Chapter 8

New Holland Plants.--Place them in situations to enjoy a considerable share of air and light. All luxuriant shoots to be stopped, to maintain symmetry and uniformity of growth. A vigilant eye should be kept upon them almost daily, to see that neither mildew, green fly, nor other such enemies be allowed to injure them.

Orange Trees.--If they have been standing out during the summer, the sooner they are returned to their winter quarters the better. Clean the leaves, if necessary, and fresh surface the soil in which they are growing.

Succulents.--Cacti, Euphorbiae, and other such plants to be gradually curtailed in the supply of water as they approach the winter and their season of rest.

Tropaeolums.--If any of this beautiful tribe, particularly _T. tricolorum_ or _T. Brachyseras_ that have flowered early in the season, begin to grow, they should not be checked, but allowed to grow slowly through the winter; but if there is no appearance of growth--which is best for their future success--the roots should be kept dormant, in a cool place, with the soil about them quite dry, and protected from mice.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

Stove plants cannot be too cautiously watered late in the autumn. Nothing is now wanted but to keep the soil from getting quite dry. Slight fires to be made in the forenoons of dull and rainy days, not so much for the purpose of raising the temperature as for drying the house. Air to be given at all favourable opportunities, to maintain a healthy atmosphere. Several of the Orchids--viz., Aerides, Dendrobiums, Saccolabiums, Vandas, &c., may be encouraged by the application of a high temperature, with much moisture and less shading, to make further and sometimes considerable growth.

Cattleyas.--Young plants may also be encouraged to grow for some time longer; but older specimens should be reduced to a comparatively dormant state by a gradual diminution in the supply of water, and a decrease in temperature, with less shading.

Stanhopeas.--To be treated as advised for Cattleyas.

FORCING-HOUSES.

Continue to make fresh beds as formerly directed, and prepare fresh material for successional ones. To ensure success it is advisable never to allow the manure to be put together in a dry state, nor to get too far exhausted, but in that medium state when the strong fermentation has passed off, and a moderate heat is likely to remain in it for some time. The temperature to be kept from 60 deg. to 65 deg., with the admission of air for several hours daily.

Cherries.--Whether they are in pots or in borders, and have arrived at, or are only approaching, a comparatively dormant state when but little attention will be necessary, still that little will be required to keep them clear of insects and of the leaves as they become sufficiently ripe, when they come readily off with a touch. The old surface of the soil of those grown in pots to be removed, and the same quantity of fresh, in a rough state, put in its place. Remove them without further delay, if not already done, as advised in the early part of the month, to the north side of a wall or hedge until wanted; or if not wanted until a sharp frost sets in, they should be protected from its icy grasp.

Figs.--Trees in pots to be treated as advised for Cherries.

Melons.--Although the weather may have been favourable for ripening the late fruit, they will in some places still require the assistance of a good top and bottom heat, and a large portion of air in the middle of the day.

Peaches.--Trees in pots to be pruned, and treated as recommended for Cherries. No time should be lost if fresh trees are to be planted in the place of any that may be worn out. The choice should be made of young trees that are in a bearing state, and all the better if they had been moved last autumn. In pruning the trees, after the leaves have dropped, be sure not to leave them too crowded; but if the summer pruning, as frequently advised, have been properly done, but very little, if any, will be required now. To remove the leaves from the trees in the early houses it is advisable to shake them daily, and sometimes to brush them gently with a few pieces of birch-spray tied in a bundle. All foreright shoots to be removed, and the trees in the late houses kept free from insects.

Pines.--Persevere in former directions as to general routine management. Whilst fine weather continues air may be given liberally; and shut up earlier in the afternoon to secure as much sun heat as possible. Plants swelling their fruit to be assisted with a brisk temperature, both at top and bottom, from 65 deg. to 70 deg. at night, allowing it to rise to 80 deg. on sunny days with a steady bottom heat of about 80 deg.. When watering is necessary let it be given in sufficient quantity to moisten the whole of the soil. The suckers and crowns that were potted in the summer months should now be shifted, if they have grown freely; they should then be plunged in a brisk bottom heat in the succession-house or pit, from which the plants have been removed, to the fruiting-house. Any remaining suckers on the old stools to be taken off, potted, and plunged in a brisk heat in the nursing pit.

Vines.--The early house, or the first lot of Vines in pots, if it is intended to start them in November or December, to be pruned, that sufficient time may be allowed to heal up the wounds, and the buds to become more plump and prominent. The border of the early house to be thatched with straw, or covered with any other such material, to protect it from heavy rains. It is also advisable in some situations to cover the borders of the houses in which it is intended to keep Grapes late, to prevent the soil getting saturated about the roots. Continue to look over ripe fruit, cutting out the mouldy or tainted berries; applying gentle fires only when necessary to expel damps, with a free circulation of air--as a warm, close atmosphere is as injurious as damp. Where the long-rod system is adopted, the old shoots should be cut down as soon as the fruit is gathered; and, whatever system is adopted, if there are any shoots to remove they should be taken out as soon as they can be spared; the ends of the remaining shoots, if green, to be cut off. Continue to pay strict attention to late Grapes, look over them daily, and cut out every decayed berry.

OCTOBER.

FIRST WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

The plants when newly set in the house are very liable to lose a portion of their leaves: these should be removed, and the plants kept supplied with water, so as to preserve the soil moderately moist throughout. Air to be given every day, and also a portion at night, if the weather continue mild.

Bulbs (Dutch).--All kinds to be immediately potted and plunged in a convenient situation ready to be removed, when wanted, to the forcing-house or pit. If potted and treated as advised some time ago, a few of them may now be excited into growth.

Chrysanthemums.--Take up the plants from the open ground; choose a showery day for the purpose. After potting to be well watered and shaded for a few days, then placed in a cold pit, or removed to the greenhouse, and neatly tied to stakes. The buds to be thinned for a fine display.

Gladioli.--Pot them, and Ixias, Sparaxis, &c.; and to be watered sparingly until they begin to grow.

Lily of the Valley.--Pot some, to be treated as advised for Bulbs, that a regular supply of this favourite flower may be had during winter.

Shrubs.--Get in, if not already done. A supply of American plants to be potted, as advised a fortnight ago, and plunged in old tan until wanted for forcing.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

Continue to act in unison with the season, allowing the temperature to decline slightly as light decreases. Although the Aerides, Dendrobiums, &c., will continue to enjoy a temperature of 80 deg. by day and 70 deg. by night, the Cattleyas will require 10 deg. or 15 deg. less to bring them to a healthy state of rest; for if kept in constant excitement they will continue to sprout buds from their pseudo-bulbs, which generally adds to the size of the plant at the expense of the blooms.

Achimenes picta.--Promote their growth by every attention, also _Gesnera zebrina_, which adds much to the beauty of the stove during winter.

Begonias.--Encourage the different kinds for winter flowering by giving them larger pots if required.

Euphorbia fulgens and splendens.--These are also worthy of especial attention, as they contribute to enliven the house at the dullest season of the year when flowers are scarce.

FORCING-HOUSES.

Cucumbers.--To prolong the season of fine crisp fruit it is necessary to keep the plants clean and healthy by giving them plenty of top and bottom heat.

Figs.--The trees having no fruit likely to come to perfection, and whose leaves are fading, to be kept cool and dry, to induce an early rest. A seasonal rest should also be given by the same means to trees in pots, that they may be in a fit state for forcing early.

Melons.--Continue to maintain a warm, dry atmosphere, to give flavour to the fruit. They will require little or no water after this.

Peaches.--Vacancies to be filled with trees from the walls on the open ground. This is a plan preferable to having young trees from the nursery, which are usually some years in covering the space allotted to them. Where the lights have been wholly removed, after being repaired and painted, they should be put upon the houses to protect the trees and borders from unfavourable weather.

Pines.--Ripening fruit to be kept in a dry, warm atmosphere, to give it flavour. The swelling fruit to have a warm, moist atmosphere. Water to be given to the plants cautiously; every one to be examined before it receives any, and manure water to be dispensed with altogether. The heat of the dung-pits to be kept up by renewing the linings. The crowns and suckers that are planted in the tan to have no water; all they require is attention in giving air and keeping up the heat.

Vines.--Attention to be given to the young Vines in pots that are intended for forcing, that they may not become soddened, which would injure the young roots considerably. Where netting or any other such material had been used over the lights that open in houses containing fruit, to prevent the ingress of wasps, it may be taken down as little mischief will now be apprehended from their attacks. Mice are sometimes very troublesome in vineries at this season, and will spoil a whole house of Grapes in a short time if not prevented. Traps should, therefore, be kept set, and every means used to prevent their ingress from the garden. Cover the border when the trees are planted outside, with a good coat of fern or any other such material before they become saturated and chilled by the autumnal rains, to be laid on thickly in layers, beginning at the front of the border, the whole to be covered with a thin layer of good straw, and fastened down as a thatcher does the straw on stacks.

SECOND WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

The plants being cleaned, surfaced, staked, and arranged, they will require but little beyond the ordinary attentions of watering and regulating the admission of air. Plants, when fresh surfaced, sometimes droop without any apparent cause, which generally arises from the roots being very dry; the fresh soil absorbing most of the moisture, and the water escaping between the pot and ball of earth. This is usually brought on by surfacing the plants when dry: as soon, therefore, as the consequences are observed, the plants should be examined, and sufficient water given to wet the ball of earth thoroughly.

Chrysanthemums.--Treat them without further delay as advised in a late Calendar. An occasional and moderate supply of clear liquid manure will assist to develope their flowers to greater perfection. If any indication of mildew appear an application of the flowers of sulphur, when the foliage is damp, will banish it.

Fuchsias.--Encourage the young stock to continue their blooming by the application of a little weak liquid manure. When the flowering is over, and they have lost most of their leaves, they may then be set aside in any corner free from frost for the winter. To be kept moderately dry.

Myrtles.--These and other such evergreen plants requiring protection to be placed in pits or frames, or in any other structure, as near the glass as possible. To be watered regularly; but, like all other plants, care must be taken that they do not get too much at any time during the winter.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

The plants that have taken their rest should be shaken out, and repotted; pruning back such as require it, and placing them in a gentle bottom heat. The Orchids showing bloom--such as the Cypripediums, _Phajus grandifolius_ and _Stenorhynchus speciosus_--to be supplied with plenty of heat and moisture. Some of the other sorts--such as the Catasetums, the Cycnoches, Lycastes, &c., that are approaching their dormant state--to be accommodated, if possible, with a drier and cooler atmosphere. All fast-growing plants--such as Clerodendrums, Vincas, &c.--that require large pots in summer, to be now turned out of their pots, the soil to be shaken from them, and repotted into the smallest sized pots that will contain them, without pruning the roots much at this time.

Climbers.--Some of the most rambling will now want some pruning, more especially where they obstruct the light in any material degree. The Combretums, Echites, Ipomsaeas, Mandevillas, late-blooming Passifloras, Pergularias, Stephanotises, Thunbergias, &c., which are still growing, to be regulated with a more gentle hand, cutting out but little more than barren shoots, and drawing the remainder into somewhat closer festoons, to allow the more free admission of sunlight into the interior of the house.

FORCING-HOUSES.

Cucumbers.--The plants for a winter supply of fruit should now be making progress. Keep the vines thin and use every means to keep up a good heat, with liberal admissions of air at all favourable opportunities, to get them strong and vigorous against the winter months. Stop mildew by dusting the leaves with sulphur.

Mushrooms.--Succession-beds to be made according to previous directions. Give a good sprinkling to those in bearing, to produce a genial humidity; and turn the covering material occasionally, to keep them sweet and free from mouldiness.

Peaches.--When the trees in the early house are pruned, it is advisable to cover the cuts, when dry, with white lead, to prevent the admission of air and water to the wound. Wash the trellis, whitewash the flues and walls, and make every part of the house clean. Dress the trees with a mixture of soft soap and sulphur in hot water; to be well rubbed in with a brush or sponge.

Vines.--Continue to look over the ripe Grapes, cutting out any decaying berries. If the fruit is to be kept for any length of time, and if any plants, through want of other accommodation, must be kept under the Vines, they should be watered in the morning, using a little fire heat in the day, with air, to expel damp before night. Whatever system of pruning is adopted, whether the long-rod or spur, it is advisable, when the brown scale is visible, to take off the loose bark, to wash them, and the wires and rafters, with soft soap dissolved in hot water, using a hard brush, being careful not to injure the buds; afterwards to apply hot lime, made to the consistency of thick paint.

THIRD WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

The decline of temperature and less watering must go on progressively, more especially in dull weather, with free ventilation at all favourable opportunities. If the weather be cold, use a little fire-heat occasionally during the day, especially where there are many plants in bloom, that ventilation may be given to expel damp and stagnant air.

Cinerarias.--Plants that have filled their small pots with roots to be shifted, according to their size and strength, into larger pots. The compost to be one part turfy loam, one part peat or leaf mould, and one part rotten horsedung. They delight on a cool bottom, and will thrive tolerably well in a cold pit, protected from frost during the winter. They should be placed on a dry bottom of coal ashes, and kept as near to the glass as possible.

Heaths.--They may, if there is no room for them in the greenhouse, be kept in a cold pit, or frame, during the winter. Water to be given carefully on the forenoon of a fine day. Frost to be excluded by mats, or other covering; but they can be grown sufficiently hardy by free exposure to bear a few degrees of frost without injury if they are shaded from the sun's rays until gradually thawed.

Mignonette.--Sow, to come into bloom about the end of February. The soil to be rich, light, and the pots to have a good supply of crocks at the bottom, as the success of growing this favourite plant through the winter will depend in a great measure upon the drainage and keeping the plants dry and untouched by frosts. Those who have a hotbed frame will find it useful to start the seeds by moderate heat. Others who have no such convenience may place their pots in a cold frame in a sheltered situation, and upon a floor of rough stones overlaid with ashes.

Pelargoniums.--The more dormant they can be kept during the winter the better. Therefore, only a very moderate supply of water should be given to keep them from flagging, and a liberal supply of air at all favourable opportunities.

Verbenas.--To be placed on swing or other shelves as near to the glass as possible. They require plenty of air, the extirpation of green fly, and a moderate supply of water to preserve them in a healthy condition.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.

Ferns.--Sow the seeds, or spores, when ripe. A convenient sized pot to be filled with sandy peat, finishing with a few rough lumpy pieces to form an uneven surface. The seeds to be shaken over the tops and sides of these pieces of soil, by which there is more probability of some of them vegetating than if they had been sown on a level surface where the whole of the seed would be subjected to the same kind of treatment, which might with ordinary care be either too wet or too dry. The pot to be set in a saucer that contains a little water, which will feed the whole mass with sufficient moisture without a drop being required on the surface of the pot. The seedlings succeed best in a cool part of the stove where evaporation can be most effectually prevented; but they do not like to be continually kept close under a bell-glass.

FORCING-HOUSES.

Cucumbers.--Top dress the plants in pots or boxes with leaf mould, supplying those that are rooting freely with an abundance of atmospheric moisture, and free circulation of air, stopping at every second joint, and setting the fruit as the blossom expands.

Strawberries.--It is usual, when the stock of plants in pots is large, to lay them on their sides on the south side of a wall or fence, packed in dry coal ashes, and topped with boards, or any other such covering, to protect them from heavy falls of rain until they are wanted for forcing.

FOURTH WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

As fresh air is indispensable for the health of plants, and as fogs occur about this time, it is essential to apply a little fire-heat during the day, to expel damps, and to cause a desirable activity in the circulation of the air. Attend to cleanliness, picking off dead leaves, and the destruction of insects.

Bulbs.--Pot Hyacinths, Narcissi, Tulips, &c., to flower late in the spring; also the Ixiae and Gladioli, and various other Irideae; and also Oxalis, Lachenalia, &c. They delight in light open soil composed of peat, loam, and sand, and rotten leaf mould as an addition to, or substitute for, the peat.

Cinerarias.--Give the final shift to the plants intended to flower as specimens in early spring.

Chrysanthemums to be treated with manure water occasionally. All suckers and spindly shoots to be removed, and the flowers to be thinned.

Pelargoniums.--A little fire-heat by day, with plenty of air, will be of service to drive off the damp and stagnant atmosphere caused by heavy rains. Watering, if necessary, to be given in the morning; the principal shoots to be tied into a regular form, and the weakly and useless ones removed; to be placed near the glass, to encourage a sturdy, short-jointed growth. Two ounces of the Gishurst compound, dissolved in one gallon of soft water, will speedily banish the green fly.

FORCING-HOUSES.

Cucumbers.--Keep them tied in as they grow; stop the side-shoots at the second joint; allow the leader to grow to the required length before stopping it; and pinch off the young fruit if you think they are not sufficiently strong to carry a crop.

Peaches.--Prune and dress the trees as soon as they lose their leaves. If the lights are still off any of the early houses the sooner they are put on the better. An abundance of air to be given.

Pines.--The temperature of the fruit-swelling plants to range from 60 deg. to 65 deg. at night, with an increase during the day in accordance with the state of the weather, whether bright and sunny, or rainy, foggy, or frosty; and the succession plants a few degrees less. Humidity to be considerably reduced, as it tends at this season to produce weak and immature growth. The bark-beds of strong succession plants that are required to start into fruit early, to be renewed by having a small quantity added to the surface of the bed. Pits heated by dung will require covering with mats at night: when covered let every other light be slightly raised, to allow the steam to pass off. When the covering is off it will escape through the laps of the glass. Take advantage of all opportunities for giving a little air. If it can be done every day, so much the better for the health of the plants.

Vines.--The Vines in late houses that will not require to be pruned for some time should have the tops or other portions of the immature wood cut off, to give strength and plumpness to the back eyes. If the houses are dry, kept free from drip, and the scissors employed amongst decaying berries, the fruit that now remains will be in a good condition for holding on for a long time.

NOVEMBER.

FIRST WEEK.

GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY.

Now that the dull, foggy days and sharp frosty nights have arrived, it is necessary to keep all plants that have finished their growth free from excitement, and rather dry at their roots. A gentle fire to be applied during the day, which will allow the advantage of a free circulation of fresh air, and, by closing up early in the afternoon, will retain sufficient heat to resist the encroachments of ordinary frosts during the night. But if the frost should set in severely, night coverings, if possible, should be applied in preference to fire-heat.

American Plants, &c.--Pot, if not done, Rhododendrons, Kalmias, hardy Azaleas, Lily of the Valley, and other plants usually required for winter forcing.

Chrysanthemums.--They will require an abundance of air to prevent the flowers expanding weakly. Keep them well supplied with water, and the leaves in a healthy state; for a great portion of their beauty depends upon so doing. They may sometimes be seen almost entirely denuded of leaves when in flower, which considerably detracts from what should be their ornamental appearance in the greenhouse or conservatory.

Primroses (Chinese).--Give a few of the strongest and most forward a shift into larger pots. The double varieties are very useful for cutting where bouquets are much in request, as they do not drop the flowers like the single varieties.

STOVE AND ORCHID-HOUSE.