HORTICULTURE 



Juno S. I'.'IS 



wUh narrow Ioum-s liiv>- Mrs J"hn 

 Chittoii. There uro. >'i iour«e. oxcep 

 lions l<> surh a r"'*" ••"<"■ ex^inP'*- 

 Pink Pearl hns Urm,\ l.nvefi and la 

 very lender: and C.oimr Waterer. al- 

 though II lias leavcH as bruad as those 

 of any of these hybrldg. usually 

 suffers In winter ami almost Invari- 

 ably loses Its flower-buds. 



Persons who want to plant Cataw- 

 blense hybrid rhododomlrons should 

 take advantage of the knowledge 

 which has been laboriously and expen- 

 sively obtained about these plants at 

 Wellesley. Mass., on Mr. Hunnewell's 

 estate, where rhododendrons have 

 been tested on 4 larpe scale for sixty 

 vears. and at the .\rl)orelum where 

 many of the hardiest kinds raised in 

 Knpland. Germany, and the United 

 States arc now in nower. There are 

 other evergreen rhododendrons which 

 are not as often cultivated here in 

 Massachusetts as they miBht be. R. 

 catawbiense itself is perfectly hardy 

 and none of its hybrids have hand- 

 somer foliage. It grows slowly, how- 

 ever, and never to a very large size. 

 and the flowers are of a disagreeable 

 purple rose color. 



One of the handsomest of the early 

 rhododendrons. Boule de Neige. shows 

 no effects of a hard winter. The leaves 

 are as green as they were in October 

 and the flower-buds hav(' not been in- 

 jured. It is a dwarf plant rarely grow- 

 ing to the height of three feet but the 

 branches are wide-spreading and form 

 a broad, compact, round-topped head. 

 Little appears to be known of the his- 

 tory of this plant; it is evidently a 

 hxbrid and R. caucasirtim is no doubt 

 one of the parents. .ludging by the 

 leaves. K. catawbiense. or one of its 

 hybrids, may be the other parent. 

 The French name suggests that it was 

 raised in France as does the name of 

 the raiser, Oudieu. given in a recent 

 Knglish work on Rhododendrons. 

 Whatever these may have been Boule 

 de Neige seems one of the hardiest 

 rhododendrons which can he grown 

 successfully in this climate. Another 

 dwarf rhododendron. Mont Blanc, a 

 variety or hybrid of R. raucasicum . 

 flowered a few days earlier than Boule 

 de Neige. It is a dwarfer plant and 

 the flowers are rose color when they 

 first open but soon become pure white. 

 This is a plant which has bloomed in 

 the Arboretum for several years and 

 has never been injured. The history 

 of its parentage and origin are not re- 

 corded. A hybrid. R. raucasicum, with 

 rose-colored flowers, sold in nurseries 

 as R. Jacksonii although that name 

 properly belongs to another hybrid, 

 has lost a good many leaves and some 

 of the flower-buds. 



Rhododendron maximum, which 

 grows naturally as far north as south- 

 ern New Hampshire. |h a large plant 

 sometimes treelike In habit, with 

 handsome, long, narrow leaves and 

 small clusters of beautiful pink and 

 white flowers. It Is the last of thr 

 rhododendrons to bloom here, and 

 the flowor-buds do not open until the 

 new branchlets have nearly flnlshed 

 their growth, so that the flower- 

 clusters are a good deal hidden by 

 them. The varieties and hybrids of 

 the dwarf Rhododendron caucdsicuw 

 bloom before the Catawbiense hybrids 

 and the flowers have already faded. 

 The latest of this race to flower, and 

 1 erhaps the best of them all here. Is 

 a low, broad, compact plant with pure 

 white flowers called Boule de Neige. 

 This is a perfectly hardy, free-flower- 

 ing plant which might to advantage 

 be more generally planted in Massa- 

 chusetts. 



Rhododendron caroilnianum. An- 

 other year increases our admiration 

 for this native of the slopes of the 

 southern Appalachian mountains 

 which is the handsomest of the small 

 rhododendrons in the Arboretum col- 

 lection. It is perfectly hardy, the 

 habit is excellent, and the leaves are 

 very dark green above and rusty be- 

 low. It flourishes in the full sun or 

 in deep shade, and never fails to pro- 

 duce abundant crops of its clusters 

 of pale rose-pink flowers. This is one 

 of the best of the broad-leaved ever- 

 greens recently introduced into our 

 gardens. 



Rhododendron Smirnowll is a plant 

 with which Americans interested 'in 

 the cultivation of rhododendrons 

 would do well to become acquaintcci, 

 for it is not only a beautiful plant but 

 may prove exceedingly valuable in the 

 production of a new race of hybrid 

 rhododendrons better suited for this 

 climate than any which we now have. 

 It is a native of the Caucasus and a 

 large shrub with pale gray-green 

 leaves coated below with a thick mat 

 of pale felt, and large pink or rose- 

 Iiink flowers in medium-sized clusters. 

 The leaves are not as handsome as 

 those of R. catawbiense and Its hy- 

 brids, and when the plants are fully 

 exposed to the sun the leaves some- 

 times curl up in very hot weather. 

 The felt on their lower surface, how- 

 ever, protects them from the attacks 

 of the lace-leaf fly from which other 

 rhododendrons suffer so seriously here. 

 By crossing this rhododendron with 

 R. catawbiense or with some of the 

 hardiest of its hybrids it may be pos- 

 sible to obtain plants superior to any 

 now in our gardens. A .Tapanese spe- 

 cies, Rhododendron brachycarpum. 



may also prove valuable for croHnIng 

 with W. Smimou-ii or W. <-atautiicme. 

 ThlH Is n species of the high moun 

 tains of Japan, with large, dark green 

 leaves and large clusters of very pale 

 yellow flowers: It Is an exrcodlngly 

 rare plont In western gardens and 

 does not appear to have boon much 

 lUltlvated by the Japanese. It was 

 one of the plants brought from Japan 

 In 1862 by Mr. Oordon Dexter of Bos- 

 ton and It grew to a large size and 

 flowered for many years In Ftancls 

 Parkman's garden In Jamaica Plain. 

 This specimen was later transferred 

 to the Arboretum and Is no longer 

 alive. There are now seedling plants 

 here, and there Is no reason why this 

 handsome species should not become 

 common in American gardens. — Com- 

 piled in part from the Arboretum 

 HiiHettn. 



BOUVARDIAS. 

 In the scarcity of Illy of the valley, 

 liouvardla Is doubly welcome In the 

 making up of bouquets and design 

 work where a choice white flower Is 

 needed to give graceful finish. Bou- 

 vardlas will pay well for their room 

 and keep. Any culture and soil that 

 suits carnations or roses will satisfy 

 the bouvardias. Plant the young 

 plants in the open and keep them 

 well cultivated, transferring them to 

 the bench in early September. Give 

 water freely and keep them pinched 

 back if they show any disposition to 

 flower in the field. 



CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 

 Chrysanthemums should be shifted 

 along and kept growing without any 

 interruption. Do not let them get pot- 

 bound and be sure that watering and 

 spraying in these hot June days are 

 not neglected. Keep them properly 

 staked and with plenty of air room 

 about each plant so that good clean 

 perfect foliage, which is almost as 

 essential as the fiowers, may he had. 



What Is That Plant? 



A difficult Queitlon to aniwer aiaklly 

 UDlei* flowen are preaent. becauae the 

 ordinary Manaala make uae of flower 

 and fruit charactera. It may be 

 anawered eaally for over 1000 treea and 

 sbruba. Including tboae moat commonly 

 planted In tbe eaatern Statea and In 

 northern Europe, from foliage only, by 

 aid of the 200-paKe book, 'Tlant Ma- 

 terlala of Decorative GardenlnK," by 

 William Treleaae, conrenlent for band- 

 Ung and of a alie to fit the pocket, 

 which may be had of tbe HORTICDL- 

 TURB PUBLISHING CO., for »1.0»- 

 poatpald. 



