426 



HORTICULTURE 



May 3, 1919 



The Best of the Forsythias 



FORSYTIIIA INTERMEDIA SPECTABILIS 



Again this year the form of For- 

 sythia known as F. intermedia spec- 

 tabilis has proved at the Arnold Ar- 

 boretum to be the handsomest of all. 

 It has been flowering very freely this 

 season, and should make a strong ap- 

 peal to nurserymen. The flowers are 

 very large, deep bright yellow, and 

 produced in the greatest profusion, 

 completely covering the wide spread- 

 ing branches. It is believed that this 

 plant was first found in Germany, as 

 it was sent to the Arboretum from the 

 Spath nursery at Berlin. 



Several other distinct.and handsome 

 forms are var. primulina and var. 

 pallida. The former appeared as a 

 seedling in the Arboretum a few years 

 ago, and has pale primrose colored 

 flowers. The var. pallida has pale 

 straw colored flowers which are 

 lighter in color than those of the other 

 Forsythias. This plant also came to 

 this country from Germany. 



The Forsythias have been blooming 

 much better this year than last sea- 

 son, although in some places they 

 were somewhat injured by late frosts. 



Probably the handsomest display to 

 be found anywhere around Boston is 

 on the grounds of the Museum of Fine 

 Arts on Huntington avenue. This is 

 about the only shrub which has been 

 planted there, and with the one inter- 

 ruption makes a continuous border 

 from one end of the grounds to the 

 other. It is seldom that Forsythias 

 are used so lavishly or so effectively 

 in a public place. 



The Forsythias hybridize freely and 

 produce new seedlings which are often 

 better than the parents. Probably all 

 the hybrid Forsythias are natural hy- 

 brids. Those which are known seem 

 to have come by the crossing of F. 

 virdissima with F. suspensa or its 

 var. Fortunei. The general name of 

 these plants is Forsythia intermedia. 

 A good place to study the hybrid 

 forms is in the large collection at the 

 base of Bussey hill in the Arnold Ar- 

 boretum. According to Professor Sar- 

 gent, the flower buds of the hybrids 

 appear to suffer less from extreme 

 cold than those of their parents, at 

 least in the Arboretum. 



Most of the Forsythias come from 

 China and Formosa, but Europe is rep- 

 resented by one species known as F. 

 europea. This is a vigorous, hardy 

 plant, but is somewhat less beautiful 



when in flower than the oriental spe- 

 cies. Ernest H. Wilson, just back from 

 Korea, has brought a new Forsythia, 

 which he thinks will be valued highly 

 for the ornamental character of its 

 foliage. He has seen only a few scat- 

 tering flowers, but he believes that 

 the blooms are about like those of 

 kinds already known. 



SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS. 



The Canadian Bloodroot is a beau- 

 tiful plant for naturalizing in cool soil, 

 and may be grown in company with 

 the smaller of our native ferns under 

 the shade of deciduous trees. There 

 it will make itself at home, and the less 

 disturbance it gets, the better will it 

 prosper. When the first of its soft glau- 

 cous leaves begin to appear, the Blood- 

 root shoots up 6-inch stems, each of 

 which bears a large poppy-like flower 

 of pure white with a centre of golden 

 stamens. Though the Bloodroot pre- 

 fers a rich vegetable mould, such as 

 that in -which it lives in the deep 

 wood bottoms of Canadian forests, It 

 is not fastidious, and will do in a half- 

 shaded border if given plenty of leaf- 

 mould or some peat and very old ma- 

 nure. — The Garden. 



