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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



(OF AMERICA) 

 Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture 



Vol. XXVI 



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SEPTEMBER, 1922 



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No. 9 



Things and Thoughts of the Garden 



WILLIAM N. CRAIG 



LIBRARV 

 NEW YORK 

 BOTANICAL 



UAKDEN 



THERE is a great paucity of flowering shrubs which 

 iilooni in August and September. It is true that ber- 

 ried plants are numerous and very beautiful, but 

 flowers are far from abundant. The Indigoferas are not 

 much grown, perhaps because tliey are not much known 

 and rarely offered for sale, and for the further reason that 

 they do not make as "stunning a show'" as some other 

 shrubs. There are said to be about 330 species of Indigo- 

 feras, mostly tropical, although several are native to the 

 United States. The indigo of commerce mainly comes 

 from /. tinctoria, an Asiatic specie and /. aw/7 from the 

 West Indies. At one time the last named specie was much 

 grown commercially in North Carolina, as much as a 

 million pounds being produced in 1775. The rising im- 

 portance of the cotton crop eventually drove indigo to 

 the wall, but even today plants which are escapes from 

 cultivation, are often found. 



While most of the Indigoferas are greenhouse plants, 

 one or two of comparatively recent introduction from 

 China are hardv as far north as Boston and prove good 

 garden plants. /. auiblyantha from Western China makes 

 a neat and graceful shrub, 5 and 6 feet in height, carrying 

 in late August numerous dense racemes 3 to 4 inches long 

 of pink flowers, the blooming period extending until 

 C)ctober. /. decora alba is a low growing almost prostrate 

 plant, hardy at the Arnold .\rboretum, and in late August 

 was carrymg quantities of its lovely pure white racemes. 

 A charming species is /. kiriloicii native to northern 

 China and Korea and introduced 10 years ago. The ra- 

 cemes produced in August and September are bright rosy 

 pink in color and resemble Robiiiia psciidacacia in color, 

 and they are produced in great abundance. The plant 

 is of moderate height and of graceful habit and should 

 have a place in everv garden where flowering shrubs are 

 valued. The Indigoferas propagate readily from cuttings 

 and layers. /. amblyantha produces seeds in abundance, 

 but I. kirilozvii carries none at all. All can also be jjropa- 

 gated by division. 



The hydrangeas while about all of one color, white, are 

 most useful in late Summer, but it is unfortunate that the 

 excellent garden species H. paniciilata grandiflora is so 

 distressingly overplanted. It seems as if every one with 

 a garden, no matter how small feels it a necessity to plant 

 one or more of- this variety. It is a pity more of H. 

 paniciilata is not grown as it is much more graceful than 



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its more showy sub-species, gmiidifJora. The sub-species 

 prcccox is very distinct both in foliage and flower and 

 while blooming earlier than the other forms is still in 

 good condition at the end of August. H. radiaia has 

 handsome leathery foliage and large circular cymes of 

 flowers, the outer row of flowers being sterile. This is a 

 fine species, better than the variety cinera which is more 

 planted. li. Sargcntiana makes a very handsome shrub; 

 the nearly flat dense cymes are 6 inches or more across, 

 the fertile flowers pale violet, and the sterile ones pure 

 white. It is a most beautiful shrub from Central China, 

 but unfortunately not hardy in the north, and it also re- 

 quires shade. Speaking of hydrangeas, I have been sur- 

 prised to note how hardy the new French race of Horten- 

 sis hybrids have proved. At the Blue Hill Nurseries, South 

 Braintree, Mass., large clumps have passed through sev- 

 eral severe Winters unprotected and flower freely each 

 year. 



^ ^; * 



There have been some beautiful introductions among 

 the Contoneasters in late years, mainly from Western 

 China. The varieties are so numerous as to be almost 

 bewildering. Some of us remember C. Siiiionsii as a 

 climber in Great Britain and still have vivid recollections 

 of the glorious masses of scarlet fruit it carried. In 

 Massachusetts this species will not winter, being native 

 to the Himalayas, but many others prove very hardy. A 

 few specially desirable sorts are : C. hupclicnsis which 

 makes a dense and very wide spreading shrub, 8 to 10 

 feet in height, and its pure white flowers are followed by 

 great quantities of brilliant subglobose fruits. This is a 

 beautiful plant whether in flower or fruit, but it must 

 have ample space to develop. C. tcnuipcs attains a height 

 of -S to 6 feet and is wide spreading. The rather large 

 oval black fruits are abundantly produced and are very 

 handsome in August and onwards. C. adprcssa is of 

 prostrate habit and carries .scarlet subglobose fruit. H. 

 horizontalis of which there are a number of forms is prob- 

 ably the most valued of the Cotoneasters. It makes a 

 rather low but wide spreading shrub with round-oval foli- 

 age and bright red fruits which are produced in great 

 abundance. The form pcrpusilla is probably the finest 

 of all species for the rock garden, while it rarely exceeds 

 2 feet in height, it spreads 10 to 15 feet across and the 

 bright shiny leaves, which are smaller than in the type 

 are handsome even without the great number of brilliant 

 fruits. 



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