BEDDING-OUT PLANTS, PANSIES, VERBENAS, HELIOTROPES, FEVERFEWS, ETC.
“Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers!
Each cup a pulpit, every leaf a book!
Supplying to my fancy numerous teachers
From loneliest nook.”
The varieties of plants called by florists bedding-out plants, are very
popular--and deservedly so. Their flowers present a brilliant mess of
coloring all the summer, and their hues are richer than those of most
other flowers.
Pansies are great favorites--they will grow in shady nooks where no
other flower can bloom--and their flowers continue from the earliest
spring until the latest autumn. Various and familiar are the names by
which the Pansy has been known for centuries.
Gerard, who wrote a long description of it, says it was known as
Love-in-idleness, Jump-up-and-kiss-me, Three-faces-under-a-hood,
Heart’s-ease, and Pansy. The Italians named it _Nola farfalla_ (Violet
Butterfly).
Lady Mary Bennet of England, afterwards Lady Monck, first introduced
the Pansy to the attention of the florists. Early in the present
century, she planted all the varieties of the Heart’s-ease which she
could procure, and with the skillful aid of her gardener, new varieties
were produced from seed.
About 1813, the well-known florist, Mr. Lee, of Vineyard Nursery, at
Hammersmith, saw Lady Mary’s collection, and immediately perceived
the profit that would accrue from the cultivation of this flower.
His skill and patience were rewarded by the production of still more
beautiful varieties. Other nurserymen followed his example, and in a
few years the unpretending Heart’s-ease took its place as a florist’s
flower of no small pretensions. The French name _Pensées_ was the
origin of the English word Pansy.
Milton alludes to it as the “pansy freak’d with jet” amongst those
“vernal flowers,” whose “quaint enamel’d eyes a sad embroidery wear.”
Another writer says:--
“Are not Pansies emblems meet for thought?
The pure, the chequered--gay and deep by turns;
A line for every mood the bright things wear,
In their soft, velvety coats.”
One must not suppose that rich soil or careful culture have wrought
such wonderful changes in the Pansey. This is only the first step in
the march of improvement.
The seeds of the finest flowers were carefully preserved, and the
finest of the young seedlings were selected for seed. Hybrids were also
obtained by fertilizing the stigma of one rarely colored flower, with
the pollen of another of a larger variety. These hybrids generally
possess in a great degree the peculiar qualities of each parent, and
retain their peculiar markings.
Innumerable are the varieties now cultivated; there are upwards of a
thousand named kinds catalogued by the English nurserymen.
Mrs. Loudon says in her book upon “Floriculture,” that “the varieties
of forms and colors which appear in the plants raised from seed are so
great that few floricultural pursuits can be more interesting than to
sow a bed of Pansies, and watch when they flower for the varieties most
desirable to perpetuate.”
By judicious management, a successive bloom can be retained for eight
months in the year, and even a slight attention to their needs is
rewarded by a profusion of beautiful flowers. There is no bedding-out
plant which gives a more liberal supply of flowers--from the earliest
spring to the latest autumn.
Plants from seed blossom finely the first year, and give much larger
flowers when the plant is small, for as it increases in size, the
blooms though abundant are smaller and inferior in coloring.
A constant succession of flowering plants should be brought forward
daring the spring and summer months, and the plants kept young and
vigorous. This is often done by cuttings as well as seedlings. They can
be grown more rapidly, and are certain to produce fine flowers.
The cuttings should be taken from the points of the shoots, and cut
about three inches long, and immediately below a joint. Strip off
the lower leaves, and plant them in sand, pressing the soil closely
around the stem. If planted on the north side of a fence or hedge in a
sheltered location, with an inch of sand covering the cuttings, they
will strike rapidly. If in pots, they should be covered with glass. In
about six weeks they will be well rooted, and fit to transplant into
the flowering beds, or into pots for window gardening.
Pansies are often layered, by pegging down the young shoots with a hair
pin, and covering all but an inch or two of the point with fine sand.
An incision can be made at the joint, as is done in layering roses, but
frequently they will make root equally as well without using the knife.
When rooted, which can be told by the growth of new leaves--separate
from the old plant, and either plant out in borders or in pots.
They can also be increased by dividing the old roots, and the divisions
will soon make fine plants.
Seed can be sown early in the season, in a hot-bed--following
directions given for planting seed, in Chapter II, and when the fourth
or fifth leaves are formed, the plants can be put into the borders, and
planted a foot apart each way to allow them room to grow.
Pansies are very gross feeders, delighting in the richest soil, with
plenty of liquid manure. If large blossoms are desired, the soil must
be of the richest description.
The best compost for them is one-third leaf mould, one-third thoroughly
decayed barn-yard manure, and one-third light loam. In this soil they
will blossom most gorgeously. The location should be on the north-west
side of the house, and shaded from the noonday sun. They will not grow
to advantage in either light, sandy soil, or much sunlight, but require
moisture and shade, and copious waterings to produce perfect flowers.
They are also great deteriorators of the soil, and will soon run out
unless it is renewed. New beds do much better than old ones. After they
have blossomed freely until July, cut down the branches several inches,
mulch with well-rotted cow manure, and by September they will be in a
blaze of glory.
If the amateur florist desires to sow the seed from some especially
rare flowers, they should be carefully tied up, and no other flower be
allowed to go to seed on the same plant.
The seed may be sown in spring, summer or autumn; in the two former
seasons it can be planted in the open ground; in the latter in pots,
so that the tender seedlings can be protected from the damp. Pansies
are hardy perennials, but will wither away if water settles on the bed.
They do not like either the wintry ice, or the excessive heat of summer.
_Violets, Sweet Violets._
These flowers cannot compare with their beauteous sisters--the
Pansies--in size or colorings; they cannot boast such varied blotchings
and veinings, but they possess a higher attribute in their rarely
delicious odor--their perfume is unsurpassed by that of any other
flower. They are always in demand, and are very easily raised. With
slight protection they will live in the coldest climate, and before the
Snow-drop hangs its pearly bell, they will be in full bloom.
The Viola odorissima is the English variety most extensively
cultivated. Several new varieties have been introduced; among them the
double blue Neapolitan is the most popular. The King of Violets has a
very large flower, and is much cultivated for window gardens. The Czar
is a fine variety; and the Schœnbrun is a single variety, very sweet.
There are white varieties, that are also much used by florists, but the
blues are the greatest favorites.
The Violet is the emblematic flower of the Bonapartes, as the Lily
is of the Bourbons. Dame Rumor tells us that Eugenie expressed her
willingness to accept the offer of becoming Louis Napoleon’s wife by
dressing in an exquisite violet toilet--violets in her hair, about
her dress, and a bouquet of them in her hand, which were perfectly
significant to the wooer. The great Napoleon selected it as his flower,
through Josephine’s requesting it as a birthday gift.
He cultivated them in large quantities in his garden at St. Helena, and
they were planted over the grave of Josephine, and when he was buried,
his coffin was covered with the flowers he loved so well.
Louis Napoleon is said to have made himself acquainted with those who
were friendly to his interests, while carefully feeling his way to the
throne, by a cautious display of violets. Sweet violets!
_The Heliotrope._
Heliotropes fill an important place among “bedding-out” plants,
giving us a plentiful supply of flowers from June to October. They
are desirable for their fragrance, as well as for their profusion of
flowers. They were introduced into England from Peru in 1757, and
the cottagers called it “Cherry Pie,” from a fancied resemblance in
its fragrance to the odor of that esteemed dish. It has also been
called the “Vanilla Plant.” The flower first introduced was of a light
lavender shade, and for many years no change of color was effected,
but now it is offered from the darkest purple to the faintest shade of
lavender.
They make very fine standards, trained from a single stem, from one to
four feet high, with a head of several feet in diameter.
The older the plant, the more profuse are its clusters of fragrant
flowers. A cutting in the first year will grow very rank, but if cut
back and pruned into one stem, it becomes woody, and will make a fine
shrub. In California, they bloom as plentifully at Christmas as at
Fourth of July, and it is not uncommon to see large trellises and walls
covered with its branches and exquisite flowers--perfect bouquets of
beauty, being always covered with flowers. The main stems of the plant
are trained to the wall, and the branches droop gracefully. Any kind of
turfy loam will grow it perfectly. It is propagated from cuttings with
great ease.
Of the very dark varieties, Etoile de Marseilles ranks first; flowers
of a deep violet with white center.
Duc de Lavendry is of a rich blush, with a dark eye.
Incomparable is of a lovely bluish-lilac.
Garibaldi is nearly white.
Leopold 1st, of a deep violet blue.
Madame Facilon, a clear violet tint.
Malulatie is of the most delicate lilac.
_Verbenas._
Among all the variety of “bedding-out” plants, which contribute to
the gay and lively appearance of a garden, the Verbena is the most
generally cultivated, and claims the first rank among brilliant
flowers. Some of its varieties are sweet scented, but most of them
depend for their merit upon their showy, gorgeous coloring, and their
wonderful profusion of blossoms, which render them of the greatest
value. There have been some splendid, new varieties introduced in the
few past years, whose wondrous stripes and eyes are not approached by
any of the older sorts. They are selected from many thousand seedlings,
and are both rich and rare.
But any one can raise new varieties from seed, and good culture will
produce magnificent blooms. Seedlings will seed much more plentifully
than flowers from cuttings, and the older the cutting the less seed it
will give.
Verbenas do not sprout readily from seed; they are encased in a horny
substance, and should be soaked in warm water for twenty-four hours,
and then planted in a light sandy loam, with a good bottom heat. Thus
treated they will germinate, and when the fourth leaf is formed, should
be potted into thumb pots in sandy loam.
Verbenas are natives of Brazil, and love the hot sun and sand. If the
bed in which they are planted is covered two or three inches deep with
common sand, they will bloom most perfectly.
I once raised seventy verbenas from seed, and planted them in a very
sandy soil. Such growth I never witnessed--they were magnificent! As
the plant sends out its first shoots, they should be pegged down with
hair-pins, and thus coaxed to grow. When watered they desire a copious
supply, and the suds from washing-day are very beneficial to them.
Guano is also a good manure for them; dig an iron spoonful around each
plant, not touching the stems. The green lice, or _aphis_, are their
plague in pot culture, but they are destroyed by smoking them with
tobacco. Put the plants together, and throw some tobacco on hot coals
in a pot saucer; cover the whole with a wash tub, and let them smoke
for ten or fifteen minutes, and the lice can be swept up and burned.
Place the coals as far as possible from the plants, under the tubs, so
as not to injure them with their heat.
If plants are well showered, no lice will appear--they do not love
moisture.
If cuttings are desired for winter bloom, they should be taken off
in August, so as to become well rooted. It never pays to take up old
plants for winter blooming.
Among the new Verbenas for 1871, are:--
Annie, white, crimson striped.
Black Bedder, richest maroon.
Conspicua, ruby-scarlet, white eye.
Cupid, very large, white, tinted with pink.
Distinction, solferino, dark eye.
Gazelle, deep blue, clear white eye.
Iona, large scarlet, yellow eye.
Muriel, ruby-pink, white eye.
Punctata, spotted and striped with carmine.
Rising Sun, crimson, white eye.
Sensation, waxy white, carmine eye.
Snow Storm, pure white, large and fine.
Spot, carmine, white eye.
Tricolor, carmine, crimson and orange.
Unique, white, carmine spot.
All these varieties originated with Peter Henderson, the Prince of
American Floriculture, and are sure to be true to description. Any one
can raise a Verbena, and no garden can be complete without some of the
hundreds of varieties offered by all florists.
_Salvias._
These plants are the most gorgeous of all the fall-flowering plants;
they grow from four to five feet high; and the small plant, you
purchase in the spring of the florist, will become by September a
beautiful, symmetrical bush, covered with tassels of the brightest
scarlet flowers. They are unequaled for planting in masses, but are
very tender, the first frost rendering them a blackened mass.
Salvia splendens variegata is a novelty possessing finely variegated
foliage, with flowers as brilliant as the common kind. The roots can be
hung up in the cellar in the winter--like the Geraniums.
Salvia patens is of a deep blue color, of the most perfect shade.
It has a tuberous root, which can be kept like a Dahlia through the
winter, in sand.
_The Ageratum._
These plants are excellent for beds and borders, on account of their
constant bloom. Their flowers are of light porcelain blue, in large
clusters.
Ageratum Mexicanum is of a light blue.
A, variegatum has leaves variegated with yellow, shading with crimson.
A, Tom Thumb variety, growing from six to eight inches, is desirable
for ribbon gardening; contrasting beautifully with dark crimson leaves.
Carnations, Calceolarias, Gazanias, Feverfews, Lobelias, Lantanas,
Neirembergias, Vincas, etc., etc., are all desirable for bedding-out
plants, and can all be raised from cuttings or seeds, but the former is
the surest mode of propagation.
_How to Grow Cuttings of Geraniums, Verbenas, etc., etc._
To prepare pots for raising cuttings, fill them two-thirds full, with
rich loam, dark and porous, not clayey and heavy; then pour on an inch
or two of yellow sand. Wet this thoroughly, and place the cuttings
close to the edge of the pot; the contact of the pottery promotes the
growth of the cutting. Cuttings should be taken from the young and
newly-formed wood of the plant; but the lower extremity of it should
not be too young and soft, else it will absorb too much moisture and
decay; neither should it be too old and hard, for then it will not
imbibe moisture enough to enable it to throw out roots. Therefore,
cuttings should be taken off at the junction of the old and new wood,
so that these extremes will be avoided. They should be cut off just
below a joint or bud, as the roots start from that point; and, if a
bud is not left at the base, it is liable to decay; the cut should
be made smooth across the stem, taking care not to bruise the bark,
or leave it jagged. Most of the hardy, wooded shrubs and plants are
easily propagated by cuttings planted in the open air; but the tender,
watery-stemmed plants like Verbenas, Heliotropes, Fuchsias, etc.,
should be covered with a hand glass, or raised in a hot-bed. A certain
amount of heat, moisture and shade is required to enable cuttings to
strike roots. Shade is needful, because an exposure to the sun or
strong light evaporates the little moisture contained in the cuttings,
and causes them to wither away.
So, for three days, or until the cutting becomes wonted to its
location, shade from exclusive sunlight.
Peter Henderson recommends saucer propagation.
Take a common saucer or shallow dish, fill it with wet sand and insert
the cuttings, pressing the sand close about them. Keep it sopping wet;
if allowed to dry it will check the growth; when the old leaves have
dropped, and new ones appear at the point of the cutting, roots have
formed; and the plant may be carefully potted in light, sandy loam
shaded for a day, and then have all the sunshine it desires, if it has
also sufficient water, but you must not let it dry up.
Cuttings of many plants can be readily started in water; and, in the
early spring, if you have not a green-house or hot-bed, it is the
safest plan.
Fill small bottles or vials, with warmish water, remove the lower
leaves of the cuttings (be sure to have a bud at the base), and put
them in the water; hang up the vial to the window sash, tying a string
about the mouth, for this purpose. If cotton wool is put around the
mouth of the vial, it will prevent the evaporation of the water,
and make the roots sprout more quickly by keeping up a more even
temperature. Oleanders can be rooted in this manner; also Heliotropes,
Verbenas, Roses, Fuchsias, and all kinds bedding-out plants.
The process is so simple that a mere child can succeed with it. As soon
as the roots are an inch long, the cutting should be transplanted,
taking care to spread out the tiny rootlets as they grow in the water.
Some fill up the bottle with rich earth, let it dry off for two or
three days and then break the glass, and pot or plant out the cutting
without disturbing its roots in the least degree. This is the most
certain way of obtaining plants from cuttings.