GARDENING NOTES.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 108, 2 November 1907, Page 12

GARDENING NOTES.

ißr EXFKBIBNOE.] THE GREENHOUSE. Pelargoniums of all classes are now rapidly advancing towards flowering. The sections commonly known as pelargoniums are the ones requiring most care, being subject to greenfly, which cannot be altogether avoided even by the very best treatment, though its effects are much 'ess felt by plants grown under proper conditions. Crowding the plants to the detriment of the foliage, which cannot develop properly without plenty of light and air, muggy atmosphere, and improper watering are conducive to bad attacks of the fly. The plants are benefited by a light syringing early, in the evening after a hot day, but the foliage should be dry during the- greater part of . the day, and have a free circulation of air. Special care should be taken not to over-water J tivem ; if the- soil gets sodden, the roots are stagnant, and a bad attack of the fly is sure to iolnQW. Zonal pelargoniums, usually known as geraniums, are not subjscC'Ao. any insect pest. These plants have been WY much squeezed out of late-- years, which" is a pity, as they are very serviceable plants, easy to grow, and remaining in flower a long time. The fact that the geranium is old-fashioned should not have caused its banishment, for no race of florists' flowers have been mow im-pro-ed than this. Not only is it a good greenhouse plant, but few plants do better in the window of a dwellinghouse, where they are certainly more interesting and lasting than cut flowers. It does -not require a skilled gardener to grow them, nor an elaborate mixture of soil ; good sweet soil from just below the grass on an upland pasture, with a fourth of old stable or cow manure, and a little coarse sand to keep it open will suffice, and when not in flower they can b& stood out in the open air, taking care Ikafc they get sufficient water. Dr. Nanson, Queen of Whites, and Swanley Double White are splendid white sorts, and other colours of more than ordinary excellence are. — G. E. Sainsbury, A* F. Wottcn, Robert Cannel, Madame Thibant, Madame Jules Chretien, F. V. Rasp'ail Improved, La Vienna; and Lady Salisbury is handsome in foliage as well as flower, one of the most attractive I know. The same remarks apply with equal force to .the ivy-leaved varieties. Gordon's Glory, Madame Thibant, and i Souvenier de Charles Turner are some ! of tho best. I should like to see again tho very old Gem of the Season ; though tli3 flowers- arc small, they aro borne in such profusion, and the habit of tho plant is so compact that it is still unsurpassed in the qualities that make a plant popular. L'Elegante stands by itself — no other is even similar to it, like the old Sunray fuchisa, it is unique in its class. The small foliago of pale green, elaborately marked with white changing to red, makes it a plant of great b2auty, for either the greenhouse or window ; even the flowers have a striking beauty all their own. Window and Room Plants. — Most plants not requiring artificial heat can be grown with some success in the window of a dwelling-room ; some do better than fathers. Probably tße- best of all for this purpose is the foliage B»gonia, meaning those with the broad, handsomely varigatcd leaves ; these undoubtedly thrive better in a window than in a greenhouse, which seems strange but is none the' less true. The \i reason probably is the groat avcrsipiw ' they have' to damp, particularly cdtfT v damp; the best plants 1 have seen un-' ' der glass wera in a dry stove house, which bears out this contention. In a room that is fairly f.reo from dust, and potted in a light compost — in which is a considerable quantity of very old manure; or vegetable mo^uld, with enough soil and sand to keep it from being too potous — never over-watered, and the foliage seldom damped, they spldom fail to do well. Begonia Meta- ] lica also does well ; it is a handsome plant in flower and foliage, but very different from the above. Tho "table palm" Aspidistra 'does well ; the foliage is Droad, tall, and handsome. To bring out the variegation it requires to be grown in poor soil, mainly loom and sand, with pieces of porous brick broken to about the siza of hazel iiuts freely mixed with the soil. Common musk and Kenilworth Ivy-Linaria cimbslaria may both be grown either to hang over the pots or trained up a little ladder. The plant known as "Mother of Thousands" — Saxifraga §armentosa — is excellent suspended in a wire basket, and does j amazingly weil. It is better to keep it in a than to plant it in a basket, on account of the difficulty of watering baskets. Tho basket may be lined with moss, »vhich can be purchased cheaply from a ilorist ; tho moss is first damped in water, which causes it to expend and take its natural form ; this will conceal the pot, and add to the appearance of the baskot. The plants can be easily changed by this method. Two varieties of cyperus, al- | ternifolius, and laxa are elegant, and i easily grown table plants. For the hall nothing beats bamboo. There are a number of varieties ; they are quite hardy, and can be placed outside for watering and to recuperate, j Grown in lOin or 12in pots, they make handsome plants of moderate height ; if larger are wanted plant them in tubs, 'llie Aspidistra is good here also, and the Ealalias, of which there are three varieties, are good in their season ; these bear atintMl stems, and require cutting down every year. Palms and ferns I have not mentioned— they have been so much experimented with as to make it unnecessaiv. Seedlings of all kinds should be pricked off or potted, according to needs before they begin to crowd each other. Gloxinias will require- heat to do well, and begonias aro the better for it for a time, just to give them a start. Bouvardias.— These are not so exten- J sivel" grown as they should be, partly, no doubt, because no one hereabout has seriously undertaken their cultivation, so that their true value is not known. The '] flowers in a cut state aro unsurpassed for j the purposo for which they are peculiarly adapted — viz., for small vases, or all • kinds of bouquets and gentlemen' 6 but-ton-holes. They are also bright orna- . monts for the greenhouse. _ , The cultivation of bouvardias is simple , enough, but must be carried out on right linos to be fatisfactory. They arc easily , propagated by cuttings of the roots. One j plant will furnish many cuttings, so the , first expense _of purchasing a plant each of n few of I lit- be>>t varieties will be vcr\ I tiiuint* compared with the stock of plants I thai o.in be raised from them the follow- | iup season. 'It is late to strike cuttings i now. so I will not describe the method I sit this time, but proceed with the culli- i vation of rooted plants. The natural ! time for flowering is lnte summer and I autumn, prolonged into winter when the I house is warm enough, so they should be I treated accoulingly. The first thing to I do is to cut Kick all tho shoots a bit, I more or le^s according to their length, a ! compact plant with a number of short I shoots being wanted. PutTthe plants in I a warm place under glass, syringe them I two or three times a day till young I shoots appear, then knock them out of I tho pots and remove most of the old I soil from about the roots. Re-pot iuto I pots ;t size siiuillcr than those they were j in if it can be done, and replace in .\ I warm place. The soil should be fairly I rich— good loam, -well decayed manure, I aud. sand., V