April 13, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
257 
atering; it is also useful for syringing, 
■jing deterrent of insects. 
weet Pea Cutting’s. 
The autumn-sewn Sweet Peas will now be 
ell in- bloom, and should anything in the 
ay of a novei sport have occurred, and 
hould it be wished to perpetuate any 
ariety, cuttings may now be readily rooted, 
hey will be found near the pots and as 
ide branches to the main stems, and may 
e placet^ some half-a-dozen together in 
in. pots. These should be stood in the 
ropagating case, or in a deep box covered 
/ith panes of glass, and be well shaded 
mil rooted. If carefully hardened off and 
.lanted in the garden they will give plenty 
f flowers before July is out. As flowering 
iminishes on the old plants, cut them back 
bout half-way, and when they start to grow 
gain plant them out of doors; they will 
oon be in full vigour, and give welcome 
arly flowers. 
Tuning Deutzias. 
When these have finished flowering they 
hould be cut hard back, and kept well 
vringed until they again start into growth. 
)o not be afraid to use the knife, as the 
.arder the shoots are cut back the stronger 
viH be the new growths. The plants should 
•e kept in the greenhouse until they have 
mished growing, when they should be 
ither stood out of doors on a bed of ashes 
,r planted out in a reserve plot of ground. 
Vinter-Flowering Begonias. 
With very many growers Begonia Gloire 
le Lorraine, and perhaps one of its white 
orrns, begins and ends the collection of 
vinter-flowering Begonias, and I do not say 
hat they are not wise to so restrict their 
hoice, for Gloire de Lorraine is certainly 
ine of the finest flowering plants ever raised, 
lut something more than the ordinary 40 
legs, in winter greenhouse temperature is 
equired to do it justice, and I would ad- 
ise readers who have not a well-heated 
greenhouse to leave this Begonia alone. 
Those who have old, cut-back plants- should 
tow be able to find and strike plenty of 
;uttings, the young growths pushing up 
from near the base being the best to use. 
Failing cuttings, excellent plants can be 
obtained by inserting sound leaves round the 
;dges of pots filled with light, sandy soil 
ind kept warm and moist. Cuttings of B. 
nanicata, B. hydrocotylifolia and others of 
fie winter-flowering section should also go 
in now. 
Malmaison Carnations. 
Two-year-old plants will now be well 
advanced towards flowering, and must not 
be stinted of water. Be careful to avoid 
pouring cold water among the stems and 
leaves, and also see that the plants escape 
the heavy syringings at this season gener¬ 
ally given to them in greenhouses. Wet 
foliage means rust, and rust means no 
blooms, and perhaps the death of the plant. 
A little weak liquid manure should now be 
given occasionally, or a top-dressing of that 
finest of Carnation manures, Clay’s Ferti¬ 
liser. 
Vegetable Marrows. 
Raising these is quite legitimate work for 
! the greenhouse, and seeds sown now will 
. give nice plants by the end of May. Place 
i two seeds in the centre of a well-drained 
4 in. pot, and pull out the weakest seedling 
should two show. As soon as the second 
pair of leaves are made, place the plants in 
a cold frame and grow them sturdily. 
Bouvardias. 
Plants cut back when they havp finished 
flowering should now be making new shoots. 
When this is the case, shake away the old 
: soil, trim the roots in, and repot in a size 
smaller pot. Use plenty of sand round the 
roots, and pot firmly. The plants must be 
kept in the greenhouse for at least another 
six weeks. Pieces of old roots, about an 
inch long and as thick as a stout knitting 
needle, may be buried half-an-inch deep in 
a well-drained pan of sandy soil, and will 
give useful young plants if kept warm and 
moist. 
Caladiuma. 
These handsome foliage plants are unique 
for room adornment in winter, and one or 
two should be now purchased and potted 
on. Bulbs started at home will also be 
ready for larger pots, for liberal treatment 
at all times is necessary to do the plants 
justice. Never allow them to become pot- 
bound, and feed well when in 1 their final 
pots. 
SUNNYSIDE. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Seasonable Notes. 
The winter, with us, although very severe, 
is remarkable for the length of time frosts 
have continued. It should also be noted 
how small the rainfall has been; this, com¬ 
bined with the drvjng winds and bright 
sunshine, has resulted in an exceedingly 
dry condition of the outside atmosphere. 
To procure the conditions suitable for our 
Orchids we are 1 called upon to resort to 
more frequent dampings of the floors, stag¬ 
ings, etc., and also to provide more root 
moisture. The East Indian Orchids, Den- 
drobiums, and most of the Cattleya family 
enjoy these conditions, but the cool house 
Odontoglossugis and Cypripediums, especi¬ 
ally where the latter have quite recently 
been subjected to repotting, do not thrive 
so well as when damper conditions are ex¬ 
perienced outside. These are considera¬ 
tions which the thoughtful cultivator must 
always have in mind, and by so doing many 
undesirable results may be avoided. 
Syringing. 
In bright weather the syringe may now 
be used with advantage in the warm divi¬ 
sions. Syringing lightly or spraying over¬ 
head is very beneficial to the plants, during 
existing conditions outside, but care must be 
taken to spray sufficiently early in the day 
to permit of the foliage becoming dry before 
evening, and to avoid as far as possible ex¬ 
cessive atmospheric moisture by the time 
the cool evening temperatures are reached. 
It is a good plan to damp the floors, stag¬ 
ing, etc., as soon in the morning as the 
normal conditions of the houses are reached. 
Ventilation. 
Dispense with as much artificial heat as 
possible and substitute sun heat; better to 
reduce ventilation than to have to resort to 
artificial heat to maintain the desired tem¬ 
peratures. It is surprising the amount of 
artificial heat that can be dispensed with, 
with discreet use of the roof blinds and 
ventilation. I am not an advocate of the 
use of roof ventilators, as I consider in their 
use we permit the escape of the moisture 
which we endeavour to provide for the life 
of the plants. All our ventilation is done 
from the lower ventilators. 
Over-Flowering of Plants. 
A great deal of harm is done from per¬ 
mitting the flower scape to remain on the 
plants too long after they have become fully 
expanded. Take, for example, the huge 
spikes we procure from Oncidium marshal- 
lianum and others of this section. What a 
tax it must be on the plants to develop the 
flower scape and expand the flowers. Plants 
of this description usually show signs of 
distress before the flowers expand. Leave 
them until the flowers are past and we find 
the pseudo-bulbs shrivelled alarmingly. 
Take, again, Odonloglossum crispum, where 
the flowers last in perfection for several 
weeks. If there is anything like a quantity 
of flowers on the scape, the pseudo-bulbs 
suffer by shrinking. This should be avoided 
as far as possible, as the plants must again 
regain their normal conditions before we can 
expect them to produce growth. This not 
only delays plants from starting into growth 
at the proper season, but the result of the 
strain thus placed on them is apparent in 
the weakly and unsatisfactory conditions 
produced in the next season’s growth. As 
plants of this description produce flowers 
which will last a considerable time, if they 
are cut and placed in water, in the house 
in which they have been grown, there is 
little reason in permitting them to remain so 
long uncut that the plants are frequently so 
detrimentally affected. H. J. Chapman. 
-- 
Salvia Grahami. 
A Pretty Flowering Shrub. 
Flowering shrubs which produce their 
wonted blossoms at an early age, and be¬ 
fore attaining to great size, are of much 
value, especially to owners of rather 
small gardens where big things cannot be 
accommodated. 
Upon this account as well as by reason 
of the bright and effective colour of its 
flowers, Salvia Grahami is a shrub of con¬ 
siderable merit. V e have sometimes 
heard the plant somewhat harshly criti¬ 
cised as being a rough, untidy subject 
that throws out a lot of long, straggling 
growths and very few flowers. In certain 
instances, we must admit, the criticism 
is true, but it is more of a reflection upon 
the management on the part of the culti¬ 
vator than upon the plant itself. To 
leave the plant to grow at its own sweet 
will is a mistake, for the result will be 
exactly in accord with the critics’ accusa¬ 
tions, and we shall get a loose, shabby- 
looking bush with branches about four or 
more feet in length, bearing but a very 
small number of blossoms quite at the 
extremities of the stems. On the other 
hand, by a free use of the knife, cutting 
all the strongest growths hard back, we 
shall obtain a compact bush of symmetri¬ 
cal outline, a large number of rigid stems, 
and a greatly increased quantity of bloom. 
The writer has just viewed a large bed of 
this brilliantly-coloured Salvia, which is 
one level sheet of colour, and it is at the 
present time (early September) one of the 
finest things in the establishment, which 
contains a large and representative col¬ 
lection of all classes of hardy plants. 
Last spring every plant was cut hard 
back to within a few inches of the ground, 
and the current season's growth has in 
consequence been very uniform, while the 
flowers are of increased size and brilliancy 
Readers who possess Salvia Grahami will 
do well to adopt this treatment next sea¬ 
son, for I am sure the results will be 
extremely gratifying. 
For the benefit of any who may be un¬ 
acquainted with the plant, I may describe 
it as being of a very bright crimson lake. 
The stems are slender, but wiry, and the 
foliage is verv fresh looking, and freely 
produced. 
The odour of the leaves reminds one of 
Black Currants, q.nd whenever the plants 
are disturbed by breeze, or handling, the 
scent is very powerful. 
Propagation is easy, cuttings rooting 
with freedom, and if the rooted cuttings 
are potted, and the tips of the shoots 
pinched out, nice, sturdy plants for con- 
senator)’ decoration will be obtained. 
Heather Bell. 
