The Garden Under Glass

THE BEST FLOWERING PLANTS 51 Border Carnations in the Greenhouse Though not commonly grown for the greenhouse, I can certainly well recommend this plant, especially when grown the second year. But to flower it the second year pre-supposes growing it the first. As a one-year-old plant it will only supply three decent biooms on the one spike, but a two-year-old plant will supply as many spikes as there are growths, and with three to each it is not uncommon to get thirty decent biooms on a plant all flowering at pretty much the same time. This type of carnation is best propagated by layering, and the layering is best done in July so as to get young plants well forward by the winter. I will here deal only briefly with their culture, as many items given regarding perpetuals will apply also to these. Concise hints on layering will be found in the section devoted to greenhouse work, so that beyond saying that either one or two year old plants will do for layering we will add that the young plants should, earlyin September, be potted into 3-inch pots. A soil containing very little manure and made up largely of loam, leaf-soil and sand is best at this time. With cold-frame treatment the plants should be sufficiently rooted by the end of October to be transferred into their flowering pots sixinches in diameter. Here a stronger soil becomes imperative, and the plants will benefit by accommodation on the shelf of a cold greenhouse. Not much growth will take place during the winter, the most difficult part of the attention needed being the water-mg, which should err rather on the spare side. In February the plants must be brought more under supervision. The open staging of a house with a night temperature of 45°