Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by L. H. Bailey

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The requirements of the calla are rich soil and an abundance of water,
with the roots confined in as small a space as possible. If a too large
pot is used, the growth of foliage will be very rank, at the expense of
the flowers; but by using a smaller-sized pot and applying liquid
manure, the flowers will be produced freely. A 6-inch pot will be large
enough for all but an exceptionally large bulb or tuber. If desired, a
number of tubers may be grown together in a larger pot. The soil should
be very rich but fibrous--at least one third well-rotted manure will be
none too much, mixed with equal parts of fibrous loam and sharp sand.
The tubers should be planted firmly and the pots set in a cool place to
make roots. After the roots have partially filled the pot, the plant may
be brought into heat and given a sunny position and an abundance of
water. An occasional sponging or washing of the leaves will free them
from dust. No other treatment will be required until the flowers appear,
when liquid manure may be given.

The plant will thrive all the better at this time if the pot is placed
in a saucer of water. In fact, the calla will grow well in an aquarium.

The calla may be grown through the entire year, but it will prove more
satisfactory, both in leaf and flower, if rested through part of the
summer. This may be done by laying the pots on their sides in a dry
shady place under shrubbery, or if in the open slightly covered with
straw or other litter to keep the roots from becoming extremely dry. In
September or October they may be shaken out, cleaning off all the old
soil, and repotted, as already mentioned. The offsets may be taken off
and set in small pots and given a year's growth, resting them the second
year and having them in flower that winter.

The spotted calla has variegated foliage and is a good plant for mixed
collections. This blooms in the spring, which will lengthen the season
of calla bloom. The treatment of this is similar to that of the
common calla.

CAMELLIAS are half-hardy woody plants, blooming in late winter and
spring. Years ago camellias were very popular, but they have been
crowded out by the informal flowers of recent times. Their time will
come again.

During the blooming season keep them cool--say not over 50 deg. at night
and a little higher by day. When blooming is done they begin to grow;
then give them more heat and plenty of water. See that they are well
ripened by winter with large plump flower-buds. If they are neglected or
kept too dry during their growing season (in summer) they will drop
their buds in fall. The soil for camellias should be fibrous and
fertile, compounded of rotted sod, leafmold, old cow manure, and
sufficient sand for good drainage. Always screen them from direct
sunlight. Do not try to force them in early winter, after the growth
has ceased. Their summer quarters may be in a protected place in the
open air.

Camellias are propagated by cuttings in winter, which should give
blooming plants in two years.

CANNAS are among the most ornamental and important plants used in
decorative gardening. They make fine herbaceous hedges, groups, masses,
and--when desirable--good center plants for beds. They are much used for
subtropical effects (see Plate V).

Cannas grow 3 to 10 feet or more high. Formerly they were valued chiefly
for their foliage, but since the introduction, in 1884, of the Crozy
Dwarf French type with its showy flowers, cannas are grown as much for
their bloom as for their foliage effects. The flowers of these new kinds
are as large as those of gladioli, and are of various shades of yellow
and red, with banded and spotted forms. These flowering kinds grow about
3 feet high. The older forms are taller. In both sections there are
green-leaved and dark coppery-red-leaved varieties.

The canna may be grown from seed and had in bloom the first year by
sowing in February or March, in boxes or pots placed in hotbeds or a
warm house, first soaking the seeds in warm water for a short time or
filing a small notch through the coat of each seed (avoiding the round
germinating point). It requires two years to raise strong plants of the
old-fashioned tall cannas from seed. Sow in light, sandy soil, where the
earth may be kept at 70 deg. till after germination. After the plants have
got well up, transplant them to about 3 or 4 inches apart, or place in
pots 3 inches wide, in good rich soil. They may now be kept at 60 deg..

The majority of cannas, however, are grown from pieces of the roots
(rhizomes), each piece having a bud. The roots may be divided at any
time in the winter, and if early flowers and foliage are wanted, the
pieces may be planted in a hotbed or warmhouse in early April, started
into growth, and planted out where wanted as soon as the ground has
warmed and all danger of frost is over. A hardening of the plants, by
leaving the sash off the hotbeds, or setting the plants in shallow boxes
and placing the boxes in a sheltered position through May, not
forgetting a liberal supply of water, will fit the plants to take kindly
to the final planting out.

Plant out roots or started plants when there is no longer danger of
frost. For mass effects, the plants may stand twelve to eighteen inches
apart; for individual bloom twenty to twenty-four inches or more. Some
gardeners plant them not closer than twenty to twenty-four inches for
mass beds, if the soil is good and the plants strong. Give them a warm
sunny place.

The old (foliage) sorts may be left out late to ripen up the fleshy
root-stocks. Cut the tops off immediately after frost. The roots are
safe in the ground as long as it does not freeze. Dig, and dry or "cure"
for a few days, then winter them like potatoes in the cellar. It is a
common mistake to dig canna roots too early.

The French sorts are commonly thought to keep best if kept growing
somewhat during the winter; but if managed right, they may be carried
over like the others. Immediately after frost, cut off the tops next the
ground. Cover the stumps with a little soil and leave the roots in the
ground till well ripened. Clean them after digging, and cure or dry them
for a week or more in the open air and sun, taking them indoors at
night. Then place them away from frost in a cool, dry place.

CARNATIONS are now among the most popular florists' flowers; but it
is not generally known that they be easily grown in the outdoor garden.
They are of two types, the outdoor or garden varieties, and the indoor
or forcing kinds. Normally, the carnation is a hardy perennial, but the
garden kinds, or marguerites, are usually treated as annuals. The
forcing kinds are flowered but once, new plants being grown each year
from cuttings.

Marguerite carnations bloom the year the seed is sown, and with a slight
protection will bloom freely the second year. They make attractive house
plants if potted in the fall. The seeds of these carnations should be
sown in boxes in March and the young plants set out as early as
possible, pinching out the center of the plant to make them branch
freely. Give the same space as for garden pinks.

The winter-flowering carnations have become prime favorites with all
flower lovers, and a collection of winter house-plants seems incomplete
without them.

Carnations grow readily from cuttings made of the suckers that form
around the base of the stem, the side shoots of the flowering stem, or
the main shoots before they show flower-buds. The cuttings from the base
make the best plants in most cases. These cuttings may be taken from a
plant at any time through the fall or winter, rooted in sand and potted
up, to be held in pots until the planting out time in the spring,
usually in April, or any time when the ground is ready to handle. Care
should be taken to pinch out the tops of the young plants while growing
in the pot, and later while in the ground, causing them to grow stocky
and send out new growths along the stem. The young plants should be
grown cool, a temperature of 45 deg. suiting them well. Attention should be
given to spraying the cuttings each day while in the house to keep down
the red spider, which is very partial to the carnation.

In the summer, the plants are grown in the field, and not in pots, being
transplanted from the cutting-box. The soil in which they are to be
planted should be moderately rich and loose. Clean cultivation should be
given throughout the summer. Frequently pinch out the tops.

The plants are taken up in September and potted firmly, and well
watered; then set in a cool, partially shaded situation until root
growth has started, and watering the plant as it shows need of water.

The usual living-room conditions as to moisture and heat are not such as
the carnation demands, and care must be taken to overcome the dryness by
spraying the foliage and setting the plant in a position not exposed to
the direct heat of a stove or the sun. In commercial houses, it is not
often necessary to spray established plants. Pick off most or all of the
side buds, in order to add to the size of the leading flowers. After all
is said, it is probably advisable in most cases to purchase the plants
when in bloom from a florist, and after blooming either throw them away
or store them for planting out in the spring, when they will bloom
throughout the summer.

If conditions are right, the rust should not be very troublesome, if the
start was made with clean stock. Keep all rusted leaves picked off.

CENTURY PLANTS or agaves are popular plants for the window-garden
or conservatory, requiring little care and growing slowly, thus needing
repotting only at long intervals. When the plants have outgrown their
usefulness as house-plants, they are still valuable as porch
decorations, for plunging in rock-work, or about rustic nooks. The
striped-leaved variety is the most desirable, but the normal type, with
its blue-gray leaves, is highly ornamental.

There are a number of dwarf species of agave that are not so common,
although they may be grown with ease. Such plants add novelty to a
collection, and may be used through the summer as noted above or plunged
with cactus in a bed of tropical plants. All succeed well in loam and
sand in equal parts, with a little leafmold in the case of the small
varieties.

The more common species are propagated by suckers from around the base
of the established plants. A few kinds having no suckers must be grown
from seed.

As to watering, they demand no special care. Agaves will not stand frost
to any extent.

When the head throws up its great stem and blooms, it may exhaust itself
and die; but this may be far short of a century. Some species bloom more
than once.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS are of many kinds, some being annual flower-garden
plants, some perennial border subjects, and one form is the universal
florists' plant. In chrysanthemums are now included the pyrethrums.

The annual chrysanthemums must not be confounded with the well-known
fall-flowering kinds, as they will prove a disappointment if one expects
large flowers of all colors and shapes. The annuals are mostly
coarse-growing plants, with an abundance of bloom and a rank smell. The
flowers are single in most cases, and not very lasting. They are useful
for massing and also for cut-flowers. They are among the easiest of
hardy annuals to grow. The stoniest part of the garden will usually suit
them. Colors white and shades of yellow, the flowers daisy-like; 1-3 ft.

Amongst perennial kinds, _Chrysanthemum frutescens_ is the well-known
Paris daisy or marguerite, one of the most popular of the genus. This
makes a good pot-plant for the window-garden, blooming throughout the
winter and spring months. It is usually propagated by cuttings, which,
if taken in spring, will give large blooming plants for the next winter.
Gradually transfer to larger pots or boxes, until the plants finally
stand in 6-inch or 8-inch pots or in small soap boxes. There is a fine
yellow-flowered variety. The marguerite daisy is much grown out-of-doors
in California.

The hardy perennial kinds are small-flowered, late-blooming plants,
known to many old people as "artemisias." They have been improved of
late years, and they are very satisfactory plants of easy culture. The
plants should be renewed from seed every year or two.

In variety of form and color, and in size of bloom, the florists'
chrysanthemum is one of the most wonderful of plants. It is a late
autumn flower, and it needs little artificial heat to bring it to
perfection. The great blooms of the exhibitions are produced by growing
only one flower to a plant and by feeding the plant heavily. It is
hardly possible for the amateur to grow such specimen flowers as the
professional florist or gardener does; neither is it necessary. A
well-grown plant with fourteen to twenty flowers is far more
satisfactory as a window-plant than a long, stiff stem with only one
immense flower at the apex. The culture is simple, much more so than
that of many of the plants commonly grown for house decoration. Although
the season of bloom is short, the satisfaction of having a fall display
of flowers before the geraniums, begonias, and other house-plants have
recovered from their removal from out of doors, repays all efforts. Very
good plants can be grown under a temporary shed cover, as shown in Fig.
268. The roof need not necessarily be of glass. Under such a cover,
also, potted plants, in bloom, may be set for protection when the
weather becomes too cold.

Cuttings taken in March or April, planted out in the border in May, well
tended through the summer and lifted before frost in September, will
bloom in October or November. The ground in which the plants are to
bloom should be moderately rich and moist. The plants may be tied to
stakes. When the buds show, all but the center one of each cluster on
the leading shoots should be picked off, as also the small lateral
branches. A thrifty bushy plant thus treated will usually have flowers
large enough to show the character of the variety, also numbers enough
to make a fine display.

After blooming, the plants are lifted from the border. As to the
receptacle into which to put them, it need not be a flower-pot. A pail
or soap-box, with holes bored for drainage, will suit the plant just as
well, and by covering the box with cloth or paper the difference will
not be noticed.

If cuttings are not to be had, young plants may be bought of the
florists and treated in the manner described. Buy them in midsummer
or earlier.

It is best not to attempt to flower the same plant two seasons. After
the plant has bloomed, the top may be cut down, and the box set in a
cellar and kept moderately dry. In February or March, bring the plant to
the sitting-room window and let the shoots start from the root. These
shoots are taken for cuttings to grow plants for the fall bloom.

CINERARIA is a tender greenhouse subject, but it may be grown as a
house-plant, although the conditions necessary to the best results are
difficult to secure outside a glasshouse.

The conditions for cinerarias are a cool temperature, frequent
repotting, and guarding against the attacks of the greenfly. Perhaps the
last is the most difficult, and with one having no facilities for
fumigating, it will be almost impossible to prevent the difficulty. A
living room usually has too dry air for cinerarias.

The seed, which is very minute, should be sown in August or September to
have plants in bloom in January or February. Sow the seed on the surface
of fine soil and water very lightly to settle the seeds into the soil. A
piece of glass or a damp cloth may be spread over the pot or box in
which the seeds are sown, to remain until the seeds are up. Always keep
the soil damp, but not wet. When the seedlings are large enough to
repot, they should be potted singly in 2-or 3-inch pots. Before the
plants have become pot-bound, they should again be repotted into larger
pots, until they are in at least 6-inch pots in which to bloom.

In all this time, they should be grown cool and, if not possible to
fumigate them with tobacco, the pots should stand on tobacco stems,
which should be moist at all times. The general practice, in order to
have bushy plants, is to pinch out the center when the flower-buds show,
causing the lateral branches to start, which they are slow to do if the
central stem is allowed to grow. Plants bloom but once.

CLEMATIS.--One of the best of woody climbing vines, the common _C.
Flammula, Virginiana, paniculata_ and others being used frequently to
cover division walls or fences, growing year after year without any care
and producing quantities of flowers. _C. paniculata_ is now planted very
extensively. The panicles of star-shaped flowers entirely cover the
vine and have a pleasant fragrance. It is one of the best of all
fall-flowering vines, and hardy north; clings well to a
chicken-wire trellis.

The large-flowered section, of which Jackmani is perhaps the best known,
is very popular for pillar or porch climbers. The flowers of this
section are large and showy, running from pure white, through blue, to
scarlet. Of this class, a serviceable purple is Jackmani; white, Henryi
(Fig. 266); blue, Ramona; crimson, Madame E. Andre.

A deep, mellow, fertile soil, naturally moist, will suit the
requirements of clematis. In dry times apply water freely, particularly
for the large-flowered kinds. Also provide trellis or other support as
soon as they begin to run. Clematis usually blooms on the wood of the
season: therefore prune in winter or early spring, in order to secure
strong new flowering shoots. The large-flowered kinds should be cut back
to the ground each year; some other kinds may be similarly treated
unless they are wanted for permanent bowers.

The clematis root disease is the depredation of a nematode or eel-worm.
It is seldom troublesome in ground that thoroughly freezes, and this may
be the reason why it so often fails when planted against buildings.

COLEUS.--The commonest "foliage plant" in window-gardens. It was
used very extensively at one time in ornamental bedding and ribbon
borders, but owing to its being tender has lost in favor, and its place
is largely taken by other plants.

Coleus is grown with the greatest ease from cuttings or slips. Take
cuttings only from vigorous and healthy plants. It may also be grown
from seed, although the types have not become fixed, and a large number
of differently marked plants may be had from the same packet. This would
not be a drawback in the window-garden, unless a uniform effect is
desired; in fact, the best results are often secured from seeds. Sow the
seed in gentle heat in March.

Grow new plants each year, and throw the old ones away.

CROCUS (see _Bulbs_).--Crocus is one of the best of spring bulbs,
easily grown and giving good satisfaction either in the border or
scattered through the lawn. They are also forced for winter. They are
so cheap and lasting that they may be used in quantity. A border of
crocuses along the edges of walks, little clumps of them in the lawn, or
masses in a bed, give the first touch of color as the spring opens.

A sandy soil suits the crocus admirably. Plant in the fall, in the open,
3 to 4 inches deep. When they show signs of failing, take up the bulbs
and reset them. They tend to rise out of the ground, because the new
bulb or corm forms on the top of the old one. They run out on lawns in
two or three years. If best results are desired, it is well to renew the
bed occasionally by buying new bulbs. Crocus beds may be filled later in
the season with quick-growing annuals. It is important that only the
best flowering bulbs be secured.

They may be forced with ease, planted in pots or shallow boxes, put away
in a cool place and brought into the house at any time through the
winter. A low temperature will bring them into bloom in perfection in
about four weeks from the time they are brought in. They can be had in
the window-garden in this way, opening in the sunshine.

CROTON.--Under this name many varieties and so-called species of
Codiaeum are grown for conservatory decoration, and latterly for foliage
bedding in the open. The colors and shapes of the leaves are very
various and attractive. The crotons make good window-garden subjects,
although they are very liable to the attack of the mealy bug.

The plants should be given an abundance of light in order to bring out
their fine colors; but it is usually advisable to screen them from the
direct rays of the sun when they are grown under glass. If the red
spider or the mealy bug attack them, they may be syringed with tobacco
water. Plants that are propagated indoors in winter may be massed in
beds out of doors in summer, where they make very striking effects. Give
them strong deep soil, and be sure that they are syringed frequently
enough on the underside of the leaves to keep down the red spider. If
the plants have been gradually subjected to strong light before they are
taken out of doors, they will stand the full sunlight and will develop
their rich colors to perfection. In the fall they may be taken up, cut
back, and used for window-garden or conservatory subjects.

Crotons are shrubs or small trees, and they may be transferred into
large pots or tubs and grown into large tree-like specimens. Old and
scraggly specimens should be thrown away.

Crotons are propagated readily by cuttings of half-ripened wood any time
in winter or spring.

CYCLAMEN.--A tender greenhouse tuberous plant, sometimes seen in
the window-garden. The Persian cyclamen is best for the
house-gardener to grow.

Cyclamens may be grown from seed sown in April or September in soil
containing a large proportion of sand and leafmold. If sown in
September, they should be wintered in a coolhouse. In May they should be
potted into larger pots and placed in a shaded frame, and by July will
have become large enough for their flowering pot, which should be either
5-inch or 6-inch. They should be brought into the house before danger of
frost, and grown cool until through flowering. A temperature of 55 deg.
suits them while in flower. After flowering, they will need a rest for a
short time, but should not become very dry, or the bulb will be injured.
When they start into growth, they should have the old soil shaken off
and be potted into smaller pots. At no time should more than half the
tuber be under the soil.

April-sown plants should be similarly treated. Cyclamens should bloom in
about fifteen months from seed. The seed germinates very slowly.

Tubers large enough to flower the first year may be purchased from the
seedsmen at moderate prices; and unless one has facilities for growing
the seedlings for a year, purchase of the tubers will give the best
satisfaction. Secure new tubers, for old ones are not so good.

The soil best suited to the cyclamen is one containing two parts
leafmold, one part each of sand and loam.

DAHLIA is an old favorite which, on account of its formal flowers,
has been in disfavor for a few years, although it has always held a
place in the rural districts. Now, however, with the advent of the
cactus and semi-cactus types (or loose-flowered forms), and the
improvement of the singles, it again has taken a front rank among late
summer flowers, coming in just in advance of the chrysanthemum.

[Illustration: XVIII. Cornflower or bachelor's button. _Centaurea
Cyanus._]

The single varieties may be grown from seed, but the double sorts
should be grown from cuttings of young stems or from division of the
roots. If cuttings are to be made, it will be necessary to start the
roots early, either in a hotbed or house. When the growths have reached
4 or 5 inches, they may be cut from the plant and rooted in sand. Care
should be taken to cut just below a joint, as a cutting made between two
joints will not form tubers. The most rapid method of propagation of
named varieties is to grow from cuttings in this way.

In growing the plants from roots, the best plan is to place the whole
root in gentle heat, covering slightly. When the young growth has
started, the roots may be taken up, divided, and planted out 3 to 4 feet
apart. This plan will insure a plant from each piece of root, whereas if
the roots are divided while dormant, there is danger of not having a bud
at the end of each piece, in which case no growth will start; the roots
are sometimes cut into pieces while dormant, however, but one should be
sure that a piece of old stem with bud is on each piece.

One objection to the old dahlia was its lateness of bloom. But by
starting the roots early in a frame, or in boxes that are covered at
night, the plants may be had in flower several weeks earlier than usual.
They may be started in April, or at least three weeks in advance of
planting time. Little water will be required till they start. When they
begin shooting up, the plants should have the full sun, and air, on all
mild days. They will then make a slow, sturdy growth. All forcing should
be avoided. These plants, set out when there is no longer danger of
frost, and well watered before completely covering the roots, will grow
right on, and often begin blooming in July.

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