General Cultivation Of Pot Plants
It is not necessary to be a biologist to grow plants successfully, but it is much easier to understand the requirements of plants if you have some idea ofhow a plant functions. To grow plants in pots it is essential that you understand their requirements, because failure to provide the right conditions will usually produce a very disappointing result, and in extreme cases the plant will not survive. Light, air, water and heat, together with potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus and trace elements,...
Family Primulaceae
The greenhouse cyclamen of today is descended from the species Cyclamen persicum syn. C. latifoUum which is found growing wild in Greece, Turkey, Syria, the Aegean Isles, Crete and Cyprus. The species has attractive heart-shaped marbled leaves and fragrant flowers which are small, the petals being narrow and twisted on quite long stems. The colour range is usually white, rose pink and various shades of lilac. There are no bright reds and crimsons. The species exhibits considerable variation in...
Family Begoniaceae
The plants we grow today are hybrids developed from species which originated in South America, such as the scarlet Begonia bolwiensis from Bolivia the rose B. darkei from Peru the orange-scarlet B. davnit from Peru the vermilion red B. veitchi from Peru and the primrose yellow B. pearcet from Bolivia. The botanist monk Plumier is credited with discovering the first plants towards the end of the seventeenth century. As the plant could not be placed in any known genus, he decided to name the...
Automatic Watering
Unless you wish to be involved in the daily chore, and on sunny days the twice-daily chore of hand watering all your plants, which can be very time consuming if you have a full greenhouse, you would be very well advised to install an automatic watering system. The initial cost of this can be quite high but the advantage of having a satisfactory system is invaluable, not only from the saving in labour, but from the point of view of providing the most favourable conditions for the plants. One of...
Family Gesneriaceae
The hybrid achimenes plants which are grown today are derived mainly from the species Achimenes hngi lora, a native of Mexico. One of the most successful raisers of modern hybrids is Mr Konrad Michelssen of Hamburg, who has specialised in breeding new hybrids for many years. Achimenes are grown from rhizomes or tubers, which are scaly in appearance. The fleshy scales are arranged in the manner of a closed pine cone and each scale is capable of propagation, but in practice one usually uses the...
Kalanchoe
This plant has become very popular in recent years, largely because it is possible to induce it to bloom for most of the year. Kalanchoes are shori-day plants, which means that they will only flower when they have experienced a period of short days. Their natural time for blooming is from mid-winter to mid-spring, but, if their exposure to daylight is restricted to a maximum often hours daylight with fourteen hours darkness in each twenty-four hour period, in about two to three months they will...
Cultivation Of Aechmeas And Vriesias
it is not recommended that the amateur should grow these plants from seed. Plants should be purchased preferably when they are coming into flower, as the Mowers last very' well, particularly if they are kept in a cool atmosphere, say 50-60QF 10- 15 C . The plants prefer a bright light, but filtered rather than direct sunlight. During the period early spring to early autumn, the cup in the centre of the plant should be kept filled with water, with an occasional feed with a weak solution of a...
Exotic Plants
One of I he advantages of having a greenhouse is that it enables you to grow any plant which appeals to you, regardless of its cultural requirements, and in the course of trying out different plants over the years for their suitability as house plants, I have occasionally come across a plant which has given me considerable pleasure. The four plants included in this section are worth a place in the greenhouse, and, as they are perennials, once they have been acquired they become a permanent pan...
Impatiens
Known much more widely by its common name 'Busy Lizzie , this plant has become very popular in the last 20 years and possibly now rivals the geranium as a window-ledge plant. It is not a difficult plant to grow and has the virtue that, given the right conditions, it will bloom almost the whole year round. The seeds and plants available today are cultivars, which have been developed by hybridising the species Impattens hoist t, I. suhani and I. petersiana. The cultivated Busy Lizzie has been...
Plants To Grow From Seed
Of he nine species which have been found, it is Browallia spccwsa from which the modern hybrids have been developed. Although it has the common name of bush vioietj varieties are available with blue, lavender and white flowers. In appearance it is a shrubby plant about 12-20 in 30-50 cm in height, freely branching, flowering profusely over several weeks, not unlike Exacum ajfine in habit. The flowers, which are about 2 in 5 cm across, are tubular, flaring out to five petals and usually have a...
Belgian Indian Azaleas
The azaleas in this group are sometimes illustrated and described in gardening books as Azalea simsit or Asaiea indka, which is rather misleading because their origin is so complex that they cannot be related Indian Azalea 'Leopold Astrid' none of the many varieties Of these highly decorative amicus to one species. It is less confusing if they are referred to as Indian azalea hybrids. The prefix 'Belgian' is often added because millions of plants are raised in Belgium every year of which about...
Temperature And Atmosphere
Plants are greatly influenced by temperature, because the complex chemical processes which are taking place in a plant both day and night are dependent on the amount of heat available. Plants vary very considerably in their heat requirements and here again their native habitat is usually a good guide. Alpine plants, for example, have very different needs to those of tropical plants. All plants have their maximum and minimum temperature requirements. The maximum temperatures are not often given...
Streptocarpus
This attractive plant, commonly known as the Cape primrose, is a native of South Africa. There are several species in cultivation of which there are two types stemless and stemmed. It is the hybrids which have been developed from the stemless species that are grown as pot plants for the house and greenhouse. Of the stemless hybrids there are two main types, namely plants which form only one large leaf, and plants which form several leaves of similar size arranged in the form of a rosette. The...
Pelargoniums
The order Geraniaceae is divided into five tribes, one of which is called Geraniae, which in turn also has five genera, two of which are Geranium and Pelargonium. It is at this point that the reader can become confused by virtue of the fact that gardeners still continue to refer 10 pelargoniums as geraniums despite botanists changing the name of the genus well over a hundred years ago. We therefore have two very different types of plants both being referred to by the same name, which can...
Growing Plants In The House
If you are a pot plant enthusiast you will want to grow pot plants, whether you have a greenhouse or not. It is, of course, much easier to raise and grow plants in a greenhouse than in a dwelling house nevertheless, with a little equipment, it is possible both to propagate and to grow pot plants successfully in the house. A standard size seed tray measures 14x8x2 in 36x20x 5 cm . Transparent rigid plastic domes are made to fit over these trays, as a cover, and the best type is 5 in 12.5 cm in...
Christmas Cactus
Originally this species was known as Epiphyllum truncation, and in the nineteenth-century gardening books it was always referred to by this name. Later the name was changed to Zygocactus truncatus, commonly known as the Christmas cactus, because it will flower naturally at Christmas in the northern hemispere , given the right conditions. According to modern classification the species is now called Schlumbergera truncata, but as with many species which are widely known under a name which has...
Solanum
Solatium capskastrum, when grown as a pot plant, is a dwarf evergreen shrub about 12- 18 in 30-45 cm in height, which produces most attractive fruit resembling small bright red cherries. It is commonly known as winter cherry, or Christmas cherry. This popular plant for winter decoration is readily obtainable, and as it can be grown on for at least a second year, or alternatively propagated from Subitum ettpnoistrum, the Christmas or Winter Cherry, owes us jllraction to its hright red berries....
Smith Iantha
Smithianthas are very attractive plants with ornamental leaves, wrhich have a velvety texture mainly green in colour with brown markings along the veins, above which the flower spikes rise to a height of some 12- 18 in 30-45 cm The tubular bell-shaped flowers, which hang down on short stalks all round the main stems, arc bright shades of pink, orange, red and yellow. The inside of the flower is a different colour from the outside and is delicately patterned or mottled, so that you may have,...
Bulbs
Space is always at a premium in all active greenhouses and any plants which have a resting period are most welcome, particularly if they flower at a time when flowering pot plants are somewhat scarce. The subjects dealt with in this section have the added advantage that they are permanent members of the greenhouse stock, in fact having made the initial purchase no further outlay is necessary. The original bulbs will flower each year for a number of years, and from time to time offsets are...
Primula
There are some 500 species in the genus Primula of which P. obconica, P. sinensis and P. malacoides are the most important for pot culture. Of lesser importance but useful as pot plants are primroses P. vulgaris , polyanthus P. vulgaris elatior and P. kcieensis. Primula malacoides was introduced into Great Britain in 1905 by George Forrest. The first introductions were a wishy-washy mauve pink, with small flowers and spindly growth, frail of habit, and with a deplorable tendency to rot at the...
Contents
General Cultivation of Pot Plants 17 Saintpaulia 82 Schlumbergera, Rhipsalidopsis Many books have been written on the subject of greenhouse gardening. Invariably they consist of two sections the first deals with types of greenhouses, methods of heating and ventilation etc., and general greenhouse management and the second consists ofa comprehensive list of greenhouse plants, with usually a brief description of the plants, their culture and sometimes details of varieties. Such books, and...
Foliage Plants
During the winter months, it is very difficult to provide a sufficient number of flowering pot plants to meet your house requirements so during this period foliage plants become essential. In this context it is to be understood that the term 'house plant refers to plants which are grown for their foliage, the flowers of such plants, being very insignificant, are usually removed when they appear. The ten house plants covered by this chapter are all plants which I have grown in the house over...
Saintpaula
Saintpaulia wnanthe is named after Walter von Saint Paul-Illaire, who found the species growing in East Africa, in 1893, when he was the District Governor of the former German Colony there. This is a plant which is nearly always referred to by its common name of African violet, and it is so well known that it is not really necessary to describe it. African violets can be grown from seed but it is better to buy plants as, by this means, you can select plants in flower, choosing the flowers which...
Index
Numbers in bold refer to page numbers of colour illustrations those in italics to line drawings. A 'Rumpelstiltskin' 32 Acchmea fascial a 45, 46 African Violet 82, 82 Agapamhus africanus 119 A. africanus 'Diana' 118 A nanus comosus 45, 47 Azalea compost 38 Azalea indica 33, 34 A. indicum 33 A. simsii 33, 34 Azaleas, bedded out 33 bedding out 39 Belgian Indian 34,38 Glenn Dale 36,41 Indian 'Leopold Astrid' 34 Kaempfen 35,41 Kurume 35,41 Kurume 'Hino-Mayo' 35 Sakata Red 37 Vuyk 41 Barbados Lily...
Schlumbergera Rhipsalidopsis And Epiphyllum
These plants are members of the cactus family and are often referred to as succulents. Owing to classification changes made by taxonomists, over the years, it is very easy to become confused when referring to Schlumbergera and RhipsaliJopsis by their botanical names consequently, this is one of the few instances when it is preferable to identify the plants by their common names, which are Christmas Cactus and Easter Cactus. The other division referred to in the heading is usually just called an...