November 13, 3909 



HORTICULTURE 



671 



wliich it stands, yet we like to pass over these sectional 

 breaches and partisan controversies as lightly as possi- 

 ble and avoid by all means having anything to say which 

 might intensify existing differences. We are always 

 more than glad to give space and also such aid and en- 

 couragement as our pen is equal to, in behalf of any 

 movement for a better mutual understanding or that 

 takes up grievances with ^n honest purpose of concilia- 

 tion and correction. This is our answer to those of our 

 readers who have sometimes seemed inclined to question 

 our reluctance to help out on some contemplated eastiga- 

 tion. While recognizing that our circulation in one or 

 another direction might possibly be augmented by "giv- 

 ing them what they want," we feel sure that, in the long 

 run, Horticulture will best hold the respect and af- 

 fection of the profession in all its branches by striving 

 to maintain the standard of its reading matter and to 

 uphold the dignity of American horticulture and its lit- 

 erature as best it can. 



Allamanda 



The most popular varieties of this genus, without a 

 doubt, are A. Hendersonii, A. Schottii and A. Wil- 

 liamsii. The name Allamanda was given to these beau- 

 tiful plants in honor of a botanist of Leyden, Dr. 

 Allamand. He is said to have sent seeds of them to 

 the great Linnseus. A. Hendersonii and Schottii are 

 classed as climbers, but an elegant bush plant can be 

 grown of either. The two are so near alike that I have 

 heard heated discussions about the difference. Schottii 

 was introduced from Brazil in 1847, according to Nich- 

 olson. He does not mention Hendersonii at all, but 

 Bailey says it came from Guiana, Henderson & Co., St. 

 Johnswood, England, bringing it from there, and it 

 was distributed by Bull about 1865, and some suppose 

 it to be a variety of A. cathartica, which came from 

 the same place in 1785. Planted out in a well-drained 

 rich border in a slightly shaded greenhouse or conserv- 

 atory, trained on an end or on the roof, the flowering 

 shoots being allowed to hang down, their large yellow, 

 funnel shaped flowers against their deep green leaves 

 form a beautiful eSect. As cut flowers I have seen 

 them used in a dining room decoration to good advan- 

 tage, and a nice centre piece can be made, with the 

 flowers fixed up with their own leaves, or other greenery. 

 Many like something low in the center of the table, that 

 will not obstruct the view, and these are just the thing in 

 their season. I should think any florist might grow 

 this plant, probably on some of the ends of his houses, 

 especially if the houses run north and south. On the 

 north end it would not obstruct much light, and a few 

 dollars might be made in the course of a season and no 

 space would be taken up. I have heard store men 

 say they would use Allamanda flowers quite often if 

 they could get them. 



The private gardener can get a good deal of satisfac- 

 tion and use out of a well grown bush plant of either of 

 the above varieties, if grown in the full sun in a good 



airy house. They need no staking or tying and can, 

 when the flowers begin to open, be set outdoors in a 

 sunny position, where they will keep flowering for 

 weeks, if well taken care of. Yellow is a color I find a 

 great many people like, even though some of the car- 

 nation men I have talked to are a little skeptical as to 

 the yellow carnation. 



To grow a bush plant, select a young growth with a 

 heel, three or four Joints long, pot into a thumb pot, 

 in a sandy soil, and place in a tight case. It will root 

 quickly in the spring of the year in a temperature of 

 seventy degrees. As soon as the small pot is filled with 

 roots, shift into a larger pot. An increase of an inch 

 at a time is enough. A few days after the plant has 

 been potted, remove to a good airy house where the 

 night temperature is sixty degrees, no shade being on 

 the house, and when three or four whorls of leaves are 

 formed, cut back to the lowest joint. Every cut back 

 should be done soon after potting into a larger-sized pot, 

 and each strong shoot will give three or four breaks; 

 the weak ones should be allowed to grow a little longer 

 to get more vigor into them. A good strong loam that 

 can be equally worked around the roots with bone meal 

 and Clay's fertilizer added, say a small handful of each 

 to a good shovelfuU of loam is about right. Other 

 manure can be furnished in liquid form as the plant in- 

 creases in vigor. Do not let the plant flower the first 

 year. It will be in about a seven-inch pot about Novem- 

 ber and we find a good plan is to slightly rest it for two 

 months by withholding water and lowering the temper- 

 ature a little but not enough to drop the leaves, as I 

 think they break better when pruned and started up 

 again in January, if the leaves are retained as much 

 as possible. A ten-inch pot is a good size to flower in, 

 and in that size we pinch twice, which makes a shorter 

 growth and makes a nice bush. I once saw an Alla- 

 manda treated in this manner, and for a flnal potting 

 a twelve-inch pot was used, the plant being potted rather 

 deeply, leaving quite a space for top-dressing. The 

 plant remained in this pot for ten years, and made a 

 nice bush plant each year. It was rested in the fall in 

 the manner described above. Pruned back in early 

 spring the young shoots receiving one pinch when they 

 were well started, the plant was in excellent flower about 

 the end of August each year. 



AUamanda Williamsii is without a doubt the most 

 floriferous yet introduced. It is said to be a garden 

 hybrid raised by B. S. Williams & Son of England, and 

 was certified in 1891, appearing in this country about 

 1893. Grown in the manner described above, it makes 

 an excellent bush plant. As a climber it is not to be 

 compared with the two varieties A. Hendersonii and A. 

 Schottii, the leaves being much smaller and not such 

 a nice shiny green. The flowers are not so large as the 

 above mentioned, but I think of a better shade of 

 color and more of them. However, I have seen it used 

 as a climbing plant and doing well, covering the whole 

 end of a greenhouse. 



"West Medford, Mass. 



