May 2, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



5;)i 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum 



Among tlie slirubs blooming in these early spring 

 clays none make a more gorgeous display than the For- 

 sythias with their golden yellow flowers. The large 

 clump planted in the Arboretum on the slope opposite 

 the Forest Hill entrance looks now like a sheet of gold 

 spread out on the hillside and does not fail to attract 

 the attention and admiration of every beholder. At 

 the first glance there seems to be little difference between 

 the several species and varieties of the Forsythias, or as 

 Uiey are also called in English, the Golden Bells, but 

 on closer observation marked difEerences in color and 

 profusion of the flowers and in habit will be noticed 

 which ought to be taken into consideration in using 

 these shrubs for certain purposes and effects. One of 

 the best is the true F. suspensa (F. Sieholdi, F. suspensa 

 var. Sieholdi), usually a rather low shrub with slender 

 arching or drooping or sometimes trailing branches and 

 solitary flowers of a rather deep yellow; it is well 

 adapted for covering walls, fences, arbors and the like, 

 as it can be treated like a low climber. For planting in 

 shrubberies Forsythia suspensa var. Fortunei (F. For- 

 tunei) is to be preferred; it is of more vigorous and 

 more upright growth attaining to eight feet or some- 

 times more in height and the somewhat paler flowers 

 appear in greater profusion. A species of more strictly 

 upright habit is the well known Forsythia viridissima, 

 which, however, is slightly inferior in its ornamental 

 qualities to the var. Fortunei and is not quite as hardy 

 at least in the neighborhood of Boston. Very similar 

 to F. viridissima is Forsythia europaea, which is as yet 

 little known in cultivation having been discovered only 

 about twelve years ago in southeastern Europe; as far 

 as can be judged from the young plants in the Arbor- 

 etum, it will not surpass any of the other species in 

 Ijeauty. The most valuable of all Forsythias for hor- 

 ticultural purposes is Forsythia intermedia with its va- 

 rieties, hybrids between F. suspensa and F. viridissima. 

 They are more floriferous than their parents and gen- 

 erally of upright vigorous habit ; the four following 

 forms have been distinguished. The original Forsythia 

 intermedia (F. intermedia var. divaricata) forms a 

 somewhat spreading shrub with partly arching and pen- 

 dulous branches and with solitary flowers of a rather 

 light yellow color. Forsythia intermedia var. densi- 

 flora is of similar but more irregular habit and has the 

 bright yellow flowers arranged in dense clusters at the 

 base of last year's branches while on the upper part of 

 tlie branches they are solitary. Forsythia intermedia 

 var. spectahilis is of more upright habit with partly 

 arching branches and the deep yellow flowers appear 

 in great profusion along the entire length of the 

 branches. Forsythia intermedia var. vitellina is of 

 strictly upright habit with deep yellow flowers appear- 

 ing in greatest profusion toward the base of the 

 branches. 



Another yellow flowering shrub or small tree now in 

 bloom is Gornus mas which is also to be recommended 

 for its lustrous dark green foliage, its compact habit 

 and the bright scarlet fruits in autumn. 



Magnolia stellata is particularly fine this year and is 

 now in its full glory; it is certainly the most graceful 

 of the early flowering Japanese species ; a very handsome 

 variety is the pinkisli M. stellata var. rosea. Magnolia 

 Kohm is also in bloom, but is far less beautiful than M. 

 stellata, as its white flowers appear only rather sparingly 

 even on older plants; it is, however, the hardiest of all 

 the Japanese Magnolias and grows into a small tree of 

 regiilar pyramidal habit. 



Rhododendron mucronulatnm besides the closely re- 



lated R. dahuricum the earliest of all the Ehododen- 

 drons attracts attention by its beautiful rosecolored flow- 

 ers appearing in great profusion; R. mucronulatum is 

 of more vigorous and upright habit than the latter spe- 

 cies and the deciduous foliage turns to a brilliant scar- 

 let color in autumn. 



Of the numerous species of Prunus the earliest of all, 

 J'runus Davidiana is already past flowering, but Prunus 

 sibirica, P. Mume, P. Armeniaca, P. Amygdalus, P. 

 platycarpa, the peculiar Chinese Flat Peach, P. triloba 

 and P. tomentosa are now in full bloom, the beautiful 

 pink flowered P. serrulata and the graceful pinkish 

 white P. pendula are beginning to flower and many 

 others are soon to come. If the weather continues 

 favorably the numerous ornamental flowering cherries, 

 [ilums and npplcs will make a great display during this 

 month. 



British Horticulture 



SIS GOOD ROSES 



The new annual of the National Rose Society is 

 replete with contributions from the leading rosarians. 

 The Eev. J. H. Pemberton, one of the vice-presidents, 

 has performed the difficult task of selecting half a dozen 

 roses amongst the newest introductions which he con- 

 siders are the very best for garden purposes. The list 

 is as follows: Dean Hole, H. T. (A. Dickson and 

 Sons) ; Earl of Warwick, H. T. (Wm. Paul and Son) ; 

 George Laing Paul, H. T. (Soupert & Notting) ; Hugh 

 Dickson, H. P. (H. Dickson); Lady Ashtown, H. T. 

 (A. Dickson & Sons) ; Trier, CI. Poly. (P. Lambert). 

 The latter is the offspring of a cross between Aglaia 

 and Mrs. Sharman Crawford. 



THE NATIONAL DAHLIA SOCIETY 



Mr. H. H. Thomas, a contributor to Horticulture, 

 the new secretary to the National Dahlia Society, has 

 issued the annual report. The past season, it is stated, 

 must be regarded as an unfavorable one for dahlias. The 

 summer was a very cold one, and although there were 

 many dull and rainy days, the total rainfall was below 

 the average. The plants were therefore quite three 

 weeks late in blooming with the result that exhibitors 

 had very few blooms to choose from on show day. The 

 trial of garden cactus dahlias at Wisley by the Eoyal 

 Horticultural Society in conjunction with this society 

 was greatly marred owing to the cold season. Further 

 trials are to be made this season at Wisley with garden 

 cactus varieties. These are limited to the varieties 

 which have been introduced since January 1st, 1905. 

 The dahlia analysis, which is published by Mr. Edward 

 Mawley, president of tlie society, shows that the num- 

 ber of entries last season in some of the sections was 

 smaller than usual owing to the unfavorable season. In 

 the cactus section, which is always the most popular and 

 attractive in the show, there was a great falling off, as 

 compared with previous years. The numbers were as 

 follows : Cactus, number of bunches, 296 ; Cactus 

 shown singly, 624; Shows, number of blooms, 478; 

 Fancies, number of blooms, 181 ; Pompons, number of 

 bunches, 210; Singles, number of bunches, 147. The 

 society's annual show has been arranged to take place in 

 the Eoyal Horticultural Hall, London, September 3rd 



>tyy. ddi^. 



