THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 341 



BEDDING SUCCULENTS. 



BY WILLIAM COLE, 



Head Gardener, Ealing Park, Middlesex. 



VERY considerable number of succulent plants may be 

 employed in the embellishment of the flower garden 

 during the summer months, but it is only of the most 

 useful kinds such as Echeveria secunda glanca, Semper- 

 vivum C 'ali fomic um, and Sedum glaucum, that I purpose 

 speaking. The value of those best adapted, from the character of 

 their growth, for bedding purposes, is now too well known to 

 require a word being said in their praise, and all that it is necessary 

 to do now is to point out the purposes for which they are best 

 adapted, and the quickest mode of raiding a stock. We will com- 

 mence with the Echeveria. The beautiful E. secunda glauca is, as the 

 majority of readers of this are well aware, one of if not the best 

 plant for edging purposes we have. It is not only effective in 

 appearance, but it is so neat in growth that from the time it is 

 planted in the early part of the summer until the autumn, it requires 

 no attention whatever, which, to both large and small growers, is a 

 matter of considerable importance. The green-leaved E. secunda 

 is also very valuable for many purposes, although not so generally 

 useful as its glaucous-leaved variety. It forms a nice marginal line 

 to beds edged with light terra cotta tiles, and it may also be frequently 

 employed with advantage in forming divisional lines in panel beds. 

 The pretty E.pumila has glaucous foliage, and is useful for marginal 

 lines to small beds. It forms a very considerable number of offsets, 

 which somewhat mar the symmetry of the plant, and for that reason 

 is not so desirable as E. secunda glauca. The noble E. glauca metallica 

 is a most decided acquisition to the list of bedding succulents. In 

 growth it somewhat resembles E. metallica, but it is more compact 

 and has glaucous foliage. For edging large beds, or for divisional 

 lines in panel beds, it is most valuable, and it would be difficult to 

 over-praise it. E. metallica is best adapted for planting in the 

 centre of medium-sized beds, or in small beds by itself. It has a 

 very striking appearance when planted, at moderate distances apart, 

 in a bed carpeted with some dwarf-growing succulent, such as Sedum 

 glaucum. Last summer we planted some very large and well-de- 

 veloped specimens, at a distance of about two feet apart, in a bed 

 filled with Pyrethrum Golden Feather, and the effect was remarkably 

 striking. Medium-sized plants are also useful for first and second 

 rows in beds planted with tall-growing subjects. 



The simplest way of increasing the stock of E. secunda, and 

 others of a similar habit of growth, is by means of offsets, taken 

 oft' just before or when the plants are removed from their summer 

 quarters. It is essential to slip them off carefully to prevent injury 

 to the parent stem. It is a matter of little consequence whether 

 they are put in singly in small pots, or whether they are planted 

 rather close together in shallow boxes. The boxes are preferable, 



