622 



HORTICULTURE 



May P, 1908 



Persian lilac, but we have succeeded in getting a lot of 

 white Persians, and also a hundred or so of the Siberian 

 white lilacs. These, of course, will be extremely hardy 

 and they are now covered with bloom. 



Among those that make a fine showing are Alba 

 Grandiflora, very large, piire white; Charles X, a red- 

 dish purple; Frau Dammann, very large panicles, flow- 

 ers pure white; Marie Legraye has also great clumps of 

 pure white flowers. This variety is very valuable for 

 forcing in the spring. Then there is Professor Sargent, 

 with buds of cherry red and dark violet when fully open. 



When we come to double varieties, we liave Charles 

 .loly, a very dark reddish purple, a superb flower. Emile 

 Lemoine has very large rosy lilac blooms; Jean Bart is 

 simply a magnificent flower of rosy carmine; Madame 

 Lemoine is white; President Grevy is a beautiful blue 

 with flowers very double, one of the finest; and there is 

 Senateur Volland with a compact head of blossoms 

 which are rosy red. 



There is a family of summer-blooming lilacs. There 

 is the Hungarian lilac called Josikaea, then the Emodi, 

 next comes Dr. Brestchneider and then we have Villosa 

 from Japan. These four varieties have a difi'erent sys- 

 tem of leaves from other kinds. The leaves are very 

 large, often as large as a lady's hand, the bushes often 

 being crowned with great masses of flowers. This is 

 especially trae of Villosa. At first, you will not be par- 

 ticularly impressed with it, but some summers, the 

 whole bush will be one vast bouquet of charming bloom, 

 one of the most striking things in the ornamental 

 family. 



Added to these are two other summer bloomers which 

 are the tree lilacs of Japan and China. 'Now, these 

 are trees, not shrubs. We have some here, ten yeais old, 

 large enough for fence posts, and fifteen feet tall. They 

 grow almost as fast and nearly as large as our native 

 ash tree. Wlien you see a good sized tree covered with 

 a great niantle of snowy, honey-scented flowers, you can 

 have some conception of its magnificence. What a 

 splendid show for lining a walk or driveway such a tree 

 would be. This lilac lias rather delicate stems, often 

 taking a pendulous or drooping form and it has small 

 and delicate leaves. The Japanese tree lilac is of a 

 sturdy kind and the leaves are larger. It is more sym- 

 metrical in form than the Chinese. These six summer 

 bloomers certainly make a great addition to our parks 

 and private grounds. 



We are now engaged in originating new sorts. That 

 is done by saving seeds of those growing near together 

 so that the bees will fertilize the blossoms and in this 

 way we get new and striking varieties. We have now over 

 one thousand plants on the way and we are sure of some 

 fine varieties in the lot but nothing as yet to compare 

 with what we hope to produce. 



We of the West have not the variety of ornamental 

 trees and shrubs which they have in the East, and yet 

 there are over one hundred kinds of lilacs that are per- 

 fectly hardy here in Nebraska, so there is no lack what- 

 ever in material for fixing up our home grounds. 



(^ f /f^VTH/tr^ 



^^Dreadnaught'^ Rhododendrons 



1 am \t-v\ lULicli indebted to ]Mr. Koehler for his 

 friendly criticisms under the heading, of "Iron Clad 

 Rhododendrons," although I do not remember liaving 

 used this particular expression. While Mr. Koehler's 

 notes are interesting, and in a certain sense instruc- 

 tive, they are by no means convincing, because, it is 

 obvious that most of the varieties which he lists in 

 such a clear and concise manner, have been favored 

 more by repute than by the actual experience of some 

 of our best known rhododendron growers. 



Mr. Koehler writes so convincingly concerning his 

 subject that I almost find myself unable to treat him to 

 any serious criticism. I can qitite understand that 

 when he penned his comments under the more or less 

 imposing title of "Iron-Clad Rhododendrons," he was 

 filled with a burning desire not only to correct what 

 might be an error in the' wording of the sentence 

 quoted, but also to obliterate entirely the list of varieties 

 which I gave. He has been singularly unfortunate in 

 his attempt. 



Now, I do not like to criticise those people who, it 

 seems, are better learned than myself or even those who 

 apparently possess a superabundance of superior knowl- 

 edge, but really, Mr. Koehler, I must ask you a question, 

 which you may digest and answer at your leisure. 



In the first place I would ask what constitutes a 

 hardy rhododendron ? My answer would be that any 

 variety which is given a suitable situation, and a fair 

 amount of winter protection, and proves satisfactory 

 after a five years' test, must be considered hardy. It 

 does not necessarily follow that because a variety 

 is considered hardy it can be planted in the mid- 

 dle of a ten-acre field. If this is Mr. Koehler's concep- 

 tion of a hardy rhododendron, then I withdraw my 

 entire list and say that they are all very, very tender 

 indeed, and I also put the word tender behind every 

 variety in his own list. "There is no iron-clad list in 

 the sense that that term can be applied to a common 

 lilac." Quite so, Mr. Koehler. Then if this is the 

 ease in a nutshell, all rhododendrons must be more 

 or less tender and none can be termed iron-clad varieties 

 in the correct meaning of the word. 



I am, however, digressing somewhat from my chief 

 object in penning these lines. My principal object was 

 to point out, and impress upon Mr. Koehler the impor- 

 tant fact that the readers of Horticulture are not 

 limited by any means to "Boston and vicinity." This 

 progressive journal, it h pleasing to know, has a very 

 wide circulation, much wider than Mr. Koehler has been 

 aware of when he constructed his fleet of iron-clads for 

 Boston and vicinity. 



In my previous article I did not mention Boston and 

 vicinity; for Mr. Koehler's benefit, however, I will give 

 a few notes on varieties which I have had experience 

 with in this particular locality, confining myself to the 

 varieties at present under discussion. I have found 

 that in the vicinity of Boston the following varieties 

 will survive an average winter, without any overhead 

 protection: Alex Dancer, Charles Bagley, August Van 

 Geert, Hannibal, Everestianum and Concessum. The 

 remainder, namclv Lady Eleanor Cathcart, Mrs. A. 

 Watercr. The Queen, Mrs. R. S. Holford and Mrs. John 

 Clutton have proved after a five years' test to be quite 



