338 



HORTICULTUBE 



Murch 11, 1916 



Saxifraga. L* 



An attempt to make the wliole genus Saxifraga the 

 subject of a hricf nuto would be futile. Bi'iiig very rich 

 in beautiful gaiiioii r^jKcies, for the most ])art rarely 

 known in tiiis tonntiy, it would bei'oine necessary to go 

 into descriptive detaiL-; at a length far beyonl available 

 8pace limits. I therefore confine myself today to the 

 rosette form;; distingui.-^hed by their long rosulate leaves 

 cartilaginously serrated at the edges. Indigenous in the 

 mountainous district.^ of the temporate and arctic zones 

 they represent an extremely choice and efTective ma- 

 terial for tiie rock garden. In a soil, well mixed 

 with limestone, ]>lantations established iu large crev- 

 ices or in specially prepared rock pockets are a delight 

 for any real plant lover. It is of advantage to give 

 saxifragas a slanting jiosition allowing the water of melt- 

 ing snow and of rain quickly to run oft of the plant.s. 

 .\ccordiiig to my experience with the rosette class of 

 saxifragas they do best in open sunny situations through- 

 out our northern states, l^illy exposed to the hot mid-clav 

 and early afternoon sun of our middle Atlantic summers 

 the most species suffer more or less. Keeping this in 

 mind and, if necessary, guarding against danger, will no 

 doubt bring success. And, indeed, the beauty of a few- 

 clumps of saxifragas nestling amid rugged rockwork, 

 especially when in full bloom amply repays us for our 

 cultural efforts. I remember a few years ago while in 

 the northern part of the New England states a happy 

 owner of a small rockery proudly pointed out to me a 

 few plantations of Saxifraga Cotyledon pyramidalis and 

 S. McNabiana as pretty acquisitions of his garden. We 

 certainly liave not enough of such proud and happy 

 home owners in America. 



The species Saxifraga Cotyledon pyramidalis, the 

 subject of our illustration, as the best known is in my 

 opinion one of the showiest and most resistant one. 

 Trade catalogues of late drop the middle name Coty- 

 ledon, listing simply pyramidalis. Forming rosettes of 

 from .5 to 6 inches in diameter its light graceful flower 

 spikes appear during May and June. The color appears 

 to be white. At close examination, however, we discover 

 attractive fine reddish-l)rown pencilings at the inner 

 base of the petals. Saxifraga McNabiana, not quite as 

 robust growing as the former, flowers pure white. Saxi- 

 fraga Aizoon widely distributed in European rock gar- 

 dens is a denizen of the .\ips and other mountainous dis- 



SAXIlItAI.A Col Ylj;i)(J.\ fVllAMlUAI.ls. 



iricts of the northern temperate zone, i-'irnis abroad 

 specializing in Al])ine plants carry white, yellow and 

 rose-pink forms of it in their trade lists. I firmly be- 

 lieve the Aizoon \arieties well ada])ted to our north and 

 worth a trial in rockeries of the middle states particu- 

 larly on inclines toward the north, .\niong the rarities 

 in the rosette forms I mention Saxifraga cartilaginea, 

 Gaudini and longiflora. Taking regard to proper ex- 

 posure all the species and varieties will prove satisfac- 

 tory and highly efTective subjects for dry-wall planting. 

 For winter ]>rotection a few evergreen l)0ughs make 

 an ideal material. Plantations in rock gardens will sur- 

 vive well under thin leaf covering. At all events avoid 

 manure as a cover for this class of saxifragas. Propaga- 

 tion is by offsets or by raising plants from seed. The 

 latter process, of course, is .«low and requires patience. 



-^d^cA/Qjui. ■^^K/tAxu 



(.ilenxMlc. I'd. 



•II anii III to follow. 



GROWING CARNATIONS. 



Editor llOr.TlClLTURE. I!ustoii. .Mass. 

 De.nr Sir: -Will you kiiully tlirougli 

 the inpdiuin of one of your e.^port c;irna- 

 fion erowers give a small heginncr in tlic 

 florist coinmerrial line a little help lu 

 carnation growing in order to produce 

 first rate blooms? 1 bought from a nur- 

 seryman field-grown plants .Tuly 20. 191.5. 

 and benched in good rotted sod 3 parts. 

 1 part rotted manure. Grew along stead- 

 ily and kept lightly cultivated. Septem- 

 ber 1,1. gave watering of weak horse ma- 

 nure, and Oct. lit a slight soot dressing 

 Have about twelve shoots to each plant. 

 No red spider. Cut a fair amount of 

 blooms at Christmas, poor quality but no 

 bursted calyxes. I gave a slight top 

 dressing of tankage the second week In 

 January. Try to maintain 55° at night 

 but occasionally It goes to 40 to 48, as I 

 can't afford a night man. Varieties are 

 Enchantress Supreme. White Wonder. 

 Champion, Dagmar, Matchless. The lat- 

 ter has scarcely shown a bloom yet, but 

 all are very green and healthy. Kindlv 

 show me where I am at fault. Anv ad- 

 rice will be most cordially received. I 

 have achieved great success as a green- 

 horn with roses through reading HORTI- 

 Cn.TURE persistentlv for the past four 



or five years, but do not seem to be able 

 to do carnations at all satisfactory. 



Thanking you in anticipation, E. D. 



Cooperstown, N. Y. 



There is little wrong In the treat- 

 ment of your plants as outlined by you. 

 They were planted in good time and 

 the proportion of soil and manure is 

 all right. Without knowing more about 

 the texture and general nature of the 

 soil it is impossible to say if il is suit- 

 able for carnation growing although 

 it can hardly be far wrong or you 

 would not have done so well with 

 roses. Generally speaking, a soil 

 which will grow one of these well will 

 grow the other. 



You have not over fed, as you start- 

 ed with a well-balanced compost and 

 the feed additions should have main- 

 tained a sufficient supply. With the 

 varieties you grow some of them 

 would have given split calyxes had 

 they been overfed. 



A night temperature of 55 degrees 

 is too high for carnations. The aver- 

 age variety does better with a 50-52 



degree temperature, and 46 to 48 is too 

 low. These two extremes might cause 

 .serious results. Cut your high mark 

 down to 52 and don't allow the temper- 

 ature to go below 48 if it is at all pos- 

 sible. If you house any amount of 

 plants the extra expense will be re- 

 paid. 



It may be that .Matchless does not 

 take to your soil. On the average this 

 variety is very satisfactory, but here 

 and there a good grower will be found 

 who cannot make it average up at all. 



What has been said thus far can 

 hardly be of much help and without a 

 closer study of your soil and your meth- 

 od of treatment little more can be said. 

 As a suggestion, visit your neighbor 

 florists and learn, by observation, 

 what their methods are as regards 

 watering. Find out if you are running 

 your soil too wet or too dry The aver- 

 age florist is pleased to receive a visit 

 from his brothers in the trade and to 

 exchange ideas. Try it and you will 

 be helped in some way every time you 

 visit. R. 



