THE GROWING OF THE ORNAMENTAL PLANTS
INSTRUCTIONS ON PARTICULAR KINDS - Continued
Anemone.--The wind-flowers are hardy perennials, of easy culture, one
group (the Anemone coronaria, fulgens, and hortensis forms) being
treated as bulbs. These tuberous-rooted plants should be planted late in
September or early in October, in a well-enriched sheltered border,
setting the tubers 3 in. deep and 4-6 in. apart. The surface of the
border should be mulched with leaves or strawy manure through the severe
winter weather, uncovering the soil in March. The flowers will appear in
April or May, and in June or July the tubers should be taken up and
placed in dry sand until the following fall. These plants are not as
well known as they should be. The range of color is very wide. The
flowers are often 2 in. across, and are lasting. The tubers may be
planted in pots, bringing them into the conservatory or house at
intervals through the winter, where they make an excellent showing
when in bloom.
The Japanese anemone is a wholly different plant from the above. There
are white-flowered and red-flowered varieties. The best known is A.
Japonica var. alba, or Honorine Jobert. This species blooms from
August to November, and is at that season the finest of border plants.
The pure white flowers, with lemon-colored stamens, are held well up on
stalks 2-3 ft. high. The flower-stems are long and excellent for
cutting. This species may be propagated by division of the plants or by
seed. The former method should be employed in the spring; the latter, as
soon as the seeds are ripe in the fall. Sow the seed in boxes in a warm,
sheltered situation in the border or under glass. The seed should be
covered lightly with soil containing a quantity of sand and not allowed
to become dry. A well-enriched, sheltered position in a border should
be given.
The little wild wind-flowers are easily colonized in a hardy border.
Aralia, A. Sieboldii (properly Fatsia Japonica and F.
papyrifera), as it is sometimes called, and the variety variegata,
with large, palmlike leaves, are grown for their tropical appearance.
Sow in February, in shallow trays and light soil, in a temperature of
65°. Continue the temperature. When two or three leaves have formed,
transplant into other trays 1 in. apart. Sprinkle them with a fine rose
or spray; and do not allow them to suffer for water. Later transfer them
to small pots and repot them as they grow. Plant out in beds after the
weather has become warm and settled. Half-hardy perennials in the North,
becoming 3 ft. or more high; a shrub in the South and in California.
Used often in subtropical work.
Araucaria, or Norfolk Island pine, is now sold in pots by florists
as a window plant. There are several species. The greenhouse specimens
are the juvenile state of plants that become large trees in their native
regions; therefore, it is not to be expected that they will keep shapely
and within bounds indefinitely.
The common species (A. excelsa) makes a symmetrical evergreen subject.
It keeps well in a cool window, or on the veranda in the summer. Protect
it from direct sunlight, and give plenty of room. If the plant begins to
fail, return it to the florist for recuperation, or procure a new plant.
Auricula.--A half-hardy perennial of the primrose tribe (Primula
Auricula), very popular in Europe, but little grown in America on
account of the hot, dry summers.
In this country auriculas are usually propagated by seed, as for
cineraria; but special varieties are perpetuated by offsets. Seeds sown
in February or March should give blooming plants for the next February
or March. Keep the plants cool and moist, and away from the direct sun
during the summer. Gardeners usually grow them in frames. In the fall,
they are potted into 3-in. or 4-in. pots, and made to bloom either in
frames as for violets or in a cool conservatory or greenhouse. In April,
after blooming has ceased, repot the plants and treat as the previous
year. As with most annual-blooming perennials, best results are to be
expected with year-old or two-year-old plants. Auriculas grow 6-8 in.
high. Colors white and many shades of red and blue.
Azaleas are excellent outdoor and greenhouse shrubs, and are
sometimes seen in windows. They are less grown in this country than in
Europe, largely because of our hot, dry summers and severe winters.
There are two common types or classes of azaleas: the hardy or Ghent
azaleas, and the Indian azaleas. The latter are the familiar
large-flowered azaleas of conservatories and window-gardens.
Ghent azaleas thrive in the open along the seacoast as far north as
southern New England. They require a sandy peaty soil, but are treated
as other shrubs are. The large flower-buds are liable to injury from the
warm suns of late winter and early spring, and to avoid this injury the
plants are often protected by covers or shades of brush. In the interior
country, little attempt is made to flower azaleas permanently in the
open, although they may be grown if carefully tended and well protected.
Both Ghent and Indian azaleas are excellent pot-plants for bloom in late
winter and spring. The plants are imported in great numbers from Europe
in fall, and it is better to buy these plants than to attempt to
propagate them. Pot them up in large-sized pots, keep them cool and
backward for a time until they are established, then take them into a
conservatory temperature in which carnations and roses thrive. They
should be potted in a soil of half peat or well-decayed mold and half
rich loam; add a little sand. Pot firmly, and be sure to provide
sufficient drainage. Keep off red spider by syringing.
After blooming, the plants may be thinned by pruning out the straggling
growths, and repotted. Set them in a frame or in a semi-shaded place
during summer, and see that they make a good growth. The wood should be
well ripened in the fall. After cold weather sets in, keep the Indian or
evergreen kinds half dormant by setting them in a cool, dull-lighted
cellar or pit, bringing them in when wanted for bloom. The Ghent or
deciduous kinds may be touched with frost without injury; and they may
be kept in a cellar until wanted.
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