IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME xvn 



No. 195 



EDI70R-J. W. BESANT 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



MAY 



'9-2 



The Flowering Crabs. 



By Jj.vDY Moore. 



Oah 



'■■iL 



/>P« 



AS ornamental trees the 

 Crabs are doubly useful 

 to the gardener. In 

 ■spring they can hold 

 their own with any fiow- 

 ering; tree, and again, 

 later, when the branche.s 

 aie laden with scarlet 

 and yellow fruit, they 

 make a second show of 

 colour that is both 

 l)eautiful and useful, for 

 well-made crab-apple 



jelly is delicious. The 

 Crabs come from East 

 and Wecst. Botanical 

 e.\i)loration of the past 

 twenty years in China 

 has shown that many 

 Crabs which were called 

 Japanese have their 

 origin in the wilds of 

 China, but the Japanese 

 have sent out uuiny 

 beautiful varieties. 



The familiar and 

 beautiful mendier of the 

 Pyrus family — Pi/rus 



mains floiihunda, of rni- 

 known origin, came, in 

 the first instance, from 

 Japan. This never-fail- 

 ing, most satisfactory tree puts forth its blos- 

 soms in fair or foul weather. The deep, lose- 

 coloured bud opens into delicate pink flowers as 

 big as a shilling, five or six in a cluster, on the 

 slender drooping branches. As they fade they get 

 white. It seldom fruits well in Ireland. In'l920, 

 its damson-like shining fruits formed on some 

 trees, but were soon swept off by birds. 



Var. atrusdnijuinea has the rich colouring the 

 name suggests, showing in twigs and leaves. The 

 leaves keejj their purple colour till the autumn. 



/'. «!. HuUiana and the double variety Paik- 

 iiiiinii (garden origin) are no less beautiful than 

 fldi-iliiDuhi. but they do not flower so profusely. 

 Tliey need more sunshine. 



I'. III. IlaUiiiiui first came from Japan, but lias 

 later been found in Western China. 



7'. iniiliix — the crab apple of the hedgerows — is 

 the parent of cultivated garden apples. There are 

 two distinct forms — Sylvestiis and Mitis. The 

 variety Miti.s is considered to be the parent of 

 the sweeter apples; its twigs are very woolly, its 

 fruit-stalks shorter than those of Sylrestiis. 



Among other varieties is runidisiarii , known in 

 nurseries as the Paiadise stock. 



The finest of all Cralis, John Duiniie, raised by 

 Mr. Holmes near Lichfield, has beautiful scarlet 

 and orange fruits produced in wonderful profuse 

 clusters. 



P. m. coniiKiiui, from N. America, flowers in 

 May and June. Sometimes called Mains fragrans, 

 it deserves a place in the gardens of those who 

 appreciate fragrant flowers. Its pink blossoms, two 

 inches across, are as sweet as violets. Mains coro- 

 na lia is a short -trunked, wide-spreading tree, the 

 ideal tree for the front of a shrubbery. 



v. 7«'H.s(.s— the Iowa Crab— is closely allied to 

 1'. corona ria. 



P. in. Yunnanensis was introduced in 1901. It 

 was discovered by Dr. A. Henry in Eastern 

 Szech'uan. A tall thin tree, with white flowers 

 in corymbs and reddish fruits. It has been found 

 since in many localities in China, always at a 

 high altitude. 



P. Zvnii is a small pyramidal tree. A native of 

 Japan, it came to Europe by N. America in 1905. 

 It has long oblong leaves and bunches of small 

 fruits. It opens early here (Glasnevin), upright 

 flowers in clusters, liright rose colour in the bud, 

 becoming paler as it opens. 



P. Torhujo is also a small tree, with dull green 

 leaves, downy on both sides, flowers varying from 

 pale pink to deep rose, and borne in clusters on 

 very slender stalks. The fruit is very small, 

 brownish yellow to red. It is a distinct graceful 

 habited tree, but the blossom is short-lived and 

 the fruit not so atti'active as many other Crabs. 

 The name Toringo means Cliinese Apple. 



7'. Biiujo, pyramidal in shape, is surmised to be 

 a hybrid between P. spectabilis and some form 

 of P. mains. It is one of the first and best to 

 flower here. Long rosy buds, paler when open, 

 its very sweet perfume adds to its charms. Its 

 great attraction is in the autumn, when its abun- 

 dant bright yelli.w fruits, hanging from the lower 

 side of the branches, make it a landmark in the 

 garden. Each fruit is a perfect little apple; they 

 have a pleasant flavour. Boiled whole in syrup 

 and bottled, they make a novel dessert. Laden 

 branches for table or room decoration are very 

 pleasing, and remain fresh for weeks. It has a 

 double flowering form. 



Pjjins harciifa, the beautiful Siberian Crab, 

 which grows into a tree 40 feet high, is widely 

 spread in Nature from Siberia, the Himalayas, to 

 Manchuria and Eastern China. It is a pity it is 

 not planted more frequently in gardens, parks, 

 and hedgerows, when the beauty, in April, of its 

 l)ranches, covered with white blossoms, is only 



