THE GARDENING WORLD. Ma Y ”, 1907 
324 
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- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
1810. Greenhouse Plants for General 
Use. 
I shall have a heated greenhouse ready 
for starting about the second week in May, 
27 ft. by 12 ft. Could you oblige me by 
giving me a list of the most suitable plants 
to grow for general use ? I should like some 
good foliage and flowers for table decora¬ 
tion. What kind of soil would be best to 
get? (L. S., Lancs.) 
Fuchsias and Pelargoniums may be re¬ 
garded as indispensable though Fuchsias are 
not the most suitable for cutting, except in 
the form of long sprays. You should also 
get some plants of Cytisus fragrans (also 
known as Genista) Abutilon Boule de Neige, 
Eupatorium riparium, Myrtle, Richardia 
africana (Arum Lily) and Heliotrope. Any 
of these may be used for cut flower purposes. 
You might also sow a batch of Stock Prin¬ 
cess Alice (now) and Cyclamen (in October). 
There are many other useful greenhouse 
plants which we could name, but some of 
them require rather more special treatment, 
such as the Heaths. A few plants of each 
of the above, together with a stock of seed¬ 
lings of the Stock and Cyclamens, will fill 
your house and give sufficient variety for 
a commencement. You can add other plants 
from time to time, as you gain experience 
and come across those things which you 
would like. As you succeed in cultivating 
things, you will acquire a liking for cer¬ 
tain things, and those which you can grow 
best are the most suitable you can cultivate. 
For the purpose of getting foliage you might 
have a plant or two of Asparagus plumosus, 
Smilax, and the commonly cultivated 
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum cuneatum). 
The last-named should be placed in a shady 
position while making its growth, and the 
foliage will keep a better colour than if 
fully exposed to the. sun in bright weather. 
If you desire a climber or two for the roof, 
you could get Jasminum grandiflorum, which 
should flower in autumn and winter. A 
plant of Plumbago capensis would furnish 
light blue flowers during the summer. Both 
of these climbers should be planted out in a 
border of the house if possible, and they will 
grow better than if confined in pots. A soil 
for general use would consist of three parts 
of good fibrous loam, one part of leaf soil, 
and one-sixth part of sand. For the Fuch¬ 
sias more sand might be used, as they like 
plenty of -water in summer, but it must not 
be stagnant. A little peat would be useful 
in enabling you to grow the Maidenhair 
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. 
Fern easily. You might, however, try some 
of the varieties of Azalea indica and A. 
mollis, which should be grown entirely in 
fibrous peat and sand. 
COLD FRAMES. 
1811. Propagating- Lychnis vespertina. 
I have a fine plant of the double Lychnis 
vespertina, and have tried to strike cuttings, 
but they always damp off. Could you tell 
me how this is propagated? (A. Thomas, 
Kent.) 
Unflowered shoots springing up from the 
base can sometimes be got and used as cut¬ 
tings. You will increase the plant much 
faster however, by getting some of the 
stronger roots and cutting them up into 
pieces about 1^ in. in length and placing 
them, in pots of sandy soil. Sometimes you 
may' find young plants already commencing 
to grow on these fleshy roots. Being late 
in the season you may not care to lift the 
old plant but you can take an opening out 
all round it, and probably you will find 
some of these fleshy roots in the trench thus 
made. These cuttings produce plants more 
readily than cuttings of the leafy stems. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
1812. Aspidistra Flowering. 
I have some Aspidistras which are show¬ 
ing signs of bloom, and I am told that these 
ought to be taken off the plant, otherwise 
they will injure it in its growth. Will you 
please say if it is beneficial for them to 
remain or to be taken away. (George H. 
Houslev, Yorks.) 
Well-grown Aspidistras flower regularly 
every' year, but in our experience they never 
produce any seed, because the flowers do not 
get fertilised owing to the absence of in¬ 
sects or other crawling creatures which do 
this. Under the circumstances, therefore, it 
is quite immaterial whether you remove the 
flowers or not, as they do the plant no harm 
by weakening it or otherwise. They will 
simply wither away as they get old if left on 
the plant. 
FLOWER GARDEN. 
1813. Iris Doing Badly. 
Last year I lifted my Irises and other 
border plants in February and trenched the 
soil. Most things took very well to the 
change except the Irises, which went off 
badly in August. I lost some of them alto¬ 
gether. Can you suggest a reason for this, 
and how to prevent it this coming summer i 
(T. M. Henderson, Somerset.) 
The plants may have suffered some injur’ 
during the time they were lifted while th! 
border was being trenched. The roots ma’ 
have got dry or killed by frost. Under thosi 
conditions they would not get very wel 
established before they were overtaken b- 
- the heat of July and August. Those whici 
you still have will probably entirely recove 
during the present season, unless, indeed 
the real cause of the mishap is that the 
plants have been attacked by a fungus. Man’ 
of the Flag Irises suffer in this way. Tb 
chief remedy is to top-dress the soil will 
a coating of lime, digging this into the to; 
spit. After the Irises are planted a dress 
ing of lime may be left on the top. As 1 
measure of precaution, you may' give this 
top dressing of lime, placing it over the 
ground close up to the plants, though not or 
to the foliage. We should not advise yot 
to disturb the roots after this time of tht 
year. The lime will prove beneficial to tb 
Irises even if no fungus is present. 
1814. Bulbs Under a Tree. 
Would the space under a tree be of an; 
use to place spring bulbs till planting ou 
time in October? (R. Sims, Surrey.) 
The space under a tree would be suitabb 
enough for keeping bulbs until the usua 
planting time in autumn. We do not, how 
ever, quite understand how you mean t< 
place them under the tree. If you intern 
lifting them at the end of this month, so tha 
you can plant out summer bedding subjects 
then the best plan would be to dig up tb 
bulbs carefully and lay them in trenches 
covering them with soil and making then 
firm. Here the leaves will gradually di> 
away, and when quite withered you can lif 
the bulbs, clean them, and keep them in ; 
dry condition till autumn. This, can bt 
done in any shed or outhouse. The only 
caution is to keep them dry and to cover tht 
boxes to keep rdice from eating the bulbs 
That is the proper method of dealing witl 
spring bulbs that are lifted annually, anc 
you should adopt it. 
1815. Fertilisers for Border Carnations 
Would you kindly advise me through yom 
valuable paper as to the best fertilisers for 
hardy border Carnations, and how soon shall 
I start feeding them to get showy blooms b\ 
the end of July? My soil is of a sands 
nature, but has been well mulched witl 
rotted manure. (C. Codsall, Staffs.) 
To grow border Carnations properly yoi 
should commence .in the autumn, when selec 
ting the site to grow them for the nex 
season’s blooming. A good, fertile soil 1 
the best if you have any choice in the matter 
That should be trenched or deeply dug, ac 
cording to its condition, and while this i: 
proceeding you should work into each layei 
plenty of properl}' made cow manure. That 
obtained from old hotbeds is also suitable. 
Mortar rubble may also be worked into the 
soil at the same time. In the top spit you 
can work wood ashes and bone meal. These 
manures will keep the soil in good heart anc 
enable the plants to make good growth fron 
the time the layers are put out in autumr 
till they come into bloom. During the sea 
son of growth liquid manure of various kind 
may be used, but should be given weal 
rather than strong. A safe one to use is con 
manure, but you can improve upon matter: 
by using alternately with it a small quan 
tity of guano or dry blood manure in thi 
water you intend using. You may commencf 
towards the end of this month, providing the 
weather is dry, but in your cool midland 
district you will have plenty of time to feec 
them if you do not commence till the be 
ginning of June. The feeding can be con 
tinued till the flowers commence to shov 
colour, and then discontinued. The mulch, 
ing on your sandy soil will be serviceabb 
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