THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 
THE CONSERVATORY IN FEBRUARY. 
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During most of the month of January 
the gap causoil by the passing of the chry¬ 
santhemums causes many gardeners no 
little anxiety. It has b^n especially so 
this year when the very late-Howering cnry- 
santhemums have not altogether fulfilled 
expectations. It is interesting, but dis¬ 
appointing, to speculate on the reasons 
which caused the latest varieties to »)e 
merely late in their blooming, instead of 
very late, in a season W’hen many of the 
earlier varieties matured later than usual. 
The remedy seems to be to grow the latest 
batch in rather more varieties in the hope 
that another season there will l)e sufficient 
plants in flower during the first half of 
January at the least. 
But with the l)eginning of February the 
number of shrubs and plants which may be 
forced into bloom greatly increases each 
w’ec*k, and will lessen the decorator’s anxie- 
ti€^. Perhaps the greatest difficulty at 
this sen.son is to obtain roof plants in 
bloom. With the pillars of the con.serva- 
tory there is not so much difficulty; these 
may be attractively clothed with such 
plante as the deliciously fragrant Lucidia 
gratissima, which will soon have finished 
its period of usefulness; and the strong- 
growing fibrous-rooted begonias, of which 
B. Luzorna, which Invars spotted leaves and 
large trusses of bright pink flowers, B. 
Haageana var. Drosti, B. gratulis, and B. 
fuschioides may be instanc^. 
One of the l>est roof plants now obtain¬ 
able is Tibouchina semi-<lecandra, which 
has produced its rich purple-blue flowers 
for a considerable time, and shows no signs 
of ceiusing. No more striking floral com¬ 
bination than these rich-coloured, velvety 
blooms overhanging a score or so of plants 
of Jacobina chrystostephanas can lie easily 
imagined. The yellow-tipped, glowing 
orange flowers of the Jacobina, strikingly 
beautiful as they are, gain distinction from 
the association. Other seasonable roof 
plants are Abutilon insigne, A. Golden 
Fleece, A. Boule de Neige, and Lantana sal- 
visefoha (syn. L. delicatissima). To gain the 
maximum effect the lantana should be h osely 
trainc'd, so that the pale lilac flowers hang 
over a group of some white blossom. The 
Abutilon insigne alone would not arrest 
the attention of the lover of gorgeous 
colours, but there is, nevertheless, a deal 
of Inmuty in the w'idely-expanded re<ldish 
flowers, which are suitable for acting as a 
foil to the rich yellows or orange-scarlets 
of other plants, and the flowers of the 
abutilon improve on acquaintance. 
The great change in the method of ar¬ 
rangement of the plants in the conserva¬ 
tory synchronised with the decay of carpet 
bedding and ribbon borders in* the flower 
garden. The then fashion in the conserva¬ 
tory very nearly approached the style of 
the ribbon borders, except that the rows of 
plants were not composed entirely of dis¬ 
tinct sorts. While one deprecates the de¬ 
parted style of arranging the plants of each 
species or variety at regular intervals, as 
far as circumstances and plants permit, 
and looks more favourably upon the pre¬ 
sent-day system of grouping, we must 
nob overlook the fact that, unless em¬ 
ployed with skill and taste, this becomes a 
crude and inartistic arrangement, savour¬ 
ing much of the a<lvertisement poster. A 
show house, containing batches of plants 
arranged slavishly in their kinds and often 
in their colours, with a few evergreen sub- 
jiK*ts interspersed at intervals, may pos¬ 
sibly possess the virtue of originality, but 
it would owe any attraction it possessed to 
tlie meretricious grace of crude colour 
mass, and would have no more real beauty 
than the vases of sw’eet pea blooms one 
sees at the summer flower shows, which are 
examples of colour massing pure and sim¬ 
ple, the beauty of form being entirely 
hidden. 
A more artistic method of plant arrange¬ 
ment would be to still group the different 
kinds of plants which are in flower, 
but, as is the case with many of the 
forced shrubs—the cytisuses, staphyleas, 
deutzias, and Buddleia asiatica, for in¬ 
stance—and plants such as the Lindenber- 
gia grandiflora, recently illustrated in the 
Garue.n'er.s’ Magazine, Begonia Gloire de 
Sceaux, and many epacris, to name only a 
few now m flower, unless they possess 
graceful habit or plenty of foliage they 
should not be grouped alone. An occa¬ 
sional batch of very floriferous Begonia 
AVinter Cheer, or B. Gloire de Lorraine, 
when suitably placed, have decided colour 
values, and often would be very artistic, 
but it is the repetition of these types, tri¬ 
umphs of cultural .skill though they be, 
ivhich appears crude and monotonous. 
Daintier and more artistic combinations may 
be obtained by grouping in association 
two classes of plants, whilh have flowers of 
distinct colours. 
The method advocated has its difficulties, 
and requires for its successful adoption un¬ 
failing taste in the blending of colours and 
forms of foliage. Otherwise the decorator 
will steer clear of the rocks of crude colour 
only to come to grief in the shoals of dis¬ 
cords. The use of scarlet flow ers with the 
yellows, for instance, must be sparingly 
practised, and the various difficult shades 
of colour are often best either kept sepa¬ 
rate or associated with w’hite. The most 
generally successful combinations are yel¬ 
low or pink, red and pink, lemon-yellow 
and pale heliotrope, and in a good light 
yellow and white. 
The arrangement of the forced bulbs pre¬ 
sent certain difficulties when it is wished 
to break away from the patches of scarlet 
tulips, of yellow narcissus, or of white 
lily of the valley. The companion plant 
must be of comparatively low stature and 
of moderate delicacy of foliage or the bul¬ 
bous plants will either he dwarfed or hid¬ 
den. In these instances, little hashes 
of the beautiful Acacia Baileyana. wdth a 
profusion of golden flowers, or of A. ovata, 
may he thinly interspersed amongst either 
the lily of the valley or the scarlet tulips 
with equal propriety. Polygala myrtifolia 
grandiflora, which hears carmine-rose 
coloured, pea-like flowers in graceful quan¬ 
tities, is another useful shrubby plant, 
which may be associated either with white 
or yellow. Buddleia officinalis, Jasminum 
primulinum, and Coronilla glauca are three 
very free-flowering shrubs, which may he 
ohtamed for the February decoration of 
the conservatory without any difficulty. 
The forcing of herbaceous plants in a 
few kinds has long been practised in order 
to add variety to the conservatory and 
lately certain annual plants have ’ been 
pressed into service with excellent results, 
and in this direction we shall probably find 
Februaby 15, 1913. 
many more plants which may be similarly 
utilised. Of the herbaceous plants, the 
spiraeas. Dielytra spectabilis, and Solomon’s 
seal are- the most generally used for flower- 
ing at this season, but they might well be 
supplemented by Doronicum plantagineum 
excelsum, aquilegia hybrids, and the trol- 
liuses, and other kinds will' readily suggest 
themselves. But it will he found that it is 
the herbaceous perennials with tubcMous 
and fleshy roots which are the most amen¬ 
able to this gentle forcing. 
Cecil Aubrey. 
PEAR PLANTATIONS. 
In plantations and alongside walks most 
of the best peai-s are grown in the form of 
bushes and pyramids. It is not everyone 
who has the conveniences for growing pears 
as cordons or trained trees on walls, and a 
few remarks on the general treatment of 
trees so grown may be of some value and 
assistance to many of my readers. It will 
be understood that these remarks or notes 
apply to the cultivation of pears in those 
districts where it is possible to grow the 
trees and ripen the fruits with a reasonable 
amount of success. In many parts of the 
kingdom climatic and other unsuitable con¬ 
ditions make it a precarious venture to 
plant pears in open quarters. 
Soils and Situations. 
Soil and situation are all-important fac¬ 
tors to be considered; heavy, retentive soils 
are unsuitable to the requirements of the 
pear, and where it is necessary to plant 
trees in soil of this character, means must 
he taken to make it more in accordance 
with the requirements of the roots. The 
desirable conditions are a free root run 
devoid of stagnant moisture, and in dealing 
with heavy soils it is necessary to drain, 
trench, and add such materials as wall add 
to the lightening and porosity of the staple. ^ 
Possibly this may appear unnecessary i ■ 
trouble and expense, hut if the best results 
are desired the initial outlay will well ' 
repay itself. Good, sandy loam of a fair \ 
depth, overlaying a well-drained subsoil, 
suits the pear admirably. In a soil of this ‘ 
class, hush trees on the quince st^k are 
the most profitable, both for quality and ^ 
quantity of the fruits. Should, however, < 
the soil he of a very light and porous y 
nature, trees on the quince will, unless well 
mulched and watered, heco-me stunted in 
growth after being planted a few years. In 
such cases it is advisable to have trees j 
worked on the pear stock. Possibly groirth 
may he too vigorous, hut by judicious root- 
pruning this evil may be corrected, and 
once the trees become fruitful there will 
be slight danger of undue vigour in growth 
occurring. 
Reg^ulation of Growth. j 
The tree I prefer is one that might h® 
termed a bush cordon—that is, a 
with several main branches standing | 
well apart from each other, and treated m 
the way of pruning as an ordinary cordon. 
By this method the maximum of light ana^ 
air is admitted to all parts of the tree, an , 
consequently the fruits are of good size and, 
quality, and, further, the free admissiottl 
of sun and air thoroughly matures growtn 
and materially assists the formation ot 
fruit spurs. The management, or I mign^ 
^y mismanagement, of pear trees growin^^ 
in the open ig often deplorable. ^ 
One often hea-rs the complaint, ^ 
tre^ grow freely, but I fail to have any^ 
fruit.” Many such cases have come 
my notice, and the trouble is usually due 
to two causes—faulty pruning and neglec ^ 
of the roots. Many of these trees are » 
perfect thicket of growth, light and air » 
