November 30, 1907, 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
763 
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- 
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STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
2398. Plants for Winter and Spring. 
I have a small lean-to conservatory 18ft. 
by 12ft., the lowest portion, of the roof 6ft. 
and the highest about 12ft., heated with hot 
water pipes. I should like to make the best 
possible use of it during the winter months, 
and should be much obliged for suggestions 
as to the most suitable things to grow, such 
as would be of use to a large hotel. (Ama¬ 
teur, Hants.) 
A large proportion of the really beautiful 
plants used for table decorations require a 
stove to do them well, and we have, there¬ 
fore, confined our list of plants to those 
things which can be grown with satisfaction 
in a greenhouse. We have selected a fair 
number of flowering plants and about an 
equal number of those things which are 
usually grown for the sake of their foliage. 
Amongst the flowering plants we should 
name Erica hyemalis, E. caffra, E. gracilis 
autumnalis, E. mOlanthera, Cytisus fragrans 
(Genista), Acacia Drummondii, A. lop- 
hantha, A. ovata, Hydrangea hortensis, H. 
Ihortensis Dr. Hogg (white), Rdchardia 
africana (Arum Lily), Statice profusa, 
Azalea indica Deutsche Perle, A. i. Fiel¬ 
der’s White and other varieties. About 
July you should sow Intermediate or East 
Lothian Stocks, transplanting them once 
into boxes and then, potting them off singly. 
These will flower earlier or later in winter 
according to the treatment given them, and 
besides being showy they are sweetly 
scented. Amongst fine foliage plants we 
should recommend Aralla Sieboldii, Arau¬ 
caria excelsa, Aspidistra lunida, A.'l. varie- 
gata, Cordyline indivisa, C. Doucettii. C. 
rubra, Eurva latifolia variegata, Ficus 
elastica (India Rubber Plant), Grevillea ro- 
busta, and Isalepis gracilis. All of the 
above are of easy cultivation, and if not 
kept too long in the hotel will be service¬ 
able until they get too large. A number of 
Ferns would also prove highly serviceable, 
and might be grown in the more shady parts 
of the greenhouse. You might include 
amongst them Adiantum cuneatum, Pteris 
tremula, P. Wiimsebtii, P. umbrosa, P. 
ChildsLi, P. cretica albolineata, P.c. crds- 
tarta, P. serrulata cristata, Asplenium bulbi- 
ferum. Alb. fabianum, A.b. Colensoi, etc. 
The above will furnish you with a consider¬ 
able amount of variety, and most of them are 
largely used as table plants. 
2399. Begonia Gloire de Lorraine with 
Shrivelled Leaves. 
We should be very glad if you could give 
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 sail 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. 
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us in your valuable paper any information 
regarding the failure of our Begonia. Gloire 
de Lorraine. The plaints seem to grow very 
nicely until they are flowering size about the 
beginning of October when their leaves go 
shrivelled at the ends like the leaves on the 
plant enclosed. The shrivelling runs up the 
leaves to the stems and causes them to shrivel 
land drqp (off. The greenhouse they are 
grown in is a span, running north and south, 
the size being 40 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, and 
12 ft. high. Do you think the greenhouse 
being so large affects them? The heat ranges 
between 45 degs. and 55 degs. in winter. We 
suffered similarly last year, and I then 
thought it was due to insects in the soil. 
However this may be true, I took the greatest 
care in preparing the compost by baking ii 
on the top of the boiler. I may say I have 
succeeded in growing them in smaller houses 
under similar conditions at my last situation, 
so I am at a loss to know what to do, and 
my mistress, who iis a regular reader of your 
paper, was confident you would do your 
best to help us. Some have been grown with¬ 
in a foot of the glass, while others were 
about 2 ft. to 3 ft., and I have been most 
careful with the watering. (H. T„ Wool- 
grove, Warwickshire.) 
The leaves of the Begonia you sent us 
were very much damaged bv a small mite 
(Tarsonymus), so that the ailment was not 
brought about by any insects in the soil. 
The same thing often occurs amongst other 
species and varieties of Begonia, Gloxinias, 
Strepitocarpus, and occasionally other plants. 
The large house, no doubt, has something to 
do with it, because it is more difficult 
keep- the atmosphere of such a house moist 
than one where the roof is low. The mite 
is, of course, related to the so-called red 
spider, which you know sometimes becomes 
a great pest in houses and situations where 
the plants, but especially the atmosphere, is 
kept dry. If all the others are as bad as 
the specimens sent, we fear that you will 
not get a good return this year with the 
plants, but your energies should be directed 
to cleaning the plants, so as to get healthv 
cuttings from them at the proper time. A 
very good plan of curing them of this very 
small mite is to use a very strong solution 
of Gishurst compound, say, at the rate of 
4 ozs. to the gallon of water. Soft soap 
and sulphur used in the same way would 
also answer the purpose. Tlhe most effective 
plan of attacking them would be to get your 
preparation. ready, then lay a board across 
the top of a tub and lay. down as many of 
the Begoniias on this as the board will ac¬ 
commodate. Then thoroughly syringe the 
undersides of the leaves, put them back ’n 
their places, and When you have gone over 
them keep the atmosphere in rather a steamy 
condition for two or three nights in, succes¬ 
sion. Close the houses at night and damp 
down all the paths, and also syringe the hot- 
water pipes to raise a steam in the house. 
This moist atmosphere is very injurious to 
the mite, and will enable you to get rid of 
it. Another year you should keep a close 
watch upon the plants about the time they 
have . got bad for the last two years, or a 
month earlier at least. If you could deter¬ 
mine when they make their first appearance 
by looking at the undersides of the leaves 
to see whether there are any traces of their 
becoming glossy there, that is the time to 
apply the remedy. A magnifying lens would 
also show you if a.ny of the mites were pre¬ 
sent. As soon as you detect this apply rhe 
remedy we have given. Keep the house 
damp at night, and we think you will be 
able to keep perfectly clear of the enemy. 
Of course, a second application of the 
syringing with the Gishurst compound or 
soft soap would make it more certain, but 
if you begin in good time we think this 
will not be necessary. Try and keep the 
atmosphere of your big house moist till quite 
late in the season by damping down the 
stages and pathways. Your Begonias have 
got what gardeners usually call rust, but it 
is the result of a mite. 
ROOM PLANTS . 
2400. Treatment of Myrtle. 
I have a bushy Myrtle which I would like 
to grow in the house, where a fire is kept 
during the day, but not at night. Will this 
be sufficient heat to grow it in winter ? Any 
information about treatment will be gladly 
received. (A. H. Bury, Leicestershire.) 
Myrtles are so very nearly hardy that the 
heat of your room will be quite sufficient to 
preserve it in winter. A very important 
matter is to keep the plant as near a well- 
lighted window as possible. The foliage is 
evergreen, and that must be kept in the best 
condition possible. As the winter advances 
and the light becomes better, you should 
turn the plant round about once a week, so 
that the light will shine directly on every 
side of the plant in course of time. If it 
always stands in one position it may grow 
too much on one side next the window and 
very little or nothing at all on the side 
next the room. Evergreens should never be 
allowed to get dry in winter. When the 
soil begins to get brown you should give it 
sufficient to wet the whole ball of soil, then 
give it no more until it gets as dry again. 
If the pot is small for the plant, give it a 
shift into a pot r in. larger about the be¬ 
ginning of April, using a compost of two 
parts loam and one of leaf mould and sand. 
Peat would serve the same purpose as leaf 
mould. Pot firmly, and water for the first 
time with a rosed watering-pot, to settle the 
soil. 
COLD FRAMES. 
2401. Daffodils in Pots. 
I planted sixty Daffodils, five in a pot, 
and covered them with wood ashes in a cold 
frame. They have come up about an inch 
high. Will you please tell me what to do 
with them? (T. Lampard, Hants.) 
It is now time to take off the ashes from 
the top of the pots, to leave the foliage quite 
exposed to light. Unless you want the pots 
Elsewhere, they may stand in the frame 
where they are until all danger of frost is 
over. Then you can take them out of the 
ashes, level the latter, and 9tand the pots on 
the top of it. You oan thus flower the Daffo- 
