January 9, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
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address : The Editor, The Gardening 
Grid, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
uer any branch of gardening. Questions 
,, u ld be as brief as -possible and written on 
i? side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
< paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
jarden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
lest use of this column are invited to 
spare and forward to us a rough outline 
‘awing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
position of beds and lawns, the charac- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
517. Temperature for American Car¬ 
nations. 
I have seven Carnations (American, I be- 
ive) in 60 size pots. The}' are about gin. 
min. high, and the names are Winsor, 
tvladys, Mrs. T. Vi. Lawson, Britannia, 
nchantress, Aurora, and W hite Lawson, 
hat heat is required ? I have a cold and 
so a warm house. A few hints on the cul- 
vation would be greatly appreciated. 
.OYICE, Middlesex.) 
All the varieties you mention are certainly 
merican, except one which is a little doubt- 
il, namely, Gwladys, which may be meant 
•r the Hon. Gladys Fellows. During their 
:riod of flowering they require to be kept 
. a temperature of 48 degrees to 35 degrees, 
wording to the variety, but if not in bloom 
1 of them would keep in a temperature of 
; degrees to 50 degrees, according to your 
mvenience. If you desire to flower them 
1 winter, or if they are at that stage, the 
igher temperature mentioned should be 
iven, with a rise of 5 degrees by day or 10 
agrees with sunshine. About the end of 
anuary you could repot them into 5m. pots 
> as to keep them growing. They may be 
town in a compost of two parts good 
brous loam, half part leaf mould with a 
ood sprinkling of sharp sand and ground 
vster shell, if you can get it. This sup- 
lies them with some food, but its chief 
unction is to make the soil porous and open, 
ibout the end of March if they have done 
ell they would require another shift, but 
f they have only made a moderate amount 
f growth, you could defer it for a month, 
mother thing you will have to give at- 
tntion to is the stopping of the plants in 
heir early 9tages, so as to make them bushy, 
tt the present time you might pinch out 
he tip of the longer stems and the branches 
hey throw out will lay the foundation for 
■ood bushy specimens. As the sun heat in- 
reases in spring you will have to give them 
.aore and more ventilation so as to prevent 
he temperature from rising too high. There 
Is no object in forcing Carnations with a 
nigh temperature. During weather like the 
present ventilation will be unnecessary, but 
in the return of mild or open weather they 
hould be freely ventilated at the top in 
■rder to keep the stems dwarf and sturdy. 
Vbout the middle of June you may stand 
hem out of doors on a bed of ashes, and 
ttend to their wants there. This will make 
he tissues firm, and ensure good flowering 
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 piled, with 
the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an 
enquiry is sent. 
plants by the time they are taken indoors 
about the end of September. Propagation is 
another important matter with American 
Carnations. This is carried out by means 
of cuttings taken at various times, but chiefly 
during January, February and March. The 
pots may be plunged in a hotbed with the 
object of getting a temperature of 60 degrees, 
which will encourage the production of 
roots. The atmosphere of the house need 
not be so warm. We have on several occa¬ 
sions discussed the method of taking cut¬ 
tings, which is to take out the short side 
shoots with a heel, if possible, to remove the 
lower pair of leaves and insert the cuttings 
fumly in pots in a very sandy soil. In 
stopping your Carnations at the present 
time, you may get some of the tops suffi¬ 
ciently long to make cuttings, although the 
long shoots do not make such good cuttings 
as the shorter ones. A pane of glass might 
be put over the top of the labels on winch 
the names are written in the pots of cuttings. 
This will assist them during the early period 
of the year. You will find March the best 
month for taking cuttings, if you are not 
experienced at this work, as they are then 
less liable to damp. 
3518. Cultivation of Begonia in*ignis. 
Would you be so kind as to give me a little 
advice on the growing of Begonia insignis 
for decorative purposes. Could you tell me 
the name of the plant enclosed in the 
letter? (H. B., Cheshire.) 
For decorative purposes this Begonia is 
best raised from "cuttings taken early in 
March, inserted in pots of sandy soil, and 
placed where they will get a bottom heat cf 
60 degrees or 65 degrees. As scon as rooted 
they should be potted off singly in pots that 
will take them comfortably, and enable them 
to make a start in growth. As soon as they 
are rooted a somewhat lower temperature 
will be sufficient—say 50 degrees to 55 de¬ 
grees by night, rising by day. As soon as 
the roots are well round the sides of the 
pots and before they become pot bound, give 
them a shift into a large size. Continue 
growing them under these conations till 
well into June, when you can transfer them 
to a cold frame where they will make better 
growth than in a stove or other warm house. 
For small plants it is unnecessary to stop 
them, as they usually grow with a single 
stem, forming large trusses of flowers on the 
upper part of the stem when annually rooted 
and grown in this way. Attention should 
be given to watering them when they require 
23 
it and ventilation at least at the top when¬ 
ever they require it. During fine weather 
syringe the plants in the morning and again 
in the afternoon, just when about to close 
the frame. Here the plants may remain 
until the cold weather makes it convenient 
to take them into a warmer house some time 
from the middle to the end of September. 
The plant you sent was Pelargonium citri- 
odorurn minimum. 
3519. Uncommon or Curious Plants. 
I have a heated greenhouse and a fair 
variety of flowering plants which do very 
well. I would like to grow a small col¬ 
lection of easily cultivated plants which are 
distinguished for their odd appearance or 
for some unusual peculiarity, and shall 
esteem it a favour if you will name for me 
and say where I could procure them, or if 
they could be raised from seed. (P.S.A., 
Middlesex.) 
The under-mentioned are some of the 
plants which are usually regarded as curi¬ 
osities, but which are of easy cultivation. 
Curious plants that are more difficult to 
cultivate we have not mentioned. The easily 
giown ones are Monarch of the East (Sauro- 
matum guttatum and sometimes named Arum 
cornutum), Joss Lily (Narcissus Tazetta 
chinensis). Calvary Clover (Medicago 
Echinus), the Onion Plant (Ornithogalum 
longibracteatum), the Black Calla Arum 
sanctum), and the Dragon Arum (variously 
known as Arum Dracunculus or Dracunculus 
vulgaris). All of the above have either 
tuberous roots or consist of bulbs, except 
Calvary Clover. The latter might not be 
readily obtainable everywhere, so that you 
could leave it to the nurseryman or seedsman 
ftom whom you order the plants. Many 
people grow the others in the form of bulbs 
or tubers, and you may order the lot and 
ask the seedsman you employ to get them all 
for you if not in stock. 
3520. Best Place for an Araucaria. 
I have had an Araucaria in the house close 
to a window for some years, and it has now 
got too tall and spreading, the branches 
being in the way. Will this do all right if 
I plant it out in a sunny part of the garden 
near a wall facing south-west? Some of 
the lower branches have died away, but the 
top looks healthy. (Western, Glam.) 
The Araucaria which you mention is, no 
doubt, the popular one for decorative pur¬ 
poses, Araucaria excelsa, and, if so, that is 
a greenhouse plant which, we fear, would 
not prove hardy in any part of this country, 
though dt is always worth while trying those 
greenhouse subjects on a warm or mild sea 
ccast. The best plan under the circum¬ 
stances would be to retain it until spring, 
when you can plant it out in some sheltered 
situation and leave it there to take its 
chance. It will, no doubt, make a fair 
amount of growth during the summer and 
get established in its new situation. Then, 
if it is capable of standing the winter, it 
will be in a position to do so. In any case, 
if you require something to put in its p’ace 
you should procure a young one and risk cr 
sacrifice the old one, which often gets too 
latge for the convenience that many growers 
have for it. 
ROOM PLANT8. 
35 21. Plant Losing: Leaves. 
I bought this plant from a man at the door 
and it has gone back ever since. Could you 
tell me the reason? J'he berries have all 
shrunk up and the leaves are falling off. 
We keep it standing in the window or on 
the table. State the reason and best thing to 
do with it, also the name. We were told they 
called it the Winter Silariam. (John 
Thompson, Northumberland.) 
We presume that the seller of the plant 
meant to say the Winter Solanum, as the 
