In Door Garedning by William Keane (surface ebook reader txt) 📖

and syringe the plants both
morning and evening overhead.

GLOBE AMARANTHUS.—To be potted into 48-sized pots, in which they will flower in a soil
composed of peat, loam, and leaf mould, or rotten dung. They should be allowed to stand near
the glass, and be subjected to a moist heat of not less than 75°.

HEATHS.—If mildew appears, dust them with flowers of sulphur. When watering, give them a
good soaking, so that every part of the ball is thoroughly wet, and then withhold further supply
until it is again completely dry.

JAPAN LILIES.—As they are succulent in growth, keep them well and liberally supplied with
water. The flower-stems to be properly sticked, so as to keep them in due bounds, and also to
assist in presenting a large mass of flowers to the eye at once.


PELARGONIUMS.—If the plants have been exposed to the open air, as advised in a previous
calendar, they will now be fit to cut down. After the plants are cut down, place them in a shady
place until the most forward young shoots are one inch long; then shake them out, and repot into
small pots, using sandy loam and peat only, and placing them in a close, cold frame until they
begin to grow again; after which freely expose them to the weather until heavy rains in autumn,
or the approach of frost, renders it necessary to house them for the winter.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

Cleanliness is indispensable amongst the Orchids, use a sponge to remove filth from the leaves.
See that no plants are neglected in standing in corners or behind large plants; arrange and re-
arrange frequently, as it tends both to promote the healthy growth of the plants and a pleasing
variety in the house.

FORCING-HOUSES.

CUCUMBERS.—Although bright hot weather may prevail, it is advisable to keep up a brisk,
regular bottom as well as top heat. Strike cuttings of choice sorts for winter bearing.

MELONS.—The same as advised for Cucumbers, as they both delight in plenty of heat to keep
them healthy and in regular bearing. Give them good soakings of weak manure water
occasionally, and shut up early on all fine days, sprinkling the sides of the pits or frames, and the
plants at times overhead. When watering the plants never allow any to fall on the main stem. If
gum, or canker, appears, apply lime to the parts affected. Old plants cut back should be
stimulated to grow freely.

PEACHES.—Any tendency to premature decay in the leaves of those from which the fruit has
been all gathered to be arrested by liberal waterings at the roots and by syringings.

PINES.—Keep up the temperature from 90° to 95° by day and from 70° to 75° by night, with
plenty of moisture among the growing plants and swelling fruit. Shift the successions as the roots
fill the pots.

VINES.—Uncover the house, or give all the air possible night and day as soon as the Grapes are
gathered, unless the wood is not fully ripened, in that case the house should be closed in the
afternoon at a good heat. Stop the laterals on the later Vines, thin and tie up the bunches, and
maintain a steady, moist temperature, with plenty of air, but do not syringe the bunches.

THIRD WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

If any of the stove plants, as lately recommended, have been brought into the conservatory, they
will require a free admission of air at every favourable opportunity to keep the atmosphere of the
house dry. The plants must be kept clear of decaying leaves and flowers. Some judgment is also


required in watering recently repotted plants, that they may not be injured by saturation in cloudy
weather, nor by drought in hot sunny days.

The growth of twiners should be carefully regulated, allowing them sufficient freedom to
develope their natural habits as far as other considerations will permit.

Continue to shift the hardwooded plants as they require it. A turfy compost of three-parts sandy
heath soil of a fibrous and rather lumpy character, and one-part loam, will suit the majority.
Particular attention should be paid to the drainage, more especially to the crock at the bottom; for
if that is flat, and not hollow, it matters but little how much depth of drainage material rests upon
it, the soil will soon become saturated and sour. Remember that the final shift should be given in
good time to those intended to flower in the autumn.

CALCEOLARIAS (Herbaceous).—Sow seeds; the compost to be equal parts of peat or leaf mould,
loam, and rotten dung, with a small portion of sand. Place a layer of broken crocks two inches
thick at the bottom of the pot; then fill up within half an inch of the rim with the compost, passed
through a fine seive. After the pot has been gently struck on the potting-bench to settle the soil,
the surface must then be made level with a flat piece of wood, or the bottom of a small garden
pan or saucer. Sprinkle the seeds regularly over the surface, do not cover with soil, and water
with a fine rose; then to be placed in a cold frame, and be kept shaded from the sun.

CHOROZEMA.—The beauty of this genus for early spring display is generally appreciated, and,
therefore, requires no commendation from me. They delight, like most other New Holland
plants, in sandy peat containing plenty of fibre, and require plenty of air at all times, and also to
be kept constantly moist, but never very wet. A large pot and frequent stopping will soon
produce a fine specimen.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS.—Continue to top the plants that have been planted out in the open ground.

EPACRIS.—The varieties of this genus are most useful for the adornment of the conservatory in
early spring. They delight in fibrous peat, broken rough, mixed with fine white sand. The young
plants to be frequently stopped by pinching off the points of the shoots while growing, to induce
them to throw out laterals; those again to be stopped until the plants have attained a size
sufficient to warrant their blooming.

GARDENIAS.—If any have been removed to the conservatory while in bloom they should be
returned to heat as soon as the bloom is over, to encourage growth and to allow them sufficient
time to mature their growth.

EUTAXIA MYRTIFOLIA.—It is a profuse and early bloomer. During the summer and autumn every
new shoot should be stopped as soon as it has attained two or, at most, three joints: by such
treatment it can be easily formed into a neat, compact specimen.

WINTER FLOWERS.—The Cinerarias, Chinese Primroses, Heliotropes, Perpetual, Tea, and other
Roses, will require frequent and diligent attention as to watering, shifting, &c.


STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

Give immediate and regular attention to the young stock of stove plants intended for winter
blooming. Keep up a moist temperature at all times; with air during the day. When a few days of
gloom occur, the humidity that sometimes becomes stagnant and injurious should be dissipated
by a free circulation of air when bright weather returns. Keep a free circulation of air amongst
the Orchids by day; endeavour to supply an abundance of atmospheric moisture during the latter
part of the day; and dispense with shading as much as possible by using it only during a few
hours of the hottest part of the day.

Pay every attention to specimen plants in the stove. Keep them neatly tied to sticks, or trellises,
as the case may require. Give them a plentiful supply of water, and, if not in flower, syringe them
frequently overhead.

STANHOPEAS.—About the end of this or the beginning of next month is the most proper time to
remove and repot them. Persons who wish to grow fine specimens ought to put them in large
baskets, or pots, so that they may not require to be shifted for several years, as then the plants
grow much finer and flower better than when annually shifted. Now, as soon as they have done
flowering they commence growing, when they should have plenty of heat and moisture until they
have completed their pseudo-bulbs, when they should be reduced to a comparative state of rest
by gradually withholding water until they show flower; then to be supplied with atmospheric
moisture, but should have no water at the root, or at least but a small portion, until they begin to
grow. As all the plants belonging to this genus push their flowers downwards, it is advisable to
have them elevated, or put in baskets, where the flowers can get through and show themselves to
advantage.

FORCING-HOUSES.

FIGS.—Supply with plenty of water the roots of the trees that are swelling their second crop; ply
the syringe frequently amongst the foliage, and sprinkle the paths, &c., to keep the atmosphere
moist. Shut up early in the afternoon. As the fruit of the first crop ripens, curtail the supply of
atmospheric moisture—otherwise before they reach maturity they are apt to turn mouldy. The
roots to be regularly supplied with water, and some liquid manure added about once a week to
assist the second crop. Keep down red spider by the application of sulphur in the manner so
frequently advised of late. Give the fruit that is ripening the benefit of the sun, by fastening on
one side the leaves that shade it.

PEACHES.—The fruit will be all the more delicious for a comparatively cool temperature while
ripening. Examine the fruit daily, and gather before it is overripe and loses its flavour.

PINES.—Maintain a good bottom heat, and encourage the growth of the advancing crop by kindly
humidity and allowing them plenty of air and sufficient space from plant to plant. Give air, also,
freely to the young stock in dungpits, to secure strong stocky growth; but a circulation should not
be allowed by giving back and front air at the same time during hot drying winds. Attend to
former directions to afford the plants swelling their fruit a moist atmosphere by frequent
syringings and by sprinkling the paths and every other available surface until the fruit begins to


change colour, when the atmosphere and soil should be kept rather dry, to improve the fruit’s
flavour. See to the stools from which fruit have been cut. Earth them up, so as to cause suckers to
strike root. Give them a brisk bottom heat, and proper supplies of water. You will thus gain time
and assistance for the suckers from the declining strength of the parent plant as long as possible.
It is now a good time to start a lot into fruit, as they will have two or three most favourable
months for swelling, and will come in at a season when they are in very general request. Keep
the bark-bed moderately moist, as in that state it will retain its heat much longer than if it is
allowed to get dry.

VINES.—Keep up a brisk heat to the late