THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



199 



QUERIES and ANSWERS 



ii'e believe the greatest good can be accomplxshed for the greatest 

 number, by instituting a query column; or an exchange of expe- 

 riences, on practical propositions, by our readers. 



You are imnted to contribute questions, and answer others. 



Each question as received vfilt be gii'cn a number, the question- 

 er's name wilt not be published, but the source of the answer will 

 be given unless otherwise requested. 



We all have something we would like to know more about. Here 

 is your opportunity to ascertain somebody's experience in just tliat 

 matter. 



Nothing will tend to better fellowship than helping each other. 



Take advantage of this "Question Box." 



What other shrubs than Barberry and Privet, and what other 

 vines than honeysuckle and ivy can you recommend for city 

 gardens? Which of those named do you consider the most hardy? 



New York. R. A. C. 



Ill ;ii|(|[t lull to lhi» i'.arlii'ny ;in(l Privet. S|)irn';is \'au llouttci 

 ami Tliiiulicrgi, the ])oiitzias, \Veij;elas, LiUu's and Syriiifjas. or 

 l'lilaili'l|)liii>. are all alisolutcly lianly and suited for city gardens. 

 Regarding \ ines other tlian lioueysueklc and ivy, 1 strongly reconi- 

 nienil .Xnijielopsis Engloniani. Arostoloohia Si|iho. Akebia quinita, 

 Aetiniava arguta. Wistaria in variety, with Eniniynuis radit-ans 

 the most depenilable liardv evergreen eliniber. 



ARTllUK 11I:I!1!1X(;T0X. 



Will you advise on the proper treatment of azalea plants after 

 blooms drop to bring them through the summer in good condition 

 for blossom around Christmas time? Also in regard to the so- 

 called Holly Bush after the berries and the leaves drop? New 

 leaves are appearing now in great numbers on the plants, and 

 yet the berries are not all gone. These plants are also wanted 

 in full foliage and with berries by Christmas. H, W. C. 



New York. 



Jteplying to the above imiuiry would rceoniniend that after the 

 azaleas have dropped their blooms tliat the plants be placed iu 

 an early vinery or heated stnieture maintaining 5.5 to GO degrees 

 at night to induce growth for next year's flowering. Feed the 

 plants liberally with liquid eow manure and syringe with clear 

 and soot water twice daily to keep them clean and liealthy. On 

 completion of growth, remove to cool house or frame and in .June 

 they may be ]>laced in holes outdoors dug to depth of pots with 

 a layer of ashes placed in holes to prevent worms entering the 

 jiots. The situation most snitable would be where ])lants may 

 lie [lartially shaded from afternoon sun. Keep syringing and 

 watering and feeding occasionally. Hefore frost occurs bring 

 plants into cool house and top dress any requiring it, using peat 

 and sand, or leaf soil will do. |iotting very firmly. Bring into 

 iieat tiO degrees night tempeialiiie in November to get bloom for 

 Cliristnias, keep feeding and applying syringe well, and as buds 

 develop a good soaking in tub or Inicket will liidp to plump them 

 up. Place in cool house as (lowers open. 



l'"or holly the treatment advised i-< that if berries are still on 

 bush in .A]iril they may lie ]nilleil ulV an. I stood outdoors as frosts 

 are over and weather grows warmer. Later they should be ijlaced 

 into ground as recommemled for azaleas to ])revent drying out. 

 If flowering in autumn and brought into cool house berries slionld 

 ripen by Christmas. Kei'ji as cool as possible without jiermitting 

 frost to get at tliem. "CliOWEi;." ' 



Having had my peach crop ruined the last two seasons by late 

 spring frosts, I have decided to e.xperiment by burying 25 pounds 

 of ice about the roots of my trees, in the expectation that this 

 will retard budding until the danger of frost is over. If any of 

 your readers have ever attempted a similar experiment I would 

 appreciate hearing of their results, or of any other method that 

 might hold the trees from budding until after all danger of frost 

 is past. A. C. S. 



Oklahoma. 



A matter that might prove of interest to many of your read- 

 ers would be a discussion, through the columns of the "Garden- 

 ers' Chronicle," as to the comparative hardiness, and general 

 worth otherwise, of Dutch-grown and English-grown hybrid 

 rhododendrons transplanted in this country, say around Boston, 

 New York and vicinity. There are also some other questions in 

 regard to rhododendrons, which I will refer to later, that might 

 be of interest, and on all of which I am seeking information 

 myself. 



Is, for instance, rhododendron album elegans, propagated and 

 grown for a number of years in Holland, as hardy or otherwise, 

 as the same variety, propagated and grown for a number of 

 years in England, and then planted out in this country? 



My own opinion, based, to be sure, on rather insufficient ob- 

 servation and experience, is that two plants of the same variety, 

 one grown in Holland and one grown in England, are equally 

 hardy and of equal vigor of growth, floral productiveness, etc. 

 While, as I have stated, my observations have not been as broad 

 as might be desired, I may say that I have had considerable 

 experience in the matter, extending over a period of ten years or 

 more. From time to time I have procured hybrid rhododendrons 

 from nurseries in the vicinity of New York, Philadelphia and 

 Boston. Some of these were freshly imported from the other 

 side, and others had been established here some time; others 

 still were of varying degrees of naturalization between these 

 two extremes. Now, while I am not sure, I surmise the most 

 of them were originally Dutch-grown; a very few I know to 

 have been English-grown. As far as I have been able to follow 

 up the various plantations in which these rhododendrons were 

 used, they seem to be doing finely, proving as hardy and satis- 

 factory as rhododendrons ever are; the few definitely known, 

 however, to have come from England showing no superiority 

 over those which probably came from Holland. 



However, a number of nurserymen and growers are quite sure 

 of the superior value of English-grown hybrid rhododendrons, 

 stating it as a fact beyond dispute, some accounting for it merely 

 by climatic differences, others by soil differences, others by 

 differences in the stocks used for grafting and others by a com- 

 bination of two or more of these circumstances. 



It is said that in England R. catawbiense is largely used as a 

 stock, and that in Holland R. ponticum, and occasionally the 

 form known as Cunningham's white — a variety or hybrids of R. 

 caucasicum — are used, the implication often being that the sup- 

 posedly tenderer R. Ponticum would necessarily not produce as 

 hardy a plant as when R. catawbiense is used for a stock. 



The question suggests itself, What form of R. catawbiense is 

 used as a stock? A form of so-called R. catawbiense frequently 

 imported from the other side seems to be quite a different plant 

 that the true R. catawbiense offered by collectors of native 

 plants in this country, and not as hardy, perhaps not much 

 hardier than R. ponticum. Is this the form used as a stock? 

 If 30, how much better is it than R. ponticum? 



In che spring of 1904, which had been preceded by an unusually 

 severe winter, I saw on Long Island, N. Y., a fairly large hybrid 

 rhododendron (I have no record of the variety), say, five to six 

 feet high, from the base of which suckers, evidently I?, ponticum, 

 had grown to a height of two or three feet. These suckers 

 were very much "scorched," but the rest of the plant, the hybrid 

 part, had emerged from the winter's test about as green and 

 fresh looking as it was the fall before. This occurrence sug- 

 gests that, possibly, where rhododendrons are grafted down low, 

 so that the stock has some protection from the winter's severity, 

 R. ponticum does not have that unfavorable influences on the 

 scion it is sometimes said to have. 



One nurseryman of this country has said that he imported 

 rhododendrons from Holland quite small, and grew them for a 

 number of years in his nursery "to get the water out of them." 

 Another nurseryman has said that Dutch-grown rhododendrons 

 seem more susceptible to drought, the first year or so, than those 

 from England, but that thereafter there is no difference in this 

 connection. The question is pertinent: Are not hybrid rhodo- 

 dendrons obtained from England sometimes really of Dutch- 

 growth? 



Another question: Are own root hybrid rhododendrons obtain- 

 able, and have they any advantages or disadvantages as com- 

 pared with grafted plants? Suckering in the case of rhodo- 

 dendrons seldom, if ever, proves as much a nuisance as in the 

 case of roses, etc. 



Following is a recapitulation of the chief points to be brought 

 out in the discussion: 



a. The comparative hardiness in this country of Dutch and 

 English-grown hybrid rhododendrons of the same kinds. 



b. The causes of the difference, if any. 



c. The comparative vigor (aside from hardiness), floral pro- 

 ductiveness, quality of foliage, etc., of Dutch and English-grown 

 hybrid rhododendrons. 



A. The cause of the difference if any. 



e. The availability and merit of rhododendrons on their own 

 root. 



The opinions advanced in the foregoing as my own are, most 

 of them, only tentative. I wish to approach the matter with an 

 open mind, and I am ready to change my views upon the submis- 

 sion of experiences which may prove my position in the matter 

 wrong. HANS J. KOEHLER. 



Mass. 



Can any of your readers advise me of the value of spent hops 

 from breweries as a fertilizer? What is the best method to use 

 for mixing and applying them to the soil? 



New York. PELHAM. 



