December 25, 1909 



HOKTl CULTU RE. 



NEW YORK 



BOTANICAL 



QAkDEN. 



913 



Notes from the Arnold Arboretum 



Though the number of new Chinese trees and shrubs 

 mentioned and described in these notes during this year 

 is very large, it includes by no means all of the new 

 introductions. The numerous species belonging to well- 

 known genera as Salix, Prunus, Pyrus, Malus, Sorbus, 

 Photinia, Fraxinus, Quercus, Betula, Eosa, Tilia, Jug- 

 lans, Hydrangea and many others, also many species 

 belonging to genera mentioned in the previous issues, 

 have not yet been noted, chiefly for the reason that we 

 are not sure of their correct names. 



As most of these Chinese plants are represented only 

 by young seedlings we do not know much of them from 

 a horticultural point of view except that we can gain 

 some idea of their ornamental features from the her- 

 barium specimens and the descriptions, but of their be- 

 havior in cultivation and of their hardiness in our cli- 

 mate we know little or nothing. Even this meagre in- 

 formation shows us that our gardens will be enriched 

 by a large number of highly ornamental plants, some 

 of types not yet represented in our gardens, some simi- 

 lar to kinds already in cultivation, but possibly superior 

 in some way to the cultivated species; some, as the new 

 Rhododendrons, Deutzias, Spireas and others will fur- 

 nish valuable material for developing new types by hy- 

 bridization, and in the case of some Himalayan species 

 in cultivation for a long time, the Chinese forms re- 

 cently introduced have proved hardier than the plants 

 from the Himalayas. 



In the coming year we may expect many of the new 

 introduction to bloom for the first time and besides we 

 shall have the experience of this winter which will give 

 us valuable hints about the hardiness of these plants. 

 Furthermore we shall now be able to name even those 

 plants which have not yet flowered, as the extensive her- 

 barium collections brought together by Mr. Wilson are 

 now being put in order by him and will soon be avail- 

 able for study and for the determination of the names. 

 The numbers of the herbarium specimens correspond 

 with the seed numbers and thus we can find in our her- 

 barium fruiting and in most cases also flowering speci- 

 mens of the young seedling plants and these will en- 

 able us to name the plants. Besides collecting the her- 

 barium specimens Mr. Wilson took a large number of 

 photographs showing the trees and other plants in their 

 native habitat and this gives us a good idea how the 

 trees will look at full maturity. 



The notes from the Arnold Arboretum will be re- 

 sumed as soon as in spring the first of the new intro- 

 ductions begin to bloom and the effects of the past win- 

 ter are discernible. These future notes will with the 

 other information then available do much more justice 

 to horticultural interests than it has been possible dur- 

 ing the last year. 



Ardisia crenulata 



This splendid tree or shrub is no doubt the best 

 berried plant we have for the Christmas holidays. Its 

 nice dark green shiny foliage makes a fine setting for 

 its rich red berries, and for decorative purposes it is 

 superior even to the red-berried solanums. Another 

 point in its favor is its great keeping qualities. I have 

 known a plant to keep in good condition, in an ordinary 

 living room, for over two years, meanwhile retaining one 

 crop of berries until another had grown and ripened. 

 The genus is quite large, but it is very seldom we see any 

 varieties except A. crenulata, it being considered far 

 superior to any of the others, for florists' purposes. 



A. crenulata is of easy culture, although of some- 

 what slow growth. It is nearly always propagated from 

 .=eed, but I believe a plant can be had more quickly and 

 better from a cutting. Quito often when a plant is over 

 three years old, it gets bare of foliage and rather "leggy." 

 It is the custom of many to root the bushy top by gird- 

 ling as described in my article on Codiaeums. These 

 plants from which the tops have been removed, are ex- 

 cellent for getting cuttings from and they will break 

 quite readily if placed in a good warm close atmosphere. 

 The wood should be half ripened before being placed in 

 the cutting bed, which is better to be rather tight, and 

 having a top and bottom temperature of seventy degrees. 

 If these conditions are followed, cuttings will root in a 

 month, after which they should be transferred to small 

 pots. The potting material should be a rather sandy 

 loam, to which about a fourth of broken charcoal has 

 been added. As the plant increases in size and vigor, 

 the potting material may be enriched by adding about a 

 fifth of sheep manure. If quick growth is desired, the 

 plants should be kept in a moist, humid, atmosphere, 

 the temperature being sixty-five to seventy at night. 



The advantage of a cutting over a seedling will be 

 quickly seen, the cutting branching quite near the pot, 

 whereas the seedling will grow a few inches of stem 

 first. As soon as the plants begin to show signs of 

 flowering, they should be given more air, and wetting 

 overhead should be avoided until the berries are well 

 set, also during the summer months the glass should be 

 slightly shaded to prevent the leaves from burning. 

 About October 1st the berries will be well developed, 

 and the plants may be removed to a light sunny green- 

 house, the night temperature being from fifty to fifty-five 

 degrees, giving occasional waterings with manure water. 

 These, with a little Clay's fertilizer once in three weeks, 

 will produce fine colored berries, and add a glisten to 

 the foliage. 



I may here add that it will do no harm to the plants 

 to let them occasionally get on the dry side ; this will 

 prevent the leaves from turning yellow, which they are 

 liable to do if kept wet all the time. The large brown 

 scale is the worst of the insect pests that bother Ardisias. 

 To prevent, we find that sterilizing the soil helps, but if 

 the plants get affected we use a two-inch potful of ker- 

 osene to three gallons of water, keeping well agitated 

 while applying the mixture to the plants with a "Stott 

 nozzle." If this is done once in two weeks, syringing 

 the plants next day with clean water, one will soon erad- 

 icate the scale. 



\Nest Medford, Mass. 



