April  8,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
295 
YIOL AS— SEEDLINGS  versus  CUTTINGS. 
Op  the  great  value  of  these  popular  flowers  for  both  spring  and 
summer  bedding  I  need  say  but  little,  for  they  are  already  firmly  estab¬ 
lished  as  favourites  in  gardens  innumerable  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  land.  The  cry  is  no  longer  heard  that  they  are  only 
adapted  for  northern  gardens  during  the  summer  months,  for  good 
culture  has  Bhown  that  even  in  the  sunny  south  few  bedding  plants  give 
a  finer  display  during  Jnne  and  July  than  do  Violas.  It  has  long  been 
the  practice  to  raise  the  requisite  number  of  plants  for  this  purpose  by 
inserting  cuttings  in  August  and  September,  and  for  producing  good 
plants  for  flowering  during  the  months  named  I  have  found  no  plan  to 
surpass  this  time-honoured  one.  Violas  are,  however,  indispensable  for 
spring  bedding,  and  in  the  majority  of  gardens  where  this  is  a  feature  it  is 
'important  to  have  the  beds  bright  and  attractive  throughout  April  and  May. 
by  cuttings.  In  some  instances  we  find  this  a  drawback,  because  strong 
growth  is  made  at  the  expense  of  floriferousness,  but  such  is  not  the 
case  with  Violas.  If  we  can  only  secure  early  growth  we  may  confi¬ 
dently  anticipate  abundance  of  flowers. 
When  planting  a  geometrical  garden  it  is  often  a  matter  of  necessity 
to  have  each  bed  or  group  of  beds  filled  with  flowers  of  the  same  colour, 
because  such  an  arrangement  meets  with  great  approval  at  headquarters, 
and  some  may  perhaps  urge  with  considerable  force  that  for  this  reason 
seedlings  are  not  suitable  for  the  purpose  because  they  cannot  be 
depended  Hpon  to  come  quite  true  to  colour.  This  difficulty,  however, 
almost  entirely  disappears  if  seed  is  purchased  from  reliable  firms  who 
are  already  noted  for  their  fine  strains  of  bedding  Violas  in  separate 
colours.  These  may  be  obtained  in  the  following  shades  of  colour  : — 
White,  yellow,  violet,  purple,  blue,  and  mauve.  Often  not  more  than 
5  per  cent,  of  the  plants  grown  from  this  seed  fail  to  come  true  to  colour. 
Fig.  64— A  FINE  DENDROBIUM  NOBILE. 
When  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  get  fine  autumns  and  mild  winters 
'Violas  raised  from  cuttings  will  often  flower  well  during  April,  but  this  is 
rather  the  exception  than  the  rule,  this  season,  at  any  rate,  judging  by 
the  present  appearance  of  plants  raised  from  cuttings  inserted  last 
.August,  they  will  make  little  show  till  the  first  week  in  May  (I  am 
writing  from  the  Midlands)  here.  Here,  then,  is  a  little  difficulty  which 
needs  to  be  overcome,  and  fortunately  I  am  able  to  state  the  way  to  do 
it.  It  is  simply  by  growing  seedling  plants  in  all  instances  where 
the  chief  display  is  required  during  April  and  May.  At  the  present 
•time  we  have  beds  of  seedlings  which  are  flowering  freely,  while 
others  occupied  by  cutting-raised  plants  show  only  a  few  half-opened 
flowers. 
Seedlings  are,  as  a  matter  of  course,  more  vigorous,  have  more  active 
rojts,  and  are  in  consequence  able  to  withstand  the  cold  of  winter  better. 
They  seem  to  start  away  at  once  as  soon  as  we  get  spring-like  weather, 
whereas  in  the  case  of  plants  raised  from  cuttings  a  late  start  is  made, 
and  even  then  progress  is  slower  than  with  seedling  plants.  If  we 
frequently  obtained  cuttings  from  other  localities  I  have  no  doubt  that 
-some  improvement  would  take  place  ;  still  the  fact  remains  that  in 
almost  any  genus  of  plants  seedlings  are  more  vigorous  than  those  raised 
I  find  the  first  week  in  July  early  enough  to  sow  the  seed  ;  this  is 
done  either  in  boxes  or  on  a  shady  border,  and  when  the  young  plants 
are  large  enough  they  are  transplanted  6  inches  apart  on  borders  in  the 
reserve  garden.  By  giving  them  this  ample  distance  sturdy  growth  is 
assured,  and  weeds  can  be  easily  kept  down.  Should  the  autumn  prove 
mild,  by  the  time  the  beds  in  the  flower  earden  are  ready  to  receive 
them  (which  is  generally  about  the  end  of  October)  many  of  the  plants 
will  be  in  flower.  It  is  then  an  easy  matter  to  select  only  those  that  are 
true  to  colour.  When  flower  gardens  are  situated  in  very  bleak  positions 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  defer  the  planting  till  March  or  early  in  April ;  the 
plants  can  then  be  lifted  with  good  balls  of  earth,  and  with  care  in 
planting  will  scarcely  experience  a  check,  and  are  often  in  full  flower 
before  those  planted  out  in  the  autumn,  when  such  have  been  in  a  bleak 
situation  throughout  the  winter. 
Beds  of  seedlings  should  at  this  season  be  watched  daily,  and  as  soon 
as  a  “  rogue  ”  is  detected  remove  it  at  once  to  the  mixed  border,  and  fill 
up  the  vacancy  with  a  selected  plant  true  to  colour.  By  attending  to 
these  trifling  details  no  one  need  have  the  slightest  hesitation  in  using 
seedling  Violas  for  bedding  purposes,  and  I  feel  sure  that  those  who,  like 
myself,  have  found  plants  raised  from  cuttings  a  trifle  too  late  in  flower- 
