March 



1908 



HORTICULTURE 



293 



FLOWERING APPLES 



The various ornamental apples in- 

 cluded under the popular term "flower- 

 ing" apples, surpass in floral beauty 

 the trees and shrubs blooming at their 

 particular season. Yet, notwithstand- 

 ing their great attractiveness, they are 

 used very little as compared with most 

 ornamental plants. This fact is prob- 

 ably due, to a large extent, to a lack 

 of any widespread knowledge or appre- 

 ciation of their" worth. Some have 

 been displaying their beauty in our 

 gardens for a long time, while others 

 are comparatively recent introductions 

 from Asia. They are large shrubs or 

 small trees, having a form often 

 somewhat irregular, yet in the case 

 ■of some species rather symmetrical, 

 bearing an abundance of charming 

 flowers within range in color from 

 white through shades of pink to almost 

 blood-red, and frequently bearing fruit 

 which is attractive in the late summer 

 and autumn. 



As to their Demands. 



They do not require more than the 

 average ornamental shrub or tree and, 

 for the most part, they are not fas^-.- 

 ous as regards soil or situation. Some 

 few need garden cultivation, while 

 others succeed in ordinary soil even 

 on somewhat dry banks. However, 

 they all respond earnestly to good 

 deep soil and careful treatment. More- 

 over, they are perfectly hardy and 

 vigorous. As to pinning, in the early 

 yeais of the plant's life it is piactically 

 identical with that of the f.uiting ap- 

 ple, while later it consists essentially 

 in removing diad and interfering 

 branches. 



The Uses to Which They IWay Be Put 

 Are IVlany. 



They have their place in the small 

 city yard and on the larger city estate 

 as well as on the large country place. 

 Some may be appropriate in the garden 

 or on the lawn as specimens, others 

 may be desirable in the back of the 

 shrubbery, while many of them are 

 particularly well adapted to border 

 plantations and screens. Then some, 

 as the Wild Crab Apple (Pyrus coron- 

 aria), are very attractive when situ- 

 ated on the borders of a natural wood. 

 After all. there is no gainsaying that 

 they are most effective when in 

 masses, especially where there is a 

 background of green, as that offered 

 by a grassy bank or a growth of coni- 

 ferous trees. Although this larger 

 use seems to be most desirable, the 

 fact should discourage no one from 

 planting them on small areas and in 

 limited numbeis, for a single plant in 

 a garden or on a small lawn is capable 

 of affording as much pleasure during 

 its season of bloom as any individual 

 plant possibly can. 

 The Period of Bloom of These Apples. 



It is a trifle over three weeks. 

 Most of them flower profusely year 

 after year. In the vicinity of Boston 

 •|_ the earliest, the Siberian Crab (Pyrus 

 baccata) and its varieties, begin to 

 unfold their flower buds the latter part 

 of the first week or early in the second 

 week in May; and the last to delight 

 US with its charm, the Wild Crab Apple 

 (Pyrus coronaria), passes out of bloom 

 early in ,Iune. Almost simultaneously 

 with those of the Siberian Crab ap- 



I'ynis Toriago. 



pear the delicate pink blooms of the 

 Ploweiing Ciab (Pyius floribunda). 

 When the Siberian Crab is at its 

 height, Parkman's Crab (Pyrus Hal- 

 liana I is beginning to release the re- 

 straint on its rosy petals and in less 

 than a week will grant them full free- 

 dom ,4t the same time the Chinese 

 Flowering Apple (Pyrus spectabilis) is 

 l.arely opening its most advanced buds 

 which a week later will be in full ex- 

 i'an.=ion. This is the most tenacious 

 "f its flowers of any of these apples, 

 and is in good condition for the long- 

 est period. When Parkman's Crab is 

 a little past full bloom and the Chinese 

 Flowering Apple is about in its prime 

 the Dwarf Ciab (Pyrus Toringo) may 

 be making its display. When this is 

 over, one may expect to find the West- 

 ern Ciab Apple (Pyrus loensis) and 

 the Wild Crab .\pple (Pyrus coronaria) 

 covered with their rosy-red fragrant 

 flowers. How unobtrusive they are 

 as they nestle in the fresh living green 

 of the unfolded leaves! Yet how cer- 

 tain tbey are to catch your attention, 

 and how tenaciously they hold it! Is 

 not their perfume sweet? It is that of 

 the apple, yet more refined £.nd withal 

 more intense and all-pervading. Pro- 

 vidential it is that these are reserved 

 by Nature to terminate her brilliant 

 array of flowering apples. 



The Siberian Crab (Pyrus baccata). 



Now, is it not worth the while to 

 devote ourselves to making their per- 

 sonal acquaintance? As the Siberian 

 Crab is the first to greet us, it is only 

 courteous to cultivate its friendship. 

 Although growing wild from Siberia 

 and Manchuria to the Himalayas, it 

 ht^s been cultivated in Europe for a 

 U'.ng time and in China and Japan from 

 time immemorial. The plants offered 

 in this country are in all probability 

 varieties or crosses and not the true 

 species. It is a small spreading tree 

 sometimes becoming as large as the 

 apple and reaching a height of thirty 

 feet. The flowers are usually white 

 and appear in abundance with the 



leaves on long green flower stalks. 

 Following the flowers come the little 

 apples, ranging in size from a quarter 

 to three-quarters of an inch in diame- 

 ter, and yellow or red in color. When 

 in bloom the tree is a beautiful object, 

 and again at fruiting time it is inter- 

 esting, yet it should not rank high 

 in this list. What will shoilly be said 

 in the case of the Flowering Crab as 

 regards hardiness, vigor and ease of 

 establishment, applies to the Siberian 

 Crab, and likewise the uses to which 

 thoy may be put are identical. 

 The Flowering Crab (Pyrus flori- 

 bunda). 

 This is an extremely attractive plant 

 from Japan. It is a shrub or small 

 tree, low and bushy in form, branching 

 from near the ground and ultimately 

 growing to a height of twenty feet. The 

 flowers are rose-colored, an inch 

 across, and completely cover the plant. 

 The slightly loosened buds with their 

 bright red hue are nearly as attractive 

 af-'the unfolded blooms, and the com- 

 bination of buds and open flowers is 

 charming. Then follow the small red 

 apples, about the size of a pea, borne 

 on slender stems. These are rather 

 interesting during the late summer and 

 early fall but do not persist until win- 

 ter. All in all. this is the best of our 

 exotic apples and. in fact, ranks very 

 high among ornamental plants. It is 

 good in a garden, but most effective 

 when used in masses. This is one of 

 the apples very well adapted to forming 

 screens or to use in border plantations. 

 It is hardy, sturdy and easy to estab- 

 lish and grow. 



Parkman's Crab (Pyrus Halliana) 



is a bush or small tree, with loose 

 open crown, somewhat unsymmetrical 

 in habit and as a rule not exceeding 

 a height of fifteen feet. It has pleas- 

 ing leathery foliage in moderate 

 abundance. The flowers are rose-col- 

 ored, usually serai-double, pendulous 

 on slender reddish flower-stalks. The 

 fruit is about a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter, brownish-red, and ripens in 



