THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 16, 1907. 
190 
Shading the Greenhouse. 
It is scarcely likely that the whole of the 
house will require much shading at present, 
but newly inserted cuttings, pricked off 
seedlings, and divided plants must all be 
screened from hot sunshine until their roots 
are in good working order. I have found 
a piece of packing canvas, nailed to two old 
broom handles, useful for this partial shad¬ 
ing, as dt can be put on where and when 
most needed. Sheets of brown paper, or even 
newspapers, laid on the labels of seed pans, 
etc., are also useful; they should be removed 
when the sun leaves the house, and also 
when syringing. 
Chrysanthemums. 
During the next four weeks a good batch 
of Chrysanthemums should be put in to 
provide bush or decorative specimens. 
From 4in. to'6in. of the tops of shoots of 
selected varieties should be secured, trimmed 
of their lower leaf or leaves, and each in¬ 
serted singly in the centre of a 3in. pot. 
Place a little sand in the hole made for the 
cutting, and firm the soil well after inser¬ 
tion. The cuttings may be stood close to¬ 
gether in a moist and shady corner of the 
greenhouse, and syringed twice or thrice 
daily. I have found an Odontoglossum 
house an ideal place for striking these cut¬ 
tings, not one in fifty missing under careful 
treatment. As soon as well rooted, shift the 
plants to a cool place, such as a close, cold 
frame, and pet on as growth demands. 
Sowing Cinerarias. 
Some cultivators like to sow a pinch of 
Cineraria seed now, to provide plants for 
flowering in November and December. Per¬ 
sonally, I do not care about Cinerarias at 
that period, as they are rarely appreciated, 
or even noticed, while the ’Mums are in 
flower. Still, those who favour these early 
plants may sow seeds within the next week 
or two, in a well-drained 5in. pot of light 
compost. 
Seeds of Bedding Plants. 
Practically all the plants generally' used 
for bedding out may now be sown. Some, 
such as Lobelias and Begonias, will already' 
have been dealt with; others, such as Stocks 
and variegated Maize, may wait another 
fortnight. The importance of thin sowing 
and shallow covering cannot be over¬ 
emphasised; I have seen seedlings of Afri¬ 
can Marigolds heaving the soil up in pans 
in a way to suggest earthquakes. If, in 
spite of all, the seedlings come up too 
thickly, pull half or two-thirds of them out 
with a pair of tw'eezers while they are still 
very' small. Give the seedlings all the light 
and air possible after they are up, and only 
shade and coax them a little after pricking 
out. 
Aspidistras or Parlour Palms. 
These are invaluable for filling vases in 
the dwelling house in summer, and should- 
now be got into working order. L T nless the 
plants are really badly pot-bound, petting 
should not be done, as anything like over¬ 
potting—which is equivalent to high feed¬ 
ing—will cause the variegated leaves to be¬ 
come green. Instead of potting, scrape away 
as much of the old surface soil as possible, 
and replace it with a layer of fresh loam 
and sand. Old specimens may' be split up 
into small pieces if desired, each of which 
will soon make a nice plant in a 4m. pot, a 
handy size for vases. 
Fibrous-rooted Begonias. 
These are extremely pretty and popular 
for summer bedding, either the old white 
semperflorens or seme of the newer, coloured 
varieties. Cuttings should be taken now, 
securing them of good length, say 6in., and 
struck singly in small pots of sandy soil. 
They require plenty of heat and moisture 
to strike successfully, but if the day tem¬ 
perature of the house can be kept at about 
70 degrees, nice specimens will be available 
for bedding out at the end of May. Seeds 
may also be sown under the same conditions, 
but the plants resulting will not be so large 
at bedding time as these raised from 
cuttings. 
Bulbs after Flowering. 
As bulbs, such as Hyacinths, Tulips and 
Narcissi, go cut cf flower they should be 
turned out to make room for other plants. 
If the pots they are in are wanted, gently 
knock the plants out, and pack them close to¬ 
gether in a cold frame, placing a shovelful 
cf soil or a few decayed leaves over the 
balls of the last row placed in. If no frame 
room is available, pack the bulbs, just as 
they leave the pots, in dead leaves under a 
greenhouse or some other wall. Should 
frost and snow follow their introduction, to 
outdoor life, scatter a little straw over them, 
or, failing that, a few dead leaves. Later 
on, plant the bulbs in the shrubbery. 
“ SUNNYSIDE.” 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Evergreen Dendrobiums. 
Such varieties as D. densiflorum, D. 
chrysctoxum, D. thyrsiflorum, D. Farmerii, 
D. suaviissimum, etc., which have been in a 
dormant state during the winter months, 
should now be placed under warmer condi¬ 
tions and will require some little encourage¬ 
ment, to assist them to produce and develop 
their flower scapes. It is a very good plan 
to syringe this section of Dendrobium over¬ 
head, once or twice a day in bright weather ; 
any' wetting overhead should be done suffi¬ 
ciently early in the day to permit of the 
moisture being dried from the foliage be¬ 
fore the cool evening temperature is reached. 
We usually syringe the whole cf our Den¬ 
drobiums that are not in flower soon after 
nine o’clock each morning, and again in the 
afternoon about 1 o’clock, shutting up the 
ventilators at this ..time, which allows the 
sun to have full power, thereby raising the 
temperature, which affords conditions these 
plants seem to enjoy. 
I always advise the use cf sun heat as 
much as possible; we are thus able to dis¬ 
pense with a considerable amount of arti¬ 
ficial heat, which would otherwise be neces¬ 
sary early in the evening. In watering care 
must be observed not to get the compost in a 
stagnant state. Where plants are daily 
syringed overhead and fairly humid condi¬ 
tions are thus procured, very little rcot mois¬ 
ture will be necessary, only sufficient should 
be afforded to retain the pseudo-bulbs in a 
plump state. There is always the possibility 
of exciting these plants into growth before 
the flower scapes make their appearance. 
There is plenty of time to treat them more 
liberally after the flower scapes are de¬ 
veloping. 
Repotting. 
Any repotting requirements necessary 
should be deferred until the month of May. 
It is rarely' that this class of plants require 
disturbing for repotting purposes, unless the 
plants have outgrown their pots or the com¬ 
post is in an advanced stage cf decomposi¬ 
tion. Clearing away the surface moss and 
replenishing with fresh is. generally all that 
is necessary. The deciduous section of Den¬ 
drobiums are at the prerent time, and will 
during the next few weeks, be in flower; this 
will give a gefod opportunity of making se¬ 
lections of suitable kinds. They are a most 
interesting and desirable class of Orchids, 
which are not so extensively cultivated as 
their merits deserve. 
Amateurs that possess a stove or warm 
house have the facilities for their successful 
culture. They are procurable for a medest 
outlay, and there is an extensive variety 
among both the species, and the hybrids. A 
visit to some of the horticultural meeting, 
or to some of the prominent nursery estab 
lishments during the next few weeks wil 
afford the best opportunities for makin: 
suitable selections. The new growths fron 
these make their appearance usually wit! 
the flowers. Young roots are emitted iron 
the base of the new shoots almost as soon a : 
they commence to' (grow. 
As soon as the plants pass out of flower 
any plants that require repotting should b 
seen to. Select receptacles, either pots, pans 
or baskets not sufficiently large to contai: 
them comfortably, afford plenty of drain 
age, as during the active season an abund 
ance of root moisture is necessary, and fre 
drainage is essential. Take care to avoic 
any great bulk of potting compost about tin 
roots, for it will be found that while tin 
plants require moist conditions during th< 
growing season, there is nothing they resen 
so much as stagnation about their roots 
The compost should consist of chopped liv¬ 
ing sphagnum moss and fibrous peat, ii 
equal proportions; to this may be addec 
seme coarse sand or finely broken crocks t< 
render the compost porous. 
H. J. Chapman. 
- *♦* - 
“ Lest = 
we 
_:r,—— Forget.” 
May I just say a few words to the gar 
clening public on the subject of givin; 
away flowers, etc., to those who fron 
various causes are not quite so well placet 
as others. I mean giving pleasure t 
those wh-O' have but small time to devote t 
gardening, or little money to spend oi 
flowers or fruit; or those again who fron 
ill-health or infirmity cannot know the de 
lights of gardening. How much enjoy 
ment a few flowers, a spray of Violets 
Mignonette, or one or two early Rosebud 
can afford, or even, it may be, a fe\ 
Green Peas, Runner Beans, a youn; 
Marrow ; even a dish of New English Pota 
tos. Imagine the joy of a poor invalid whei 
you take a bunch of sweet, black Ham 
burgh Grapes, not perhaps a large bunch 
but just a cluster of tempting berries t> 
moisten parched lips—laid in a simp! 
“punnet” on their own leaves of fresh 
crisp green ; or again, when going to visi 
an old lady of many summers, what • 
pleasure to see her face when you presen 
her with nicely-grown plants for her win 
dow sill, an old-fashioned favourite, per 
chance, a lemon Verbena, a double wh:t< 
Stock, or even a nice dwarf Wailflowe 
in full bloom. All these are surely no 
costly gifts, and yet are valued by th> 
recipients like untold gold. How seidon 
do most of us who own larger garden: 
than we need trouble about our poore: 
brethren ? Think of the joy a box 0 
“ common” garden flowers gives when be 
mg unpacked in some small attic it 
smoky London. Wh.at a lot of litth 
things we might send up to one or othe: 
of the big hospitals to cheer many ai 
aching heart. Even those who canno' 
grow enough blooms to spare to send away 
may' gather from the woods a large bok o: 
spring flowers that will prove very gratefu 
to those who seldom see “the flowers Goc 
made to beautify the earth,” as Words¬ 
worth says. 
D. Erl am. 
