rich, velvety leaves showing on the under side wonderful colourings of
green and lavender, purple and plum. The large heads of single
daisy-like flowers show many shades of white, lavender, crimson, purple,
and maroon. Most of the varieties have a dark eye and are sharply
margined with some contrasting color. The seed is fine and is simply
pressed into the soil. It germinates in from five to seven days, and
requires little heat. As the plants are rather difficult to carry
through the hot weather it is better to defer sowing until August. Their
growth is rapid if given a cool, moist atmosphere, but a draught is most
injurious and care must be taken never to over-water them. They like a
moist, but never wet, soil, frequently stirred when there is any sign of
damping off. They may be carried through an unusually hot spell in a
cool north or east cellar window, always avoiding draughts. In winter an
east window suits them best, with abundant room to develop their leaves.
They are an exceedingly ornamental plant even without the flowers. The
shady side of the sand-box is the best place for them in summer. They
need frequent shifting, and by winter should be in five-inch pots. After
the buds appear give liquid manure once a week. The utmost care must be
taken to guard against aphides or green plant-lice, which are absolutely
fatal if allowed to gain any foothold. The prevention is plenty of fresh
air and tobacco-dust sprinkled on the leaves, which mars their beauty.
The remedy—dipping in water heated to about 135 degrees, or brushing off
the lice and killing them.
Carnations are the most easily grown of all desirable house-plants. If
planted in drills in the hotbed in April, or in the open ground when the
trees are in leaf, they will bloom in about four months. For outdoor
blooming the Marguerite Carnations are usually selected, and the Giant
of California is a new and choice variety of this popular strain. The
seed is sown an eighth of an inch deep, the plants appearing in from
five to seven days. When large enough to handle transplant into fresh
rows in hotbed or flats, setting them an inch or two apart each way.
When they are two or three inches high prick off into pots filled with
three parts good loam and one of leaf-mould and plunge back into the
hotbed. When the weather is warm enough set them in well-prepared beds
of loam, enriched with a liberal quantity of well-rotted manure,
planting them a foot apart each way. Cultivate frequently during summer
to keep them free from weeds. A little soot and ashes added to the soil
between the rows will heighten the colour of flowers and foliage and add
stiffness to the flower-stems. The ashes will also counteract the
tendency to burst the calyx, so troublesome in the Carnation. Plants
intended for winter blooming should have all the buds removed during the
summer, up to the first of September.
Only a few flowers will be obtained in the open ground the first year,
but if the plants are protected during the winter they will bloom freely
the second season. While blooming no seed should be allowed to form, and
if size and quality are desired more than profusion of bloom, all but
the terminal buds on each stalk should be removed. This is the method
employed by florists to produce their long-stemmed beauties. Dig in the
second summer a little old manure between the rows and sprinkle ashes
there. A mulch of two or three inches of lawn clippings between the
plants will hold the moisture so that cultivation will not be necessary.
Fresh Carnation seed should be sown each spring, that there may always
be blossoming plants and the bed made perpetual. Carnations will not
stand the second winter, hence the need of young plants to renew the
bed.
If it is desired to perpetuate any variety cuttings may be taken, or the
plants may be increased by layering. Branches from each plant may be
pegged down between the rows, equal distances apart, severed from the
old plants when sufficiently established, and allowed to remain when the
old plants are removed in the fall or following spring. The bed will, in
this way, perpetuate itself; but cuttings from the same plants
deteriorate in two or three years, and fresh seed should be sown every
two years at least.
In growing winter Carnations for the house shift them as often as the
growth of the plant requires, using three parts loam, one part
leaf-mould, and one part each of sharp sand and old manure. When ready
to bloom they should be in five-or six-inch pots. They require an
atmosphere cooler than that of the ordinary living-room. A south window
away from direct fire, where the temperature stands at 50 or 55 degrees,
is best. Water thoroughly, but allow the soil to nearly dry out before
watering again. If possible sprinkle the foliage every day and watch
carefully for green fly and red spider; though there is less danger of
their appearance in a cool room than in the hot, dry air of the
living-room. When the flower-stalks appear they will need support, which
may be supplied by placing three or four sticks or cat-tails at the side
of the pot and twisting strings around them, back and forth, forming a
frame around the plant. There is an excellent Carnation frame on the
market, costing a few cents, which is similar but much neater. Stakes
thrust into the ground near the crown of a plant are apt to injure it,
and must be used carefully if at all; the finer the point on the stake
the less damage done. Should green lice or flies appear syringe the
plants with tobacco tea, or fumigate with tobacco, leaving them in the
smoke long enough to insure success. Or the plant may be dipped in hot
water at about 130 degrees; this will kill all insects or eggs.
[Illustration: WHEN TWO OR THREE INCHES HIGH, TRANSPLANT CARNATIONS INTO
POTS]
[Illustration: AN EASILY MADE CARNATION SUPPORT]
Cyperus, or Umbrella-plant, may be easily raised from cuttings, but it
is sometimes desirable to have a number of plants for aquatic gardening,
and growing from seed is an economy. The seeds should be sown in flats
and kept warm; they germinate in about ten days, coming up very freely.
As many as three hundred plants have been secured from one packet. Prick
the seedlings out into larger flats as soon as they are big enough to
handle, and when two or three inches high pot them off into two-or
three-inch pots of muck, plunging into wet sand and keeping constantly
moist. Shift them as the pots fill with roots, and by the time the
plants are in four-inch pots the water should be kept standing in the
saucer all the time. When they attain proper size they should be grown
in a jardinière or other vessel holding water, or else the pot in which
they grow should be plunged in water. The Cyperus, being a semi-aquatic
plant, cannot have too much water; the lack is quickly shown by the
leaf-tips turning brown. Two plants kept fairly wet in pots, but plainly
suffering, so were plunged into a lily-tank; in a few days the roots had
pressed to the surface in search of water, and hung, a perfect fringe,
over the edge of the pots. The effect on the tops was as pronounced—the
crown quickly sending up lush green umbrellas in striking contrast to
the discolouration of the original plants. There are two varieties of
the Umbrella-plant—a dwarf, growing not more than eighteen inches high,
and a tall variety growing three or four feet; the former is prettier
for table decorations, while the latter is more effective for pedestals
in halls and drawing-rooms. Remove all weak or spindly umbrellas and all
discoloured ones; it is also well to remove the flowers, as seeding
injures the plant.
Cyclamen may be started in flats or in a cool hotbed from January to
March, pressing the seed into the soil about twice their depth. They
must be kept moist, not wet, all the time. They do not require as much
heat as the Calceolaria, but the temperature must be kept as even as
possible. The seed germinates in from two to four weeks, according to
its vitality. It is best to start them in large flats and let them grow
on undisturbed. About the last of May remove them to a cold-frame on the
east side of the house, disturbing the roots as little as possible, and
setting the plants about eight inches apart each way. Keep the soil
moist and mellow by frequent cultivation, or by mulching it with
sphagnum moss or lawn clippings. When the plants have attained some size
give weak liquid manure once a week, pouring it in a shallow trench
between the rows, that it may not touch the bulbs or foliage. Treated in
this way they should be ready to bloom by winter; if grown in pots they
will not bloom until the second season. When cold weather comes lift the
plants and put in four-or five-inch pots, according to size, using good
garden loam and one-fourth the quantity of old, well-rotted manure. They
should be grown in a cool east room and syringed daily.
In the spring after blooming withhold water gradually, giving no more
than will keep the roots from drying out, and set them in a cool, shady
place during the summer—the rear of the sand-box is best, where other
growths will protect them from the sun. In continuous wet weather they
should be turned on their sides or otherwise protected from extreme
moisture. When they show an inclination to grow again, if they are in
large enough pots, remove as much of the top-soil as possible without
disturbing the roots, and replace it with fresh, rich earth and old
manure. If the plants are crowded with roots remove them into pots one
or two sizes larger. Give them a good watering and set in a somewhat
lighter and warmer position. Cyclamen bulbs, like the Amaryllis, should
not be allowed to dry out entirely, as this destroys the roots, and when
the top growth starts in advance of the root growth, as is usual, the
plant will die from insufficient nourishment. Florists frequently send
out dry bulbs with flower-buds half an inch long and no sign of roots;
such bulbs rarely amount to anything. When obliged to start a dry bulb,
it is better to sink it half way in the soil and cover with sphagnum
moss. Set it in a dry, cool place, and examine it from time to time that
it may not be kept back longer than necessary. The starting of leaves is
a fair indication of root growth, as the premature growth is usually of
buds.
Geraniums are as easily raised as Carnations—indeed, it seems only
necessary to put them in the ground and await results. In the spring sow
the seed in drills in hotbeds or flats, covering with an eighth of an
inch of soil. The plants should appear in from ten to fifteen days, and
if they do not stand too closely may be allowed to grow on until they
have two or three leaves. If mixed seeds are sown of the fancy-leaved,
the scented, the zonale and the Lady Washington, the development of the
several kinds will afford a fascinating study.
Care should be taken to save the more delicate-looking seedlings, as
these will give the choicest varieties; the more robust plants among the
zonales indicate a retrogression toward the original type, which has
scarlet blooms. All choice new Geraniums are produced by seeds from
hybridised flowers. Pot off the last of May in three-inch pots, using
good garden loam and well-rotted manure. Pot them rather firmly and
plunge into the sand-box in full sunshine. Water thoroughly and allow
the soil to become dry before watering again; this tends to harden the
new growth and makes the plants stocky. Nip out the top of the plants,
forcing them to break or make new branches near the ground. The nearer
the ground a Geranium branches the better plant it will make. Pinch off
the shoots as they appear, allowing them to grow only three or four
inches long. Remove all buds that appear before fall and shift to larger
pots if needed, though Geraniums do not need as much pot room when
blooming as many other flowers. Give liquid manure once a week after the
buds appear—before that time the use of fertilisers encourages the
production of foliage rather than of flowers.
Zonales should bloom by February and Pelargoniums by March or April the
first year. They should be watered more freely when in bloom. Geraniums
should be grown close to the glass to give best results. In prolonged
cloudy weather the buds will blast and the new growth look sickly in
spite of all care. Pelargoniums are very satisfactory when raised from
seed, showing great diversity of colour and markings. When they have
finished blooming in the spring cut them back freely, using the cuttings
for new plants. The old plants should be set in the shade to rest and
watered sparingly. At the end of that time they may be brought into the
sunlight or plunged into open ground and encouraged to grow freely.
Removing a portion of the leaves at this time—every other one, for
instance—will cause new shoots to break at the axils of the leaves, and
every new shoot means new blossom points. By the middle of September the
plants should be lifted, cut back to the point where the wood begins to
harden, and given a warm, sunny window. Cuttings started in spring, if
shifted, kept growing and pinched back occasionally, should be in
splendid condition for early spring blooming. In growing Geraniums never
lose sight of the fact that stocky, many-branched plants give flowers in
abundance; tall, spindly plants the reverse. A Geranium should always be
as broad as it is high to be at its best. Ivy Geraniums need extra care
to keep them low and stocky. Water sparingly and give abundant sunshine
if you wish these to bloom.
Geranium seeds come up very irregularly, so that it is well not to
disturb the ground for some time after the proper season of germination
has passed. In this way many extra plants are secured.
Gloxinias
Like all fine seeds the Gloxinias often give a surprising number of
plants from a single packet. The seed is sown on the surface of small
flats in the house and the plants appear in about ten days. They are
very tender at first and must be protected from undue heat, moisture,
cold or draughts. They may be potted when large enough and plunged in
the shady side of the sand-box, in a cold-frame, on the east side of the
house, or in a shady corner in the open ground, where they will be
protected from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Keep the soil
constantly moist; a light mulch of sphagnum moss or lawn clippings will
keep it in proper condition. Avoid wetting the foliage and as far as
possible touching it. The stems of both leaf and blossom are very
brittle and the slightest blow may deprive one of a cherished blossom.
For this reason I like to grow them by themselves and use a mulch
instead of cultivation. So much of the beauty of the plant depends upon
the perfection of the foliage that every effort should be made to
preserve it. In setting or potting Gloxinias the crown of the bulb
should be above the earth, the soil should slope to the rim of the pot,
that no water may settle about the crown and rot it. The plants may
remain in the hotbed or other quarters until the approach of frost, when
they must be shifted into larger pots and given a position in an east
window with plenty of light. Gloxinias, if kept growing vigorously and
shifted frequently, should bloom the following season. Some florists
advise resting the bulb the first winter, but this, I think, is a
mistake; the plant has done nothing to require a rest, nor has the bulb
gained sufficient size to live without nourishment for any length of
time, so that drying off is likely to result disastrously. After the
Gloxinia has completed its period of bloom water should be gradually
withheld and the foliage allowed to ripen. The bulbs may then be set
away in their pots in a warm, dry place, until the following spring; or,
if grown in hotbeds, they may be dried off by withholding water until
the foliage ripens, when they may be lifted, wrapped in cotton-wool or
tissue-paper, and stored in a dry, fairly warm place during the winter.
Heliotropes
Are more easily raised from seed than from cuttings, which require
special care. Several of the new varieties, like Lemoine’s seedlings,
give exceptionally large and early flowers, ranging in colour from pure
white through all the shades of lavender, purple, and blue to deep
indigo. If wanted for winter blooming the seed may be sown any time
during the spring, but for bedding out it should be sown in February or
March, and the plants duly potted off and plunged in a box of sand in a
warm, sunny window, or a hotbed, until it is time to bed them out in the
open ground. The compost should contain a large proportion of
leaf-mould—three-fourths mould and one-fourth loam and sharp sand.
The seeds of Heliotrope must be kept merely moist, never wet and never
allowed to dry out, or they will not sprout; keeping the soil just on
the verge of drying out, yet never allowing it to do so, is the whole
secret of starting Heliotrope from seeds. It is best to sow the seed in
moist soil to avoid the necessity of watering afterward, as is done with
other seeds; if the soil is just wet enough to be crumbly, neither wet
nor sticky, and can be kept so, they will prosper. Cover the seed
lightly with white sand and remove the glass if any appreciable moisture
appears—anything more than a fine mist. It germinates in from fifteen to
twenty days, and the plants require no special care beyond good soil,
warmth, and plenty of sunshine with frequent waterings. When grown as
house-plants they should be showered once or twice a day to prevent the
inroads of the red spider—their worst enemy.
There is no more desirable bedding plant than the Heliotrope, and the
more freely it is cut by removing generous portions of stem with the
blossom the more freely it will bloom. It is admirable for replacing
Pansies and may be grown on in the hotbed until the Pansy’s day is past.
Where there is not enough Heliotrope for large bedding operations,
purple Ageratum may be combined with the Heliotrope with excellent
effect; this is a method often employed in the city parks, and when
judiciously done one scarcely notices that the beds are not all
Heliotrope. Plants may be taken up in the fall and cut back for winter
blooming. Blossoms always form on the terminals of the branches.
Lantanas
Are hard-wooded, shrubby plants, the leaves more or less rough and
prickly. The colours range from pure white through various shades of
lemon to orange, red, a new bright scarlet, and the rosy lavender of the
Weeping Lantana. The seed in its immature state is incased in a green
pulp or berry, changing to blue as it ripens, and consists of a little
nut with several kernels, so that one is sometimes surprised with two or
more plants from what seems to be a single seed. The seed may be started
in the house, or in the hotbed early in the spring; sowing in drills
one-quarter of an inch deep. It germinates in from twelve to fifteen
days, but soaking in warm water, for a few hours before planting, will
hasten its appearance. They require about the same treatment as
Geraniums, but should be shifted oftener and given plenty of water. As
soon as the plants are four or five inches high transplant them to a
tobacco pail, or some large wooden receptacle containing a compost of
muck, loam, and old manure, or muck alone, and place in full morning
sunshine, out of doors. Thus managed I have grown, from seed sown in
March, plants that measured nine feet or more in circumference by
September and were a mass of bloom all summer long, the blossoms defying
all efforts at counting.
Grown in this way, with an abundance of roots and top room, rich soil,
sun, and water, no better ornament could be desired for the porch or
steps; but I do not think it a desirable plant for the house, as the
hot, dry air causes it to drop its leaves, and it is almost sure to be
attacked by the red spider. It is better to start fresh plants each
spring and let them go when frost comes.
Lantanas make fine hedgerows between house lots or for defining
different portions of the grounds. They should be planted in rich ground
two and one-half feet apart.
The new Weeping Lantana is the most charming member of the family. It is
of much more slender growth than the rest and inclined to be pendulous,
or weeping. Its delightfully fragrant flowers are produced in round
heads the size of a half-dollar at the axil of every leaf and show a
lovely rosy-lilac hue. If planted in the open ground the Weeping Lantana
quickly covers a considerable area, presenting a solid sheet of bloom
throughout the summer. It will bloom freely in the house if given a
warm, sunny window, abundant room, and showered daily to keep back the
red spider, or dipped occasionally in hot water for that purpose. It
must always have abundant root and top room and plenty of water.
Petunias
Probably no common flower of the garden has been so improved during the
last few years as the Petunia. The small-flowered variety of a few years
ago with its straggly habit and narrow range of colour—chiefly white and
faded magenta—is now superseded by magnificently fringed and ruffled
beauties in a wealth of colour, from purest white to glowing crimson,
and a velvety purple that is almost black, with wonderfully veined and
tinted throats and thick, stocky stems. It is difficult to realise that
they are the same plants, plus a few generations of good living and
culture.
The double Petunias are desirable for pots, vases, and bedding out, but
I do not think they compare with such strains as Burpee’s Defiance, the
Giants of California, the Ruffled Giants, and the Miranda. Miranda, for
example, is a rosy carmine merging into a brilliant scarlet in the
throat—the nearest approach to a scarlet Petunia yet produced. The seed
of double Petunias will yield a fair proportion of double flowers. The
young plants of both the single and double varieties require great care
at first, being very sensitive to hot sun or cold air. Once established,
however, they will stand a great deal of both—more, indeed, than almost
any other flower of this class. Plant them in flats in the house in
March by pressing the seed into the soil without covering; keeping moist
and warm until the seed germinates, usually from eight to ten days. When
large enough to handle, prick off into larger flats and set them in a
warm north or east window. When the leaves touch set them two or three
inches apart each way in other flats and let them grow until it is time
to place them in the open ground, hardening them gradually by exposure
to more sun and air each day, and transplant with great care. If
intended to replace the Pansies they may be set in the bed in June, the
Pansies affording them protection until they have attained some size.
Set each little seedling on the north-east side of a Pansy plant, and by
the time the Pansies have passed their zenith they will be ready to
stand alone.
Always remove poor or inferior plants in order that the highest standard
may be maintained; the finer varieties may be readily distinguished from
the more common sorts by the stems and foliage; the latter having thin
stems and small leaves, set rather far apart, while the stems of the
fine varieties are very stocky; the leaves large, more or less crinkly,
and set closely on the stem; the buds thick and compact, while those of
the common type are long and thin. Petunias grow so rapidly that vacant
places left by culling are soon filled. The finest specimens may be
lifted for winter flowering. They will bloom freely in the house and
often show a richer colour than when out of doors. They need
considerable root room—any crowding of the roots, or starving of the
plants being quickly shown in the deterioration of the flowers. Avoid
chills and draughts. Give liquid manure and water freely, but do not let
the soil get wet or sour. A little charcoal in the potting soil is an
excellent corrective of this tendency. Always remove the flowers as they
fade, thus prolonging the blooming season and increasing the beauty and
size of the blossom.
Primroses
Require the same general treatment as other house-plants. A good compost
of leaf-mould, loam, and sand is best for the first few shiftings,
manure being added as the plants attain size. Repeated shifting hastens
blooming, while keeping the plants in small pots retards it. When ready
to bloom they should be fine, large plants in five-or six-inch pots.
They should blossom in November and, if well cared for, they will flower
from that time on until spring. In potting the Primrose care must be
taken to have the crown of the plant slightly above the surface of the
soil and the soil lowest at the edge of the pot, that no water may
settle around the crown and cause it to rot. When the buds appear give
the plants diluted liquid manure once a week. As the leaves of Primroses
are easily injured they should be placed where they will be subjected to
as little handling as possible. Window brackets make an ideal place for
them, as they can be turned and inspected without removal, and the large
velvety leaves, drooping gracefully over the pot, will develop
perfectly. Injured or faded leaves should be removed at once. A
receptacle rather broad than deep gives opportunity for the best
development. A hanging-basket, milk-crock with drainage hole, or
jardinière with outlet will answer. Sufficient root room is particularly
necessary in the case of old plants, as these have more divisions to the
crown and therefore spread more. Primula obconica does better when grown
in shallow dishes; a dish four inches deep and eight wide is much better
than the usual flower-pot.
[Illustration: INJURED OR FADED LEAVES SHOULD BE REMOVED AT ONCE]
Florists start their Primroses each year from seed, but there is no
reason why, if one has a choice plant, it should not be carried over to
the second year, when, being larger, it will give more flowers.