700 



HOETICULTUEE 



May 9, 1914 



ARNOLD ARBORETUM. 

 (Bulletin of Popular Information, No. 52.) 

 The winter of 1913-14 will be remem- 

 bered in all parts of eastern Nortli 

 America as a winter of exceptional se- 

 verity. The unusually low tempera- 

 ture accompanied by high gales of a 

 day or two in January when there was 

 no snow on the ground, and the severe 

 cold and high winds of late February 

 and early March caused much anxiety 

 to the lovers of plants In eastern Mas- 

 sachusetts. So far as the Arboretum 

 is concerned these fears have not been 

 realized, for the losses from the winter 

 here are few and unimportant. The 

 plants of a small rhododendron, R. 

 Gowenianum, chiefly interesting as one 

 of the hybrids between an azalea and 

 a rhododendron, have been killed; 

 otherwise the rhododendrons are in 

 remarkably good condition and their 

 flowering promises to be the best that 

 the Arboretum has seen. A few of the 

 small, half hardy conifers, like some of 

 the Torreyas and Cephalotaxus plant- 

 ed near the top of Hemlock Hill, have 

 suffered but will probably recover, and 

 here and there through the Arboretum 

 the dead tips of small branches show 

 how severe the winter has been. Even 

 small plants of Buckeyes from Georgia 

 and Texas, and several species of 

 plums from Texas planted in the open 

 ground, show no signs of injury. 



The effects of the cold on the new 

 plants from western China are of spe- 

 cial Interest for it would seem that 

 any plant that could survive such a 

 ■winter might be considered hardy. It 

 is gratifying, therefore, to find that 

 very few of the Chinese plants even 

 when planted in the most exposed po- 

 sitions have suffered. The oaks, 

 birches, poplars, willows, ashes, cher- 

 ries, plums, yellowwoods, Davidias, eu- 

 commia, catalpas, berberis, cercidi- 

 phyllum, most of the cornels, vibur- 

 nums, cotoneasters. honeysuckles, spi- 

 raeas, lilacs, several of the evodias 

 and ehretia and many others are unin- 

 jured. Some of the Chinese roses, as 

 might have been expected, are killed 

 back nearly to the ground, while oth- 

 ers are quite unhurt. Two of Wilson's 

 •conifers, Picea Watsoniana and Tsuga 

 chinensis, have been growing for three 

 years in the open ground without pro- 

 tection and are now as bright and 

 fresh as any conifer in the collection. 

 This is interesting for these two trees 

 came from the region where Wilson 

 later found the large number of new 

 conifers, the introduction of which into 

 cultivation was one of the Important 

 results of his travels, and the hardi- 

 ness of this spruce and hemlock indi- 

 cate that other species from the same 

 region may perhaps be equally hardy 

 in New England. 



It is interesting to note that the 

 flowers of the winter-flowering witch 

 hazels from southern Missouri, Japan 

 and western China were not affected 

 by the severe cold. The Chinese spe- 

 cies, Hamamells mollis, produced its 

 flowers for the first time in the Arbo- 



retum in February. These flowers are 

 larger than those of the other species; 

 the petals are bright yellow and re- 

 mained for weeks in good condition. 

 This promises to be a valuable plant 

 for persons who can use winter- 

 flowering shrubs. 



The spring is exceptionally late. The 

 bluebirds did not arrive this year until 

 March 25th; they have been known to 

 some as early as the 21st of February, 

 and the average date of their arrival 

 for the last thirty years is March 9th. 

 Ill the bulletin published last year on 

 April 25th there was announced the 

 flowering of several cherries, of the 

 amelanchiers, of some of the for- 

 sythias, and of other plants which are 

 now only just beginning to enlarge 

 their buds. A week later the Japanese 

 Euptelea polyandra was in flower, and 

 the branches of the Chinese Prunus 

 tomentosa were already covered with 

 its handsome flowers. 



In spite of the lateness of the season 

 several trees and shrubs, however, are 

 already in flower. The branches of 

 the White Elm, Ulmus americana, the 

 earliest of the elm trees to open its 

 buds here, have been brown for sev- 

 eral days with the clusters of its small 

 flowers, and the Scarlet Maple (Acer 

 rubrum) is gay with its crowded flow- 

 ers which cover its otherwise naked 

 branches and are on some individuals 

 scarlet and on others pale red or yel- 

 low. 



The earliest exotic tree to flower 

 this year is the European Dogwood or 

 Cornel, Cornus mas, often called the 

 Cornelian Cherry. The small bright 

 yellow flowers in dense clusters now 

 cover the leafless branches and make 

 the plants conspicuous in early spring. 

 The leaves, which will unfold as the 

 flowers fade, are abundant, of good 

 size and pleasant color, and the bright 

 scarlet lustrous fruits, which are the 

 size of large cherries but oblong in 

 shape, hang gracefully on slender 

 stems and are very ornamental. This 

 small tree is perfectly hardy and prob- 

 ably was better known and more gen- 

 erally planted fifty years ago than it 

 is now. It is not flowering particular- 

 ly well this year, but many specimens 

 can be seen in the shrubberies of the 

 Boston parks now in full flower; and 

 there is an exceptionally large and 

 shapely tree on the Boylston street 

 side of the Boston Public Garden near 

 the entrance to the subway. 



Many of the alders are in flower and 

 their delicate blossoms will well repay 

 careful examination. The flowers of 

 several willows in the collection plant- 

 ed along the eastern border of the 

 great meadow are now open, and dur- 

 ing the next two weeks others will ap- 

 pear in succession. It is at this period 

 that these trees and shrubs are seen in 

 their greatest beauty and are most in- 

 teresting to the student. 



The spice bush (Benzoin aestivale) 

 is just opening its flowers. This is a 

 native of the eastern United States 

 and an inhabitant of the borders of 



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swamps where it sometimes grows to 

 the height of ten or fifteen feet. The 

 flowers are small, bright yellow, and 

 the male and female flowers are pro- 

 duced on different individuals, so that 

 some of the plants only bear the small, 

 scarlet, shining fruits which contrast 

 so well with the bright yellow autumn 

 foliage. The leaves are fragrant like 

 those of its relative, the sassafras, 

 and are not injured by insects. The 

 Leatherwood group (Dirca palustrls) 

 is now covered with its beautiful small 

 yellow flowers. This is one of the 

 most successful groups in the Arbo- 

 retum and should be visited by per- 

 sons interested in early spring flower- 

 ing shrubs of good habit and entire 

 hardiness. 



The earliest magnolias are juBt 

 opening their flower-buds. These are 

 two Japanese species. Magnolia stel- 

 lata, M. kobus and its northern form 

 var. borealis. These plants, like many 

 other Asiatic species, open their flow- 

 ers before the leaves appear. The 

 former is a shrub which may in time 

 bo expected to grow to the height of 

 ten or twelve feet and to spread to a 

 diameter equal to its height. It is per- 

 fectly hardy and one of the host beau- 

 tiful of all early spring flowering 

 shrubs but, like several of the other 

 early flowering magnolias, it blooms 

 too early and the flowers are often 

 injured by late frosts. This is 

 true, too, of Magnolia kobus and its 

 variety. The latter is a larger and 

 more vigorous tree than the typical 

 Magnolia kobus, which in the Arbore- 

 tum has remained shrubby in habit. 

 These two plants, in their young state 

 at least, do not produce large quanti- 

 ties of flowers and their flowers are 

 less beautiful than those of many mag- 

 nolias, but the northern tree grows 

 rapidly, is very shapely and covers it- 

 self with dense, dark green, handsome 

 foliage. 



Other plants now in bloom are the 

 European Daphne Mezereum and Erica 

 carnea. The former is a small shrub 

 sometimes growing to a height of eigh- 

 teen inches or two feet, and is orna- 

 mental when it is covered with its 

 small flowers, and later in the season 

 when its red fruits are ripe. Erica car- 

 nea is one of the few heaths which 

 are hardy in this climate and the first 

 of the genus to flower here. 



The interest in native birds is now 

 sc great, and fortunately so rapidly in- 

 creasing, that it may be interesting to 

 make known some of the resources of 

 winter bird-food which can be found 

 in the Arboretum. 



In March a representative of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture at Washing- 

 ton came to the Arboretum to study 

 the plants found here which might fur- 

 nish birds with winter food. His ex- 

 amination revealed the fact that fleshy 

 fruits of the sort eaten by birds were 

 still hanging on the branches, and in 

 good condition, of one hundred and ten 

 species of trees and shrubs, and that 

 the fruit of fifteen other species, al- 

 though dry. was still available as bird- 

 food. These one hundred and twenty- 

 five species belong to thirty genera. 

 OI the species only forty-nine are na- 

 tives of the United States and only 

 thirty of New England. In the course 

 of a few years, moreover, the number 

 of plants producing winter food for 

 birds will probably be largely in- 

 creased in the Arboretum by recent in- 

 troductions. 



