TUB GARDENING WORLD. 
April 17, igog. 
258 
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 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. 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
3788. Treatment of Azaleas. 
I have just bought two clumps of Azalea 
and should be very glad of a few hints on 
their treatment. I have a small conservatory 
attached to my house, but no heating appar¬ 
atus for it. (C. Knott, Middlesex.)- 
When your plants have finished flowering 
give them what pruning is necessary. That, 
of course, will be chiefly shortening back any 
straggling shoots that may be spoiling the 
symmetry of the plants, otherwise practi¬ 
cally no pruning is required. The proper 
plan then would have been to put the plants 
into a warmer house to encourage them to 
make good growth. Under the circumstances 
you will have to make the best of your un¬ 
heated house. The next best plan will be 
to place them in the warmest part of the 
house where they will get plenty of sun 
and s) T ringe the plants twice a day to en¬ 
courage them to make fresh growth. When 
the young shoots have made their growth and 
ceased to lengthen you can then stand the 
plants in some shady position out of doors 
for a week to harden the foliage. After that 
they should be placed in a sunny position 
to ripen their wood and plump up the flower 
buds for next season. Attend regularly to 
watering, for Azaleas must not be allowed 
to get dry, otherwise their tender roots would 
get killed against the sides of the pot owing 
to the heat of the sun. When the plants are 
out of doors you must make some provision 
to prevent worms from getting into the pots. 
A bed of clean coal ashes would be the most 
appropriate to lay down for standing the 
pots upon. You can, however, stand them 
on boartjs, which would not be so trying for 
them as slates would. The latter are liable 
to get very hot during the warmer parts of 
summer.” If you would go to the trouble 
of getting some cocoanut fibre you could 
plunge the pots in that for the summer, and 
this material would keep the pots cool. Less 
water would then be necessary, though you 
must rot overlook them in this respect at any 
time of the year. Towards the end of Sep¬ 
tember take the plants indoors before there 
is any danger of frost spoiling the young 
flower buds. 
3789. Dividing Tuberous Begonias. 
I potted up my tuberous Begonias some 
time ago and many of them are producing 
several crowns. Should I now take them 
out of the pots and divide them, or what 
would you advise me to do? I want to in¬ 
crease them, but it seems a pity to disturb 
them. (R. S., .Surrey.) 
The tubers are sometimes divided, but we 
do not think it a very good plan, because 
some of the tubers would afterwards be more 
inclined to decay than if covered with the 
natural skin. Division, however, is effected, 
or should be, before the tubers are started. 
We should not disturb them now, but rely 
upon rooted cuttings during the summer 
months. The tips of some of the side shoots 
may well be spared when you have got a 
number of them, and these could be taken off 
when 3 in. or 4 in. long and getting fairly 
firm. Fill a box with sand and stand this 
in some shady greenhouse and insert the 
cuttings in it as }-ou get them. Keep them 
just moist and they will in the course of the 
summer form roots * 1 * * * * * and make tubers. % Next 
year these may be started and grown as 
flowering plants. Cut them in the usual 
manner just below a joint, but not too close 
to it as roots are most readily produced from 
this neighbourhood because more solid than 
any other portion of the cutting. 
3790. Heliotropes in a Greenhouse. 
What is the best way to go to work to grow 
Heliotropes with extra large flowers, such as 
I once saw in collections at the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Hall? Please name some good 
varieties to cultivate. (M. F. H., Glasgow.) 
The size of the (truss of a Heliotrope is 
due largely to the variety and good cultiva¬ 
tion does the rest. You can make up a com¬ 
post of two parts of loam, half part of leaf 
mould, half part of well-decayed cow 
manure with sufficient sharp sand to make 
the soil porous. Pot firmly. Fine varieties 
are President Garfield, with violet flowers 
produced in large trusses; Mdlle. F. Viger, 
deep violet flowers produced in massive 
heads; and Mme. Hippolyte Moreau, with 
rosy-mauve flowers produced in very large 
trusses. If you can get these varieties they 
are more likely to give large trusses than 
some of the old-fashiioned varieties. Give 
them pots proportionate to their size. Water 
immediately they are potted and-s,tand them 
by themselves in a greenhouse where they 
will get every advantage of light. As the 
plant commences growing they will require 
more and more water. If the plants are in 
small pots you -must give them one or two 
shifts 'into larger sizes during the course of 
the summer. The fresh soil will keep the 
plants growing. When you have got them 
in a size which you think suitable for'flower- 
mg them and the roots have filled the soil, 
you can then give weak liquid manure twice 
a week. In order to ensure bushy specimens j 
you will have to pinch the leading stems once ! 
or twice in the early stages of growth. If 
you follow out this plan and attend regu¬ 
larly to watering and feeding, your plants 
should make good growth and reward you | 
with large trusses. 
37 91. Plants for Unheated Greenhouse. 
I have recently come into possession of a I 
greenhouse and wish to have a supply of 
flowers all the j'ear round. It is not heated, 
but stands in a sunny position. I should be 
glad to know what plants I can grow. Could 
I grow a Vine in this house? (R. Davies, I 
Herefordshire.) 
You canned expect to get flowers all the ; 
year round in a house that is unheated. You ' 
will have difficulty in keeping up a display 1 
during December and January, unless you 
have some early-flowering bulbs. With late- 
flowering Chrysanthemums!, if you can man¬ 
age them, you could get flowers, perhaps, 7 
up till Christmas. In the meantime, to give 
you flowers that will bloom during the sum¬ 
mer months you’should get some Zonal Pelar- j 
goniums. Hydrangeas, Vallotas, Agapanthus ] 
and Tobacco plants. It would be fairly. ! 
easy to. grow and bloom Intermediate Stocks I 
in pots if you sow at different times of the , 
year to get a succession. Several of the j 
varieties, including Princess Alice, may be 1 
bloomed practically all the year round by I 
sowing at different times and potting them 
on as they require it, but they should have 
a temperature of 40 degs. to 45 degs. in- 
winter. In the autumn you could also pot 
up a number of hardy bulbs, which could be | 
kept in frames until you bring them into i 
the greenhouse with the object of getting j 
them to flower. Hyacinths, Tulips, Daffo-. 
dils and Crocuses are very easy to grow if ! 
you pot them up early and allow them to j 
grow naturally. They may be kept in a cold 
frame until they have well started into j 
growth. It would be quite possible to grow I 
a Back Hamburgh Vine in that house and 
get the Grapes to ripen. You should not j 
allow it, however, to sprawl all over the roof j 
of the house, otherwise you will obstruot the ' 
light from the other plants.- The best plan ; 
is to confine it to one rod and take it along 7 
just under the eaves of the house or else j 
under the ridge. The latter, perhaps, would 
be the most suitable position and produce j 
the least shade in the house. The Grapes - 
are, of course, produced on side shoots given I 
off by the main rod and in winter when the 
leaves have fallen these side shoots are j 
pruned back to one or two good eyes. These 
eyes will give lateral shoots again, so that i 
the annual pruning consists in shortening 1 
back these laterals and the Vine never in- ; 
creases in size from year to year. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
3792. Turning Plants Round. 
Is it. right to turn plants from time to ! 
time that are grown in pots and kept in the . 
window, which have become one-sided ? I 
am told that to do so will weaken the plants j 
and yet recently I read that this can be done 
without injuring them. I shall be glad to i 
have your opinion on this matter. (Chas. 
Johnson, Matlock.) 
It would be beneficial to window plants | 
generally to turn them round once a week ; 
so as to equalise growth as much as pos¬ 
sible. It is not every kind of plant that 
will take kindly to this treatment, but Pelar¬ 
goniums, Fuchsias, Heliotropes, and other j 
plants with fairly small leaves will respond i 
to the treatment admirably. Even India j 
Rubber Plants will be benefited and respond j 
to the treatment. Some soft-wooded plants 
with long slender stalks are liable to get the j 
leaf-stalks twisted if they are turned round, : 
