January 18, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
37 
plenty of sand added to the compost, and 
the pots are kept in a temperature of about 
60 degs., a good strike is almost certain. 
Pruning Stove Plants. 
As has been previously explained here, 
stove plants are those for which an ordinary 
greenhouse temperature is hardly high 
enough. Many of these may now be pruned, 
and as this pruning generally means the 
clearing out of a good many insect pests, 
the quicker it is put in hand the better. 
Plumbago rosea, Clerodendron fallax, 
Thyrsacanthus rutilans, and Euphorbia 
jacquinaeflora are some of the prettiest and 
most commonly met with of those calling 
for attention now. Cuttings of the latter 
should be put in when pruning, as the plant 
needs a long season of growth if it is to 
produce yard-long wands of blossom. I 
would advise all readers who have a well- 
heated house to buy this .useful plant, if 
they do not already possess it, for it is one 
of the brightest of all winter-flowering green¬ 
house plants. 
Starting Early Gloxinias. 
If a few plants are wanted to flower about 
May, the required number should now be 
brought from their winter retirement and 
started. Stand them in a light place in the 
warm, and give them enough water to well 
wet the soil, afterwards syringing them at 
least once a day. When it is seen that 
growth is decidedly on the move, the plants 
should be repotted, shaking them quite clear 
of soil for this purpose, and either repotting 
them in the same sized, but clean, pots, or in 
pots one size smaller than those now occu¬ 
pied. The whole of the stock should also 
be looked over, and any tubers that show 
Signs of shrivelling should have a little 
water. 
Raising Early Lettuces. 
No, “ Foxglove,” I am not going to en¬ 
croach upon your domain ; but when an ama¬ 
teur has only a greenhouse, that house has 
to be a sort of maid-of-all-work, and the 
raising of a few early Lettuces is among its 
legitimate occupations. A small Cabbage 
sort should be chosen, and the seeds can be 
sown in a well-drained 5-inch pot. Neither 
the seeds nor the seedlings must be coddled 
at any time; in fact, the young plants should 
go into a cold frame when they have made 
their first pair of leaves. 
Sowing Tuberous Begonias. 
If these plants are to flower at all satis¬ 
factorily the first season, seed must be got in 
in good time, as a long period of growth is 
required. Sterilise a little soil by pouring 
boiling water on it and leaving it to dry 
somewhat. When pleasantly moist, sow the 
seed as thinly as possible, first mixing it 
with a handful of silver sand to assist even 
sowing. If enough sand is used to hide the 
seeds, no further covering will be required, 
except a pane of glass over the pot or pan 
to check evaporation. This last is rather 
important, as watering such fine seeds as 
those of Begonias is always attended with 
some risk. The best way to water after sow¬ 
ing, and at all times subsequently, is to hold 
the pan in a pail of tepid water almost, but 
not quite, to its brim. The seedlings should 
be pricked out when large enough to lift 
with a cleft safety match. 
The Lyre Flower, or Bleeding Heart. 
Whichever of the above names the grower 
gives to Dielytra spectablis, the fact will not 
effect the plant or prevent it from being one 
of the prettiest subjects that ever graced a 
flower pot. True, it is a hardy plant, and 
may be met with in most herbaceous borders, 
but all the same, it should find a place in 
every amateur’s greenhouse, especially those 
which possess no hot Water pipes. An open 
period should be chosen, and then one or 
two of the best clumps in the border should 
be dug up and potted. Do not give too large 
a pot, and stand the plants for a few days 
in the coolest part of the greenhouse after 
potting. 
Starting Early Vines. 
Most of the vines owned by amateurs have 
to start into growth just when it suits the 
other occupants of the house to allow them, 
but there may be an occasional reader who 
has a voice in the starting of his vine, by 
reason of its occupying a separate house. If 
so,.he should close the house now, damp all 
available surfaces, and keep a temperature 
of 50 degs., with a rise of 5 degs. by sun 
heat. 
Sunnyside. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Winter-Flowering Cypripediums. 
I have on several occasions previously 
drawn attention to this particular class of 
Orchids as being the most suitable for ama¬ 
teurs, and I am sure no class of plants can 
be more confidently recommended to those 
commencing Orchid cultivation than the 
winter-flowering section of Cypripediums. 
As I have so often referred to them, there 
will be no necessity of my giving further 
reasons for advocating their claims, and as 
a cultural note is necessary at this season, I 
must claim my readers’ attention to this 
matter. The regular season to attend to the 
repotting requirements of this section of 
Orchids must be governed by the state of 
the plants. A great deal must depend on 
the conditions under which the plants are 
cultivated. If grown under the conditions 
recommended in my previous notes, such 
species as C. spicerianum, C. Charlesworthii, 
and the bulk of the varieties of C.. insigne, 
the hybrids of the C. fairieanum section, 
and a number of the better varieties of C. 
leeanum, will now be passed out of flower 
or the flowers will be past their best. Where 
plants are grown under cooler conditions, 
naturally, the plants will come into flower 
later, and any repotting requirements neces¬ 
sary should be postponed until the plants 
have passed out of flower or have had their 
flowers removed. 
Assuming that the bulk of the plants are 
in a condition for repotting and the outside 
conditions are mild and favourable, I con¬ 
sider the earlier any repotting is done the 
better chance the plant has of producing 
satisfactory results the following flowering 
season. In repotting, some amount of con¬ 
sideration is necessary to ascertain the exact 
condition of the potting compost. It is one 
of the greatest mistakes possible to unneces¬ 
sarily disturb any of the plants of this sec¬ 
tion, unless the potting compost has become 
in an advanced state of decay or the plants 
have outgrown their pots -and require more 
root room. If the potting compost is in good 
condition any dead or decaying matter should 
be removed from the surface of the compost 
and about the base of the plants. The sur¬ 
face compost may be then replaced with 
fresh material. It is generally when deal¬ 
ing with- large specimens that, owing more 
or less to improper treatment, they have 
their constitutions weakened, that amateurs 
find themselves in difficulties. Under such 
conditions there should be no hesitation; a 
fresh start is necessary, the plants should be 
turned as carefully as possible out of the 
old pot, the old compost be shaken out, and 
when the roots have been disentangled, break 
the plants into suitable sizes, first severing 
the rhizome connecting the growths. When 
this has been done, put them into pots of 
a suitable size to contain each separated por¬ 
tion. They may thus be treated with more 
consideration, and if a specimen is desired, 
the pieces now separated may be again placed 
together at the next potting. 
Compost. 
The compost for this section of Cypripe¬ 
diums should consist of two parts turfy loam 
to one part of fibrous peat and chopped 
sphagnum moss ; intermix with this sufficient 
coarse silver sand and finely broken crocks 
to render the compost free and porous. The 
pots used should be drained to about one- 
third their depth with either chopped bracken 
roots or broken crocks. The size of pot se¬ 
lected must be governed by the state of the 
plant for which it is required. If we have 
a vigorous-growing and well-rooted plant, 
plenty of root room should be given. I have 
pointed out above it is not advisable to repot 
or disturb the plants oftener than is abso¬ 
lutely necessary. With this in mind, the 
cultivator should use his own discretion in 
the size of pots he selects for use. I would 
advise that less loam and more peat be used 
in the neighbourhood of large town? and 
in smoky manufacturing districts, as loam 
is inclined to retain moisture about the 
plants for too long a period in winter, when 
the light and general conditions outside are 
such as are not conducive to rapid drying. 
In repotting see that the compost is care¬ 
fully worked among the roots, and that it 
is pressed moderately firm. As soon as re¬ 
potting is completed, water the plants with 
rain water, carefully wetting the compost 
through. Stage in a moist, warm position, 
and keep the stages, etc., damp' about the 
plants. When outside conditions are favour¬ 
able, and with bright sunny weather, spray¬ 
ing overhead about the middle of the day 
will be advantageous. The normal tempera¬ 
ture for these plants should be about 
55 degrees. 
H. J. Chapman. 
Oakwood, Wylam-on-Tyne. 
-—~ 
SHELTERING . . . 
Chrysanthemums 
During the past season I have been im¬ 
pressed with the low price these have been 
offered at in shops, and in London streets. 
Some may say, do these pay P Certainly 
riot if they are grown in pots. During 
the first half of November I was at Ray¬ 
leigh, in Essex; a friend had grown a 
nice lot in this way, had them under 
glass. Not needing them all he offered 
them to a dealer, who offered him two¬ 
pence per bunch of a dozen sprays, add¬ 
ing he could obtain any quantity at this 
price. .This, one could understand, see¬ 
ing the abundance thus obtainable from 
the open air,, through the autumn being 
so open. I noticed some large growers 
in this district were growing them by the 
1,000 in long beds, protecting them with a 
glazed kind Of canvas strained at the side 
and over the tops to wooden frames. 
Treated thus, they received all the pro¬ 
tection needed for early and mid-season 
kinds. In this way the expense was re¬ 
duced to a minimum. I saw very large 
quantities of like kinds growing in the 
open, ready to shift into Tomato frames 
of the best kinds, and seldom have I seen 
that fine yellow W. H. Lincoln in such 
good health. 
In another place I found one grower 
had a fine lot stored in a barn, where 
he found they opened well by opening the 
doors by day. In this way they pay. 
' Wanderer. 
