For November, 1923 



273 



Cyclamens for Christmas need to be kept in a night 

 temperature around fifty-tive degrees to have them in 

 fairly good flower for that season. For Spring use it is 

 necessary to have a batch grown under the cool method 

 and to remove all flower buds until after the turn of the 

 year. 



Keep the plants of Erlangea tomentosa in a shady posi- 

 tion, as the flowers bleach out and lose that lovely laven- 

 der shade which all admire. 



Many tropical plants, such as Allocacias, Alarantas. and 

 plants of that nature, should l^e kept on the dry side for 

 the next month or two. If this rule is followed, they 

 start with more vigor in Spring. Ardisia creuulata is a 

 handsome berried plant for Christmas, though they are 

 slow growers, requiring about three years from seed to 

 form a desirable plant. They are tropical and need a 

 much higher temperature than Solanums. They are not 

 so free of insect jiests, being very subject to scale. 



The early Calanthes are well advanced towards flower- 

 ing. See to it that they remain moderately moist until 

 they have finished this stage. 



Cypripediums should be kept about 50 to 55 degrees 

 at night, that is, the cooler growing varieties, such as the 

 old standiiy, insigne. Cypripedium insigne sanderae, 

 spicerianum, caudatum, etc., require a little warmer tem- 

 perature. Thev all need to be more carefullv watered at 

 this time of the year. 



Cymbidiums do best where grown cooler than was for- 

 merly believed : they are strong rooters when thriving well 

 and may be fed liberally when growing. 



Miltonia vexillaria will now be pushing up its growths. 

 However, careful watering is necessary until they begin 

 to root freely from the new growths. Spray them on 

 bright mornings occasionally with some safe insecticide 

 to prevent thrips from getting a foothold. 



Odontoglossums are in different stages of growth. 

 They stand all the light possible for some time, and like 

 plenty of moisture in the atmosphere. Look out for slugs, 

 crickets and cockroaches. Cotton wool is not a sure rem- 

 edy for protecting the flower stems ; it is better to have 

 plenty of lettuce leaves scattered around, or any other of 

 the usual traps that capture these pernicious pests. 



Cattleya Percivaliana and other hybrids belonging to 

 this family will have finished their growth and should be 

 kept well up to the glass until they begin to open their 

 flowers. 



Grapes that have shed their leaves may be pruned. It is 

 better to do it now. as they are not so likely to bleed when 

 they are started into growth. All indoor grown fruit 

 plants keep cool and free from insects at this season. 



HIBISCUS 



Florlm A.m.xtor 



'T'HERE are twenty-eight species of Hibiscus (Rose 



■*■ Mallow"), some of which are herbaceous plants, other 



shrubs, and some, which grow in the tropics, small trees. 



Most of these species are grown for their handsome, 

 hollyhock-shaped flowers, and among the most beautiful of 

 them all are the Aleehan Mallow Marvels, hybrid varieties 

 originating with Thos. Meehan & Sons, and the Hibiscus 

 moschuetos hybrids (Giant-flowering Marsh Mallows), 

 originating with Bobbink & Atkins. 



It is not, perhaps, well known that some species of 

 Hibiscus are among our economic plants : the long ribbed 

 pods of Hibiscus esculentus. whose seeds are sold under 

 the name of Gumbo and Okra, are used in cookery ; 

 Hibiscus cannabinus. widely grown in the old world, fur- 

 nishes a coarse fibre which is known as "Bimlipitam jute" ; 

 Hibiscus Sabdarififa (Jamaica Sorrel Roselle), is now 

 grown considerably in Southern California, and Southern 



Florida for the same purpose for which it has been longf 

 grown in the old world tropics ; namely, its fleshy calyxes, 

 which when cooked make a delicious cranberry-flavored 

 jelly or sauce, and whose juice when extracted makes a 

 cooling acid drink; Hibiscus elatus (Alountain Mahoe), 

 and Hiliiscus tiliaceus, West India trees, yield the Cuba 

 bast used in tying cigars, and other goods ; Hibiscus Rosa- 

 sinensis (Chinese Hibiscus) flowers are reported to be 

 used in some i)arts of the world for dyeing hair, and also 

 for blacking shoes, hence its common name "Shoeblack 

 plant." 



The best known of the cultivated Hibisci, which are 

 grown for their flowers are Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of 

 Sharon), mentioned in the "Songs of Solomon," and of 

 the wild species. Hibiscus Moscheutos ( .Swamp Rose Mal- 

 low ) , which grov\-s freely in the marshes along the coast 

 from Massachusetts to Florida, whose handsome, large, 

 showy, rose-colored flowers appear in such glorious abun- 

 dance in August and September, and which if grown in 

 upland soil will give almost as satisfactory results as 

 when growing in its native marsh. 



THINGS AND THOUGHTS OF THE GARDEN 



( Coiitiiined from page 270) 



will in time span the year may easily make them serious 

 rivals of the Cattleya in popularity in America. A friend 

 who only a few weeks ago inspected the noted collection 

 of Sir George Holford at Westonbirt, Tetbury. England, 

 from whence have come man\- of our finest hybrid Cym- 

 bidiums, and where 10 men are constantly employed in 

 this famed amateur collection, says that several houses 

 there contained nothing but Cymbidiums, and that they 

 were in superb health. The same was noted at other 

 orchid collections. Hence we can see that orchids are 

 still popular abroad and Cymbidiums forging rapidly to 

 the front. 



^ '^ ^ 



A reader of the Chronicle in Pennsylvania writes 

 to ask if it is advisable to transplant evergreens of a 

 considerable size in Xovember or December if the ground 

 remains open. The only really safe way to move plants 

 so late in the year is with frozen balls, and this may be 

 very successfully done with not only evergreens but de- 

 ciduous trees and shrubs as well as apples and other 

 fruit trees. This is a method of removal very popular in 

 states where frost is of sufficient severity and continuity 

 to freeze the balls solid, and removal is best done when 

 there is some snow on the ground so that the heavy balls 

 can be more easily hauled to a new location. Holes of 

 ample size should lie prepared now, and trees to be re- 

 moved dug around, and the balls undennined so that they 

 can readily be removed when severe weather arrives. 

 .\fter remi)val. straw or litter should be packed around the 

 ballc until planting time arrives in Spring. This is the only 

 safe wa\' to move evergreens late in the year. 



Ouercus conferta, sometimes called y. pannonica and 

 the Hungarian Oak, is unusual among Oaks in the clear 

 canarv yellow color of its ripening leaves. This is the 

 handsomest of the European Oaks which has been tried in 

 the Arboretum in which it has grown rapidly and promises 

 to become a large and valuable tree, distinct in its large, 

 thick, lustrous, deeply lobed leaves. It is a common forest 

 tree on low mountain slopes and hills in southeastern 

 Europe where it is widely distributed and grows some- 

 times to a height of a hundred feet and forms a trunk 

 from three to four feet in diameter. The Hungarian Oak 

 is unfortunately still a rare tree in the United States — 

 Arnold Arboretum Bulletin. 



