July 4. 1908 



H ORTICULTURE 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum 



Midsummer marks the turning point in regard to the 

 ornamental features of our shrubberies; the number of 

 flowering trees and shrubs and particularly of those 

 with very showy flowers is decreasing considerably, 

 while the ornamental fruits begin to make their appear- 

 ance to compensate for the diminished nuiulier of flow- 

 ers. There arc. however, still a few trees and shrubs 

 of great beauty in bloom at this time and among them 

 the showiest are the Catalpas, which are hardly sur- 

 passed by any other trees when covered with their great 

 panicles of large white flowers. The hardier Catalpa 

 speciosa with larger flowers in somewhat smaller pani- 

 cles is already out of bloom; while G. bignonioides 

 which flowers about two weeks later is scarcely open- 

 ing its first flowers: the Japanese C. ovata (C. Kaemp- 

 feri) now in lull bloom with its small yellow flower- is 

 far less beautiful than the two American species. The 

 rare C. Bungei from northern China, not to be confound- 

 ed with C. bignonioides var. nana, of ten cultivated under 

 the name of C. Bungei, has no1 yel flowered here. For 

 a long time it was lost to cultivation, until a few years 

 ago Professor Sargent succeeded in introducing it again 

 directly from Pekin. Its flowers are similar to those 

 of G. bignonioides but are disposed in few-flowered 

 corymbs, the leaves are smaller, of a brighter green and 

 usually furnished with a few large teeth. 



The Chestnut. Caslana deritata, though less showy 

 is now very attractive covered with it- slender -pike- of 

 creamy white flowers. Of similar appearance but low 

 and shrubby is the Chincapin. C. pumila, which has 

 proved perfectly hardy at the Arboretum, though it is 

 a southern species. 



Robinia Holdtii, a hybrid of E. neo-mexicana and /,'. 

 Pscudacacia, i- nmi showing a second time it- rai 

 of pink flower-: it i- a handsome small tree and well 

 worth a place in the shrubberies. 



Rose lucida and /,'. humilis are now brightening up 

 the borders of the shrubberies with their pink sweet- 

 scented flowers; they are not only handsome in flower, 

 but also attractive in winter with their bright red hips 

 and purple stems; then' is also a pretty variety with 

 large white flowers which has green stems. 



The summer-blooming Spiraeas are now coming into 

 flower: they belong to the section Calospira and Spia- 

 raria and their flowers range in shades from light pink 

 to purple, rarely white. Those of the first section are 

 characterized by flat flower cluster- borne at the ends of 

 the stems; the best known of them are Spiraea japonica 

 and S. Bumalda and a ver} popular variety of the latter 

 is Anthony Waterer with deep crimson-purple flowers. 

 Of the allied genus Sorbaria the well known S. sorbi- 

 folia is now in bloom; with its large panicles of white 

 flowers ami bright green pinnate leaves it i- ver} attrac- 

 tive, hut otherwise it i> of rather stiff habit and spreads 

 much by suckers; it i- one of the first shrubs to hurst 

 into leaf in spring. Much more graceful is Holodiscm 

 discolor which forms a broad shrub with arching 

 branches bearing large panicles of creamy white flow- 

 ers; it i- \en well suited lor planting as a single speci- 

 men on the lawn or on projecting parts of the shrubbery 

 where it is not crammed in by other shrubs. 



With their light and feathery appearance the sleilder 

 branches topped l>\ large and loose panicles of pink 

 flowers the Tamarix are unique among the shrubs now 



in hi n : Tamarix Odessana and '/'. Pallasii have pale 



pink flowers, while T. hispida t'l. \-ashgarica) and its 

 variety aestivalis have flowers of a deeper pink. The} 



arc all excellent shrubs lor si iside planting and will 

 even grow well in the ver} spn 



The Smoket rei . ( 'otinus ' i 

 beginning to look beautiful covered with it- feathery 

 panicles resting like a cloud of purplish smoke on the 

 shrub; it varies in the color of ii- fruiting panicles from 

 greenish to purple and a particularly deep pn 

 is distinguished as var. atropurpurea. The American 

 Smoketree, Cotinus americana, is Ear less show} in 

 fruit, but equally beautiful or perhaps more so in its 

 autumnal coloring. 



The Mountain Elder, Sambucus racemosa, is very 

 handsome with its great clusters of coral-red berries 

 disposed along the branches; it is otherwise a somewhat 

 coarse shrub and is not lone-lived which is probably the 

 reason that it is not planted so much as it deservi - 

 it- ornamental fruits; as a mountain plant it delights in 

 cool and partly -haded situations. 



Willi its brownish-red berries hanging on slender 

 stalks from the spreading branches Elaeagnus 

 is now exceedingly handsome; the fruits which are of 

 an agreeable sub-acid flavor ma} be used for jellies. 



Besides those mentioned in an earlier issue many 

 more Honeysuckles an now beginning to ripen their 

 fruits as Lonicera tatarica, L. Morrow ii, L. Ruprechti- 

 ana and the numerous hybrid forms between these 

 specie-. Among the others one of the most beautiful 

 is the recently introduced L. Altmannii with bright 

 orange red pendulous berries which are much more 

 handsomer than the rather insignificant wdiite flower-: 

 ii is nearly related to /.. hispida which has also bright 

 red berries, but less showy, as they are partly enveloped 

 by whitish bracts. Another Honeysuckle more beauti- 

 ful in point than in flower is I,, mvolucrata as well as 

 /.. Ledeiourii, both with pendent purplish blacl - i - 

 berries surrounded by large purple bracts 



Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 



Schizanthus 



The Schizanthus when well grown, is one of the 

 desirable annual- for greenhouse culture. As a con- 

 servatory plant it is unequalled, lasting in bloom for 

 months; as a cut flower for dinner table, or othei 

 oration it i- one of the daintiest things that can he 

 used. The past season we have used it frequently, for 

 a most critical family, and it never failed to bring 

 forth admiration. It is •' easy culture, but will 

 not stand coddling in any shape or form. The young 

 plants should never be allowed to become stunted, or 

 pot bound, but should always be kept on the move. A 

 cool treatment is what il di ights in. 



The finest variety that 1 have had the prit eg 

 arow in- !!■; is i e one red on your free - 



- -hows merely a sine'' spray and was tab 

 show the individual flowers, and not the habit, of the 

 plant. This is indeed a S] endid variety, and the 

 troducer, A. T. Boddington, deserves great credit for it. 



The colors are i variei the flowet - large and 



formed, and the habit is a that can he desired for a 

 pot plant, being vi tnd bushy. 



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