Part 31 (1/2)

==RICINUS==

==Castor-oil Plant. Half-hardy annual==

Although this plant flowers freely, it is grown in the sub-tropical garden princ.i.p.ally for its n.o.ble ornamental foliage, and also in the shrubbery border, either alone or in conjunction with other fine subjects, such as Canna, Solanum, Nicotiana, and Wigandia. Plants of the dwarfer varieties may also be used with very decorative effect in conservatories and greenhouses during the summer and autumn months.

To have plants ready for making a show in early summer they must be raised as half-hardy annuals in February or March. From the commencement a rich soil and abundant supplies of water are necessary for the production of stately specimens. The seed is large, and may be put singly into pots, or three or four in each, and the latter is the usual practice. A temperature of about 60 will bring them up. If several plants are grown in a pot, they must be separated while quite young, and put into small pots filled with very rich soil. It is almost impossible to have the compost too rich, so long as drainage is quite safe. When the pot is full of roots, s.h.i.+ft to a larger size, and commence the process of hardening, in readiness for planting out in June. This is worth some care, for if the plant receives a check when put out, it may take a long time to recover, and then part of the brief growing season will be wasted. Many gardeners never raise Ricinus in heat, but trust entirely to a sowing in the open on the first day of May. The seeds are put in three inches deep, in groups of three or four, and finally the plants are thinned to one at each station.

Prepare the soil in advance by deep digging and the incorporation of an abundant supply of manure. The most effectual way of doing it is to take out the earth to a depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and fill in with decayed manure and loam, chiefly the former. Upon this put out the plant, or sow seed as may be determined. If this is too great a tax on resources, or the near presence of shrubs renders the proceeding impossible, drive a bar into the soil, which, if light, can be readily worked into a fair-sized hole. Fill this with rich stuff nearly to the top, and over it either put the plant or sow seed. A heavy top-dressing round each stem is also desirable, and the application of copious supplies of water will carry the nourishment down to the roots.

Sub-tropical plants are only a source of disappointment under n.i.g.g.ardly treatment, but they amply repay all the care and generosity which a liberal hand may lavish upon them. The plants will need the support of stakes to save them from injury in a high wind.

==SAINTPAULIA==

==Greenhouse perennial==

A very remarkable perennial, only four inches high, obtained from eastern tropical Africa. The plant has fleshy leaves, and the flowers, which are produced in cl.u.s.ters, somewhat resemble the Violet, but are much larger. Saintpaulia makes a beautiful table ornament, and a row of pot plants in full bloom forms a charming margin in conservatories, either for a stage or on the ground. The seedlings flower freely in about six months from date of sowing, and continue in bloom through the winter. Sowings may be made from January to March, in well-drained pots placed in a temperature of 60 to 65. On no account should the soil be allowed to become dry. Subsequently the plants may be treated as recommended for Gloxinias.

==SALPIGLOSSIS==

==Half-hardy annual==

A highly ornamental half-hardy annual. The finest strains have large, open flowers, exhibiting extraordinary combinations of colours which range from the palest sulphur-white to orange, scarlet, and purple-violet, all being more or less pencilled and veined with some strong contrasting colour.

If an early display is wanted, a start should be made at the end of February or beginning of March, by sowing on a moderate hot-bed. In May the plants will be ready for flowering quarters. Or sow in April in the open ground where the plants are to remain, taking care to thin severely, and the thinnings will be useful for dibbling in out-of-the-way comers, where they will furnish acceptable material for table decoration, for which purpose this striking flower is well adapted.

Salpiglossis make charming pot plants for the greenhouse and conservatory. For this purpose seed should be sown in August or September, and under cool-house treatment the plants will bloom profusely in the following spring.

==SALVIA==

==Hardy annual and half-hardy perennial==

From a genus including 450 species a small number of Salvias have won deserved popularity for beds and borders. In summer and early autumn the long spikes of brilliant flowers produced by Fireball and Scarlet Queen make an extremely attractive display, and =S. patens= is one of the most superb pure blue flowers seen in gardens. As a bedding plant =S.

argentea= is extensively grown for its silvery-white foliage, which completely covers the ground. These and other perennial varieties may be sown in pans during February and March for transfer to the open in May, and the plants need the usual treatment of half-hardy perennials.

A favourite annual variety is Blue Beard, growing eighteen inches high and presenting long spikes of bright purple bracts. The annual Salvias should also be sown in pans in February or March and transplanted in May; or seed may be sown in the open border during April.

==SCHIZANTHUS==

==The b.u.t.terfly Flower. Half-hardy annual==

At many leading horticultural displays in recent years ma.s.ses of Schizanthus of extraordinary beauty have been exhibited with striking success. In conservatories, greenhouses, and on dinner-tables the plants form conspicuous ornaments and they should be freely grown for general decorative purposes. On special occasions the pots may be plunged to create a brilliant show of bloom as temporary beds and they are also extremely attractive in hanging-baskets.

The usual time for sowing seed to insure fine specimens is the end of August or early in September. Either well-drained pots or shallow boxes, filled with a good potting compost, will answer for raising the seedlings. Sow thinly, on a smooth surface, and cover the seeds with finely sifted soil. When the young plants appear place the pots or boxes near the gla.s.s where they can have abundance of light and air, so that from the start the plants may be short and healthy. Seedlings that are thin and drawn are never worth the s.p.a.ce they occupy. Immediately they are large enough to handle, transfer to shallow boxes, allowing a s.p.a.ce of three inches to each plant. The compost to consist of sound loam and leaf-soil in equal proportions, with the addition of sufficient coa.r.s.e sand to render the mixture porous. For two or three days keep the boxes in a frame, which must remain closed and be shaded from suns.h.i.+ne until the seedlings are established, but remove the shading whenever possible; then give air freely, and on attaining a height of three inches the first stopping may be done. A fortnight later the plants will be ready for pots of the 60-size. Treat them as nearly hardy as weather may permit. Stop the shoots a second time when about six inches high, with the object of forming bushy plants capable of yielding a bountiful bloom. When the 60-pots are filled with roots transfer to the 48-size, and in due time the final s.h.i.+ft should be into pots of the 24-size.

Larger pots may, of course, be employed for very fine specimens. The compost for this final s.h.i.+ft ought to consist of two parts of rich loam, one part of leaf-soil, and one part of thoroughly decayed manure; the addition of sharp sand will be necessary. The stems to be tied out to stakes in good time to prevent injury. Just before the flowering period and while the plants are actually in bloom, weak liquid manure, instead of water, once or twice a week will be beneficial. A high temperature is not required, even in the winter months, to maintain Schizanthus in healthy condition. From 35 to 40 is all the heat they need; in fact, it is only requisite to keep frost at bay, and this near approach to hardy treatment will result in fine robust plants.