October 19, 1907. THE gardening world. 
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. 
2282. Bellflower in Conservatory. 
WTiat is the best time to repot this plant 
(specimen enclosed), which has just finished 
flowering in the conservatory? It was a 
sight for many weeks, but seems too large 
for the pot. If I repot it now, can I divide 
it so as to make several? (E. C. Hender¬ 
son. Cheshire.) 
Autumn is not the best time for disturb¬ 
ing Campanulas, especially the smaller 
kinds, which are liable to decay during win¬ 
ter under unfavourable conditions. The 
best time to divide it is in spring just when 
the young shoots are commencing to grow. 
When dividing it secure as many roots as 
possible to each growing piece and pot 
rather firmly. Use a compost of two part9 
of loam, one part of leaf mould and half- 
part of sand. It is unwise to use large pots 
for these small-growing Campanulas. They 
seem to do best when their roots are some¬ 
what confined. For moderate-sized pieces 
with several crowns you can use 3 in. pots. 
Water only after the}' commence to grow. 
Presuming that the soil is in proper condi¬ 
tion when you pot them it is not likely to 
get dry for some days at all events, if you 
pot them when just commencing to grow. 
When in full growth they will, of course, 
take more. The specimen was the small 
Bellflower, most frequently grown in con¬ 
servatories, namely, Campanula isophylla. 
ROOM PLANTS. 
2283. Begonia Dropping Its Leaves. 
I bought a fine plant of Begonia discolor 
in spring and it has done well until lately, 
but now it seems to be all going to pieces. 
The leaves are falling off and the stems are 
breaking away at the joints without any 
apparent cause. For some months past it 
has been in a window facing south. What 
can I do to prevent this? (J. M. C., 
Northumberland.) 
It is quite natural for this Begonia to 
fall to pieces in the autumn, as it is per¬ 
fectly deciduous. The proper name of it 
is Begonia evansiana. The main stem will 
ultimately drop away from the tuber, which 
should be kept in the soil in which it grew 
all the winter. Very little water will be 
necessary, though it would be well not to 
let it get dust dry, which it might do in a 
window. Just sufficient water to make the 
soil keep steadily moist will be sufficient. 
If your plant has done well it should also 
have produced small bulbils in the axils of 
the leaves and if you want to increase the 
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 wtmrked. 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. 
plant, you can preserve these bulbs in moist 
sand till spring and then plant each just 
under the surface in small pots of soil. 
WINDOW BOXES. 
2 284. Bulbs for Window Boxes. 
In a window box I wish to plant some 
spring-flowering bulbs. I propose having 
Tulips (Due van Thol), Daffodils (Orange 
.Phoenix), and an edging of blue and white 
Crocus. Do you think these suitable? If 
so, will you kindly tell me what depth to 
plant the bulbs and the distance apart ? A 
reply in your next issue will be esteemed a 
favour. (W. J. S., Essex.) 
The bulbs you mention are suitable enough 
and we presume that you know what kinds 
they are, or what the flowers are like, so that 
it would be according to your liking. There 
are several other Tulips, however, which 
would be more effective even in window 
boxes having larger flowers, and which 
would flower equally well as Due van Thol, 
even if they did not get so tall as they 
would in a flower bed. For instance, 
Kaiserskroon (red, edged yellow), Chryso- 
lora (yellow) and Proserpine (purple) are 
fine varieties with large flowers. In like 
manner Bicolor Empress (white, with yellow 
trumpet) and Bicolox Emperor (yellow) are 
large, showy, and easily-procurable Daffo¬ 
dils. Whether you plant these or your own 
selections, the Daffodils should be planted 
in the middle about 4 in. deep, the Tulips 
next about the same depth and the Crocuses 
round the edge at 3 in. deep. The Daffo¬ 
dils do not take much space and might be 
planted 5 in. or 6 in. apart, the Tulips 6 in. 
to 8 in. apart, and the Crocuses 2 in. to 
3 in. apart. 
FLOWER GARDEN . 
2285. Transplanting Hollyhocks. 
Can old Hollyhocks be transplanted? If 
so, what is the best time to do it? I have 
about a dozen which were raised from seeds 
last year, and amongst them are some fine 
colours which I would like to preserve if 
possible. Will they come with more than 
one stem ? I should be much obliged for 
any information how to treat them. (James 
Carlow, Beds.) 
Spring would be the best time to trans¬ 
plant Hollyhocks when the weather becomes 
sufficiently fine to encourage them to com¬ 
mence fresh growth. If you desire to have 
the ground clear, a good plan would be to 
681 
cut down the stems within 6 in. of the 
ground and pot up the roots in pots of a 
size sufficient to hold them. Use any light 
sandy soil and stand the pots in a cool 
greenhouse or a cold frame for the winter. 
This will keep the roots dry, which is de¬ 
sirable if they are lifted at this time of 
year. They should produce a number of 
stems next year if they are healthy plants 
and you succeed in bringing them through 
the winter safely. You could then give 
them rather more room than they had last 
year to allow for the greater number of 
stems, and if you desire to propagate any of 
them you could thin out the weak stems 
some time in July and cut them into lengths 
of about 2 in. with an eye to each piece. 
The blade of the leaf should be cut away, 
leaving the stalk. These may be inserted in 
boxes of light sandy soil and kept moist 
until they root and commence growing. If 
you trench the ground during winter where 
you are to plant them they will grow all 
the more strongly next year as they root 
deeply. Manure may be put well down in 
the soil when trenching. 
2286. Eccremocarpus. 
We have some seeds of Eccremocarpus, a 
fine red-flowered climber, which a friend 
brought from the South, but we are not sure 
whether it would be hardy here and should 
be glad of your advice. What treatment 
should we give it, and should it be planted 
in a greenhouse, or do you think it would 
be hardy here? (A. E. Liddell, Lines.) 
We are doubtful whether it would be quite 
hardy in your district unless planted in 
light sandy soil in a sheltered situation. 
You could treat it, however, as an annual. 
Sow it in heat early in March and trans¬ 
plant the seedlings into small-sized pots 
when they have made a pair of rough leaves. 
The young plants will grow rather quickly, 
so that you should shift them on for a 
time or two to encourage rapid growth while 
the plants are still under glass. Some time 
in April or the beginning of May the plants 
may be transferred to a cold frame and 
kept growing till the end of the month or 
the beginning of June, when you can plant 
them out in a sheltered situation in rather 
deep soil with plenty of sand in it. If you 
can spare room in a greenhouse for a plant 
or two they would live there and give you 
seeds for raising plants to put out of doors 
if you so desired. 
2287. Flowers for Shady Bank. 
I have a bank shaded by trees and it is 
very dull. Is there anything that will 
bloom there for the coming spring and sum¬ 
mer? (H. W., Essex.) 
If the bank is inclined to be dry, we 
should plant such things as Hypericum 
calycinum, H. moserianum, H. Androsae- 
mum, Vinca major, V. m. elegantissima, V. 
minor and its varieties. These alone would 
soon cover the bank with a leafy carpet. If 
you desire variety and bright flowers, you 
could plant Primroses, Polyanthuses and 
Daffodils for spring blooming. Then to 
give a succession you could have such things 
as the English Bluebell (Scilla nutans), the 
Spanish Bluebell (S. hispanica) and other 
Squills which you may fancy. These two 
which have just been named have pink and 
white varieties and are well worth culti¬ 
vating. Other flowers are Doronicum plan- 
tagineum and white and purple and double 
varieties of the Dame’s Violet (Hesperis 
matronalis). Evening Primroses would 
bloom later and keep up a display till to¬ 
wards the autumn, but the two first-named 
Hypericums also bloom very late. The 
bank should be well dug and pulverised to 
give them a good start. The shade should 
not be very dense, otherwise the flowers will 
not be so good as if they had a little sun¬ 
shine, although all of "those things will 
grow under the trees. 
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