318 



HORTICULTUBE 



August 29, 1914 



Arctostaphyllos Uva-ursi 



Arctostaphyllos Uva-ursi, the Bearberry, a member 

 •of the family Ericaceae (Heath Family), and a relation 

 •of the Trailing Arbutus, is one of our best evergreen 

 trailers, which, although so valuable, is not in general 

 use. It is a native of North America with a range ex- 

 tending from Labrador and Alaska south 'as far as 

 Pennsylvania and California, and can be relied upon to 

 he perfectly hardy in gardens of the northern United 

 States, where it will thrive if given a favorable location. 



The woody, yet slender stems proceed from one cen- 

 tral stem, and range from two to five or more feet in 

 length, growing in thick mats, or hanging in long fes- 

 toons over the rocks which it covers. On these stems 

 the leaves are disposed alternately and are produced 

 ■ abundantly. The leaves are petioled, firm or coriaceous, 

 and evergreen, glabrous or minutely puberulous near 

 ahe base. The flowers which range from white to pale 

 .pink are borne in terminal racemes, and are not unlike 

 .the flowers of our common Blueberry, Vaccinum corym- 

 bosnm, in shape. They appear in May and June and 

 are followed by the drupe-like fruits which turn a bril- 

 liant red in the late summer. These fruits are in size 

 as large as a pea and have a somewhat insipid taste. 

 They are dry and mealy and - 

 fonn a part of the diet of 

 the winter birds. They pro- 

 •duce a very handsome color 

 effect against the dark ever- 

 green foliage, and if unmo- 

 lested they remain this way 

 all winter. This is one 

 reason why the plant is so 

 highly prized by those who 

 Jiave established a colony 

 in their gardens. 



The propagation of the 

 •Bearberry is not unlike that 

 of the Arbutus and is slow 

 and diflk'ult as well. Seed 

 may be sown in the early 

 ■epring or late fall, or one 

 may propagate from cut- 

 tings of the mature wood 

 in late summer, placing 

 these in a sandy peat under 

 glass with gentle bottom 

 heat. These will, however, 

 root but slowly and it is 

 recommend that a better 

 way is to use cuttings of 

 the young growth under the 

 same conditions, for being 

 .an Ericaceous plant this 

 young growth has more 

 power and a better tendency 

 to send out roots in shorter 

 time than the older wood. 

 Loss is to be expected up to 

 a high percentage by the 

 cutting method and the 

 writer has known of losses 

 as high as 60 per cent, to 

 75 per cent. It is recom- 

 mended that the best and 

 surest way of propagating 

 is by seeds, sown as above 

 .mentioned. 



A great many people prefer, however, to use collec- 

 ted plants, chancing tiie loss and making up the vacan- 

 cies the following spring with other plants similarly 

 collected. For this purpose only the strongest ami 

 sturdiest plants should be selected, and the time dur- 

 ing which they are out of the ground should be as lim- 

 ited as possible. The sooner they can be placed in their 

 permanent position the better. Care should be exer- 

 cised to give these collected plants plenty of water until 

 they have become well established, for although they 

 love a dry and sandy situation, experience has taught 

 that they need water just as badly as any other plant at 

 this time. As soon as they have become established they 

 may be left to take care of themselves in this respect. 



The Bearberry is at its best when seen tumbling over 

 rock and cliffs where its long slender stems mat together 

 and the effect is that of a beautiful festoon. It is used 

 in a great many cases for a ground cover in whicli 

 capacity it has proven very valuable, especially on dry 

 sandy bank? whore little else will take hold successfully. 



Mass. 



New Sweet Pea, Margaret Atlee 



Marg.vkkt AnjSE 



The accompanying cut shows this wonderful sweet pea life size as grown for 



exhibition by special culture. This is the first year it has been offered to the 



trade by the introducers. Messrs. C. C. Morse & Co.. San Francisco. For full de- 

 scription, prices, etc., see their full-page advortiKpniPiit in niir issiip of August 20, 



