BEDDING CALCEOLARIAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 236, 5 October 1935, Page 6 (Supplement)

BEDDING CALCEOLARIAS.

Although the calceolaria is not used so lavishly for bedding out as was at one time the case, it is still a favourite subject, the yellow form, especially the dark-coloured varieties, being more rarely seen. Where these calceolarias have been crowded together in the frame they should now be gone over, giving them more room. If they are weak and lanky, it is advisable to pinch out the point of each growing shoot, to induce a bushy habit. The plants can go out as soon as the weather becomes reasonably mild. These shrubby calceolarias, when planted out, sometimes droop and die mysteriously, after seeming to be doing well. This trouble is especially noticeable where the soil is light and poor. The soil should be deeply dug. If of poor quality, it should have a liberal amount of manure dug in. Another cause of failure with calceolarias is very late planting, so that dry weather sets in before they have become established. For this reason early planting is advised. Overdryness at the roots will set up trouble, as also will burying the stem too deeply when planting out.