THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



163 



JAPANESE BLOODLEAVED MAPLE. 



The great beauty of the jai)anese Blood-leaved Maple 

 is sufficient reason for its oenerai presence in so many of 

 our gardens. We refer to the one known as Acer poly- 

 morphum atropurpureni, writes Joseph Meeham in Flo- 

 rists' ^ Exchange. It is in Si^iring. when its lovely blood- 

 colored leaves are in ihcir full expansion, that its great 

 beauty is pre.'^ented, the rich red foliage l)eing then at its 

 l>est. This color is held witliout much change until Sum- 

 mer is well advanced. It changes with the heat of the 

 season, becoming dulled by the sun, but until Autumn 

 there is a distinct red color to the foliage. There is no 

 other red foliaged small tree or shrub its equal in its way, 

 and of its general hardiness there is no question. 



Because of its appearance as a shrul) on our lawns 

 many do not know it grows to the height of a small tree, 

 but it does. There are some of them about Philadelphia 

 ISft. to 20ft., having a spreading, bushy habit, not unlike 

 bushy forms of .Acer campestre that one sometimes sees. 

 But these large ones are, some of them, perhaps 40 years 

 old, as it is from 40 to 50 years since plants of it were in- 

 troiluced to Philadelphia gardens. Some have supposed 

 them as first appearing here together with the Japanese 

 who rejjresented their country at the Centennial E.xposi- 

 tion at Philadelphia in 18/6, liut this is a mistake, as there 

 were plants of it in the Meeham nurseries before that, 

 cciming, it is now believed, from a German nursery from 

 which importations were then made. 



Those who plant this blood-leaved Maple in a shaded 

 place make a great mistake, as it will not take on its 

 rich red color in such a situation ; instead the foliage 

 will be almost green. Xiu'serymen often are charged 

 with having supplied a sjiurious bush in cases like this, 

 the owners, knowing nothing of the requirements of the 

 i)ush, placing it imder the shade of large trees or in other 

 shaded positions. Even when a bush is in a proper open 

 position, should the upper l^ranches closely press on 

 those below them, it will lie the upper ones only that will 

 be of the blood cnN.ir of best type as are the leaf stems as 

 well. The whole appearance of the tree is so unlike any 

 other that to have a s|)ecinien of it on a lawn is considered 

 a great acquisition. It is of Japanese origin, and but the 

 one species, Jajionicum, is known, and, fortunately, it 

 proves hardy with us in our severest Winters. It cannot 

 lie praised as a flowering plant, for its flowers are so small 

 and colorless — save for its stamens, which make some dis- 

 play — that to many it passes as producing none. Then, 

 being of a dioecious nature, the male and female flowers 

 are on separate trees, so it is only when two trees of an 

 opposite character are near each other that seeds are pro- 

 duced. These seeds come in short pods, are very small, 

 but vegetate well, hence there is no trouble in getting a 

 stock of seedlings rapidly when seeds are procured. 



Besides propagation in this wa\', there is that of 1a\'ers, 

 and cutting of young shoots in .Summer, to help along 

 in adding to one's stock. 



This tree presents its best .'ip])carance when growing in 

 deep, moist ground. Then its foliage is presented at its 

 best, nnich superior to what it is wdien in positions lack- 

 ing moisture, flotanists tell us the Cercidi])hvlluni is 

 clo>;elv allied to the Magnolias, but there is nothing in 

 the general appearance of the tree to indicate this. 



WE ARE ALL ALIKE. 



"We're all alike, it seems to me 

 No matter wdiat our stations; 



For we all prune the family tree 

 Bv cutting poor relations." 



WINTER-FLOWERING GREENHOUSE 

 HEATHS. 



.\t one time collections of greeidiouse Heaths formed 

 a prominent feature of many gardens, but with the 

 decline in poindarity of hard-wooded plants in general, 

 man}" of the Heaths disappeared from cultivation. A 

 few kinds, however, are still grown, and as a rule in 

 very large quantities, fcjr some of the nurserymen who 

 make a specialty of them generally devote the greater 

 part of their energies to these greenhouse Heaths and 

 similar plants, such as Boronias and Epacrises. De- 

 lightful little specimens of these may frequently be 

 seen in the florists" shops, especiall}- during the au- 

 tumn, winter and early spring months, the summer- 

 flowering kinds being, naturally, not so much in de- 

 mand, though of them the attractive Erica ventricosa 

 is still grown. After the summer is over, the Heath 

 season niay be said to begin with E. gracilis, a dense, 

 twiggy little bush, whose tiny rosy purple flowers are 

 borne in great profusion. Several \arieties of this 

 Heath are in culti\ation, namely, rosea, in which the 

 purple tinge of the flower is almost wanting", it being 

 of a pleasing rosy shade; and vernalis, of nKjre sturdy 

 growth than gracilis itself, and much later in flowering. 

 There are two white or pale flowered kinds, namely, 

 alba, the oldest, in which the blossoms often have a 

 pinkish tinge. They are decidedly less pure than those 

 of nivalis, which is now extensively grown. 



.\fter E. gracilis comes E. hyemalis, a great faxurite, 

 and always in considerable demand about Christmas 

 time. There is a variety of this known as superba, 

 wdTose flowers are deeper colored than those of the 

 tyjie, also a variety alba, in which they are pure white. 



.Another winter-flowering Heath that has come jjrom- 

 inently forward within the last decade or so is E. 

 melanthera, which may be grown into larger speci- 

 mens than any of the others. The fl<iwers of this, 

 which are borne in great profusion, are small and of a 

 distinct mauve color, with blackish anthers. The low- 

 growing, white-flowered E. caffra is also grown to a 

 limited extent. 



Of those that as a rule bloom somewhat later than 

 the preceding, but yet may well be included with win- 

 ter-flowering Heaths, are E. wilmoreana, somewhat in 

 the way of E. hyemalis, l)ut of ."i more robust, spread- 

 ing habit; and E. persoluta alba, with a j)rofusirin of 

 tiny white bells, gracefully disposed. 



.\\\ the difl^erent winter-flowering kinds alluded to 

 belong to wdiat are termed soft-w"ooded Heaths, fi"om 

 the fact that they are readily propagated by cuttings 

 of the soft-growing shoots; whereas many of those 

 th;it used to be grown as large specimens could only 

 lie increased by cuttings of a firmer nature. These 

 soft-woddcd cuttings are, as might be supposed, very 

 delicate subjects to handle; hence ever\"thing should 

 be prepared before they are taken in hand. They are 

 best covered with a bell-glass, so that the size of the 

 pots or pans will depend upon that of the bell-glasses 

 available. W'lu'ther )iiits nr pans, they must be filled 

 to w"ithin an inch of the rim with broken crocks, coarse 

 at the bottom and very fine on the top. The soil should 

 consist of peat and sand passed through a sie\'e with 

 one eighth of an inch mesh, and made very firm and 

 smootli. In inserting the cuttings, each one must be 

 made quite firm, and though space should not be 

 wasted, overcrow"ding must be avoided. A length of 

 about an inch is a suitable one for the cuttings, in ijre- 

 paring which a very sharp knife is essential. When a 

 pot is filled, it should be watered through a very fine 

 rose, allowed to drain, and then be placed in a snug" 

 part of a w"arm greenhouse, taking care that the cut- 



