For Attsust, 1923 



203 



Some New Hardy Plant Introductions 



ARTHUR SMITH 



DURING recent years no part of the world has been 

 more fruitful in worth-while plant discoveries than 

 western and northern China ; worth-while by rea- 

 son of the fact that the climatic conditions of that region 

 render its flora to be for the most part capable of making 

 itself at home in the more northern districts nf America 

 and of Europe. 



Among the newest of these plants is Clematis tangutica 

 obtusiuscula introduced into Britain from Cliina by 

 Farrer by means of seed. Plants from these seeds arrived 

 at the seed-producing stage themselves several years ago, 

 anil it has been of course very easy for plants to be pro- 

 duced in America by the same means. 



This Clematis is especially noteworthy on account of 

 its, for the genus, unique floral characters, its flowers be- 

 ing of a yellow color and bell-shaped. While yellow is not 

 unknown among other species of Chinese clematis, as 

 several different ones have been sent to Britain during 

 recent years, the species mentioned is distinctly the best. 



The first yellow-flowered Clematis was introduced into 

 Etjrope from northern China in the year 1731, but did 

 not come into general cultivation. Clematis tangutica. a 

 native of central Asia, was introduced into Kew in 1898. 

 and figures in the "Botanical Magazine'' 7710 under the 

 name of C. orientalis var. tangutica ; this is now classed 

 as a separate species. 



Seeds of the variety known as olitusiuscula, which is the 

 subject of this note, were subsequently sent to Britain by 

 \\'ilson, Purdon and Farrer from Kansu and Szechwan, 

 and the resulting plants liave proved in every way 

 superior to the type. At the Royal Horticultural Gardens, 

 Wisley, it has proved a vigorous grower, bearing" from 

 July onwards, as Farrer describes it, "innumerable blos- 

 soms that hang in a mass like big Fritillaries of pure un- 

 checkered .gold." The flowers, about four inches across, 

 are borne singly upon stift" stalks five inches long, and 

 later in the year they turn into a beautiful mass of snowy 

 silk. While plants from seed begin to flower at an early 

 age, my seedlings have not yet reached that stage. 



Incidentally it may be mentioned that this plant fre- 

 quently bears a second crop of flowers in September. 

 'From all points of view it is a decided and valuable 

 acquisition among our climbing plants. 



One sometimes hears the well known hardy Buddleia 

 of oin- gardens, Buddleia variabilis magnifica, com- 

 plained of as being coarse and ugly in its manner of 

 growth. This characteristic can, however, be easily 

 remedied by proper pruning; in fact. Nature frequently 

 performs this operation when in exceptionally severe 

 Winters the plant is killed to the ground, although we 

 have never known it killed outright. 



During his botanical explorations in China, a few years 

 ago, Farrer discovered many forms of B. variabilis in the 

 Kwantung district, and in the Nan-Ho valley he found 

 a form with smaller leaves and larger flower-spikes, and 

 he speaks of it as "growing especially neat and small, 

 dainty-leaved and brilliant," so he sent home seeds of it 

 in the hope that the form would prove constant. The 

 plants raised at Wisley from these seeds have adhered to 

 Farrer's description, the difference in height, etc., being 

 apparently constant, and its habit is somewhat similar to 

 B. Veitchiana with erect arching branches on a smaller 

 scale, so that it forms a neat, round bush about three and 

 a half feet tall, and its lacking of the coarse, sprawling 

 habit, esf>ecially if uncared for, of B. variabilis magnifica. 

 undoubtedly makes it an acquisition to our gardens, par- 



ticularly in small ones. This plant has been named B. 

 variabilis nanhoensis. Like all members of the genus it 

 should have its previous year's growth hard pruned. I am 

 not aware how soon it blooms from seed, but seedlings 

 grow rapidly and am expecting to have plants in bloom 

 this year from seeds sown late this Spring. 



I am trying out some new Berberis, of which B. ag- 

 gregata, not hitherto, I believe known in America, bids 

 fair to have unique foliage characteristics ; also a new 

 Pyracantha, these and others will be fully described in a 

 future issue. 



Obviously there is nothing in the regulations of the 

 F. H. I'l. which prevent the introduction of new — or old 

 for that matter — species of worth-while plants. 



THE NOMENCLATURE OF GARDEN 

 VARIETIES 



'T^"'HE bewildering host of names attached to the varietal 

 forms of garden plants and vegetables is becoming 

 an increasing source of vexation to the gardener who 

 tries to maintain an up-to-date knowledge of modern 

 horticulture. But nobody would attempt to find fault 

 with the increase of the number of varieties, provided 

 these had definite claims to being distinct from those which 

 had preceded them. It is obviously disappointing to buy 

 seeds of a so-called noveltv which, when grown, proves 

 to be too similar to another sort to warrant a different 

 name. It is still more vexing to grow a supposed new 

 variety which proves to be nothing but an old and familiar 

 sort. Of course, in many cases the production and putting 

 into commerce of spurious novelties are purely accidental. 

 The raiser is unaware of the existence of a variety which 

 his imagined novelty so closely resembles. At other 

 times, however, the distributor of the spurious noveltv has 

 been induced to re-christen an old sort for the sake of the 

 increased price which is usually asked for a new pro- 

 duction. One refrains from excess of criticism in either 

 case. In the first instance the error is due to ignorance, 

 while even in the second case one mav sometimes find 

 reason for justification. It is possible that the raiser may 

 have grown a particularly fine strain of a certain type, 

 and in his somewhat pardonable pride he considers his 

 ]5roduction worthy of a new name. But he is apt to 

 overlook the fact that others, too, may raise equally fine 

 strains, and if each raiser assumed the responsibility of 

 re-naming such varieties it is easy to see the amount of 

 complexity which is bound to arise. The only legitimate 

 course, therefore, is for the raiser to adhere to the original 

 type name and prefix the word "improved" with his own 

 name attached. The purchaser would then know what he 

 was paying for, and if he chose to pay a little more for 

 Smith's Improved this or Jones's Selected that, so much 

 the better for both the raiser and grower. This, of course, 

 is done by most of the big seed houses, and the public 

 know where they are. 



Most readers will agree with the suggestion that the 

 indiscriminate introduction of flower and vegetable novel- 

 ties is not in the best interests of horticulture. There are 

 thousands of gardeners who are always ready to lay out 

 a little money each year on new introductions, but if these 

 willing purchasers have been induced to buy so-called 

 novelties, which are new in name only, they will lose faith, 

 and the many introducers of genuine new types will suiter 

 in consequence. — Gardening Illustrated. 



