December 16, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
90-'j 
It may be spread on the top of the soil, but we 
should always point it in lightly with a fork, or 
rake it in, as it becomes unsightly by making the 
soil appear black. 
Improving a Cactus Plant. 
I enclose a leaf of my Cactus. What can I 
do with it to make it a better plant? It is in 
bud? (J. W. T.) 
You give ns no details but from what you 
say we presume that you have reared your Cactus 
plant from a cutting. The proper name of the 
specimen you sent is Epiphyllum tnmcatum, cr 
some variety of it. These plants are usually 
grafted on the top of the stem of the Pereskia, 
so that in tne course of time they form little 
standards of drooping habit. We presume your 
plant has branched from the base, and that the 
branches hang over the sides of the pot, or form 
a m ire or less straggling specimen. The best 
plan under the circumstances would be to take 
the strongest stem and tie it to a stake in the 
middle of the pot. Then all the rest of the 
branches might be cut away, and the cuttings 
utilised to rear young plants. The single stem 
left will ui time form a branching head, and the 
heavier it glows the stronger the supporting 
stake must he. We think a plant or two in the 
ordinary bush form would serve to give variety 
In any rise, you should not cot' away any 
branches until the plant has completed flowering. 
In the spring time the cuttings may be put in 
;uiv sandy soil, and pitted on singly after they 
become rooted. Train them to a stake, and 
keep the side branches off until the stem has 
attained the height you desire. 
Tulip Leaves turning Black. 
Will you please advise me, through The Gar¬ 
dening Wored, about my Tulips. I have some 
Tulips just coming up, but as the shoot appears 
it turns bLack. The 'greenhouse is kept about 
50deg. (J. W. T.) 
We suspect your Tulips have been placed in 
too high a temperature before they were properly 
rooted. Of course, you give us no. information 
about this, which leaves the matter uncertain. 
When first potted up they should be stood out of 
doors covered with cocoanut fibre or some similar 
material until the leaves have made about an 
inch of growth above the soil in the pot. They 
should then be uncovered so that the leaves are 
entirely exposed to the light to prevent them 
getting blanched or drawn. If not wanted parti¬ 
cularly early, they need not be placed in the 
greenhouse until frosty nights oblige you to place 
them under cover. Even then you may teeep 
them in cold frames fully exposed to light. When 
placed in the greenhouse they should not at first 
be subjected to too high a temperature, but 
gradually raised to the temperature you mention. 
We should suspect either that the plants were 
badly rooted when placed in heat, or that the 
bulbs were affected with a fungus or bacteria, in 
which caise the plants will presently succumb. 
With a little experience you can sometimes, detect 
that bulbs are diseased before you put them in 
the pots, and such should be rejected or kept 
separate from the good ones. It might be that 
the bulbs are affected with the bulb mite, which 
destroys the young roots. Some of the bulbs 
that are behaving badly might be taken up for 
examination, using a lens or magnifying-glass to 
see if they are affected with mites. If so, the 
bulbs showing the malady should be destroyed. 
Cineraria Stellata. 
I have some Cineraria stellata in the same 
house, seedlings in the third leaf. When will they 
flow°r. and will the same heat he sufficient? 
(J. W. T.) 
The plants have evidently been raised Horn 
s r ed rather late in the season. If you had sown 
the seed in June the plants would have been 
much larger by this time, and would have flowered 
in March. We presume, however, that if you 
keep your plants growing and repot them as tliey 
require it. they should bloom some time about 
the end of May or the beginning of June. The 
temperature of 50deg. is rather high for Cine¬ 
rarias ; about 40deg. at night would be a much 
more suitable temperature at this season of the 
year. The puts containing them should also lie 
stood on a bed of ashes which can he kept moist. 
This cool bed will enable thorn to make much 
more healthy growtli than if they were stood in 
a warm greenhouse. If you have no other house 
in which to keep them cooler, you could suspend 
shallow trays from the roof close to the glass, on 
which you could place gravel or ashes in order 
to keep the plants cool and moist. We presume 
that you use a little ventilation during the day 
in fine weather, as that would certainly be to the 
advantage of the Cinerarias. 
Plants for Shady Places. 
Will you be good enough to give a list of 
flowering shrubs and perennial plants suitable 
for planting in shady places? We have several 
corners in the garden that are never satisfactory, 
and I feel sure that you will be able to suggest 
something to improve matters for us. (C. A.) 
Flowering shrubs, as a rule, are very unsuit¬ 
able for shady situations. Most of them love 
the sunshine. You can, however, plant Hyperi¬ 
cum calycinum, H. elatum, H. moserianum, and 
others of that class. The Privets also succeed 
fairly well in shady positions, and the same 
might be said of Spiraea salicifolia, and possibly 
some of the forms of S. japonica would also give 
you a certain proportion of flowers, but they 
are not altogether happy in the shade. In the 
way of perennial plants you can always plant the 
hardy hulbs provided the shade is produced by 
deciduous trees as they bloom before the leaves 
expand. These bulbs include Snowdrops, Cro¬ 
cuses, Winter Aconite, Daffodils and various 
Scillas, including S. nutans, S. campanulata, and 
other species. Other flowering plants are Peri¬ 
winkles, Solomon’s Seal, Lily of the Valley, Prim¬ 
roses. Polyanthuses, and Evening Primroses in 
variety. The perennials amongst the last-named 
that you might employ are Oenothera fruticosa, 
Oe. f. Y'oungi, Oe. odorata, Oe. speciosa, and 
others if you can get them. Many shady and 
otherwise unattractive corners might he converted 
into beautiful ferneries, in which you could grow 
a large number of hardy species, but if confined 
to British Ferns alone the varieties are certainly 
sufficiently numerous to plant a fernery, even of 
large size. For instance, there is the Royal 
Fern Osmunda, also Lastraea Filix-mas cristata, 
Polystichum angulare in variety, P. aculeatum, 
Scolopendrium vulgare in a great variety of fine 
forms, and Polypodium vulgare in the many fine 
varieties, including the ordinary form. 
Green and Yellow Privet. 
Three years ago I planted a hedge of green and 
golden Privet, and they looked well for two 
years, but the green variety is growing too fast 
and smothering the golden one. How can I 
regulate this’ (D. R. W.) 
The golden Privet is a variety of the green one, 
and the latter always grows too fast for the 
golden one to keep company with it. When planted 
in proximity, and more particularly when planted 
to form a hedge, you will have to regulate the 
relative growth of the two by shortening some 
of the branches of the green one just where they 
are pushing in amongst the branches of the 
yellow. If this was done two or three times 
during the course of the season, and the golden 
one allowed to fill the place made vacant, it 
would be possible, we think, in a year or two, to 
have the green and the golden fairly well equal¬ 
ised. that is, each forming about the same length 
of the hedge in alternate patches. The plan 
gives variety, but the green plant requires a good 
deal of attention to keep it in its proper place. 
Holly Tree without Berries. 
There is a fine Holly tree at the bottom of the 
garden, which has been making fine growth for 
some years past, but has never produced any 
berries. Should Hollies hear fruits when 8 ft. 
high? (T. W. W.) 
Some Hollies do not produce berries at all. 
The flowers are very often on separate trees, 
though sometimes stamens and seed vessels may 
be produced in the same flower. This cannot he 
ascertained until the trees bloom. You cfin, 
however, get what you require by going into a 
nursery and inspecting the young trees. You will 
find some of them producing berries, while y t 
about 12 in. high, ion should grt some of the 
berry-bearing varieties, and plant them near 
the one you have got. They will continue to 
produce berries in greater or less quantity year 
after year from the first start. 
Watercress. 
As I have a small stream running at the end 
m y garden, I should like to grow Watercress. 
How should I proceed to work in order to ensure 
a crop next year? (L. R. G.) 
y ou could make a Watercress-bed in the 
stream, but, unless you can guard it against 
overflooding during heavy rain we do not think 
the stream would be the best place for making 
the bed. A far better plan would be to make a 
separate bed of sufficient size to grow the quan- 
tity of Watercress you would require. The 
bottom of this bed should be a little below that 
of the neighbouring stream. Then put in a layer 
of 6 in. of good loam, or any soil of a substantial 
character with some sand in it. This might he 
raked level, made fairly firm, and covered with 
a layer of sand or gravel, to make the bed look 
clean. The next thing would be to get cuttings 
of W atercress from some ditch or stream, if you 
are thoroughly acquainted with the real Water 
cress, otherwise you will have to get seeds and 
raise plants under glass for planting out in the 
bed about 6 in. apart each way. After planting 
the Watercress, you can then let' in the water” 
always making sure that a certain quantity only 
will come through the drain or conduit leading 
from the stream io the Cress-bed. A drain-pipe 
at the entrance of the intake would provide for 
the amount of water necessary, and require no 
attention. This water will at first sink into the 
bed until it becomes fully saturated, after which 
the surplus water should be allowed free passage 
back again to the stream lower down, so as to 
ensure a current of running water over the Cress- 
bed. As the weather gets warmer in spring, this 
Cress bed will then give you a supply of Cress 
all through the season. Should the bed at any 
time become worn out or full of blanks, it would 
be worth while gathering the cuttings, preserv¬ 
ing them in water and putting some fresh soil in 
the bed. Usually, however, it would only be 
necessary to clean the bed and replant. Make 
sure that the water employed is free from 
sewage. 
Plants for Graves. 
There are many readers of your valuable paper 
who have graves of relatives and friends which 
they wish to look nice all the year round, but 
who have very little idea of what to plant. If 
you would kindly give a few practical hints, 1 
feel sure they would be very much appreo’ated. 
The ordinary graveyard looks particularly melan¬ 
choly at this season of the year. How can it 
be improved? What would you suggest to plant 
now for early spring flowering, and how can a 
succession of bloom be kept up ? There are often 
most unsuitable things planted. (C. A.) 
We presume from what you say that you 
would like flowering plants, and to keep up a 
succession of them. If so, you ought to plant 
Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodils at once. If 
the Daffodils are not too thickly planted, you 
could place Wallflowers between them, which 
would keep up a succession to those already 
mentioned. The display might be continued a 
much longer time by planting Forget-me-Xots, 
the most successful of which, we think, would be 
Myosotis sylvatica. These are . practically old- 
fashioned flowers, but we are aware that some 
people like a continuous display in summer. If 
so, it would be necessary to employ a florist to 
fill the centre bed with Pelargoniums or Fuchsias, 
or a mixture of various summer flowering sub¬ 
jects: that would, of course, entail some expense, 
unless you were sufficiently experienced to select 
the flowers and do it yourself. We should prefer 
old-fashioned flowers, such as those above men¬ 
tioned, together with double white Daisies around 
the edges, and possibly a Rose at each end of 
the grass. This might be the old Cabbage Rose, 
or Rose Celestial, or some of the white forms of 
