SCHIZANTHUS
The Butterfly Flower. Half-hardy annual
At many leading horticultural displays in recent years masses 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 glass 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 space they occupy. Immediately they
are large enough to handle, transfer to shallow boxes, allowing a space
of three inches to each plant. The compost to consist of sound loam and
leaf-soil in equal proportions, with the addition of sufficient coarse
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 sunshine 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 shift should be into pots of the 24-size.
Larger pots may, of course, be employed for very fine specimens. The
compost for this final shift 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 deg. to 40 deg. 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.
The Schizanthus may also be sown during March and April in pans placed
in gentle heat, the seedlings being potted on for flowering in the
conservatory or they may be put out in the open border. Towards the end
of April or in May seed may be sown out of doors.
One point in the successful culture of Schizanthus should never be
forgotten. The roots must not be allowed to become pot-bound. Where this
is permitted at any stage of growth it is fatal to the development of a
handsome show of bloom.
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Next: SENECIO ELEGANS
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