Fuchsias are especially desirable for training on trellises. They can be trained over an upright trellis, and have a very pretty effect, but the best form is that of an umbrella. Secure a strong, vigorous plant, and allow one shoot to grow upright until about two feet high, then pinch off the top of the shoot. It will branch out and form a head, each shoot of which, when sufficiently long, may have a fine thread or hair-wire attached to the tip, by which to draw it downward; fasten the other end of the wire or thread to the stem of the plant, and all the shoots will then be pendent. When each of these branches has attained a length of eight inches, pinch off the tip, and the whole will form a dense head, resembling an umbrella in shape, and the graceful flowers pendent from each shoot will be handsome indeed. Remember to keep the stock clear of side-shoots, in order to throw the growth into the head.
If properly taken care of, most Fuchsias will bloom the year round, but some kinds can be especially recommended for winter blooming, among them are F. speciosa, flesh-colored, with scarlet corolla; F. serratifolia, orange-scarlet corolla, greenish sepals; Meteor, deep-red corolla, light-pink sepals. The following are the finest in every respect that the market affords: Mrs. Bennett, pink; Sir Cohn Campbell, double blue; Rose of Castile, single violet; Elm City, double scarlet; Carl Holt, crimson; Tower of London, double blue; Wave of Life, foliage yellow, corolla violet; F. speciosa, single, flesh-colored, and F. fulgens, long red corolla.
CHAPTER XXV.
CACTUSES.—NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS.—REX BEGONIAS.
For singularity and grotesqueness of form, as well as for the exceptional conditions under which they grow to the best advantage, no class of plants is more remarkable than the Cactaceæ. Of these, about a thousand species have been described by botanists; nearly all are indigenous to the New World, though but a small proportion are in cultivation. Cactuses delight in a dry, barren, sandy soil. They are naturally children of the desert. It is said by travellers that many of the species bear edible fruit, resembling somewhat in taste the gooseberry. So much for the peculiarities of the Cactus family in its native localities, but how can we succeed in cultivating the plants with satisfactory results in the window-garden?
There are two simple methods of treatment that Cactuses should receive, namely: First, keep the soil about them constantly dry, and keep them in a warm place. Secondly, the soil should be of a poor quality, mixed with a little brick dust, and they should never be allowed too much pot room. If either of these two points are observed in the treatment of Cactuses, there will be no difficulty in keeping them in a flourishing condition all the time.
THE NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS.
The Night-blooming Cereus is an interesting plant, and excites much admiration when in flower, as it blooms at night-time only, the flowers closing up when exposed to the day-light. They are magnificent flowers when in full blow, but, unhappily, are short-lived, a flower never opening a second time. The plant belongs to the Cactus Family, and requires the same general treatment. There are a number of night-flowering species and varieties, but the one especially known as the Night-blooming Cereus is Cereus grandiflorus, which, when in full bloom, presents a rare sight. Some of the flowers of the night-blooming kinds are exceedingly fragrant, notably Cereus triangularis, a single flower of which, when in fall bloom, will fill the air of a room with its pleasant odor. These plants can be made to bloom freely by keeping the soil quite dry, and allowing them very little pot-room, as they depend more upon the atmosphere than the soil for their growth. We have known large plants of Cereus grandiflorus, to produce as many as twenty-five fine blossoms each in the course of a season. We have found that liquid manure, if applied to these plants about once a month, and when the soil about them is very dry, will work wonders in their growth, and when a rapid growth can be obtained, there will be no trouble in having an abundance of flowers at regular intervals. Care must be taken not to have the liquid too strong. A small quantity of brick dust, mixed with the soil in which they are growing, will be beneficial. These species of Cereus are easily propagated by cuttings, which will root readily in sand of any kind. Being of a slender habit of growth, and rather rampant, they should have some sort of support, and it is advisable to either train them to a trellis, or upon wires, or a string stretched over and along the window sash. We have had a number of flowers of a pure feathery white, C. grandiflorus, that were over fifteen inches in diameter; this is the best of the night-flowering species.