Verbénas. A few of these are showy, herbaceous, Green-house plants. V. chamædryfòlia, lately known as V. Melíndres, is a beautiful plant of a procumbent habit; flowers brilliant scarlet, in glomerated heads from the axils of the young shoots; blooming from April to October. A large plant will appear as a solid mass of scarlet. V. lambértii and V. pulchélla are also very pretty; colour, rose and lilac. A very good method of treating these plants, is, to plant them in the garden in April; and give them copious waterings in dry weather, and they will flower profusely, lifting some of the plants before frost, to preserve them during winter. They ought to be allowed to run according to their nature; for if tied up, they will not do so well, being in that way too much exposed. There is a plant known in our collections as Verbéna triphylla, which is Aloysia citriodòra. The flowers are in long spikes, very small, and pale purple. The celebrity of the plant is in the foliage, which is linear, lanceolate, ternate, and it has the most agreeable fragrance in the vegetable world. It is of very easy culture, and has been known to survive the winter, in open air, in Philadelphia. It is deciduous, and would do to plant in the garden during summer, lifting it again before frost, and putting it under protection through winter. When large before it begins to grow, in spring cut it into a neat shape or form.
Vibúrnums. A few of these are very ornamental evergreen shrubs, and almost hardy. V. tìnus is the well known Laurestine, (or what is commonly called Laurestinus,) is of the easiest culture; flowers small white, and in large flattened panicles; blooming from February to May, and universally esteemed. It will stand the winter by a little protection, but the flower buds being formed in the fall, the intense frost destroys them; consequently, it will not flower except by the buds, which sometimes form early in summer. V. lùcidum is a good species, and superior in flower and foliage to the former, but does not flower so freely, when the plants are small. When they grow large, they flower profusely. There is a desirable variegated variety. V. odoratíssimum has smooth evergreen, oblong, elliptic, distantly toothed, leaves, and frequently a stripe in them, is sweet-scented, and a free flowerer. V. hirsútum has flowers similar to the above; foliage ovate, with rough brown hairs on both sides, and very characteristic. V. stríctum variagàtum is a very fine variety, and upright growing. These plants are all very desirable, blooming early in spring, and continuing for several months; all easily cultivated.
Viminària denudàta, the only species. This plant is remarkable for its twiggy appearance, but it has no foliage, except when growing from seed. It has at the extremity of the twigs or shoots, an ovate, lanceolate, leaf, disappearing when the plant grows old; the flowers are small, yellow, coming out of the young shoots, to the astonishment of the beholder. It grows freely.
Virgília capènsis is a beautiful cape shrub, with a compound leaf of twenty-five leaflets, ovate, lanceolate, edges hairy; flowers in spikes at the axils; colour blue and leguminose. The pots require to be well drained, and the plants protected from the sun.
Volkamèria japónica. There is a plant known in our collections under that name, which is Clerodéndron fràgrans múltiplex. It keeps in a good Green-house, and flowers well, frequently blooming during winter, and if planted in the garden during summer, will flower superbly. The flowers have a delicious fragrance; but if the foliage is rubbed with the hand, the smell is not so pleasant. The leaves are large, round, ovate, and tomentose; flowers corymbose, compact, and terminale. There are several fine plants in Clerodéndron belonging to the Hot-house. This plant will not bear much fumigation.
Witsènias, four species. W. corymbòsa is a plant that has stood in high estimation ever since it was known, but unfortunately there is a very inferior plant, Aristèa cyànea, got into our collections under that name. The panicles of W. corymbòsa is quite smooth; those of Aristèa are hairy, which is itself sufficient to detect them; but otherwise the appearance of W. corymbòsa is much stronger, and more erect growing, not inclining to push at the roots so much as Aristèa. The foliage is lanceolate and amplexicaule, the leaves having much the nature and appearance of Iris. The plant is of easy culture, and blooms from November to April; colour fine blue. The true one has come into the country lately. W. ramòsa is a very fine species, similar to the above; flowers yellow and blue; plant branching.
Westríngias, a genus of four species, very like the common Rosemary. W. rosmarinifórmis, leaves lanceolate, and silvery beneath; W. longifòlia is similar; both have small white silvery flowers, and are easily cultivated.
Zàmias, about twenty species, eight of which belong to this compartment. The foliage is greatly admired, and is in large fronds, with oblique, lanceolate leaflets. Several of them glaucous. It bears heads of flowers of a brown colour in the centre of the plant, very like large pine cones. Z. hórrida, the finest, Z. púngens, Z. spíralis, and Z. latifòlia, are the most conspicuous. They must be kept in the warmest part of the Green-house; and give them large well drained pots. They are imported from the Cape of Good Hope. All the plants herein named requiring to be drained. In preparing the pots, place first a piece of broken pot, or any similar substitute, with the convex side on the hole of the pot, and then put in a few, or a handful, (according to the size of the pot,) of shivers of broken pots, or round gravel, about the size of garden pease. Those that we have mentioned in this Repotting, as to be done in this, or beginning of next month, is not intended to apply to plants in general, large and small, but to those that are young, and require encouragement, or to those that were not shifted last autumn. The roots must not be disturbed, but the ball turned out entire; and put as much earth as will raise the ball within about an inch of the rim of the pot. Press the earth down around it with a thin-narrow piece of wood, frequently shaking it that no vacancy may be left. If the roots are rotten, or otherwise injured, take all such off. If this be the case, the plant will be sickly. Give it a new pot of a smaller size, administering water moderately until there are visible signs of fresh growth. The plants must not be disturbed while flowering; let the repotting be done afterwards. Plants are, at certain stages of growth, if in good health, in such a state that no one can err in shifting them when desirous to hasten their growth. Those plants that make two or more growths during the summer may be repotted in the interim of any of these growths, and all others just before they begin to push in the spring; that is, when the wood buds are perceptibly swelled. Never saturate with water fresh potted plants. There are many kinds that, without injury, could be repotted when growing; but it requires an experienced operator to decide. It would be of no material service to enumerate them here. When done potting, tie all up neatly with stakes rather higher than the plant, that the new shoots may be tied thereto during their stage of growth, to prevent them from being destroyed by the wind. There may be many that do not require repotting, but would be benefited by a top-dressing. This should be done by probing off all the surface earth down to the roots, replacing it with fresh compost, suitable to the nature of the plant.
When the above is done, arrange all the plants in proper order, and syringe them clean; but if there are any of the Green-fly, they must be fumigated previous to syringing. Take an opportunity, on the first fine day, to wash out all the pavement of the house, which should be made dry before the evening if the nights are cold. Thus every part of the house will be in order before the hurry of the garden commences.