The Garden Under Glass

THE BEST FLOWERING PLANTS 79 well to give both populär and precise names. With us at any rate it is not so much the name as the needs of the plant which really matters. It is too much to say that the amaryllis is a necessity for the small greenhouse, but certainly it is a plant which when well grown gives a remarkably brilliant display. Though the method of culture is from seeds or from offsets I would strongly recommend the purchase of bulbs from a firm which specialises in them, such as Messrs Ker of Liverpool. If, however, the pleasures of propagation are proposed, I would ad vise so wing the seeds in pans in heat and pricking them off in other pans or boxes. In due course they may be potted into small pots, using for the first year soil containing no manure. No drying off should take place during the first season. Offsets or small bulbs formed beside the old bulb should not be detached and treated as separate plants until they have a few roots of their own to support them in their separate existence. Except that several may be grown together in the same pot and that not so strong a soil should be used, they may follow on the lines of treatment advised for matured bulbs. A Policy with Amaryllises Personally, I do not believe in shaking out all the plants each year. Once in two years is sufficiently often. If the collection be divided into two parts one may be shaken out and repotted and the other top-dressed or moved into larger pots. Plants in small pots could be moved into larger ones, while those already in large pots could be top-dressed with good soil.