138 



H ORTi culture: 



August 5, 1905 



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THE USES OF HARDY SHRUBS 

 FOR FORCING 



the 



Club of Phil 



Edwin Matthews befo 



delphia, June 6th, 1905 

 [Continued from page 40) 



The large list of shrubs adaptable for 

 forcing inust, of course, be greatly minimized 

 for the florists, as many of them, though 

 beautiful and useful in some capacities, 

 would not bring the best returns for the 

 labor bestowed on them. Azaleas, both the 

 mollis and those known as the Ghent azaleas, 

 are one of the most useful classes of shrubs 

 that we have and quite as valuable for hard 

 forcing as for flowering later. Although the 

 formation of the roots is dense and wigUke, 

 they are, as already stated, all the better for 

 being^ potted early; especially is this so if 

 they are wanted for early forcing, .'^mong 

 the most beautiful in the mollis section are 

 Alphonse Lavalle, bright orange; Anthony 

 Koster, deep yellow; Hugo Koster, salmon 

 red, and J. J. de Bink, soft rose. The seed- 

 pods should be removed directly after flow- 

 ering, as these are a drain on the plants' 

 strength. 



Rhododendrons are among the most gor- 

 geous of shrubs, and owing to the root for- 

 mation are most suitable for being flowered 

 in pots or tubs. Going by the stock imported 

 from Europe, they flower when quite small, 

 plants not more than one and one-half feet 

 high bearing a half-dozen large trusses of _ 

 flowers, while the wide range of coloring in 

 the rhododendron family affords opportunity 

 for getting almost any shade desired. Hard 

 forcing for the rhododendron must be 

 avoided, while liberal supjilies of water over- 

 head is essential when it is remembered that 

 moist conditions are their natural require- 

 ments. 



Among the prunuses that are worthy of 

 individual note are Prunus triloba flora-plena 

 and Prunus pseudo-cerasus. The former is 

 certainly one of the most handsome of the 

 plum-section, and much more distinct than 

 its near ally, Prunus amygdalus nanus; its 

 large double flowers are produced so pro- 

 fusely that hardly a leaf is discernible. It 

 should only be pruned immediately after 

 flowering, the growth resulting from this 

 being allowed to develop, as this is the wood 

 that will produce flower the following season. 

 The latter, Prunus pseudo-cerasus, is a glo- 

 rious cherry, indeed one of the most beautiful 

 introductions we have had from Japan, the 

 land of flowers. The varieties Anthony 

 Waterer and J. H. Veitch are the best, and 

 flower very freely when qviite a small size, 

 which is an important point. The lilac is 

 unquestionably one of the most popular of 

 shrubs for forcing and may be had in bloom 

 early in January, its fragrant blossoms being 

 welcome from then until they appear natur- 

 ally and are sold on the street for 10 cents a 

 bunch. . r ■, ^ 



The spira;as are an extensive family and 

 a selection from them for the florist is easily 

 made; the most popular, I think, is S. 

 confusa, S. arguta S. Van Houttei, and S. 



prunifolia fl. pi., all bearing graceful racemes 

 of white flowers admirably suited for wreath 

 or bouquet work. Another shrub which I 

 think the florist could make use of is For- 

 sythia suspensa. It blooms early in the year 

 anyhow and subjected to a little heat could 

 be had much earher; when in the form of a 

 standard it makes a striking picture with its 

 lateral shoots hanging around the main stem 

 and forming quite a fountain of yellow 

 flowers. The kerrias in both the single and 

 double form are well worth including, as 

 they take up so Uttle room; while a plant 

 which makes a suitable companion for the 

 above, and which could be well called the 

 white kerria, is Rhodotypos kerrioides. 



There are two species of chionanthus that 

 are highly commendable for gentle forcing, 

 viz., the North American species, virginica, 

 and the Japanese representative, retusus. 

 The fringe trees, as they are called, are very 

 charming when in pots. The American 

 species is, I think, the better of the two. 

 The presence of the following two hardy 

 heaths in winter would attract attention, 

 especially among the' Scotch fraternity, and 

 though they vriU hardly compete mth the 

 Cape heaths, Erica carnea and Erica Medi- 

 terranea, make pretty subjects for pot work. 

 When hfted from the open ground, they 

 should be potted very firm and well watered, 

 placing them in a cool temperature, as they 

 require Uttle forcing to get them to flower 

 in February and March. 



'Among the things that are best grown 

 permanently in pots, the following would 

 prove useful in March and April, viz., Mag- 

 nolia stellata and purpurea, and Loropeta- 

 lum Chinense, a plant bearing resemblance 

 to the fringe tree, but belonging to the 

 Hamamelis family. Nice, medium-sized 

 plants of these, brought gradually by gentle 

 heat into bloom, would surely make attrac- 

 tive features, while some of the tree phonics, 

 P. Moutan and the many varieties that have 

 appeared in recent years, would readily se- 

 cure admirers and buyers. Some of the little 

 Japanese maples brought , along in a little 

 heat would be of great ornamental value, 

 their beautiful and graceful foUage vieing 

 with some of the best of stove plants. The 

 red cut-leaf maple, .\cer polymorphum dis- 



sectum atropurpureum and dissectum green, 

 are truly a worthy pair. 



In conclusion would like to comment on 

 the worthy use of hardy shrubs for public 

 conservatories. Here, at least, there need 

 be no restrictions as to what will pay, -but 

 what vrill give the greatest delight to the 

 public taste. During my stay at the Botanic 

 Gardens, Kew, I had the opportunity of 

 seeing what could be done in this direction, 

 and I can here say that the display made by 

 the many forced things in the shrub line 

 drew the masses from the metropolis in no 

 uncertain way, and year by year it was 

 looked forward to with expectation. The 

 same thing might be said of this city's public 

 conservatories, but to speak frankly, in order 

 for the public to fuUy realize what can be 

 done in this respect, the ratio of excellence 

 will need to be raised higher in every sense, 

 for although it may be a color scheme to 

 harmony, even the uninitiated tire of seeing 

 dirty green pots and plants that do not do 

 justice to the species. If horticulture is any- 

 thing, it is a moral educator, and if the public 

 are to gain any higher, purer motives from 

 this source, let there be seen the fundamental 

 principle, cleanliness, for it is often quoted, 

 this is next to godliness. What an induce- 

 ment ii- would be to the pubUc to invest a 

 nickel on a carfare to pay frequent visits to 

 the city's conservatory while winter has still 

 firm hold on the outside world, if groups of 

 the aforesaid plants were on view. 



Of late years the various forms of clematis, 

 especially the Jackmanni hybrids, have been 

 grown largely under glass for early flowering, 

 not only in the shape of large specimens but 

 plants in only 5-inch pots and bearing 

 several large, showy flowers. A group of 

 these in March and April would certainly 

 speak for themselves, while magnolias and 

 tree pjeonies, pyruses and prunuses, rhodo- 

 dendrons, and wistarias would form scenes 

 of lovliness, wliich would call forth admira- 

 tion and praise from all and would do much 

 to raise horticulture in the eyes of the masses 

 and infuse a sense of gratitude for the many 

 charming creations the floral world dis- 

 penses in the hand of the horticulturist 

 whose position is to work with and aid 

 n.iturc, and "the art itself is nature." 



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