220 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as -possible and written on 
one side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who -would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac¬ 
ter and height of the fence or wall; posi¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The 
north side of the garden and any over¬ 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. It 
should also be stated whether' the garden is 
-flat or on a declivity, and all Jarge trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the na¬ 
ture of the soil will also help us to give 
satisfactory replies. When such plans are 
received they will be carefully filed, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
2714. Pot Culture of Lilies. 
I am opening a case of Lily bulbs from 
Japan containing Lilium tigrinum, L. aura- 
turn and L. speciosum magnificum. I have 
my choice of two varieties, one for sandy, 
peaty soil, and one for rich loam. Will you 
kindly advise as to treatment in either case, 
giving me also vour opinion as to which is 
best ? What will be the best compost fo-r 
pot culture? (Annual Subscriber, Hants.) 
All three of the Lilies are very fine, and' 
may be cultivated in pots with success. The 
best of the threi, however, or most easily 
managed, would be L. speciosum magnificum 
or any other variety of that species. The 
same bulbs may be grown in pots year after 
year, and flowered with success. Both that 
and L. auratum should be grown in two parts 
of mellow fibrous loam to one of peat, with 
sufficient sand to make it porous. One bulb 
may be put in a 6 in. pot, or three ir< an 
8 in. pot, and the work should be done at 
once. Drain the pots well, so that the super¬ 
fluous moisture will pass freely away. After 
putting some moss or rough pieces of com¬ 
post over the drainage, put in just sufficient 
soil so that you will have 3 in. or so of 
space to fill after the plants have made some 
growth. In the smaller pot the bulb would, 
of course, be near the bottom. If you can 
get just 1 in. of soil over the top of the 
bulb, that will be sufficient until you want 
to fill up the rest of the pot as a top-dressing 
when the stems are 5 in. or 6 in. high. They 
make roots from the base of the stem and 
above the bulb, and this goes to the feeding 
of the flower stem and the flowers. Some 
well-decayed manure may he added to the 
above compost for top-dressing. You cam 
either plunge the pots in ashes or cocoanut 
fibre out of doors, or do so in a cold frame, 
keeping it closed for a time to encourage 
growth, if vou want the plants to come on 
early. When the weather is fine—say, in 
June—the pots may be taken out of the frame 
ard stood in a slightly shaded situation, 
where the plants will grow sturdily until 
on the point of bloom’ ng. Thev can then 
be taken into the greenhouse. Tf there is any 
desire to get the plants into bloom a little 
earlier than they would out of doors, you 
could "grow them continuously in a green¬ 
house. With the exception of earliness, no 
advantage is gained, as the plants will be 
dwarfer and more sturdy, and the flowers of 
better substance, if grown out of doors till 
the buds are well advanced. Of the two 
remaining Lilies, L. auratum would be more 
suited to pot culture, because, in our ex¬ 
perience, L. tigrinum keeps its leaves better 
if planted out in a border. With careful 
outdoor culture in pots, however, it should 
succeed very well. As between the two it is 
very much a matter of taste which is the 
best. L. tigrinum has orange flowers more 
or less thickly spotted with black markings, 
anQ comes into bloom during August and 
September. L.speciosum magnificum is also 
a late bloomer. All three may be treated in 
the manner we have described for pot cul¬ 
ture. 
2715. Greenhouses for Disposal. 
I have a number of greenhouses, and de¬ 
sire to dispose of three, one being 60 ft. 
long, and two deep forcing houses about 
25 ft. long. They are excellently construc¬ 
ted on brickwork, with the best mechanical 
arrangements, and everything is very good. 
Should you advise selling the framework 
ar«d the pipes separately, or how would you 
do, and could you kindly tell me from whom 
to ask tenders? (E. W. T., Yorks.) 
We think"you would get the best value for 
them ff you could dispose of them, locally 
to someone desiring such houses, because 
they could be taken down, conveyed to the 
new place and set up at the least cost for 
carriage. If you could giet anyone re¬ 
quiring such houses, clearly the best plan 
would be to let the fittirjgs and framework 
go with the houses, as they would then be 
complete for use. Someone might want the 
houses to grow a different class of plants 
from what they have hitherto contained, and 
in that case, possibly, different fittirjgs 
would be required. But, in any case, if 
more pipes were added, that could easily 
be accomplished in setting them up by add¬ 
ing some more to what you have already got. 
To find such a customer, the best plan would 
be to advertise in the local papers, which 
would bring the matter to the attention oi 
local people in want of houses. You could 
invite people to come and .irspeet the houses 
which you wish to dispose of, and even if 
some of them wtere not suited with the 
houses, they might know of others who would 
want them. 
2716. Name and Treatment of Plants. 
T am sending specimens of two plants, 
No. i and No. 2. I should be glad if you 
could name them for me and give me anv 
directions concerning their culture. No. 1 I 
have in 10 in. pots, .about three plants in 
each pot. I do not know how long they have 
been ii* the riots, but I should think a long 
time, as they appear rather crowded. 
March 28, 1908. 
Through the winter they have been stauding 
in a heated lean-to greenhouse and beea 
watered once a week. They show no signs 
of fresh growth, though they seem to be 
strong healthy plants. Please say if you 
advise re-potting? I have only one plant 
of No. 2, though it is a very large one, and 
is now throwing up new shoots. It has alsc 
stood in the greeanouse through the winter. 
Any direction^ concerning the treatment ol 
either plant would be gratefully received b} 
me. (A. B. C., Hereford.) 
The specimen No. 1 is Agapanthus um 
bellatus, or South African Lily. There ! 
no need for it to make growth so early ii 
the year. Indeed, during -winter it shoulc 
be kept cool and resting. The plants, judg 
i'r_\g from the specimen you send, are "indeec 
very healthy, but they appear to have bee: 
grown in a house with more heat than i 
absolutely necessary for this particula 
plant. We do not think that three plant 
in a 10 in. -pot would be too crowded a con 
dition, as it flowers best when the pot i 
well filled with roots. The usual plamwitl 
this class of plant is to keep it resting i: 
the greenhouse during the winter and stan< 
it out of doors when the weather become 
fine. It is a splendid balcony plan:, an- 
also for standing on gravel naths about th 
front door and on pavement. If the situa 
tion is a sunny one, the plants, would re 
quire watering every day, or possibly twic 
during very hot weather. They blcom i 
such situations during July arjd Augus - 
Very frequently they aref kept in such s-tua 
lions during the whole summer, whether ii 
flower or not, as the leaves are sufficient! 
ornamental for this style of gardening. Yo- 
can also grow it under glass, if freely ver. 
tilated. No. 2 is Nerium Oleander, usual! 
named simply Oleander. If it is large fc 
the pot in which it is growing, it might hav 
been re-potted before it commenced growing 
or just when about to make fresh growth. I 
is unwise to shift it when in full growth 
The best plan in that case would be to wa: 
until it has finished flowering, which usual! 
occurs in summer, when re-potting cou! 
be done. As only a small shift should b 
given, you can use a compost consisting o 
loam and well-decayed cow marftire in equa 
portions, with a good dash of sand. Pc 
firmly to make the new material tie with th 
old. Flowers are produced at the end o 
well-ripened shoots. It is a plant comin 
from a warm, dry, sunny country, an. 
should be well exposed to sun and air whil 
■making its growth. After it flowers yoi 
could then cut the plant into shape by re 
ducing the longer shoots, place it in a warn 
house to encourage it to make some fres 
growth before winter, and when the bud 
are starting, accomplish the potting. Th 
shoots will then be in suitable condition fcj 
flowering in the following summer. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
2717. Maidenhair - Fern Losing it 
Fronds. 
I have two pots of Maidenhair Fern whic 
I had a few weeks ago from a friend. H 
was growing them in a glasshouse. I ha\ 
lost many pots of Maidenhair Fern befor< 
My kitchen is warm, having a stove in i 
I have tried it there; also my bedroom, abo\ 
the kitchen, is very warm. Both have wn 
dows facing east, with sun on them in t! 
mornings. When the shoots are growin 
they seem to do well until they begin 1 
spread, then they curl up and die. The 
will not spread and get green. Re last wee 
No. 2670, I thoroughly understand wate 
ing, but that answer was the nearest I ha 
for many weeks on this point. Please gi' 
me full particulars how to plant and wb 
material to fill the pot, and the correct wa 
of water’ng. (Lloyd, Anglesey.) 
