CAMELLIAS.--ORANGE AND LEMON TREES.
Dear reader, did you ever see a large Camellia plant in full blossom? If
you have not, I will risk my reputation by saying that all other flowers
within my knowledge, barring the rose, dwindle into insignificance when
compared with it. It excels the finest rose in doubleness and form of
its flowers, and puts the virgin lily to shame for spotless purity and
whiteness; if it only possessed fragrance, it would be unquestionably
the Queen of the floral world. What I shall have to say in regard to
this plant, I hope will have the effect of introducing it into many
homes where it has hitherto been little known. Few outside of
professional florists have undertaken to cultivate the Camellia, for the
reason, we suppose, that it is thought to be quite an impossibility to
raise and bloom it successfully outside of a green-house; this is a
mistake, although many believe it otherwise. I contend that Camellias
can be as easily and as successfully grown in the window-garden as the
Rose or Geranium.
Camellias bloom in the winter, and at no other season of the year.
Plants should be purchased of the florist in the fall or early in
winter, and such plants as have flower-buds already formed; those
plants, if kept in the right atmosphere, will bloom profusely, but they
must have an atmosphere of 50° until the buds are all expanded, after
which there will be no danger of the flowers blasting. As soon as the
bloom has all passed off, the plants should be taken from their cool
quarters, and placed with the other plants in a warm temperature, and
watered freely, to encourage a vigorous growth previous to removing them
out-of-doors in the spring. As soon as all danger of heavy frosts is
over in the spring, the plants should be taken from the house and
removed to some shady location, under a grape-arbor, in a pit or frame
covered with shades; here leave them standing in the pots "plunging" the
pots in earth or sand to prevent too rapid drying out.
The summer is the period in which the flower-buds are formed that bloom
in winter; the plants should be kept growing, and watered freely
throughout the summer. They must be left out-of-doors as long as the
weather will permit, but, on the approach of frost, take the plants into
the house, and let them stand in a cool room, where the temperature is
not over 50°. This is the critical time, for if they are removed into a
warm temperature of 70° or 80°, the buds will all blast and drop off,
and no flowers will be produced.
If the plants are large and well-budded, a succession of bloom will be
yielded throughout the entire winter. There are a number of varieties,
embracing colors from red, pink, variegated, etc., to the purest
waxy-white. The Double White Camellia Japonica, the white sort, is the
most valuable for its bloom, the flowers being sometimes four to five
inches in diameter, exceedingly double, with the petals imbricated, and
of a waxy texture, and are highly prized by florists, who often charge
as high as one dollar per flower for them. They are invaluable for
funeral occasions, when pure white flowers are required. Plants are
multiplied by either grafting or budding them on the common stock; it is
almost impossible to raise plants from cuttings; they are slower than
the Azalea to take root.
ORANGE AND LEMON TREES.
Both Orange and Lemon trees can be easily raised by sowing the seeds in
good, rich soil, and after the seedlings become of sufficient size, a
foot to fifteen inches high, they should be budded or grafted, otherwise
blossoms and fruit cannot be expected. In the tropical climes, where
these fruits are grown, there are varieties that spring up from the
seeds of sweet oranges, called naturals; these yield a fruit that is
edible, but is of an insipid taste. In no case can we obtain edible
fruit of either Oranges or Lemons, budded or unbudded, in northern
climates. The best time to bud these trees is when the seedlings are
about a year old. They can be budded in the same manner as other trees,
and as a rule, the buds take readily if the stock is in the right
condition. Some graft them, but buds take better than grafts, and grow
more rapidly. If the budding is successful, and the bud looks fresh and
green in two weeks after it has been inserted, the union has taken
place. The stock may then be cut off within two inches of the bud, and
after the bud has started to grow, cut the stub still lower down, close
to the bud. One bud in each stock is better than three or four. The soil
best adapted to these trees is a rich, mucky loam. They should have
plenty of pot room when growing, and, if possible, a warm, moist
atmosphere.