June 23, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



787 



often the spot to display insecticides and fungicides, 

 owing to the number of ills the rose is heir to; but it 

 is safe to predict that Mme. Norbert Levavasseur to- 

 gether with Gruss an Tgplitz will be often seen in the 

 future in the flower garden proper, this last named be- 

 ing of fine color and vigor, and a continuous bloomer 

 until late in fall. 



A good washing with Ivory soap used while warm, 

 one bar to half a barrel of water, will rid the plants of 

 all plant lice and the rose bugs do not like it. The 

 value of this remedy lies also in its absolute cleanness; 

 one can use it with impunity on piazzas or any other 

 part of the dwelling without creating an uproar, as it 

 cleanses everything it touches. Ivory soap is also a 

 sure cure for rose mildew, but must first be dissolved in 

 very hot water. 



My Experience with 



Peony Lady Alexandra Duff 



My first importation of this variety was in 1901. 

 The whole lot of five plants did not bloom sufficiently 

 the next year to determine definitely what they were; 

 but the imperfect blooms led me to question them and 

 I ordered five more plants to come in fall of 1902. 

 When the first set bloomed they were clean Festiva Max- 

 ima. The second lot bloomed well in 1904, and at the 

 June exhibition at the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety I was awarded a first-class certificate for that va- 

 riety. The same year, one week later, at the rose show 

 of this same society, Messrs. T. C. Thurlow & Son 

 showed another variety imported by them for this same 

 variety. Now, this year, Mr. Wm. Whitman's gardener 

 from Brookline, Mass., exhibited still another variety 

 for Lady Duff. 



This is the way the whole lots have turned out : 



My first importation all turned out Festiva Maxima. 



The second lot have all turned out Grandiflora Nivea 

 — a most charming French-white beautiful peony. 



The third lot, imported by Thurlow & Son, have 

 turned out to be just the same as some which came to 

 me in my very first importation under the name of 

 Princess of Wales, and alsr another variety which came 

 later named James Kelway. I have also had this same 

 James Kelway under its proper name as we suppose 

 from another American grower. 



The fourth lot. which was shown by Mr. Sullivan, 

 gardener to Wm. Whitman, was the old and choice 

 Peony Duchess de Neumours (Catal.), a very fine va- 

 riety. 



There is no comment to make on this, only that the 

 Lady is quite numerous and changeable. My firm be- 

 lief is that there is no such variety. It is only a re- 

 naming of old varieties and when the .stock of one gets 

 low, select another and so keep up the fraud. 



SS^^yS*^ 



Agapanthus umbellatus 



There arc few plants comparable to this plant for 

 effective landscape adornment in late summer or early 

 fall: it is especially well adapted to give grace, life, and 

 character to the much-in-vogue so-called "Italian style 

 of gardening." Its effective blue flowers contrast finely 

 with the gray or white masonry, and the gracefully 

 arching dark-green foliage is equally efficacious. In 

 order to thoroughly appreciate the decorative value of 

 the plant, large specimens must be had in tubs or pots. 

 As it increases rapidly under liberal treatment the at- 

 tainment of fairly large plants requires a comparatively 

 short jjeriod of years. 



When the desired sizes are procured, it is best not to 

 disturb them for many years thereafter, as they will 

 flower much more profusely in cramped quarters The 

 fact must be ever present to the man in charge that 

 they have arrived at the cramped-for-room stage, and 

 therefore he must make amends by providing ample 

 stimulants in the shape of commercial fertilizers. They 

 are not particular as to brand, provided it has all the 

 essential elements that plant life calls for. When 

 equipped with their ample foliage in the growing sea- 

 son, the amount of water they require, stimulant and 

 otherwise, is great. These plants are particularly 

 charming associated with running water, and dotted 

 here and there on the margin of ponds and lakes, as 

 well as along driveways, piazzas, etc.; in short there is 

 hardly a situation but what they will tend to embellish 

 on a well-appointed estate. One of my pleasantest recol- 

 lections of a visit to Lenox a few years ago was of see- 

 ing quite a number of fair-sized plants dotted along 

 the terraces and grounds of Lenox's wealthy estates. 



Considering that greenhouse room is not necessary 

 to winter, these plants from year to year, it is strange 

 that there are not more of them to be seen. All that is 

 necessary to winter them all right is a good frost-proof 

 pit of cellar, not too dry or too clammy. Of course it 

 is unnecessary to say that watering is to be dispensed 

 with while they are in their quarters, and should be 

 gradually suspended in the fall ere they be taken in; 

 the firmer the tissues of the plants the better they will 

 withstand low temperatures. 



There are a number of varieties, but common umbel- 

 latusj taking it all in all, is more satisfactory than any 

 of the others. A. Mooreana, however, is a nice minia- 

 ture variety, useful for table and house decoration on 

 account of its low stature and free-flowering proclivi- 

 ties. It is nearly hardy, quite so in Europe, at least 

 the most climatically favorable pan- thereof. A. urn. 

 maximus is a fine variety, as far as size of umbels is 

 concerned, hut not so free as the subject of this note. 

 A. um. albidus, white-flowered, is also somewhat shy in 

 producing flower scapes. There is also a silvery varie- 

 gated and a golden variegated, pretty only for their 

 folia Lit- 



Wellesley Hills, Mass. 



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