Flowers Encyclopedia – Fabacea to Fremotia
F
Fabacea.—See “Thermopsis.”
Fatsia Japonica.—See “Aralia.”
Feather Grass.—See “Stipa Pennata.”
Fennel.—Sow the seed in April, cover lightly with fine mould, and
when the plants are strong enough set them out 1 ft. apart. Cut off the
flower-stalks as soon as they appear, to prevent them running to seed.
The bed will last for years. (See also “Ferula.”)
Fenzlia.—Elegant half-hardy annuals. Sow the seed on a peat soil.
If this be done in autumn, they will flower in April or May; if sown in
spring, they will bloom in autumn. Height, 6 in.
Ferns.—Most Ferns delight in a loose soil, an abundance of
moisture, and a warm, humid atmosphere. The stove and greenhouse kinds
are best cultivated in a mixture of sandy loam and peat. The hardy kinds
grow best among rock-work or in a shady border: a light, sandy soil
suits them. They may be increased by dividing the roots.
Ferns from Seed.—Collect the spore-fronds towards the end of
summer, just as the spore-cases begin to open. Place them on a sheet of
paper in a box for a few days, keeping it in a dry place. Most of the
spores will fall out, the others may be rubbed out with the hand. These
spores will keep good a long time, but are best sown within a year. Fill
the pots with good heavy loam, water freely, and apply a coating of
charcoal, coarse sand, and sphragnum moss, rubbed through a fine sieve.
Damp the surface, sow the spores thinly, and cover with glass. Keep the
soil moist by standing the pots for a time each day up to their rim in
water. No surface water should be given. Stand the pots in a warm, light
place in the greenhouse, but keep them shaded from the sun. When the
surface is covered with growth, prick out into pans or boxes, using a
rich, light soil. When they are large enough pot them off singly in
thumb-pots, re-potting as soon as these are filled with roots.
Ferraria.—See “Tigridia.”
Ferula (Giant Fennel).—Strong-growing, hardy, herbaceous plants.
F. Gigantea has bright, glistening foliage, changing to a brilliant
orange, and attains a height of 8 ft or 10 ft. F. Tingitana is very
stately and graceful, growing 4 ft. high. They are easily raised from
seed, will grow in any garden soil, and flower in August and September.
Festuca.—An annual ornamental grass, which is grown best on a
loamy soil. Sow the seed in March, and keep moist till it germinates.
Height, 1 ft.
Feverfew.—This hardy perennial will grow in any soil and ripen its
seed freely. Young plants, obtained by sowing the seed early in spring,
are very useful for edgings; when planted alternately with, or in
proximity to, Lobelia a pretty effect is produced.
Ficaria Grandiflora.—A hardy perennial which thrives well when
planted under the shade of trees. It is increased by separating the
tubers in autumn, and produces its flowers in May. Height, 6 in.
Ficus Elastica (India-rubber Plant).—This thrives well in any
light, rich soil, or in loam and peat. Keep it moderately moist
throughout the winter, using tepid water. In summer any of the
artificial manures may be used. Sponge the leaves once a week to free
them from dust, and keep the plant well sheltered from draughts.
Cuttings with uninjured leaves will root in autumn in sand with a
bottom-heat of 65 or 75 degrees; or the cuttings may be taken in spring,
stem-rooting the slips. It flowers in May, and sometimes attains the
height of 20 ft.
Fig Palm.—See “Aralia.”
Figs.—Though in some parts of our country Figs are cropped on
standards, as a rule they require to be trained on a wall having a
southern exposure. The soil should be a fairly good loam mixed with old
mortar and crushed bones, but no manure is needed. The end of March or
the beginning of April is the most favourable time for planting. The
trees should be firmly set, and the surface of the soil kept moist until
they are established. Manure may be given—preferably in a liquid
state—when heavy crops of fruit are being borne. Old and exhausted wood
may be cut away in April, but the knife must be used sparingly. The
branches should be trained to a distance of 10 in. apart, and the
fruit-bearing shoots may be pinched back with the thumb and finger at
the end of August. The fruit is borne on the previous year’s growth.
They may be increased by layers, by suckers, or by cuttings of the young
wood placed in sand and plunged in a bottom-heat under glass. Brown
Turkey, Black Ischia, Yellow Ischia, White Marseilles, Brunswick, and St
John’s are all good varieties for open-air cultivation, or for growing
in houses.
When grown under glass, Figs may be trained on trellises near the roof
of the house, or may be planted in tubs or pots, not allowing too much
root-room. At starting the temperature in the day should be about 60
degrees, and at night 55 degrees. More heat can be given as the plants
advance, keeping up a moist atmosphere, but taking care not to give too
much water to the roots. By pinching off the points of the shoots when
they have made five or six leaves a second crop of fruit will be
obtained. Use the knife upon them as little as possible. When the fruit
begins to ripen admit air, and as soon as it is gathered give liquid
manure to the roots every other day to encourage a second crop. When the
plants are at rest they need hardly any water.
Filberts and Cob Nuts.—These Nuts will succeed on any soil that is
not cold or wet. The bushes should be planted in October, when the
leaves have nearly all fallen. Make the soil firm about the roots and
give a mulching of stable manure. At the beginning of April the old and
exhausted wood may be cut away, as well as any branches that obstruct
light and air. Encourage well-balanced heads to the bushes by cutting
back any branch that grows too vigorously, and remove all suckers as
they make an appearance, except they are required for transplanting. The
crop is produced on the small wood. The best method of propagation is by
layers in November or any time before the buds swell in spring. The
process is simple, it merely requiring a notch to be made in a branch of
two or three years’ growth, which is then pegged down 2 or 3 in. below
the surface. The following autumn it may be cut away from its parent,
pruned, and planted. They may also be grown from nuts sown in autumn and
transplanted when two years old. In Kent the bushes are kept low and
wide-spreading, by which means the harvest is more readily reaped. On a
fairly good soil they should stand from 10 to 14 ft. apart. Lambert’s
Filberts, Frizzled Filberts, Purple Filberts are good varieties, the
former two bearing abundantly. Among the best of the Cobs may be
mentioned the Great Cob and Merveille de Bollwyller.
Fire Thorn.—See “Crataegus.”
Flea Bane.—See “Inula” and “Stenactis.”
Florists.—One in the business of raising or selling flowers and ornamental plants. A florist both designs arrangements per customer request or sell and design arrangements according to standard designs. Their job also entails floral decoration of buildings, cost and price consulting, and training others in floriculture.
Flower – Pots, Sizes of.—Various practices prevail at different
potteries, but the appended names and sizes are generally adopted. In
every case the inside measurement is taken.
Inches Inches
SIZES. across Top. Deep.
Thimbles 2 2
Thumbs 2-1/2 2-1/2
Sixties (60’s) 3 3-1/2
Fifty-fours (54’s) 4 4
Forty-eights (48’s) 4-1/2 5
Thirty-twos (32’s) 6 6
Twenty-fours (24’s) 8-1/2 8
Sixteens (16’s) 9-1/2 9
Twelves (12’s) 11-1/2 10
Eights (8’s) 12 11
Sixes (6’s) 13 11
Fours (4’s) 15 13
Threes (3’s) 17 13
Twos (2’s) 18 14
Foam Flower.—See “Tiarella.”
Fontanesia Phillyraeoides.—This shrub will grow in any soil, but
needs protection in severe weather. It may be propagated by layers or by
cuttings planted under glass. August is its time for flowering. Height,
10 ft.
Forget-me-not.—See “Myosotis.”
Forsythia.—Any good soil suits these pretty shrubs. F. Suspensa
thrives best under greenhouse treatment, but F. Viridissima is quite
hardy. The former flowers in March, the latter in February. They may be
increased by layers or cuttings. Height, 10 ft.
Foxglove.—See “Digitalis.”
Fragaria Indica (Ornamental Strawberry).—A rich or peaty mould
suits this half-hardy perennial. It may be saved through the winter by
protecting the roots, but seed sown in spring will generally fruit the
same year. It flowers in July. Height, 1 ft.
Francoa.—Hardy perennials bearing white flowers from June to
September. They like a good, warm soil. The only way of raising them is
from seed. They require a slight protection in winter. Height, 2-1/2 ft.
Fraxinella (Dictamnus).—This ornamental hardy perennial is
commonly known as the Burning Bush. It succeeds in any garden soil, and
is easily raised from seed, which ripens freely. If the flowers are
rubbed they emit a fine odour. It blooms in June. Height, 3 ft.
Freesia.—Remarkably pretty and graceful Cape flowers, possessing a
most agreeable perfume. The plants grow about 9 in. high and produce six
or eight tubular flowers on a stem. They are easily cultivated in a cool
greenhouse, frame, or window, and are invaluable for cutting, the long
sprays lasting from two to three weeks in water. The bulbs should be
planted early in the spring in rich, very sandy soil, and given the
protection of a cold frame in the winter. By successional plantings they
may be had in bloom from January to May. Put six to twelve bulbs in a
4-in. or 8-in pot, place in a sunny position in a cold frame, and cover
with damp cinder ashes to keep them fairly moist. When growth has begun
and the pots are full of roots, remove the covering of ashes, but keep
the pots in the frame, giving a little ventilation when the weather is
mild, and watering carefully when the soil appears dry. Protect from
frost by a covering of mats. For early flowering remove the plants to a
warm greenhouse when the flower spikes appear, keeping them as near the
glass as possible. When the buds are developed an occasional application
of weak liquid manure will prove beneficial.
Fremontia Californica.—A beautiful and somewhat singular wall
shrub, with large yellow flowers. Any soil is suitable for it, but a
south or west aspect is indispensable.
Fringe Tree.—See “Chionanthus.”
Fritillarias (Crown Imperials, or Snake’s Head Lilies).—Soil,
sandy loam, or well-drained, deep, rich mould. Plant in the open ground
in autumn; take the bulbs up as soon as the leaves decay, and preserve
them in a rather moist place. Increased by off-sets taken from the old
roots every third year. They are not so suitable for pot culture as for
outdoor decoration. They are quite hardy, and flower in the spring,
bearing clusters of pendent bell-shaped flowers surrounded with tufts of
fresh green leaves.
F. Meleagris are of dwarf, slender growth, and bear in early spring
elegant pendent flowers of various shades netted and marked with darker
colours. These are suitable for either the border or pots. Plant in
autumn.
Fruit Trees, the Pruning of.—Cut away all growths that have an
inward tendency, and do not allow any shoot to cross over or come in
contact with another; also keep the centres of the trees or bushes open.
The fruit of trees thus treated is not so liable to be blown down by the
wind, and the sun can more readily ripen it. If the ground is poor a
dressing of rotted manure worked into the soil will be beneficial to the
roots.
Fuchsias.—These like a warm and moist atmosphere. The hardy sorts
do well out of doors in rich, light soil. On the approach of frost cut
them down and cover the roots with 3 or 4 in. of coal dust, ashes, or
moss. Remove the ashes in April and thin out the shoots in May. They
will also grow well from cuttings taken off the old wood as soon as they
are 1 in. long, inserted in sand and placed under glass, or plunged in
dung at a temperature of 60 degrees. Cuttings will also strike in loam
and leaf-mould. If grown in pots, take them indoors before the frosty
weather begins, and give them very little or no water at all during the
winter. Keep them in a cool place, yet free from frost. Re-pot them in
the spring, trimming the branches and roots, and making a compost for
them of one-half mellow yellow loam, one quarter leaf-mould, and one
quarter old manure. Place them in a frame with bottom-heat, and water
and syringe them moderately while they are growing. When they are in
full growth never give them plain water, but always plenty of liquid
manure.
Fumitory.—See “Corydalis.”
Funkia.—Ornamental plants which delight in a deep, light soil and
a warm, moist situation, without which they will not flower. They are
increased by division (which should not be too severe) and bloom in July
and August. Height, 1 1/2 ft.
Furze.—Enjoys a sandy soil. Increased by cuttings taken in spring
or autumn and placed in a shady border under hand-glasses. It is of
evergreen habit, and forms a dense and highly ornamental hedge. (See
also “Ulex.”)
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