352 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  26.  1900. 
Notes  on  Gardenias. 
Therk  are  few  pure  white  flowers  grown  in  our  gardens  and  green¬ 
houses  that  receive  a  larger  share  of  admiration  than  Gardenias,  of 
which  many  thousands  of  blooms  are  yearly  produced  for  the  various 
markets.  Unfortunately  for  producers  for  sale  prices  have  depreciated 
daring  the  past  few  years,  and  excellent  flowers  may  frequently  be 
bought  from  London  flower  sellers  for  Id.  each.  This  figure  does 
not  seem  as  though  it  would  leave  a  very  large  margin  of  profit  for  the 
grower.  It  is  not,  however,  proposed  in  these  notes  to  deal  with  the 
plant  from  a  market  grower’s  point  of  view,  but  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  private  gardener,  to  whom  it  frequently  proves  invaluable  for 
various  decorative  purposes.  But  it  is  one  of  those  flowers  which, 
from  the  powerful  fragrance  they  emit,  have  to  be  judiciously  employed, 
as  if  too  many  are  used  in  a  warm  room  the  scent,  which  in  the  open 
air  would  be  termed  delicious,  becomes  quite  overpowering.  It  is  not 
by  any  means  unique  in  this  respect,  as  such  plants  as  Hyacinths  and 
Lilium  aiiratiim  are  equally  as  troublesome  to  deal  with,  and  one 
sometimes  hears  that  the  decorator  is  forbidden  to  use  them  at  all. 
This  is  distinctly  a  matter  for  regret,  as  they  are  not  easily  replaced  at 
certain  periods  of  the  year. 
Gardenia  flowers  are,  for  one  purpose  at  least,  practically  unrivalled, 
and  that  is  for  gentlemen’s  buttonhole  bouquets.  Not  only  have  we  a 
perfect  flower,  but  also  a  particularly  handsome  type  of  foliage,  so  that  * 
no  addition  of  foreign  leafage  is  required  whatever.  Of  course  some 
gentlemen  do  not  care  for  them,  but  generally  speaking  they  are 
greatly  appreciated,  and  we  have  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  utilising 
every  bloom  we  can  produce  for  this  purpose  and  for  use  in  wreath¬ 
making,  for  which  they  are  invaluable.  They  have  one  very  serious 
disadvantage,  and  it  must  always  be  kept  in  view  when  supplies  have 
to  be  packed  for  transit  by  rail,  and  this  is  the  liability  to  bruising. 
The  very  slightest  rub  almost  invariably  leads  to  the  prompt  appearance 
of  a  brown  patch,  which  completely  spoils  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the 
flowers.  Mishaps  will  occur  at  times,  no  matter  how  careful  one  may 
be  in  the  packing,  and  it  is  very  disappointing  to  have  only  half  a  dozen 
flowers  spoiled.  However,  one  is  subject  to  this  with  practically  all 
kinds  of  flowers  to  a  greater  or  a  lesser  extent,  and  we  must  perforce 
do  the  best  we  can  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances. 
Fortunately  the  cultivation  of  the  Gardenia  does  not  present  any 
formidable  difficulties  to  the  skilful  plant  grower,  provided  he  has  the 
requisite  heat  at  command.  They  were  not  at  one  time  regarded  with 
a  very  favourable  eye  by  gardeners  owing  to  the  partiality  of  the  plant 
to  become  infested  with  insect  pests,  but  now  young  stock  is  raised 
much  more  frequently  than  was  formerly  the  case,  and  the  trouble  in 
this  respect  is  thereby  considerably  minimised.  True,  the  plants  are 
attacked  in  many  cases  with  equal  frequency,  but  the  practice  of 
destroying  the  old  plants  has  eased  the  grower’s  labour  considerably, 
as  they  were  by  no  means  easy  to  get  perfectly  clean.  When,  however, 
young  stock  is  mainly  relied  upon,  and  the  methods  of  procedure  are  as 
good  as  circumstances  will  permit,  there  is  not  a  great  amount  of 
trouble  to  contend  with.  So  far  as  I  have  observed  mealy  bug  and 
scale  are  the  worst  enemies  to  deal  with,  and  the  best  preventive  is 
undoubtedly  excellent  growth.  Though  plants  may  under  exceptionally 
favour  able  conditions  be  had  in  flower  over  a  considerable  period,  the 
natural  flowering  time  is  daring  March,  April,  and  May,  and  at  the 
present  they  are  abundant.  Most  growers  contrive  to  have  blooms 
several  weeks  earlier  than  the  date  specified,  and  this  can  usually  be 
done  with  comparative  ease,  but  to  much  prolong  the  season. special 
conditions  w('UlJ  have  to  be  provided,  and  as  a  rule  this  is  not  possible, 
the  majority  of  gardeners  having  their  Gardenias  in  the  stove  in 
companionship  with  other  customary  occupants  of  that  indispensable 
struC' lire. 
There  are,  I  think,  few  plants  that  are  easier  to  propagate  than 
Gardenias,  for  cuttings  can  be  rooted  in  small  pots  at  practically  any 
time  of  the  year.  In  a  compost  of  peat  and  sharp  sand,  the  pots 
being  plunged  in  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  in  a  propagating  case,  roots 
are  very  quickly  emitted,  and  good  plants  can  soon  be  produced ;  in 
fact,  I  have  known  cuttings  inserted  in  February  as  suggested  to 
produce  good  flowers  in  the  following  spring.  This  express  system 
is  not  always  practicable,  and  August  is  usually  found  the  most 
suitable  month  for  propagation.  Half-ripened  shoots  are  then  chosen, 
and  these  with  the  necessary  attention  to  stopping  and  pinching  will 
flower  excellently  in  about  eighteen  months.  The  plants  will  not 
produce  many  flowers  at  one  time,  and  they  are  somewhat  fugitive  ; 
but  the  succession  will  be  continuous  for  several  weeks,  and  the_,total 
number  of  blooms  will  be  very  large.  As  soon  as  the  small  pots  are 
filled  with  roots  the  plants  must  be  repotted,  using  a  compost  of 
loam,  peat,  and  sand,  and  guarding  most  carefully  against  breaking 
any  of  the  roots,  which  are  decidedly  tender.  This  fact  must  be 
borne  in  mind  whenever  the  plants  are  repotted,  as  I  have  seen 
excellent  stock  almost  ruined  by  carelessness  in  this  work.  The 
atmosphere  of  the  house  should  be  somewhat  close  at  this  stage,  and 
the  syringe  may  be  advantageously  used. 
It  will,  of  course,  be  essential  to  repot  the  plants  as  is  necessary, 
always  carrying  out  the  operation  before  the  plants  become  root-bound. 
They  will  eventually  reach  about  6-inch  pots  in  the  first  year,  and  in 
these  the  plants  will  throw  fine  buds,  which  can  be  either  removed  or 
retained,  according  to  personal  requirements.  The  removal  of  the  buds 
tends  to  improve  the  plant  in  habit  and  floriferousness,  but  they  thus 
attain  to  a  rather  larger  size  than  growers  with  limited  space  can 
comfortably  provide.  If  they  are  finally  placed  in,  say,  10-inch  pots, 
they  can  be  kept  in  the  same  receptacles  year  after  year  if  desirable, 
but  the  difficulty  of  keeping  them  clean  will  present  itself  to  the 
cultivator.  When  Gardenias  are  in  good  health  and  active  growth  they 
have  a  decided  partiality  for  water,  which  must  be  abundantly  supplied  ; 
this  fact  emphasises  the  necessity  for  perfect  drainage  prior  to  potting. 
Provide  at  the  final  potting,  whether  the  plants  are  to  be  in  7-inch  or 
10-inch  pots,  a  sound  compost,  preferably  of  fibrous  loam  and  peat, 
with  coarse  sand  for  porosity,  and  a  modicum  of  some  approved 
fertiliser.  Needless  to  say  the  latter  must  be  judiciously  employed,  or 
more  harm  than  good  will  be  done.  Liquid  manure  if  used  must  be  in 
a  weak  state,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  scarcely  necessary  at  all  if 
an  excellent  compost  is  provided. 
There  are  several  varieties  in  cultivation  including  G.  citriodora, 
which  is  of  dwarf  habit  and  produces  small  flowers  in  the  spring  ; 
G.  florida  and  its  varieties  Fortunei  and  intermedia,  and  G.  radicans. 
Of  these  G.  florida  intermedia  (fig.  98)  is  decidedly  the  most 
popular,  as  being  exceptionally  free  flowering  and  of  an  attractive 
habit  of  growth.  The  others  named  are  comparatively  seldom  found 
in  private  gardens. — F.  Rowe. 
- <«#♦> - 
New  Type  of  Pelargoninm. 
Probably  the  sequel  to  the  above  heading  will  somewhat  disappoint 
the  expectant  reader  when  it  is  explained  that  it  refers  to  a  type 
mentioned  in  the  Journal  of  Horticulture,  January  7th,  1875,  by 
M.  Jean  Sisley,  of  Lyons.  It  was  raised  by  M.  Ch.  Huber,  florist  of 
Nice,  who  was  to  send  it  out  in  the  following  March  under  the  name  of 
Geranium  pseudo-zonale.  Since  then,  however,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no 
further  mention  in  the  horticultural  press  or  otherwise  has  been  made 
perfaining  to  it ;  but,  according  to  the  flattering  description  of  its 
attributes,  I  have  thought  it  would  be  interesting  were  it  possible  to 
obtain  some  further  information  regarding  it. 
M.  Jean  Sisley’s  interesting  description  of  the  type  in  question  is 
worthy  of  repetition,  especially  from  the  hybridist’s  point  of  view,  and  I 
have  given  an  abridged  transcription.  “  Those  who  are  occupied  in 
hybridising  know  the  hybrids  of  P.  hedergefulium  and  zonale  obtained  in 
England  by  Wills  and  Peter  Grieve  by  artificial  fecundation.  They  also 
know  that  these  hybrids  seem  to  corroborate  the  theory  of  certain 
botanists,  seeing  that  those  that  we  know,  and  particularly  Willsi, 
Wills!  rosea.  Emperor,  and  Dolly  Warden  are  sterile ;  and  that,  which  is 
much  more  to  be  regretted,  is  that  they  are  superior  to  P.  peltatum  and 
lateripes  by  their  great  vigour  and  abundant  blooming.  The  horti¬ 
cultural  world  will,  therefore,  learn  with  pleasure  that  a  plant  of  this 
strain,  which  produces  an  abundance  of  seed,  has  been  found  in  the 
environs  of  Nice,  in  a  bed  planted  with  P.  hedersefolium,  having  lilac- 
white  flowers,  and  P.  zonale  with  red,  white,  rose,  and  buff.  Apparently 
a  good  hybrid  between  the  two  species,  but  tending  by  its  habit  more  to 
hedei’mfolium  than  zonale,  as  it  is  decumbent.  Nevertheless,  the  foliage 
is  more  in  the  way  of  zonale  than  that  of  the  hybrids  obtained  in 
England.  The  flowers  are  red,  brilliant,  and  fifteen  to  twenty  in  a  truss. 
The  zonale  has,  therefore,  exercised  great  influence  in  the  fecundation. 
Which  is  the  plant  which  has  produced  the  seed  whence  this  remarkable 
and  curious  plant  has  come  P  We  do  not  know,  and  perhaps  never  shall 
know.  By  judicious  crossing  a  new  section  in  the  numerous  family  of 
Geraniacese  may  be  created.” — G. 
