CHAPTER X.
HARD-WOODED GREENHOUSE PLANTS.
In this chapter we shall have to treat of a number of plants that differ wonderfully in constitution and requirements, and therefore it will be impossible to give any general directions for their cultivation on the plan of an introduction. A considerable proportion of them need abundance of light and air, and the more hardy of their number are impatient of artificial heat, and consequently must not be subjected to a high temperature in winter without due consideration of their ability to endure the trial. Not a few subjects in the list that follows require a practised hand and an experienced judgment for their successful management, and, as a rule, the cultivation of hard-wooded plants belongs to the higher range of horticultural practice.
Abutilon.—These are best adapted for training to pillars, but by a judicious system of pruning, bushy specimens may be produced, which will have a most effective appearance. In a young state the leading shoot will require stopping to encourage the production of side shoots, and in the following and subsequent winter seasons prune them to within two or three joints of the base of each shoot. By allowing the young shoots to grow unchecked and neatly tying them out, well-balanced specimens that will flower freely may be obtained in a comparatively short period. The green-leaved species such as A. striatum require a mixture of peat, loam, and leaf-mould, but for the variegated forms, as for example A. Thomsoni, fibrous peat and sand will be preferable. The young shoots taken off in the spring with a small heel strike freely, provided the cutting pots can be plunged in the cucumber or melon frame.
Acacias.—These may be divided into two classes, o
