628 



riORTIODLTUBE 



May 6, 191G 



The Fancy Leaved Caladiuin 



The fill • I. :m(^I C'iiliiiliuiii is vrnrlv Ihhiiiiiii;; ni 

 more ill IIS n siiniiiier dec-oral ivc nml ciiiimmmi- 



lorv |»liii.i 1 ill innjority of Calndiums formerly to lu« 

 fountl Wen- Kiiriipcaii variotios. Of laic ycais the Hiii- 

 -rili iiiiiliu-i'il liy Adolpli Lictzc of Hio dc 



Jai .11 to a liijrh popularity due to their 



hi>rhly iiilorcd. (rniisparcnl leaves and yrrcat vi>;or. In 

 this country there are prolmhly only two well-known 

 Cnladiiim hyhridists — Henr\' Nehrlinp. (Jothn, Florida; 

 and TluH). L. Mead. Oviedo, Florida. Twelve years ago 

 Henry Nehrling Itejian his experiments with Caladiums 

 with a eolleetioii of ahoiit 10 or 50 varieties. T<vday 

 he has one of llie iarfrest and hest collections of faney- 

 loaved Caladitinis in tlie world. Besides heinjr a ool- 

 ieetor. ifr. Nehrlinfr has lieen a hyhridizer and hreeder 

 of these heaiitifnl plants. Some of the hest Anieriean 

 varieties on the market to-day originated with him while 

 many other strains have heen more or less considerahly 

 influenced hy the Wood from Nehrlinor's productions. 

 Mr. Nehrling is primarily a collector and breeder. ITo 

 does not po in for the money making, hut cultivates 

 these plajit^ from jiurc love of them. He has in his 

 collection to-day over 1,700 varieties. 



The propagation of Caladiums is hy division of tin' 

 tubers, by offsets, or by seed. The two former are the 

 methods iiscd to ])ropagate named varieties. In propa- 

 gating by tubers, the little eyes or tulters growing around 

 the old tubers are cut off wifli a knife. The wounds arc 

 well sprinkled with powdered charcoal and the tubers 

 placed in small pots in the propagating bench with a 

 bottom heat of 'I't to 80 degrees. Propagation by ofTscIs 

 is somewhat different. The tubers are placed in the 

 pots and given a gentle bottom heat. When the new 

 leaves are fairly well developed, the tubers are taken 

 out, shaken off. and the little offsets with their roots 

 are cut off from the parent tubers. The tul)ers may, 

 then be replanted for a second crop. In the greenhouse, 

 the tubers are usually started in February or early 

 March, although they may with advantage be started 

 in January. The soil should consist of equal parts com- 

 post, leaf-mold. peat, and one-fourth sand. 



Caladiums delight in a warm, moist temperature for 

 they are natives of the tropics. Tliey cannot be given 

 too high a temperature. Do not try to start them earl- 

 ier than Jfareh unless you can give them a house of not 

 less than 6.5 degrees at night. As soon a.s active growth 

 commences they will need plenty of water. Syringing 

 should be avoided, except in the case of attacks by red 

 spider, as it tends to disfigure the leaves. Above all, 

 the atmosphere .should be kept moist by frequent syring- 

 ings of the walks. 



Most growers prefer to shade the plants, although 

 there is a difference of opinion in regard to the benefits 

 of it. Professor A. H. Xehrling, at the Massiicliusctt> 

 Agricultural college, says, "many gardeners shade far 

 t(H_» much, which causes the leaves to develop their colors 

 nicely, but the leaf-stalk becomes weak and needs suji- 

 port, thus spoiling the real beauty of the plant." As a 

 rule, the transparent varieties require more shade than 

 do the others. 



.\s soon as the roots have filled the pots, liquid fer- 

 tilizers should he applied from time to time. For this 

 nitrogenous fertilizers are preferable. Chile saltpetre 

 and Peruvian guano are excellent. Towards October 

 the plants begin to show a tendency to rest. They 

 should then he placed in an unshaded bench and grad- 

 ually dried off. When the leaves are completely dried, 

 the plants may be laid on their side under the benches 



in a warm house where a unifonu temperature of 60 

 'li u'li 1^ is maintained. 



I 111 re are about 1,000 varieties of Caladiums. Among 

 the finest .\nieriian varieties are Hildegard Nihrling. 

 Itertha S. Ivisele. tieorp' Huster, Mrs. Theodore L. 

 Mead, Coaeoochei'. .\ilo|ph .laenicke, Emerald, Fascina- 

 tion. Ivory. Shell I'ink. Snowstorm, Torchlight, Truce, 

 IV \V. Keasoner. Colden King is the best yellow v$riety. 



'riie nl'\^ ISni/iiian Caladiuini- endiraee .M>me of the 

 very betsest, far surjmssing in beauty, color combinations 

 and vigor anything else placed on the market heretofore. 



Aliilirrxl. Muss. 



M, S, w J\cUv^ 



Litho.«5permum prostratum 



Tile (ii'iiiiaii lihh' iiiiiiiivM'ii i~ iiMi ri.'liiuiii Seen in 

 American gardens. It is a low, creeping evergreen shrub 

 or stib-shruh adajifed to use in rock or alpine gardens or 

 on sandy banks, and will jiroduce a matted carjiet of foli- 

 age of a slightly Idnish hue which is very ])leasing. It 

 will al.so lie found to be admirably adapted to use in the 

 herbaceous border where a low creeping mass is wanted 

 and where the color of the flowers will fit into the general 

 color scheme of the garden. 



The flower has been noted as "the most brilliant Idue" 

 amongst the hardy plants known, and without a doubt 

 it bears out the description well. The color is a delight- 

 ful deep gentian blue and the petals are striped with red- 

 dish purple, intensifying the blue rather than detracting 

 from it. Propagation of this variety is best from the cut- 

 tings of the previous years' wood. Seeds may he tried, 

 but the germination is uncertain and slow. 



The variety prostratum is a native of Southern Eu- 

 rope. Coming from the Pyrenees. It abhors limestone 

 and will not thrive in soil in which lime in any form is 

 present. .\ garden variety "Heavenly Blue" is advertised 

 in the trade and is in every way as good as the species 

 although differing in color, being a lighter sky-blue. 



The two Lithospermums above mentioned lend them- 

 selves to charming combinations of color. They may he 

 grown as a ground cover in a lied of pink china roses. 

 In rock gardens it combines admirably with Arabis and 

 Chieranthus alpiniis. A most charming combination is 

 with .Myssum saxatile compactum and Cerastium tomen- 

 tosum, giving Iho cool and delightful colors, blue, gold 

 and white in harmony. 



It is hoped that the public will soon have a chance to 

 know such plants as the Lithospenuums so that our gar- 

 dens may lie made more attractive and charming by their 

 ]iresence. 



<^Aj<y(A % 



I 



■In III in I a I'hilii. Mass. 



Flower Show Arrangement 



hear i'.ililoi-: In I liiuru ii.n iti; ol .Vjini '^'-i. 1 note 

 with interest what you say editorially relative to flower 

 shows. Tiiere is no doubt in my mind that just what you 

 say is convincing. 1 fail to see any beauty, artistic ar- 

 langement or mciining in the usual pyramidal group 

 of plants packed together in dense formation, and when 

 flowering jdauts are employed without due consideration 

 to the blending of color. 



I have advocated for years, especially in the employ- 



