Januaiy 21, 1005. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
47 
sary, as tliey break much more freely if left undisturbed in 
the old compost. In dealing with choice varieties, such as 
C. lawrenceanum hyeanum, where one has to secure as much 
stock as possible, the young growth may be carefully severed 
from the older one at the base as soon as the new roots have 
got about £ in. away from the base. It is a delicate operation, 
but may be successfully executed with ordinary care. 
In using small pots, the compost should not be too coarse, 
and consists of equal portions of sphagnum and fibrous peat; a 
little loam and leaf-soil, with ample sand, may be added where 
the conditions are favourable. Plants that have their flowers 
showing in the bracts of the leaves should not be repotted until 
after the flowering season is past, but it is well to sever the 
rhizomes between the older growths. This will enable them 
to make new growth and can be dealt with at the time the 
repotting requirements are attended to. Care must be observed 
at this season of the year to prevent water lodging in the axils 
of the leaves; moisture thus accumulated quickly causes spot¬ 
ting and decaying of the growths. H. .7. Chapman. 
Hardy Herbaceous Border. 
Hollyhocks. — The improved varieties of these, with their 
great variety of colour, have now become popular with all 
classes, and for growing in large borders are almost indis¬ 
pensable, so it behoves the cultivator to produce them at 
their best, and I strongly recommend treating them as annuals 
in preference to keeping the old roots. With plants of more 
than one year old, the disease is much more likely to make its 
appearance, and all who have experienced this know full well 
how disastrous its effects are. I have seldom seen the disease 
when the plants are grown as annuals, providing they receive 
the proper attention. It is always advisable to procure the 
best seed that can be obtained, though it may cost a trifle 
more, and undoubtedly this will be found in Chafer’s strain. 
The seed can be sown at any time during the present month, 
lout the earlier the better, in a light porous soil, and clean, 
well-drained pots should be used. Cover lightly with a little 
of the finest soil, sprinkle over the surface some silver sand, 
and place in a temperature of about 55 deg. to germinate, 
after giving a damping with a fine-rose can and drilled water. 
Leave in this position until the young plants are well above 
the soil. 
Michaelmas Daisies as Pot Plants. —Although these have 
not been largely used in this capacity, I am sure there is a 
great future before them, and when well grown and suitable 
sorts are selected, there are few pot subjects more adaptable 
for the embellishment of the conservatory or other glasshouses. 
Now is a very suitable time to make a start, as numbers of 
young shoots are appearing and can be easily taken off. These 
should be detached carefully with a small quantity of roots 
and placed singly in 60-sized pots, which should be well 
drained. A suitable compost will consist of good loam and 
leaf-soil in equal proportions, and a sufficient quantity of silver 
or road sand to render the whole porous. Pot firmly and label 
each sort as completed. We find that the best sorts for this 
mode of treatment are those with a slightly drooping, pyra- 
midal habit, and with the varieties now obtainable plants of 
various heights can be grown. Those which are restricted to 
one stem probably make the most effective decorative plants. 
A cold frame will be a suitable place to stand the pots until 
another potting is necessary. 
Growing Asters from seed is a very interesting method and 
one that does not entail a great deal of labour. One may not 
obtain a large number of really new varieties the first time, 
but, as with all other plants, the reward will come if one 
perseveres and endeavours to improve on existing kinds. The 
varieties the seed is saved from is an important item, and I 
strongly advise selecting only from the veiy best. Seed which 
has been saved can be sown any time during the present month 
in pots or boxes, using a light soil and only covering very 
finely. Place in a gentle heat to germinate, and as soon as 
the young plants are well above the soil, remove to a cooler 
stincture, preparatory to pricking off into other boxes. 
On heavy, retentive land the operations of trenching and 
digging in preparation for this year’s display will have "to be 
attended to now, so that the frost and wind we are yet likely 
to experience may have their beneficial effects upon the surface 
soil. Some good feeding material should be freely incor¬ 
porated, and any refuse that will help to lighten the soil, such 
as road scrapings, should be added. Air freely all plants in 
frames on favourable occasions, and keep the surface soil clean 
and stirred occasionally to promote a free, healthy growth. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. A. E. Thatcher. 
The Flower Garden. 
Herbaceous perennials in Beds. —In most gardens a number 
of isolated beds occur which do not belong to any particular 
series, but which, nevertheless, call for attention at bedding- 
out time. Generally these beds are the last to be dealt with, 
and very often are simply filled up with anything that is left 
over after the principal beds have been planted. I can con¬ 
ceive no better way of dealing with such beds than by filling 
them with good herbaceous perennials. It is obvious that bv 
so doing the gardener will be relieved of a certain amount of 
work at a season when he usually has more than enough to do, 
and with the enormous number of showy perennials at the com¬ 
mand of present-day gardeners, it should be possible to make 
these beds quite a feature of the garden. It is now generally 
recognised that the only true method of planting for colour 
effect is by “massing,” and surely no better way could be 
adopted than by planting in beds. At first it may appear 
doubtful whether an effect could be obtained over a long 
enough period to justify the above course, but an association 
of early and late flowering kinds will obviate this difficulty. 
For instance, the beautiful early flowering Hemerocallis flava 
might be associated with Lobelia fulgens, the latter being 
planted in spring before the general bedding-out begins; like^ 
wise early and late flowering Phloxes may be planted together, 
while in beds like the latter, Daffodils, Crocuses, or Isrillas 
might be planted to furnish an early display. 
Many such combinations will readily occur to gardeners, 
and at the present time when many herbaceous borders are 
receiving attention, it might be worth while considering 
whether any surplus plants could be utilised in the way sug^ 
gested. 
Seed catalogues are now coming in, and it will be well to 
make up the order as soon as possible to ensure delivery at an 
early date, as such things as Centaurea candidissima, unless 
sown in autumn, which is preferable, must be sown early in 
the year to get plants fit for bedding out in June. 
During the next week or two Pelargoniums may be potted 
on from the cutting pots, and fibrous-rooted Begonias may be 
divided and potted up. The bulk of the propagating, however, 
may be left till the end of the month, when the increased sun- 
heat will greatly facilitate this important work. 
B. W. J. 
Letter to the Editor. 
Rubus ulmifolius lore pleno. 
To the Editor of The Gardening World. 
Sir,—It was kind of Mr. Thatcher to write so appreciatively 
on my note on the above plant, and I desire to thank both 
you and him for the additional information given. I must 
say with you that it surprises me to learn that Mr. Thatcher 
lias found the plant so difficult to propagate, for, as stated in 
my note, I found it layered fairly well. It was not, however, 
in a heavy clay that I layered it, but in the more porous soil 
that might be termed general in Scotland ; nor was it the mere 
extremities of young shoots from which I induced good roots, 
but firmer wood was pegged down after cutting a few notches 
in the bark at the point of pegging. Mr. Thatcher will not, 
I know, consider me presumptuous when I suggest he might 
give this method a trial. Heather Bell. 
