Septembev 25, lst09 



HORTICULTURE 



485 



Fuchsias 



To those iuterested in growing Fuchsias (and consid- 

 ering their great value as a decorative plant, I think 

 more should be than there has been, for a good many 

 years) this is a good time of the year to root cuttings, 

 if specimens of from three to four feet high are desired 

 by the early part of next summer. As a bedding plant 

 for a shady spot under trees they are in the opinion of 

 some, ahead of the begonia. Quite recently at Harvard 

 Botanic Garden, I saw a well arranged fuchsia bed of 

 plants which Mr. Cameron told me had done duty for 

 Class Day decoration at the University, previous to 

 being planted under the trees, where they are, at the time 

 of writing, Sept. 6, covered with flowers, the colors 

 blending well together. Authorities such as Nicholson 

 tell us that there are about fifty species in the genus, and 

 I suppose the garden hybrids can be reckoned by the 

 thousand. As with other plants that have been much 

 hybridized the nomenclature has become sadly mixed, the 

 same variety going under many names. 



Cuttings taken now will root in about three weeks in a 

 temperature around seventy degrees. The best at this 

 time of year are procured from plants growing outdoors. 

 Select a sucker if possible and cut under a good strong 

 joint ; as I find that the stronger the joint is, one is more 

 liable to get plenty of suckers, wliich furnishes the bot- 

 tom of the plant in a way that, if one trusted to the 

 breaks from the main stem, could not be done so well, 

 especially the first year. A fall cutting, as far as my 

 experience goes does not form a good leader, being al- 

 ways liable to run to flower, and having a sort of stunted 

 appearance, therefore we select the first sucker for a 

 leader if a pyramid or conical shaped plant is desired. 

 I have seen good, well furnished plants, five to six feet 

 high, grown in nine months, but many varieties will not 

 do this and, if exhibition plants are desired, two year 

 olds are none too young as one can cover many defects 

 in shape, the second year, that were almost impossible 

 to overcome the first. 



In keeping the plants in shape while growing we find 

 a good method is to stop the leader, about every fourth 

 joint. This encourages side breaks, which requires more 

 judgment in stopping, so as to have the side of the plant 

 evenly balanced. One has to allow the weak ones to 

 grow out to get some vigor into them and pinch the 

 strong ones quite hard, trying at the same time to cover 

 the thin parts. I am aware that some varieties break 

 naturally of themselves, but a great many do not, and 

 one has to know them by experience for, as I said above, 

 the names are quite often misleading. Small plants 

 grow rapidly in a compost of equal parts of loam, leaf 

 mold, well decayed cow manure, and sand, but as they 

 increase in size, and vigor, a gradual increase in loam, 

 and less of leafmold, and sand, should be used. Wlien 

 being potted into the pots one intends to flower them in, 

 the loam used should be rough and fibrous, and when 

 well established in these pots the formulas described by 

 A. Pengel, for flowering plants, in your paper of Sept. 

 4, I can heartily endorse. Sixty during the night, with 

 a rise of ten or fifteen degrees, during the day, is about 

 the right temperature to grow fuchsias in. Old plants 

 may be wintered, in anything above freezing, giving 

 enough water to keep the wood from shriveling. 



Advice as to varieties to grow, for the reasons assigned 

 above, is hard to give. I do not say that the following 



are perfectly cornet, but they are known around here 

 by the names as given. Abilene Faber, Alfred Daudet, 

 Arabella improved. Charming, Countess of Aberdeen, 

 Champion of the World, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of 

 Beaconsfield, Hector, Lucy Finnis, Lesette, Rose of Cas- 

 tile, Puritan. Trailing Queen is very useful for bas- 

 kets, and a good centre for the basket is a variety known 

 here as Black Prince, the two harmonizing well to- 

 gether, both in foliage and flower, and I would recom- 

 mend these two varieties for that purpose to florists and 

 others who have a use for baskets for hanging out doors 

 during the summer. 



I think an epoch of revival in interest in these beauti- 

 ful plants would not be amiss. We have great tubs of 

 hydrangeas and laurels for scattering around the lawns 

 in summer. A few large tubs of Fuchsias, I think, 

 would relieve the monotony somewhat, and give a little 

 more range of color. Their winter treatment is about 

 the same and I don't think they would entail any more 

 work than either of the above referred to. 



sjeOT^ L^ JtuFojiXT^ 



IFesi Medford, Mass. 



Trained Gooseberry Plants 



Some gardeners and amateurs owing to lack of space 

 in their gardens are unable to cultivate as many goose- 

 berries as they would like ; but with a little practice in 

 rearing shaped plants or by purchasing the plants 

 already furnished with the leading shoots it is an easy- 

 matter to find situations for a number of columnar, fan 

 trained, vase formed, etc., where space would be too 

 limited for the ordinary bushes, which may produce a 

 crown in a few years of 4 — 5 ft. in diameter. I ob- 

 served some capital specimens under a variety of shapes 

 at the last meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural Society, 

 exactly suited for small gardens. Some of these were 

 furnished with leading branches which were made to 

 radiate from the top of stems about a foot high, and 

 formed, as it were, the ribs of a fan trained tree. Others 

 formed vases with 8 to 10 main shoots fixed to as many- 

 stakes, or to circular wires held in position by insert- 

 ing a few thin stakes; cordons consisting of several 

 leading branches, generally arranged in the erect man- 

 ner in order to keep the fruit from being befouled by- 

 soil during heavy rain fall. These erect cordons and 

 fans make gathering the fruit an easy matter, and 

 its protection by means of close netting from wasps and 

 birds similarly easy. The cupola or umbrella forma 

 are likewise. useful, but they are more difficult of pro- 

 tection, as well as costing more in the purchase of 

 netting. 



In this connection I allude specially to the fine 

 flavored dessert varieties usually grown in private gar- 

 dens in limited numbers. I may fittingly make men- 

 tion of the names of varieties of this kind noticed in 

 Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons' exhibit, viz., Langley Beauty, 

 Gipsy Queen, Forester, Brown Girl, Bright Venus, 

 Langley Gage, and Lady Hamilton. 



