Deutzia
gracilis was a plant grown extensively for the
flower markets of Victorian London. They were what Hibberd
called "stolen plants" in that they tended
to be grown between rows of other flowers, or in areas
where nothing else would grow well. They were nonetheless
a little tender, and needed some coaxing to combat the
vicissitudes of an English spring.
The
deutzia was generally purchased when in flower, and
straight from the forcing house. Once home, it needed
to be carefully comforted in the parlour or the greenhouse.
They then needed to be hardened off before they could
be placed in the garden, generally during May in a sheltered
corner.
By
late May the deutzias could be planted out ... but not
into rich soil. They needed the poorest and stoniest
soil the gardener could find. They should be planted
out, pruned slightly, watered moderately until they
began to grow freely, and be sheltered at night with
large pots if it threatened extreme cold or frost. At
the end of September they could be lifted, pruned of
ungainly rods, potted in fresh and gritty soil, and
in as small a pot as the gardener could cram the roots.
Then
they went into the greenhouse for winter.
