This is a very popular genus on account of their rich dark-green leaves,
and beautiful rose-like flowers. They are hardy greenhouse plants, and
thrive best in light loam mixed with sand and peat, but will do well in
light soil without the peat. It will not flourish in a limestone soil.
Mr. Vick gives the following in his Magazine:
"The Camellia Japonica was sent to England in 1739 by Father Kamel, a
missionary, for whom it was named. As a house-plant the Camellia
requires considerable care, on account of the tendency of the flower
buds to drop off. A northern exposure is best, and a temperature of from
forty to fifty degrees. When the buds are swelling, water plentifully
with warm water, but allow none to stand in the saucer. Sponge the
leaves once a week. In the spring put the plant out in a shady place on
the north side of a house or fence, not under the drip of trees, and
water it every day. Set the pots on a hard bottom, so that no worms can
get into them. They form their flower beds during the summer, and at
this time a good growth of wood must be encouraged.
"In the Southern States the Camellia can be raised with not more than
ordinary care; at the North it must be considered entirely a green-house
plant, and as such will always be highly prized. We are often asked how
it should be cared for as a house-plant, and to all such, in the
northern part of the country, where it is necessary to maintain good
fires in warm houses for several months of the year, we have no
hesitation in saying, let it alone, do not expend care and labor where
there is so little prospect of reward."
Camellias are of many hues, and some are beautifully striped. _Gen.
Lafayette_, bright rose, striped with white, imbricated. _Bell Romann_,
imbricated, large flower and petals, rose striated with bright crimson.
_Matteo Molfino_, petals cerise, with pure white band down center.
_Mrs. Lurmann_, crimson, spotted, very beautiful. Pure colors of white,
red, crimson, rose and carmine, can be obtained.
AZALEA.--Shrubby green-house plants of easy cultivation. Very showy and
hardy. Like the Camellia, they are found in all the leading colors, and
also striped, blotched and spotted. They are both single and double.
_Alexander II_, is white, striped with vermilion; edges of petals
fringed. _Aurelia_, white, striped with rosy orange, amaranth spots.
_Flag of Truce_, is a pure double white, very fine. _Her Majesty_, is
rosy-lilac, edged with white. _Alice_, rose, blotched with vermilion;
double.
Mr. Vick gives the following directions: "Azaleas need a light soil of
sandy loam, to which should be added one-half leaf mold. Repotting
should be done in May, trimming the tops to bring them into shape. Then
plunge in some sheltered spot in the garden. In September the plants
should be brought in under cover, or into a cool room. They do best when
the temperature ranges from forty degrees at night to sixty-five or
seventy by day. The foliage should be showered once a week, but care
must be taken that the roots are not over-watered, as they rot easily.
Small plants bloom well, but their beauty increases as they get age and
size. The flowers appear on the terminal shoots, and are from one inch
to two and a half inches in diameter.
"Azaleas if left to themselves will develop long shoots, that after a
time become naked below and are furnished with leaves only at their
extremities. Flower stems are formed on the new wood of each summer's
growth, consequently the amount of bloom, other things being equal,
depends upon the amount of new wood annually produced. In order to have
plants of good shape when they become large, it is necessary to give
attention to pinching and training them from the first. The pyramid
form, or more properly that of a cone, and rounded at the top, is
considered the best for the plant, as it allows the greatest exposure
of leaf-surface. Two principal methods are adopted to regulate the
growth and bring plants into shape: one is by successive pinchings as
the growth proceeds, the other by allowing long shoots to grow and then
bending and training them down, thus causing many of the dormant buds
along their whole length to break and develop into shoots. A skillful
combination of the two methods is probably better than either
exclusively."
Mr. John Dick, Philadelphia, has the largest stock of Camellias and
Azaleas, it is stated, in the United States. Their catalogue list of
these plants embraces more than a hundred varieties, to which we refer
our readers.
The Ingathering of the Flowers.
We have come to see your garden, said a gentleman with a lady in
company. They were from a neighboring town. This two weeks after the
heavy frost!
I told them my garden was in the stable, and thither I piloted them. It
was not a very small garden if it was in a stable. A hundred or more
plants had been hurriedly removed from the beds the day before that
freezing night! There they were, in the soiled pots just as taken from
the ground, or packed closely in boxes. Not very attractive looking, in
one sense, yet in another they were, for they were bright, healthy
appearing plants--leaves as fresh as when in the open air, pretty
Geraniums in bloom, a mass of Lobelia, attractive with their tiny blue
flowers, Coleus of varied hues, and even a few Roses struggling into
bloom.
Then we strolled among the despoiled beds, and the Pansies, so large and
pert, elicited admiration, and the Sweet Peas, just as fragrant as
though blight were not all around them, while dear little Mignonnette
seemed to have taken a new lease of life.
Yesterday I arranged in a shallow glass dish as handsome a bouquet as I
have had for the season. Sweet Clover sprays, Mignonnette and fragrant
Geranium leaves for the foundation all around the dish, a few bunches of
the little white wax balls, with their glossy leaves, Geranium blossoms,
and lots of Sweet Peas, from the most delicate shades to the deepest,
and bunches of splendid Pansies, Sweet Alyssum, a bit of purple Verbena
here and there, and white-eyed Phlox. It was just lovely.
When the evidence was sure that frost was surely coming, and a great
many plants must be taken up in a few hours' time, I was so glad that
full half of them were in pots. I could never have potted a third of
them in the time. The great object was to get them sheltered, and the
repotting could be done at my leisure.
But I almost changed my mind the other day after toiling several hours
at the business. So many pots to wash! then fill with fresh earth, and
set the plant. O dear, wasn't I tired! But then the wide door was open,
the day was lovely, and I rather think potting plants in a stable is
better than potting out of doors on a cold day, and when one is in a
great hurry. Plants that are in pots plunged in the ground do not grow
so many roots, and that is another advantage.