THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



383 



The above remarks apply to many other deciduous Den- 

 drobes, inchiding D. heterocarpion, D. crassinode, D. de- 

 vonianum, etc. The last named species I find succeeds 

 better in baskets than when grown in pots. 



CAMPANULA PYRAMIDALIS. 



By Alb. Millard. Sui-erinte.\de.nt Geo. W. Perkixs Est.\tE; 



RiVERDALE-ON-HuDSON, N. Y. 



This is a very well known perennial plant, but very 

 seldom seen grown in 10 or 12-inch pots as one of the 

 finest decorative objects to be used in semi-dark halls, 

 or any quite shady place under roof, sheltered from 

 winds. 



Mrs. Ely-Rutherford in her "Another Hardy Garden 

 Book" says : Last September I made the acquaintance 

 at Botzen, in the Austrian Tyrol, of a plant of exceeding 

 beauty. Arriving late one warm afternoon after a tire- 

 some journey, we came into the cool, shaded white 

 marble hall of the hotel, and on either side, at the foot 

 of a fine stairway, rising from a bank of Maidenhair 

 Fern with a background of Palms, was a new plant. 

 Slender stalks, quite six feet high, whose entire length 

 was covered either with white or palest blue bell-like 

 flowers, rose against the green of the Palms. I began 

 to ask questions in my rather imperfect German before 

 going to my room, and the wondering hotel clerk, who 

 doubtless thought another mad American had appeared 

 to cloud his serene horizon, could give no information 

 about them beyond saying that they were supplied to 

 the hotel by a florist whose address he would give me. 



The next morning an early expedition was made to 

 the florist's garden, where we found the admired plant 

 in all stages of growth. But the gardener was crusty. 

 and even a generous douceur had little softening effect. 

 He had no seeds, he was not sure where he bought the 

 seeds, the plant did not bear the tall stalks until two 

 years old if wintered in a cold frame, or three years if 

 grown in the open ground and protected in Winter by 

 a heavy mulch, and last of all, the name of the plant. 

 Campanula pyramidalis, was dragged from him. I de- 

 termined to have those flowers in my garden and set 

 about their pursuit at once upon my return. 



Seeds of these plants are listed in many catalogues, 

 but my impatience to have the plants blooming in the 

 garden was too great for me to wait two or three years 

 necessary for raising them. This Spring I was able to 

 make a beginning with only two dozen, and they have 

 done fairly well, but do not compare with the wonderful 

 plants at Botzen. 



Companula pyramidalis should be sowed in March, 

 using sandy soil, and transplanted in flats, keeping them 

 cool. As soon as large enough, plant out 15 inches apart 

 in good rich ground, well drained in the open field. Wa- 

 ter freely, and by October plant in 6-inch pots and keep 

 in coldest house on the bench. By January they are 

 ready to go in 10-inch pots with good drainage, use some 

 sand with the rich compost and water freely if they are 

 well rooted. By the end of May take the plants to a 

 sheltered, half-shady place. Syringe often to avoid red 

 spider, and as soon as they open the first flowers bring 

 them on a porch, protected from sun and high winds. 



At Hotel Chamijlaiii there was a corner in the grotto 

 where they never got a ray of sunshine, and one hundred 

 of these plants grouped were a sight to behold. Tr\' it 

 and be convinced. 



There is another species of Campanula worth men- 

 tioning here, easily grown from cuttings. Campanula 

 isophylla, a variety considerably used in England. This 

 Cam]3anula will grow under the same treatment as pyr- 

 amidalis, but it is trailing white and blue, with sheets 

 of flowers hiding the foliage. But sorry to say, with 

 the burning of Hotel Champlain the whole stock was 

 lost, and I doubt if there are one dozen plants in this 

 country. I would be glad to get one, but have tried in 

 vain. 



I might add that Campanula pyramidalis is a native 

 of the Austrian and .Xorth Italian coast of the Adriatic 

 sea. 



They 

 stalks. 



/ill flower until Mnveniber. with 7 to 8 feet kins. 



'■C.\MPANUI..\ PVR.\MII)IL.\S.' 



