October 24, 1908. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
of a lasting nature, and particular atten¬ 
tion should be given to see that the pots are 
clean and the drainage ample, when repot¬ 
ting becomes necessary. 
C. rosea is a smaller plant in structure, 
producing attractive sprays of rosy-carmine 
flowers This plant is not so plentiful in 
cultivation now as it was a few years ago, 
but it is a most attractive and useful spring¬ 
flowering Orchid. I find that this plant 
does best grown in shallow pans or baskets ; 
plenty of drainage should be given. I find 
that a compost consisting of equal portions 
of fibrous peat, chopped sphagnum moss and 
broken (Oak or Beech) leaves suits this 
plant well. It should be suspended from 
the roof of the Odontoglossum house. 
C. sanguinea is a more robust and stronger- 
growing plant, with long branching scapes 
of rosy-pink flowers. There can be no ques¬ 
tion but that when this plant is grown in 
perfection it is one of the most beautiful 
of the small-flowered Orchids. It is found 
to succeed well under the same treatment as 
the Odcntoglossums during the warm months 
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- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
3311. Lapageria Not Flowering Freely. 
I have a Lapageria alba planted in a 
14 in. pot and growing in my fernery, which 
is heated by hot-water pipes from October to 
March to about 60 degs. The house faces 
south-east and gets plenty of sun in the 
mornings and then is shaded. My difficulty 
is that although it is very healthy and makes 
good growth it flowers very sparingly, and 
then only on the ends of the shoot. Should 
it not flower on the other points ? I also 
find the points that flower die and the next 
point flowers the following season. If you 
can advise me how to make it flower more 
freely I should be very grateful. (Anxious, 
Cornwall.) 
Lapagerias do not flower freely in the nar¬ 
row confinement of a pot. Your plant would 
do better if planted out in a small bed or 
border of the house. In that case, of course, 
it would be well to prepare a site for it by 
taking out a hole 3 ft. long, 2 ft. wide and 
as deep at least. In the bottom some drain¬ 
age is placed, and then you can fill up the 
whole with a compost consisting of two parts 
peat, one pan loam and one part of leaf 
mould. Press down the soil after it is 
planted. The temperature of your house is 
also higher than necessary in winter if vou 
of the year, but I consider it is better suited 
by being placed under slightly warmer and 
drier conditions than that afforded in the 
Odontoglossum house during the coldest 
winter months. 
L. vulcanica is closely allied to C. san¬ 
guinea, but I think the flowers are more red 
in colour and the flower scapes are more 
erect than in the last-mentioned species and 
flowers some weeks later in the season. It is 
a robust-growing plant compared with C. 
rosea and should be grown under the same 
conditions as advised for C. sanguinea. 
Repotting. 
Repotting, where necessary, is best done, 
in all the above-mentioned species, when 
the new roots are being emitted from the 
base of the newly-developed or developing 
pseudo-bulb. Shade carefully after repot¬ 
ting until the new roots become established 
in the fresh potting compost, and if the at¬ 
mosphere is kept moist about the plants it 
will prevent undue shrivelling of the pseudo¬ 
bulbs after repotting has been done. 
H. J. Chapman. 
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 large 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. 
mean a minimum night temperature of 60 
degs. in winter. That would be quite suffi¬ 
cient for a stove. Now the Lapageria is a 
greenhouse plant and so nearly hardy that 
it may be grown and flowered outside in the 
more favoured parts of this country, such 
as Cornwall, near the sea. You should, 
therefore, endeavour to give it a resting 
period by letting the temperature sink to 
45 degs. to 48 degs. in winter. It would 
do no harm if it was much lower than this 
if you can manage it without injuring the 
plants in the fernery. Lapagerias generally 
do best in a greenhouse or conservatory that 
is kept in a resting condition during the 
winter, but, in any case, the temperature 
should at least be 10 degs. lower than it is, 
to advantage. If you attend to both of the 
above particulars we think you would suc¬ 
ceed in flowering it much better. 
3 312. Difference Between Asparagus 
plumosus and A. Sprengeri. 
Can you tell me the chief differences be¬ 
tween Asparagus plumosus and Asparagus 
Sprengeri Fern, both as to their culture and 
their value for table decoration, spravs, etc. 
Also kindly say where I could get seed or 
young plants to grow on and where I could 
obtain the fronds in a cut state. (Edna, 
Cheshire.) 
6 77 
Both of the species of Asparagus you men¬ 
tion require practically the same treatment. 
They will grow either in a cool greenhouse 
or one that is kept up to 50 degs. in winter. 
\ou should not use the word Fern in con¬ 
nection with them, as they belong to the 
Lily family and have no connection with 
Ferns. You may grow both of them in pots 
in a soil consisting chiefly of fibrous loam 
with one-third part of leaf mould and a 
good dash of sand. Both of them may be 
used for table decoration, but A. plumosus 
is most suitable for this owing to its more 
graceful character. A. Sprengeri is more 
strongly built, denser in growth, but when 
it produces stems 3 ft. to 6 ft. long it is 
best used as a basket plant suspended, so 
that the sprays can hang down. You can 
get seeds of both from all the principal 
seedsmen mentioned in our pages, so that 
it is unnecessary to name any particular 
firm. .Seeds are the best method of raising 
young plants, because you can usually keep 
them in a dwarf state for some years and 
in a condition most stiitable for table decora¬ 
tion in the form of plants. Larger or older 
plants, of course, furnish the long sprays 
for cutting. Sow the seeds in any light 
compost in a temperature of 60 degs. to 70 
degs. to encourage germination. Nursery¬ 
men do not, as a rule, grow sufficient quan¬ 
tity to supply cut sprays, as that is more 
the business of the market gardener. Your 
best plan, therefore, would be to apply to 
some local florist for sprays or in the nearest 
town of importance. 
3313. Name of Plant and How to 
Grow It. 
Will you kindly tell me through your 
paper the name of the enclosed flower and if 
it is easily grown and how ? 1 am sorry 
the specimen is nearly dead, but hope you 
will be able to get me the information. 
(B. G., Middlesex.) 
The flower you sent was Cobaea scandens, 
a greenhouse climber that grows to a great 
height if allowed to ramble, and is of easy 
cultivation. It is only necessary to keep 
out frost from the greenhouse during win¬ 
ter, as the plant will come through safely. 
Owing to its rampant-growing character it 
does best when planted out in a border of 
the house rather than in pots. You could, 
however, grow ; t in pots and train it in 
any way you like, but it would not .flower 
so freely as if placed under conditions 
w'here it could grow vigorously. You can 
train it up the rafters of the greenhouse if 
you have one. Within the last decade it 
has been much employed for planting out 
a's a climber in the garden during' summer 
and allowed to ramble over the garden 
fence. It grows freely and flowers when it 
attains some size, but, of course, gets killed 
in the autumn or winter when the tempera¬ 
ture gets low. It is easily procurable, how- 
ever, as large quantities of it are annually 
raised from seeds for this purpose. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
3 314. Plants for Pots in a Window. 
Please be good enough to name half a 
dozen suitable plants for a window and say 
how they should be treated, and if in any 
way difficult to grow. They should be 
flowering varieties. (Henry Wood, Berks.) 
You do not give us any hint as to your 
predilection or liking in the matter of 
flowers. We have selected them as varied 
as possible. You could, of course, grow 
Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, Musk, etc., but 
these things are fairly common. Plants that 
are less seldom seen in windows, though 
easy to grow, are Campanula isophvlia 
alba, Sedum Sieboldii variegatum and Saxi. 
fraga sarmentosa. These three look best 
when suspended in the full light of the 
