WORLD. March 6, 1909. 
164 
THE GARDENING 
Address : The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which mav 
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. 
3668. Treatment of Angraecum ses- 
quipedale. 
You have kindly answered various ques¬ 
tions re Orchids for me before. Would you 
kindly inform me how to treat Angraecum 
sesquipedale after it has finished blooming ? 
It has three spikes of bloom on it and is a 
fine plant now. (E. May, Suffolk.) 
As this Angraecum comes from Mada¬ 
gascar it requires East Indian house treat¬ 
ment, but is not so difficult to deal with as 
some other species from the same country. 
When it recommences growth it should have 
a minimum night temperature of 65 degs., 
rising to 70 degs. by day and 75 degs. with 
sun heat. During May, June and July the 
temperature may range between 70 degs. 
and 75 degs. by night, rising to 75 
degs. to 80 degs. by day and 85 degs. 
with sun heat. By this time it requires a fair 
amount of ventilation and the atmospheric 
moisture must also be plentiful. This can 
be accomplished by damping down the house 
011 all bare places during the morning and 
afternoon. Ventilation will prevent the at¬ 
mosphere from being saturated at all times, 
which is not desirable. During bright 
weather when making its growth a light 
shading should be given during the hottest 
part of the day at the same time as ventila¬ 
tion is given. It is usually a plant that 
responds readily to the art of the cultivator 
and some growers succeed even when plac¬ 
ing it in a house fully exposed to sun. It 
is well, however, to be a little careful of 
the young leaves. During winter the night 
temperature should drop to 60 degs. Need¬ 
less to say, the atmosphere should be drier 
and the plant kept drier at the roots, at 
least until it commences flowering. 
3669. Variety of Cactus. 
Would you be good enough to give me the 
name of this variety of Cactus, of which I 
enclose a leaf ? I have a good collection of 
Cacti and am always glad to read about 
these interesting plants. This specimen was 
given to me by a friend. (F. S. Truro, 
Middlesex.) 
The leaf you sent was that of Aloe serra, 
a succulent member of the Lily family and 
n t a Cactus. It is usually treated similarly 
’ the Cactus family on account of its fleshy 
< I'.-.racter. It is a native of the Cape of 
'■ • >d Hope .and therefore does not require 
; very high temperature, though it will 
ive well with Cacti coming from Mexico. 
■ greenhouse kept from 45 degs. to 50 degs. 
ter and heig.ht 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. 
in winter would meet its requirements ad¬ 
mirably. In potting it use loam and peat 
with a small quantity of decayed cow 
manure, and to ensure porosity break up a 
soft red brick into small pieces and mix with 
the compost. Pots of large size are not 
necessary as a plant of good size may be 
kept in a relatively small pot. 
3670. Treatment and Quality of Onci- 
diums. 
■Could you inform me as a matter of per¬ 
sonal interest the treatment and quality of 
bloom of Oncidium graminifolium and O. 
maculatum ? I also enclose a sample of 
Orchid I have received from Brazil, but am 
at a loss to know what the pseudo-bulbs are 
unless they are Laelias. iSome of the pseudo- 
bulbs are much plumper, of course, and one 
or two old leaves have the appearance of L. 
majalis in their structure, but they are too 
withered to tell. I do not want these 
shrivelled pieces back. (H. E. Staddon, 
Essex.) 
Oncidium graminifolium and 0 . *m.acu- 
latum are both Mexican species. They should 
be grown in a warm intermediate house. 
If you have a structure in which Cattleyas 
and the Mexican Laelias succeed the Onci- 
diums will be well suited. The treatment 
found suitable for the Laelias may be ap¬ 
plied to Oncidiums. Plant in pots or bas¬ 
kets, afford free drainage and use a com¬ 
post of about equal portions of fibrous peat, 
Osmunda fibre and chopped sphagnum moss. 
Make the potting compost moderately firm. 
Throughout the active season of growth they 
require liberal root moisture, but when 
growth is completed a prolonged dormant 
stage is entered upon, during which only 
sufficient root moisture is necessary to retain 
the pseudo-bulbs in a blooming state. The 
flowers of each are of moderate size indi¬ 
vidually, but are borne several together on 
blanched spikes, the colour of the flowers 
being yellow and brown. The samples of 
Orchid sent are Laelia grandiflora, better 
known as L. majalis, but are very small and 
weak for that species. 
3671. Propagation of Begonia Joig'ni. 
No doubt you will excuse me for troubling 
you again, for I have utterly failed in my 
endeavour to grow Begonia Joigni from cut¬ 
tings as you advised me, and I want to 
know if you can let me know whether I 
could procure some seeds of this variety, as 
I am very anxious to grow it. (H. B., 
Cheshire.) 
We cannot find any reference to the Be¬ 
gonia which you mention, either in botanica 
books or in the catalogues of those wh< 
grow Begonias extensively. Possibly you 
may remember where you got it, and, if so 1 
you could ascertain whether they have am 
seeds. You could also apply to Messrs. T 
S. Ware, Ltd., Feltham, Middlesex, and tt 
Messrs. Blackmore and Langdon, Twertor 
Hill Nursery, Bath. They might know 
something of it even if they have not listed 
it. We are surprised you have not succeeded 
in rooting cuttings, as Begonias, in mosl 
instances, are not difficult to propagate in 
this way. Species requiring a high tem¬ 
perature should have a correspondingly high 
temperature in the house where you attempt 
to root cuttings. Those that are more nearh 
hardy are rooted under the coolest condi¬ 
tions obtainable during the summer months. 
You might try different -conditions day v ay 
of experiment. 
367 2 . Name of Heath and Treatmen 
Would you be so kind as to give me the 
name of plant and its culture which is in 
the letter? (II. B., Cheshire.) 
The Heath you sent us is Erica wil- 
moreana, a hybrid requiring very cool treat¬ 
ment. The flowering shoots should be cut 
back for half their length after they have 
done blooming and encouraged to make fresh 
growth. Just when young shoots are start¬ 
ing you can repot them if necessary. Use 
a compost of lumpy fibrous peat and nearly 
one-third sand. Do not bury the stem of 
the plant more than it was before. The new 
compost should be rammed as firmly as 
the old. Nee-cHess to say, good drainage 
must be given. At ,the end of June, or when 
the young growths are nearly finished, plunge 
the plant in ashes in a frame and the sashes 
may soon be left off altogether, provided the 
weather outside is suitable at the time. If 
you cannot give it frame protection, you can 
plunge it entirely out of doors in ashes and I 
leave it there till the end of September. A 
span-roofed house is the best place for win¬ 
tering this Heath. In cold weather no at- ; 
tempt should be made to maintain a high 
temperature. At that time 40 degs. by night 
will, be quite high enough, though it may be 
allowed to rise a little higher with plenty 
of air when the weather is genial. This 
will expel damp from the foliage. Keep the 
soil steadily moist without saturation at any 
time. See that thrips do not get upon the 
plants during dry weather, hut if you should 
detect the pest, then syringe the plants with 
a strong solution of Gishurst compound and 
water. 
3673. Salvia splenciens grandiflot'a. 
I shall be glad if you would tell me how 1 
to grow Salvia splendens grandiflora and 
when to sow the seed. (C. FI., Northamp¬ 
ton.) 
You can sow at any time during March, 
but the earlier now the better in a tempera¬ 
ture of 60 degs. Use loam, leaf mould and 
sand. When the seedlings have made a pair 
of rough leaves you can put them singly 
into thumb pots and keep them in a warm 
greenhouse temperature. When the roots are 
well through the soil and before they get 
in any way pot-bound shift into larger sizes 
and continue doing so until they are in their^ 
flowering pots. At the second potting the 
compost should have more lcam, and when 
put into 48 size pots or. in large'r ones you 
can then use a compost of equal portions of 
loam and well-decayed cow manure with a 
good dash of sand. The pots should, of 
course, be well drained. By the end of 
June you can stand the pots outside on a 
bed of ashes .and water well during dry 
weather. Flere they may be kept growing 
until about the middle of September or at 
least before there is any danger of frost, 
when you can take them into the greenhouse, 
where a temperature of 50 degs. will enable 
them to flower freely. 
