660 



HORTICULTURE 



April 30, 1910 



NEW AND DESIRABLE HERBACE- 

 OUS PLANTS. 



Read before the Gardeners' and Florists' 

 Club of Roston by Arthur B. Thatcher. 



{Continued from pa£i b'24) 



To retain the majority of tierbaceous 

 plants in a vigorous and healthy con- 

 dition, it is necessary to occasionally 

 divide and replant them and this ap- 

 plies especially to those which rely 

 upon a mass of fibrous roots for sup- 

 port, such as asters, campanulas and 

 phlox, but such strong rooting plants 

 as Anemone Japonica and those with 

 long roots and few fibrous ones will 

 succeed for many years undisturbed it 

 the soil is well prepared. 



1 would strongly advise giving the 

 border a covering of some material 

 In the fall as soon as the stems have 

 been removed, and for this purpose I 

 prefer soil to anything else as it not 

 only protects the crowns, but affords 

 the roots new food for next season. 



Water, whether in the form of ponds 

 or streams, Is a most valuable adjunct 

 to all gardens, large or small, and no 

 part of an estate can be made more at- 

 tractive and beautiful than the aquatic 

 garden if it is well arranged and the 

 most suitable plants are employed. 

 This, however, is a large subject and 

 would need a separate lecture to do It 

 justice; but I fear I have already taken 

 up too much of your time so I will 

 confine the rest of my remarks to some 

 herbaceous plants which thrive best at 

 the edge of the water or in marshy 

 ground. Many of these are recent Chi- 

 nese introductions, and when seen 

 growing one is greatly impressed with 

 the remarkable beauty of that coun- 

 try's flora, and they are all perfectly 

 hardy. 



A*stilbe Davidii is perhaps the most 

 beautiful of the family and like all 

 the others would be worth growing for 

 its luxuriant foliage. The flowers are 

 produced on branching stems, five feet 

 in height, and the color is best de- 

 scribed as deep rose-pink with a suffu- 

 sion of violet, a peculiarly beautiful 

 combination not seen in any other 

 plant. A. grandis is similar in all re- 

 spects, except that the flowers are pure 

 white. 



A. rivulaiis and its two varieties, gi- 

 gantea and major, are noble plants 

 with immense foliage and arching 

 spikes of creamy white flowers. 



A. Chinensis is a plant of great merit 

 with a light pink inflorescence and such 

 varieties as Washin.srton, New Rose, 

 Queen Alexandra, Silver Sheaf and 

 'Thunbergii. which grow from two to 

 three feet high, are indispensable where 

 the best plants are desired. 



The Spiraeas, though often regarded 

 as being akin to Astilbes, are botani- 

 cally very different: but they are 

 equally beautiful for waterside plant- 

 ing. There is considerable variety of 

 form and coloring among them and a 

 good selection would include gigantea 

 and its variety, rosea, which are six 

 feet high, Venusta with rich pink 

 flowers, palmata and its two varieties, 

 alba and elegans, and the double form 



of the English Meadow Sweet, S. Ul- 

 maria flore pleno. 



Everyone is familiar with Caltha pal- 

 ustris, the Marsh Marigold or King 

 Cup, of which there are several good 

 double forms, but the most noteworthy 

 is the new C. polypetala, which is the 

 giant of the family. It has very large 

 foliage and the flowers are borne on 

 long stems. 



Two handsome North American 

 plants are Napaea divica and Stenan- 

 thium robustum, both deserving of ex- 

 tended cultivation. Oreocome Candollel 

 is also very uncommon, but its elegant 

 foliage and white flowers render it very 

 attractive. 



China is responsible for the best of 

 the hardy Primulas; pulverulenta, 

 rich purple; Cockburniana, orange 

 scarlet, and vittata with deep rosy 

 purple flowers are unsurpassed for such 

 positions as where P. Japonica suc- 

 ceeds. For many years Rodgersia po- 

 dophylla was the only member of this 

 family cultivated in gardens, and had 

 no new varieties been discovered In 

 China we should have been perfectly 

 satisfied with the large bronzy foliage 

 and numerous white flowers of the well 

 known species, but now there are sev- 

 eral others of even greater value. R. 

 aesculifolia, with leaves like a horse 

 chestnut and large panicles of rosy 

 white flowers on stems four feet high, 

 is extremely effective. R. prnnata, 

 with salmon pink flowers and its white 

 variety are also desirable plants. 



Saxifraga peltata, which produces its 

 tall flower stems in spring before the 

 foliage, is one of the best waterside 

 plants and the variety gigantea Is a 

 larger edition in all respects. 



One does not often see that beautiful 

 British p'ant Butomus iimbellatus in 

 cultivation, although it is one of the 

 best for growing just at the edge of 

 the water. It has rush-like foliage and 

 fall unibell of rosy pink flowers. For 

 spring flowering the Globe Flowers or 

 Trollius are unsurpassed and many 

 beautiful varieties are now obtainable 

 in a variety of color, some with yellow 

 and others with rich orange-colored 

 flowers. Fire Globe, Newry Giant and 

 Orange Globe are three of the most 

 desirable plants I am acquainted with. 



Rheum Alexandrae is an extremely 

 ornamental rhubarb from China and 

 the most effective of the family. The 

 pale yellow leaf bracts which cover 

 the flower stems present a unique 

 and beautiful appearance in June and 

 contrast well with the dark glossy 

 green foliage. Perhaps the most or- 

 namental of all bog garden plants 

 from the far East are the senecios, 

 and Mr. Wilson would have done a 

 good work for horticulture had he 

 only introduced these. Senecio cli- 

 vorum is a singularly beautiful plant, 

 with foliage a foot or more in diame- 

 ter and rich golden yellow flowers 

 three inches across on branching 

 stems five feet high. S. Veitchianus 

 has large foliage and bright yellow 

 blossoms which are produced on the 

 upper portion of the stem for fully 

 two feet, and S. Wilsonianus, whicJi 

 is similar in habit, has smaller flow- 

 ers in much larger numbers. As 

 single specimens or when planted in 

 groups these three plants are unsur- 

 passed. 



The pansy crop in France and Ger- 

 many has been badly winter killed. 



ROSES IN OREGON AND WASH- 

 INGTON. 



Presented at the meeting of the American 

 Rose Society by Wm. S. Sibson. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen: You 

 will appreciate the vastness of the sub- 

 ject upon which I have been requested 

 to speak, when I remind you of the 

 extent of territory, and diversity of J| 

 conditions in regard to climate and soil, ^ 

 that exists within the two states I am 

 to discuss. Combined they aggregate 

 160,000 square miles, an approximate 

 acreage of 61,500,000 acres of land so 

 diversified in character that in a brief 

 address it is possible only to select a 

 limited area, and to refer generally to 

 the balance of this wonderful empire, 

 which in development is only in Its 

 infancy. Having a coast line on the 

 Pacific Ocean of about 500 miles, these 

 states are divided about 150 miles from 

 the coast by the Cascade range of 

 mountains into two great sections, 

 namely. Eastern Oregon and Washing- 

 ton, and Western Oregon and Washing- 

 ton. It is of conditions in the western 

 division that I will endeavor to say a 

 few words that may interest those of 

 you who are strangers to our country. 

 Climate. 



The climate of Western Oregon and 

 Washington is remarkably mild and 

 even. Occasionally, of course, we have 

 "hard winters." The one from which 

 we are now emerging has been, all 

 told, the worst I have seen during a 

 residence here of nearly forty years. 

 .\s a rule, however, the winters are 

 mild, rainy and pleasant, with a mean 

 temperature in a series of years tor the 

 five months between October and May 

 of about 46 degrees. In the summer 

 months from May to October the aver- 

 age temperature, during a like period 

 has been about 63 degrees. These tem- 

 peratures you will note are averages 

 for a series of years. "Cold snaps," 

 which seldom record lower from 10 to 

 15 degrees of frost, occasionally occur 

 in winter and the "hot spells" of sum- 

 mer, which range from 85 to 90 de- 

 grees and sometimes a few degrees 

 higher, have been of course included In 

 arriving at the averages I have quoted. 

 Rainfall. 



Western Oregon and Washington are 

 frequently credited with an excessive 

 rainfall: in fact, I have heard strang- 

 ers claim that "in Oregon" it rains 

 thirteen months in the year. As a 

 matter of fact, the precipitation, at 

 Portland, docs not exceed 46 inches 

 per annum, and in a series of years it 

 has not i cached this average. Perhaps, 

 to people who visit us in winter, it 

 may appear to rain excessively, be- 

 cause the bulk of our rainfall takes 

 place during the six months from Octo- 

 bei- to March. 1 have noticed that 

 when we have an unusually long rainy 

 winter, generous crops of grain, fruit, 

 and all the products of the ground re- 

 sult, and while I have never seen an 

 analysis of our Oregon winter rain 

 water, I believe it is one of the best 

 natural fertilizers, and laden with plant 

 food by a beneficent nature. 



About Roses. 

 With such a climate as I have briefly 

 ouilined, with soil unexcelled, and with 

 a people who are enthusiastic lovers of 

 the rose, is it surprising that our coun- 

 try should have become celebrated for 

 its rose! The motto of the American 

 Rose Society, "A Rose for every Home, 



