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Manettia (Xavier Manetti, of the botanic garden at Florence, born 1723). Rubiaceae. Twining plants sometimes grown under glass for the ornamental flowers.

Glabrous or villous graceful climbers, evergreen: lvs. stalked, usually long-acuminate: fls. small or rather large, axillary, solitary or in short corymbs or panicles, white, yellow or red: calyx-lobes 4, rarely 5, short or long, narrow or broad; corolla-tube short or long, terete or angled, straight or curved, glabrous or pilose within: limb 4- (rarely 5-) lobed, the lobes usually short and erect or recurved, valvate; stamens 4 or 5, inserted at the orifice or in the throat of the corolla; disk annular or cushion-like style filiform, the stigma entire or bifid: fr. an obovoid or turbinate 2-grooved 2-celled dehiscent many-seeded caps.—Perhaps 40 species, in warmer parts of Amer.

This genus includes the common manettia vine, M. bicolor and M. inflata, which have scarlet tubular flowers an inch or more long, with five spreading yellow tips. They are twining plants and are often trained to pillars and trellises both indoors and out, as they bloom more or less the year round. They can also be trained into a bushy form. The manettia vine is a rather old- fashioned plant, and generally easy of culture. It is fairly satisfactory as a cool conservatory vine, but is an easy prey to red-spider and mealy-bug. The flowers are short-lived, and not the best for cutting. Some gardeners prefer it to cupheas or Jacobinia penrhosiensis. Manettias are propagated by cuttings of young growth inserted in sand with bottom heat. For summer use the vines should have a sheltered but sunny position.

Manettias are very useful as roof-plants, or for growing on rafters and pillars. They may also be grown into specimen plants trained on a wire trellis. They may be rooted in a temperature of 60° to 65°. Put them in sand about 1 inch apart, shading them from the sun. Roots will soon form, when they may be potted, singly, in small pots, in two parts loam, one of leaf-mold, and one of sand. When the plants have gripped the soil, pinch out their points to encourage them to break. Put a few thin stakes around the pot to which to tie the shoots until they are large enough to be trained in their permanent position. Never allow the plants to become pot-bound, until the desired size of pot is attained, and be careful that the shoots do not get all tangled up, as it would be difficult to separate them, when it is desired to train them on a trellis, or in some other desirable position. Loam two parts, equal parts sand, and flaky leaves, a small part of well-rotted manure, is a good potting medium, for all future pot- tings. The night temperature should never be less than 55°. In summer, the plants that are grown on a trellis, in pots, may be placed outdoors on a bed of ashes, until the middle of September. Syringe manettias freely, as this keeps red-spider in check. Other insect pests may be kept down by fumigating with hydrocyanic gas as advised for other plants.
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