THE COLD GREENHOUSE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22350, 22 February 1936, Page 34 (Supplement)

THE COLD GREENHOUSE

PLANTS IN WINTER Many novices in the art of glasshouse management are under the impression that an unlieated greenhouse is comparatively useless during the winter months. This is a misapprehension. Apart from the hyacinths, iiulips and daffodils which may be grown to perfection in a cold house, i there are a host of smaller, intensely .'interesting, bulbous and tuberousxooted plants to choose from. Many alpines, too, lend themselves to cultivation in pots or pans in the cool house, and quite a few are seen to better advantage under this mode of culture than in the open rock garden. The addition of some foliage plants and ferns, which will furnish the house 1 throughout the year, and at the same time act as a foil and background to the flowering subjects, will help to make the greenhouse of equal interest, ! ;if hardly so showy, in the early months as during summer. The erythroniums are very charming as pot plants, their stature indoors being rather taller than when grown outside. The dainty flowers are borne on stems a full 10 inches high, well clear of the beautifully mottled and marbled foliage. The Californian species, such as Hartwegii, Hendersonii and Californicus, are particularly charming, thriving best in & peaty compost. One made tip of equal parta of granulated p6at and fibrous loam, with half a part of sharp sand, will Buit well. As a rule they should be in full flower in August, providing a novel display of blOom. The ricli purple blooms $f Iris reticulata can be enjoyed much earlier and

may be bad in July. These are easily grown plants but must not be forced in any, way or the tall-growing foliage, which reaches a height of twt> feet after the flowera are gone, will smother the blooms. Pot the bulbs up now in a compost of good loam, to which some leaf mould and sand have been added to ensure porosity. The spring-flowering species of hardy cyclamen will provide a note of interest during' late winter. Pans are the most suitable receptacles for these dainty • plants, which should be potted with the corms just barely covered., None of the subjects mentioned are suitable for growing in heated structures; they are all perfectly hardy plants, and coddling in any shape or form is not only unnecessary, but will have a detri* mental effect upon growth. Ventilation should always be ample, and every endeavour made to ensure a bracing atmosphere that will encourage healthy growth. They must all be afforded the char/ce to make strong root growth by plunging them out of doors for several weeks after potting. Sand is a more suitable medium than ashes in which to plunge the pots, and if plunged in a position with a southerly aspect, growth will be slow and sturdy. Primula dcnticulata, with its . pale lavender heads of bloom, and Primula Ikewensis are two of the hardy species particularly effective as pot plants. The form known as cashmeriana is of daintier and finer growth than the type' denticulata, and should always be given the preference. Kewensis is easily raised from seed and will thrive in a loamy compost to which old 'mortar rubble has been added. CHRYSANTHEMUM BUDS u The actual "taking" of chrysanthenum buds is nothing more than disbudding, but the work should be spread over four of five days, so that the re- ■ moval of the growths is done gradually and without injury to those remaining. iWhen all the surrounding growths are removed at one time, it is not unusual for the buds selected to go "blind."