June 10, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
483 
vigour of the tree and its capacity to mature the 
fruits will depend on the healthy foliage. If the 
trees are too bad to develop and mature a satis¬ 
factory crop of fruits, it would be well to root 
them up in the autumn and have their places 
taken bv healthy trees at planting time, in October 
or November. It is impossible to completely 
eradicate the fungus, owing to the fact that it 
lives inside the tissues, both of leaf and branch, 
so that all you can do is to palliate or modify 
the evil, so long as you can get a sufficient 
quantity of fruit to remunerate you for the trouble 
of pruning and training the trees. 
Large Heliotropes, 
Some years ago I saw large bushes of Helio¬ 
tropes on the lawn of a garden, and I was told 
they were grown to this size each year. Do they 
require any special method of culture to make 
plants of such size during a single season ? I want 
to grow some in the same way. (J. R. Ward.) 
In all probability the bushes you saw were not 
so large as they appeared to be.' ±n other words, 
we doubt if they consisted of one single plant. 
The probability is that they consisted of a 
number of plants planted and* trained so as to 
appear like one huge bush. The method of cul¬ 
ture consists in taking cuttings about the end of 
August or early in September and rooting them in 
pots or boxes of sandy soil, stood over a hotbed 
in an otherwise cold frame just as summer bedding 
plants are usually rooted. As soon as the Helio¬ 
tropes have well rooted they should be potted 
off singly and encouraged to make growth. These 
plants are indeed encouraged to grow all through 
the winter by shifting them into larger pots as 
they require it. Some time in June, when all 
danger of late frost is over, the plants are put 
out in their permanent or flowering positions, 
after having been thoroughly hardened off. These 
plants instead of being bushy are tall and lanky, 
because confined mostly to a single stem. They 
are planted sufficiently'thick to be trained over a 
I frame of wire or stout pliable stakes in the form 
of a rounded bush, a balloon, a pyramid, or anv 
| other fancy form which may be desired. After 
they are planted they throw out side branches 
which soon commence flowering and keep up a 
succession all the season. These tall plants also 
soon cover the frame with their foliage, and the 
whole mass, which may consist of six or twelve 
plants, will appear like'one large bush. 
Fuchsias for the Lawn. 
What is the best time for taking cuttings to 
grow into large plants which may be stood upon 
the lawn during summer ? How long will it take 
them to get to a useful size? I once saw an 
orange-flowered variety. Could you tell me the 
name of it? (A. C. B.) 
As summer is the best growing season for the 
Fuchsias, you cannot take cuttings too early in 
the season, provided you can get them. Some 
people even put their old plants into a gentle 
warmth to encourage growth in March with the 
object of getting early flowering plants or to get * 
cuttings. These cuttings are taken off as soon us 
they are 2 in. or 3 in. long, and should be taken 
with a small heel of the old wood to guard against 
damping ajter they are inserted in sandy soil 
in pots. You should, therefore, take cuttings 
at once if they are fit or of suitable size. Some 
gardeners can grow Fuchsias 6 ft. high in a 
single season by repotting them when necessary 
and keeping them growing as far into the winter 
as possible. We do not think it advantageous, 
however, to hurry them up to a great height, as 
the lower part of the stem should be encouraged 
to throw out side shoots, and this may be done 
in the case of rampant growers by pinching the 
leader occasionally. The latter will then throw 
two shoots, one of which should be taken up or 
tied up to a stake, and the other taken in an 
outward direction and pinched to make it 
branch, when only a few inches long. If you 
had begun in March you could have got plants 
of fair size by autumn. It will take two or three 
years, however, to form bushy or even pyramidal 
specimens of large size for the lawn, but if ffie 
plants are well kept through the winter, they will 
increase in size year by year if properly at- 
tended to in the matter of watering. Whenever 
any one of the shoots takes the lead it should be 
pinched in good time to prevent the plant getting 
one-sided. This is a matter that will have to be 
attended to regularly during the first two years, 
until you have built up a shapely plant. We 
think the pyramid the most interesting form for 
Fuchsias on the lawn. The compost used should 
contain a good proportion of sand, so as to allow 
the superfluous water to run away freely, as 
Fuchsias delight in an abundant supply of water¬ 
ing during the summer months. There are 
several varieties of Fuchsias with orange-coloured 
flowers, but one of the best and most easy to grow 
is Lord Beaconsfield, which should certainly be 
added to the collection. 
Repotting Freesias. 
We bought some Freesias just as they were 
commencing to bloom, and they did splendidly. 
The leaves are getting yellow. When do they 
want repotting: (W. M.) 
Early in August is the best time for repotting 
Freesias, which should be grown on slowly in 
a cool, airy greenhouse close to the glass, unless 
you want early flowers. In any case the re¬ 
potting need not be done earlier and should not 
be done later than the first half of August. 
Their period of flowering will depend upon the 
temperature of the house in which they are grown, 
but you should always bear in mind that Free 
sias which have been reared or forced into bloom 
early are never so fine as those which are allowed 
to come along naturally under the cool conditions 
which are most favourable to them. During the 
winter they may not require any fire heat 
except during actual frost unless you desire 
to force them. In that case they should he 
started in the usual way, and when they have got 
into good growth should be introduced into a 
temperature of 45 deg. at night. Any good fibrous 
loam, with a sufficient quantity of sand in it 
to make it porous, will answer the purpose, and 
you can even add some leaf-soil or well-decayed 
cow manure dried and rubbed fine before putting 
it in the compost. As the stems begin to push 
up they should be started, especially if flowered 
early, as they are weaker than when allowed to 
come along slowly in a cool house. In repotting, 
all the larger bulbs should be sorted out and put 
iii pots to make well-furnished specimens. The 
smaller bulbs can be placed by themselves in 
other pots. 
Hollyhock Leaves Withering. 
We have some Hollyhocks and Chrysanthemums 
in our garden. The top leaves have got into a 
withering condition, with signs of white froth in 
the centre. What do you think is the cause of 
it? (H. H. G. Birt.) 
The two classes of plants may both be suffering 
from the white froth which is caused by the 
larvae of the froghopper (Aphrophora spumaria). 
It is also known as frog spit or cuckoo spit. You 
will have little difficulty in dealing with this 
enemy, because if not very numerous you can pick 
out the larvae, which are pale green or nearly 
white grub-like creatures, nestling beneath the 
spit. After doing this the plants can merely be 
syringed to wash them clean. They do harm, and 
certainly should not be allowed to increase upon 
the plants. If in any quantity a good syringing 
to wash away the froth would expose the insects 
to bright sunshine, and that would soon kill them, 
as they are very thin-skinned at this stage. Your 
Hollyhocks are very likely suffering also from the 
Hollyhock disease (Puccinia. malvacearum). What 
we should recommend you to do is to cut off and 
burn all the worst of the leaves, at least provided 
you do not render the stems entirely leafless, as 
that would be highly detrimental to the welfare 
of the Hollyhocks and destroy them more 
effectually than the disease. The fungus lives 
inside'the tissue of the leaves, thus making it 
difficult to combat or eradicate. All you can do 
is to apply some fungicide at intervals of ten 
days or a fortnight during the growing season. 
A fungicide which has been found very serviceable 
by a Hollyhock grower is to take ^oz. of 
sulphate of copper and lib. of tobacco powder. 
This will be in a dry state so that it 
would be necessary to spray the under side of 
the Hollyhock leaves, making them just damp so 
that the powder will hang on. Choose a still day 
for the operation, as the powder is very poisonous 
and should not be inhaled by the operator. Then 
thinly dust the under surface of tn< with 
this powder, and repeat the operation a: above 
directed. The fungicide acts by destroying those 
portions of the fungus which break through the 
surface of the leaf in order to scatter the spores. 
These latter are the portions of the fungus that 
will be destroyed. The rest of the fungus grows 
inside the leaves, and later on will break out 
again, so that the dusting of the leaves is neces¬ 
sary to kill the spores and prevent them from 
being carried on to other, it may be, healthy 
plants. 
Aralia Sieboldi. 
I have a plant of Aralia Sieboldi which has 
been grown in a pot for ten years and flowered last 
autumn. Is it likely to flower again next autumn? 
Why I ask is because the plant is getting too big 
for the space I can give it, ana if it will not 
flower regularly I intend doing away with it. 
(H. W. C.) 
It depends very largely upon the size and 
vigour of the plant whether it w..i flower every 
year, but the chances are that having flowered 
last autumn at the end of our growing season, 
the plant has not had time to make a fresh crown 
sufficiently strong to flower. Instead of throwing 
it away, we should advise you to prepare a site 
for it in the garden, either' in the shrubbery or 
some sheltered part of the grounds, where' the 
foliage would not be subjected to high winds 
especially in winter. The plant is fairly hardy, 
and if not subjected to winds while the leaves 
are frozen, the foliage usually keeps in good con¬ 
dition till spring, when fresh growth and leaves 
are made. If the plant thrives with you under 
these conditions it may flower regularly every 
autumn. It is chiefly a question of size and the 
number of crowns, because you cannot expect 
flowers from the same crowns eveiy autumn, owing 
to the lateness of blooming. Young plants are 
raised in quantity from seeds, so that you need 
nol occunv space with a large plant that might 
be devoted to two or three smaller and more 
useful ones. 
Books on Hybridising. 
Would you kindly oblige me by letting me 
know through your paper of any good books on 
hybridising. (Alexander Brown. ) 
There are two books on hybridising by the late 
Charles Darwin. The most general book on the 
subject is " The Effects of Cross and Self Fer¬ 
tilisation in the Yegetable Kingdom,” published 
by Mr. John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 
price 12s. The other book is the “Various Con¬ 
trivances by which Orchids are Fertilised by 
Insects,” published by the same firm, price 9s. 
A very good book that would prove of much 
value and furnish you with many suggestions 
would be “Cultivated Plants: Their Propagation 
and Improvement,” by F. W. Burbidge. This is 
published by W. Blackwood. 37, Paternoster Row, 
London. E.C., price 12s. 6d. It was first pub¬ 
lisher! in 1877, and contains a lot of useful in¬ 
formation, though not the more recent experiments 
and successes. There is a great deal of literature 
on the subject scattered through different 
periodicals, but the books we have just mentioned 
will give you such information as will prove useful 
as a guide to further experiments. 
Greenhouse Azaleas not Flowering. 
We have some plants of greenhouse Azaleas 
which flowered splendidly last year, but this year 
only a few blooms were produced. What is the 
cause of it? (C. Lewes.) 
We should presume that you had the Azaleas 
when full of blossom or flower buds as prepared 
by the Belgian growers. Owing to the neatness 
of those prepared plants, and their cheapness, 
gardeners have been depending too much upon 
the plants already brought to perfection, and 
after they go out of flower take no trouble to 
cultivate them or prepare them for the following 
year. In this respect they are following very 
closely the plan pursued by the cultivation of 
Hyacinths and other Dutch bulbs. Azaleas are, 
however, capable of being flowered well each suc¬ 
cessive year if the cultivator takes care to prepare 
the plants. As soon as they go out of flower all 
the seed pods should be carefully removed by 
