ 
courage root action, afterwards bringing them back again to 
their permanent quarters. 
A slower but certainly a better way is to split small pots 
lengthwise, and place these round the roots, tying them to¬ 
gether again with the specimens in the centres. Fixing the 
pots to a stake with .string or wire will hold them in position. 
Then fill them up with soil containing a good proportion of: 
leaf-mould. After this keep cutting through the stems below 
the pots, never allowing the young roots to become dry. In 
a few more weeks they can be separated from the old plants 
altogether and put in larger pots. 
If this system is carried out carefully and properly not a 
single leaf should fall off, and larger plants can be had than 
by cuttings, with foliage down to the tops of the pots. 
Crotons should he planted in, a. good rich soil, in which 
friable loam predominates, and with enough sand to keep the 
whole compost open. Bone meal as a manure should not be 
omitted. When the pots are fairly well filled with roots sheep 
and cow liquid manures should be very liberally given them. 
Most people are afraid of over-feeding, but this need not be, if 
care be taken not to give too much at the beginning. Crotons 
respond to the treatment by pushing up strong, sturdy growth 
and beautiful, graceful leaves. The usual stove temperature is 
required. The house must also be always kept moist. 
Single stems on no account should become dry at the roots, 
else the result will be the falling away of the bottom leaves. 
Too much water, however, is far more obnoxious, souring the 
soil and ruining the plants altogether. The first signs of over¬ 
watering are the loss of the younger leaves towards the apex. 
In the event of the plants becoming “ leggy,” ringing and 
mossing must again be resorted to. Abundance of light is 
necessary to develop- the colour in the leaves, and to make 
sh-o-rtrjointed, healthy gro-wth. Air, too, must be admitted 
into the house o-n all favourable occasions. The Lack of fresh 
air is another cause of plants losing their leaves. The syringe 
must be brought into- actio-n twice daily, except during the short 
dull days of winter, onc-e a day being then sufficient. 
Mealy bug and scale will no- do-ubt ass-ert their rights among 
the Crotn-ns, as elsewhere. “ Prevention is better than cure.” 
A go-o-d antidote is frequent syringing with water that has b-een 
in a tub or barrel with a bag of sheep manure amongst it. 
This liquid is of -course clear and the colour of tea., none of 
the solids in the manure being permitted to ent-er the water. 
It is also of great advantage to the welfare of the Crotons. 
Should a cure be needed, warm water containing soft soap 
and a little paraffin is -a,s go-o-d as any, either for sponging or 
syringing. All lateral shoots must be pinched -off close to- the 
stem. The best time is when they are about 11, in. long. All 
plants, to" n-o-t. growing perpendicular must be kept in position 
with stakes. Where sphagnum moss is procurable it should be 
use to cover the stages and the plants placed upon it, retain¬ 
ing moisture better than gravel. 
Baron James- de Bothschild is the easiest grown single stem 
Croton. Superbum is simply superb. Golden Ring is like 
other go-lden, rings—if one does not look after it, he will lose 
it-. It is difficult to grow, but when done well repays the labour 
with its magnificence. James P. Dickson, 
The Gle-n Gardens-, N.B. 
Vases for Pleasure Grounds. 
This might be- made a far more interesting feature in our 
pleasure grounds than it is, for what is more beautiful than 
va-ses standing away out in the grounds? The different- styles 
and shapes of va-s-es are interesting, as well as the plants grown 
in them. A go-o-d choice of va-s-es is to be had. An enter¬ 
prising firm in the north of London issue a large sheet con¬ 
taining numerous engravings. They may be either of marble, 
stone, terra-cotta-, or iron. The -shallow f-o-rms should be 
avoided; t-hough some -of them are externally beautiful, they 
are useless for plant- growing, those with deep, ca-pacious bowls 
being the^bes-t. 
Places most -suitable for vases are at- entrances to different 
parts of the grounds, also where several walks converge. 
Against a background of shrubs they look well, breaking up 
the dull greenery. They are also useful on terrace walls and 
walks, and at the sides of steps, etc. 
There -is a whole host- of plants that look well in vases. * 
Among the most beautiful are the Ivy Pelargoniums, excellent 
for large o-r small vase®. Solanum j-asmin-oddes and Lysi- 
machia Numimularia, -are two- pretty trailing plants. Tropaeo- 
lum Phoebe is a beautiful variety, having deep yellow and 
crimson flowers; also T. Co-olg’ardie, flowers bright yellow. 
Verbenas can be had in nearly a-11 colours, not forgetting V. 
Miss Willmott, with its lovely salmon-pink flowers. Helio¬ 
trope, Ageratum, Abutilo-n Tbo-mp-sonii, A. ve-xillarium va-riega- 
t-um are also good. Fuchsias, in their many varieties, are most 
useful. Begonia-s used with spreading Lobelias make a charm- - 
ing contrast. Nep-efa Glecho-ma variegata-, with its silvery 
leaves, tall Nasturtium and Coreopsis, are by no- means to be 
despised where room under glass is limited. 
Fo-r bolder foliage the folio-wing plants are useful: —Co-rdy- 
line indivisa, the- bro-nzyibo-loured Ricinus, Aralia Sieboldii, 
Echeve-ria me-tallica-, the green American Agave and its varie¬ 
gated fo-rm, Agave Americana variegata, being most useful. 
Thorough -drainage is essential for vases-, and an exit- for the 
water should always be provided. In the case of a deep vase, 
an inverted flower-p-o-t with a few inches -o-f crock answers well. 
For the smaller o-nes crocks placed witli the hollow side down¬ 
wards are sufficient. 
The- soil sho-uld be of a rich nature, a compost consisting o-f 
a good turfy loam, hal'f-spent manure, and a little bone-meal 
mixed well together. Provide s-om-e half-rott-en turves to place 
over the crooks. Do- not fill the vases too- full at first; two- 
thirds is usually sufficient-, thus leaving ro-o-m for planting. 
The time to- plant depends o-n whether they are movable 
or not. Tho-s-e that are may be- filled in March or the begin¬ 
ning -of April, and put- under glass to- get well established 
before being placed outside at the end of May. Vases that 
cannot be moved -may be filled early in Junei. with strong plants 
that have be-en well hardened off; the success of the plants to 
a great extent depends o-n this. 
Caret should be taken not to -over-water for a week or two, 
but when well established more water will be- needed. The 
s-oil should never be allowed to shrink from the sides. As the 
soil in the vase* becomes exhausted so-me kind of feeding must 
be- resorted t-o-. This may take the form of liquid manure, 
given in a diluted state twice a week, or a sprinkling of a. 
good artificial manure once a fortnight. Starved plants are, 
never beautiful, but- especially is this the case with those grown 
in vases. H. W. 
