VINE-COVERED SHED
Many of the varieties received direct from Japan are only adapted for growing in pots; that is how the Japanese grow them, and we can hardly expect to improve on their methods. Pot off all plants showing unusual markings, or oddly shaped leaves, and plunge in the sand-box, giving sunshine and abundance of water and using large pots, or shifting frequently as needed. Give liquid manure once or twice a week. Furnish support for the vines to run on, either a trellis or sticks in the sides of the pot and strings run back and forth through and around them, or they may be trained against the wall back of the sand-box. Most of the seeds purchased here, however, are grown in this country, and the plants are as rugged as the old-fashioned Morning-glory. It will be noticed that those with oddly shaped leaves and broad, hairy stems rarely bloom here, the buds appearing too late to develop before frost. Grown in pots these might give some interesting specimens. If only a few of the buds are allowed to develop the size will be greatly increased.
The Maurandya Vine is one of the most satisfactory for low trellises, window-boxes, vases, rockwork, and the like, in summer, and for hanging-baskets in winter. In the open air it attains a height of five or six feet, giving an abundance of pink, white, and lavender-coloured, foxglove-shaped flowers, an inch and a half in length. The smooth, shining leaves are ivy-shaped and cling to supports by a twist of the stem. It grows readily from seed, and germinates in from twelve to fifteen days. For trellis and outdoor work start early in flats or hotbed, setting out when danger of frost is past, but for winter use June is early enough to sow seed. It requires no special treatment, doing well in any situation with good soil and sufficient moisture. This is one of the most graceful and useful vines for either summer or winter.
Thunbergias (Black-eyed Susans) like a warm, sunny situation, and in good soil will grow six or eight feet tall and be covered, until cut down by frost, with a wreath of tube-shaped, flat-faced blossoms two inches in diameter—pure white, white with black eye, yellow with white eye, and yellow with black eye. They are very valuable for covering low trellises, the foundations of porches, window-boxes, urns, or rockwork where a small vine is needed. They are admirable as basket or bracket plants in winter. They grow freely from seed, germinating in about twelve days, and should be started early in flats in the house or the hotbed. Much finer plants are grown in this way than can be purchased from the florist. Their only enemy is the red spider, and they should be showered frequently to prevent an attack.
The Manettia Vine is one of the most satisfactory vines for winter blooming, requiring only a small pot and a place in a sunny window, and blooming better when pot-bound. A daily watering, and occasional doses of weak liquid manure when the other plants are getting it is all the care it needs. It does not require a warm atmosphere, blooming freely in a temperature of about 50°, and giving an unfailing succession of its bright little flowers every day during the winter. It is that rare thing—a plant which the florists have not overpraised. It is every bit as good as it is claimed to be. Though equally at home in a hanging-basket or on a trellis, I have found it most attractive when grown on strings across the window in company with Solanum jasminoides, whose sprays of airy white flowers contrast with the orange and scarlet of the Manettia. A small plant obtained from the florist in spring and potted in a four-inch pot, with good compost, will be ready to bloom by November, and will remain in bloom from that time until spring, when it should be repotted in a six-inch pot and plunged in the sand-box to grow for winter blooming. The only precaution necessary is to keep it in a small pot, as it blooms more freely when pot-bound. Cut back if not branching freely, as the bloom comes at the ends of the new growth.
Clematis (Virgin’s Bower)
The large-flowered Clematis are the most expensive vines we have. So slowly do they propagate from cuttings that the price remains high from year to year. The cheapest way to obtain them is to raise them from seed and, though this is a more or less uncertain method, the expense is so slight compared to the purchase of plants that where many are required it is worth repeated efforts. Plant the seeds in flats in the house either in fall or spring. Cover an eighth of an inch and press the soil down firmly, keeping moist and warm. They germinate in from six weeks to a year; for this reason fall planting is desirable, as the soil may more easily be kept in the right condition. When the plants are large enough to handle, pot off into small pots and plunge in the sand-box, if the weather is warm enough, or in a sunny window if cold. Winter in a frost-proof cellar the first winter, putting them in the open ground where they are to remain till the following spring. The plants will give a few blossoms the second season, enough to show the variety, and the next year may be expected to bloom freely. Plants raised from seed are more likely to bloom and do well than those from cuttings.
Clematis paniculata comes more freely from seed than the Jackmanni strains, and should be largely grown, as it is one of our loveliest vines and blooms when most others have ceased. Clematis flammula self-sows and established little plants are continually coming up in unexpected places, which may be removed to any desired position, as this variety does not in the least mind being disturbed. All Clematis are benefited by winter protection, and such varieties as Ramona and other spring bloomers should have the tops protected with sacking or old carpet. Mrs. Edward Andre dies to the ground in the winter, but should be well protected around the roots. Many growers cut back Clematis to within a few feet of the ground each fall, but where large spaces are to be covered one loses much time, as the frost usually does all the trimming necessary. The early spring bloomers from last season’s wood and cutting back in the fall simply lessen the blossom points. If it is necessary to trim for symmetry or lack of room it should be done immediately after the plants are through blooming, that they may have abundant time for new growth.
