Hibberd
had no certain idea of the origin of the Cineraria,
but considered that they may have been a result of a
crossing between C. cruenta and C. populifolia.
Whatever its original, by the late Victorian period
it was a highly popular plant, despite the difficulties
in growing it.
The
Cineraria was a tender plant, and a troublesome one,
and one yet more that often disappointed the experts,
thus Hibberd warned that amateurs should not have high
expectations. It would not tolerate heat for any length
of time, nor would it tolerate frost, damp, cold wind
and dry air. It simply did not like extremes, and it
tended to become infested with red spider-mite, greenfly,
thrips, mildew and numerous other plagues. Hibberd remarked
that if one actually saw them in a garden, then it demonstrated
the skill of the gardener.
Cinerarias
were best grown in cold
frames, or in pits
heated only to a sufficient point to keep frost at bay.
They were never to be planted in wooden boxes, or in
large massed displays (save when displayed in the conservatory),
all the growing should be done in pits or frames on
a groundwork of clean coal-ashes or gravel, and at all
times the plants were to have an abundance of air and
light, but needed to be protected from frost and excessive
sunshine. The soil should be rich and light, consisting
of turfy loam, leaf-mould, very rotten hotbed
manure, and sharp sand, the turfy loam always predominating.
The compost should be prepared long before it was needed,
and turned and mixed several times to keep it free from
vermin and to render it perfectly sweet and mellow.
It should be broken down into a fine texture, but should
not be sifted (Hibberd believed that in general sifted
soil was worthless).
Cineraria
could be propagated by seeds and offsets, although seeds
generally worked better. Seeds should be sown as soon
as ripe, or as soon as possible thereafter. (If kept
for longer than a year it became worthless.) Seeds could
be sown in shallow pans filled with light, sandy soil,
and should be very lightly covered.
When
offsets were wanted, the flower stems should be cut
down and the plants placed out of doors and taken care
of. When offsets appear they should be carefully removed
and should be nursed as seedling plants. They could
be planted into light rich soil in an airy pit.
Hibbers
remarked that the magnificent flowers seen at spring
festivals were invariably the product of offsets. Offsets
produced a better plant, being more compact with larger
heads of flowers - the gardener also had the advantage
of knowing precisely the flower he could expect from
an offset, whereas with seeds it was a lottery. Offsets
could also be planted three to a pot to present the
appearance of one plant - a virtual impossibility with
seedlings, as the gardener would invariably get different
flowers on each plant.
