SHRUBBY CALCEOLARIAS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 34

SHRUBBY CALCEOLARIAS

SPLENDID BEDDING PLANT Bedding calceolarias were at one time considered a most essential class of plants for the adornment of the garden in summer. sn« there were few bedding schemes which did not include a goodly proportion of these, particularly of the yellow and brown shades. Nowadays they do not. however. figure quite so prominently, having either been displaced by the larger and more brilliantly-flowered greenhouse varieties or by some different class of plants entirely, with the result that many of the once popular varieties are now difficult to procure. Fortunately. for they are charming little plants, it is still possible to obtain these in sufficient variety to enable them to be used with good effect either in bedding schemes or to brighten up some portion of the garden. Provided the weather is at all favourable, these may be planted out now, and, as short-jointed, stubby, little specimens give better results than long spindly ones, preference should be given to the former when selecting one’s plants. Success or otherwise depends to a certain extent on the season, as a very hot, dry season considerably shortens their period of usefulness, but as coolness at the roots is appreciated by this class of plants, these should be planted in a fairly rich loam, which : has been deeply cultivated. The space allowed between each plant depends on whether they are used as dots or massed, but well-shaped symmetrical plants can only be obtained by permitting ample room for development and the ground between the plants should either be carpeted with a dwarf subject to keep the roots cool or eise stirred regularly with the hoe for the same purpose. These beautiful plants may also be grown from cuttings taken during the autumn and early spring. Nip the tips of the young growth only about two inches in length and strike in a box of sandy soil. Place in a cool, shaded position until the cutting begins to toot, and when large enough plant out in the required positions.