August 20, 1910 



HORTICULTURE. 



■26 b 



Notes From the Arnold Arboretum 



Buddleia variabilis is now beginning to bloom, and 

 though it has been already highly recommended, it 

 ought to be stated again that it is one of our best late- 

 flowering shrubs and among the most noteworthy of the 

 recent introductions from China. In habit and general 

 appearance it is so distinct from other shrubs that it 

 will not fail to attract attention when studded with its 

 showy spikes of lilac flowers. The foliage, too, is very 

 attractive and particularly the contrast between the 

 dark green upper side and the silvery white under side 

 of the leaves which are lanceolate in outline and meas- 

 ure from four to ten inches in length is an effective or- 

 namental feature of this shrub. The fact that the 

 shrub is not quite hardy here and is killed back more 

 or less during the winter does not diminish its value, 

 as vigorous young shoots spring freely up from the base 

 and bloom profusely the same year, the flower spikes 

 being perhaps larger and finer, as if all the old wood 

 were preserved and the flowers produced from less vig- 

 orous shoots. Buddleia variabilis reaches a height of 

 five to eight feet and from August until late in fall it 

 is studded with the long tail-like spikes of lilac, faintly 

 fragrant flowers, borne at the end of the branches and 

 branchlets. In the common form the flower spikes 

 form a rather lax tail of lilac purple flowers with a faint 

 orange centre. Handsomer are the following varieties 

 of which B. variabilis var. Veitchiana is the earliest to 

 bloom, its flower spikes are longer, often over two feet 

 long and denser and the color of the flowers is deeper 

 with a bright orange centre. Buddleia variabilis var. 

 magnifica is also a very fine fonn with bright violet pur- 

 ple flowers marked with a deep orange eye; the spikes 

 are more constricted than in the preceding variety. The 

 latest to bloom and in its best shape about the middle 

 of September is Buddleia variabilis var. Wilsoni; the 

 flower spikes attain the length of thirty inches and the 

 flowers are bright rose lilac with an intense orange eye. 

 The large flower spikes with their subdued shades of 

 lilac and purple loosely arranged in vases are very ef- 

 fective for indoor decoration, but must be liandled care- 

 fully, as they easily wilt, and put in water as soon as 

 possible after cutting and kept for a while cool and 

 moist. 



Clematis tangutica (C. eriopoda) is now very hand- 

 some with its bluish green finely divided foliage studded 

 with the feathery heads of long-tailed fruits inter- 

 spersed with the bright yellow bell-shaped flowers nod- 

 ding from slender stalks. The flowers measure two 

 inches in length and are with their long-pointed yellow 

 Bepals very unlike any of the more commonly culti- 

 vated Clematises; they appear from June to August 

 and even after they are gone the heads of fruits with 

 their long feathery tails continue to adorn this vine 

 until late in fall. Another similar species now in bloom 

 is Clematis orientalis with smaller flowers of a paler 

 often greenish yellow and with less bluish, finely divided 

 foliage; it begins to bloom in August and like the pre- 

 ceding species the flowers are followed later by orna- 

 mental heads of feathery fruits. 



Besides the varieties of Calluna mentioned in one of 

 the preceding issues, another Heath, Erica vagans. 



which is now in full bloom, ought to be mentioned 

 here. This and Erica carnea which shows its pretty 

 rose-colored flowers in early spring are the only true 

 Ericas which have proved perfectly hardy here. Erica 

 vagans, a native of western Europe, forms spreading 

 tufts scarcely exceeding one foot in height, though in 

 its native habitat it grows three to four feet high, and 

 the small light pink or whitish flowers form dense 

 spikes at the upper part of the branches. The plant, 

 however, chiefly on account of its pale flowers, is not as 

 handsome as Calluna with its bright red flower spikes. 



Seasonable Notes on Culture of 

 Florists Stock 



CATTLETAS 



For commercial purposes there are no better orchids 

 to grow than cattleyas. If given some attention as to 

 their needs they will repay you well by a profusion of 

 blooms. Gigas, Gaskelliana, and Chrysotoxa, as they go 

 out of flowers will need some new material. There is 

 nothing better than some live sphagnum and soft 

 ftbrous peat. In the growing of cattleyas it is very im- 

 portant that the plants be firm, whether they are grown 



Cattleya Hardyana 



in baskets, pots or on boards. They should be watered 

 verj' carefully as they are in their rest season, but don't 

 withhold water too severely or it will cause injury to 

 the plant. When new breaks begin to move they can 

 be given encouragement in the way of water and mois- 

 ture. Keep a light shade of naphtha and white lead up 

 to the middle of October or first of November. The 

 floors and benches should be kept wet in order to supply 

 the atmosphere with moisture during the hot and dry 

 weather. 



BKOWALLIAS 



The Browallia is of special value to the florist for 

 winter flowering owing to its free blooming qualities, 

 flowering as it does in our shortest and darkest days. 

 Sow now in pans or pots or a still better plan is to sow 

 a few seeds in a -i-inch pot, and when large enough the 

 seedlings can be thinned, leaving three or five plants in 

 a pot which can be shifter! as they require it until a 



