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.