s under trees.

CHAPTER XXXIII

HARDY SHRUBS IN THE GREENHOUSE

Hardy shrubs have for many years brought colour and fragrance to the
greenhouse in the depth of winter, but we think it is only within recent
years that they have been used in such beautiful variety as at the
present time. The great show of the Royal Horticultural Society in the
Temple Gardens, and many of the delightful fortnightly displays, have
been responsible for much of their present popularity, and the picture
of a group of Plums, Peaches, Almonds, Wistarias, and many other things
in flower long before their natural season, is refreshingly pleasant
when perhaps winter still lingers.

So many shrub families may be used for gently forcing into bloom before
their time that it is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules with
regard to culture. In some cases the plants may be lifted in the autumn,
then potted, and placed out of doors until they are removed under glass,
when the flowers will open in profusion; but the shrubs that can be
treated in this way make dense, fibrous masses of roots, therefore
scarcely feel the check of removal. Some shrubs, however, transplant so
badly that it is needful to grow them entirely in pots.

Shrubs for flowering under glass are grown in large quantities by the
English nurserymen, and very beautiful they are when in flower, bringing
the beauty of early summer to the opening days of spring. Many grow
their plants in pots, the general method being what may be regarded as a
modification of pot culture and planting out, that is to say, although
the plants are potted, and that in fairly large pots, they are plunged
in the open ground over the rim of the pot, and in a position fully
exposed to air and sunshine. Although a few roots may be pushed out over
the rim, and also through the hole in the bottom, this treatment has the
effect of keeping them far more compact than would otherwise be the
case, hence the check of removal is not so great as if they have
unlimited room. This partial confinement of the roots checks a too
luxuriant growth and promotes flower-bud formation.

In the cultivation of shrubs for this purpose, whether they are confined
in pots or planted out, choose an open, well-exposed position, carefully
guarding against overcrowding, as this tends to leaves instead of
flowers. With the same object, they must be kept free from weeds, and
not allowed to suffer from drought.

With few exceptions,