IRISH GARDENING 



135 



Herb 



aceous 



Phlo 



X 



By James Kearney, The Gardens, luverisk, 

 Killiney. 



" Phi.ox decussata " or '• Flame Flower '' 

 stands unrivalled amongst liardy flowers, and 

 is well worthy of a place in gardens of large or 

 snxall dimensions. Xo other perennial can pro- 

 duce such a glorious display of flowers from July 

 to October ; their range of beautiful colour, 

 delicate fragrance, and long ])eriod of flowering 

 render them indispensable. At the time of 

 writing (August 12th), what a ytleasure to look 

 over the borders solely devoted to their culture, 

 and admire the lovely shades of blue, pink, 

 mauve, scarlet, white, &:c. : it cannot but impress 

 one as to their real beauty in the flower garden. 

 Success in their cultivation de])ends upon well- 

 yirepared ground, careful selection of the site 

 where to be planted, thinning of the shoots in 

 early spring, staking in good tinie, and regular 

 attention to watering and mulching in dry 

 weather. 



In pre])aring to ])lant, select a position where 

 the plants will not be exposed to full sunshine, 

 and trench the ground two feet deep, incor- 

 porating with the soil (if light and gravelly) a 

 good dressing of well-rotted cow manure, and 

 if inclined to be heavy use rotted stable manure, 

 with the addition of leaf-soil and road scrapings 

 to ensure itorosity. Should the soil be infested 

 with " wire " or " eel worm," work in a good 

 dressing of " Vaporite " as trenching jjroceed^, 

 and when finished tread down the soil firmly 

 and allow it to settle for a week or ten days 

 before planting. The most effective method of 

 1)lanting is in borders solely devoted to them- 

 selves, being carefvil when ])lanting to arrange 

 the ])lants so as the colours won't " cla.sh " when 

 in V)loom. They may also ])e planted in grou])s 

 of three to four plants throughout the mixed 

 borders. Planting may be done in mild localities 

 and on warm soils from October to Febrviary, 

 so as to give then^ a good hold before warm 

 weather returns ; but on cold clay soils it is niuch 

 better to defer planting until early in March, as 

 the Phlox strongly I'esents dampness around the 

 roots. During the winter months place the 

 plants two and a half feet a])art, and when the 

 shoots a]>i)ear above ground guard against slugs 

 by ])lacing a ring of dry sand or soot around each 

 plant, and thin out the shoots to live on each 

 ])laut when the plants are two years old. Lift 

 the crowns every three years, divide, and replant 

 the outside portions for future stock in m^wly 

 ])repared ground. 



During the summer attend to staking. l"se 

 green painlcd baml)oo caixes, tying each shoot 

 out se])arately, and in dry weatlier they must be 

 well watered and given a good mulch of juaiuu'e 

 around the roots at the end of May. (iive liciuid 

 manure and soot water twice weekly when ap- 

 proaching the flowering stage, and remove faded 

 pips when they ap])ear, which heaves space for 

 ticsh ont'S to develop and also prolongs the 

 ll()wering period. As the Howeis pass away, 

 remove tlu! old ilowei' heads, whciLt hey will l)l()om 

 again and continue until destroyed by fi'((s1. 



Phloxes are readily ])ropagated from cuttings, 

 and a very good plan is to insert tlie young shoots 

 taken from the plants when thiiuiing them out 



in spring, and if rooted in small pots iix a cold 

 frame and kept shaded until root-action has 

 taken i)lace, they will make; splendid ])lauts by 

 the autumn for planting out in the borders, and 

 insures one having young, vigorous stock at hand 

 when needed. 



The following are a selection of up-to-date 

 varieties which may be relied upon to give satis- 

 faction : — 



Lindlield Beauty, old rose pink and white 

 centre, extra ; Princess Royal, ])urple, giant 

 flower ; Scarlet Gem, orange scarlet, compact : 

 Princess Marie, rose pink, beautiful flower and 

 truss ; Arthur Ranc, bright salmon, massive 

 truss : Sir Edward Grey, velvety crimson, mas- 

 sive truss : Queen Alexandra, pale blue and 

 niauve, large truss : Rowc^ana. white suffused 

 heliotrope, pretty ; Maurice Vaclion, darkest 

 purple, splendid ; Rijnstroom, salmon red, im- 

 mense flowers ; Meteor, bright rose pink, verj- 

 large truss ; Jules Cambon, rosy mauve, white 

 star centre, ])retty ; Mauve Queen, mauve, largest 

 and best nxauve : Ilervor, carmine rose and 

 white star centre, pretty ; Gloire du Marc, blue, 

 suffused violet, si)lendid : Fire King, fiery scarlet, 

 very attractive ; Frau. Antonin Buchner. ])ui'est 

 white, finest in cultivation ; Ellen Wilhnott, 

 French grey, lovely flower ; Corallina, salmon 

 pink, splendid ; Dr. Konigshofer, scarlet, one of 

 the best ; Elizabeth Canxpbell, old ro.se and whit(>, 

 one of the most beautiful ; Border Beacon, car- 

 mine, nionster truss ; The Queen, French grey, 

 very large truss ; Rheingau, white, dark blush 

 centre, striking ; M. Graham, rose self, large truss ; 

 Braga, rich lilac rose, large truss ; Anierica, sal- 

 mon pink, extra large flowers : Maid of Hont)ur, 

 white, suffused red in centre, large flowers ; 

 Africa, carmine and puri)le centre, si)lendid : 

 Jules Verne, rich blue, beautiful : Tambour de 

 Wattignies, niauve and white star centre, st lik- 

 ing ; Asia, old rose, suffused lilac, giant flowci'cd ; 

 Aurora, salmon, suffused orange re*!, giant truss : 

 Flora 11 ornung. white and large carmine eye. beaut y; 

 Aegir. bright scarlet, stand sun well : Frau. R. 

 Vo]ielius, white and purjile red eye, very])retty. 



[We have to thank our corres])ondent lor a 

 box containing large cut sprays of Phlox in 

 many choice varieties. Their robust and healthy 

 growth shows evidence of good culture, a fact 

 borne out by Mrs. Keith receiving a silver medal 

 and cultural certilicate for a collection of this 

 sl'.owy border flower at the Stiiliugau and Fox- 

 rock Society's Show. — Ed.] 



" Sleepy " Pears 



TliK disease known as " Brown Rot," cau.sed by 

 th(! fungus Sclerotinia fructigeiia. acts on the 

 fruit in two dilTerent ways. When infection fT'oiu 

 sjjores is local on the surface, the " Mrown Kot 

 condition lesults. and the diseast; is conlitu-d 

 to local i>atches. When infection takes ]ilace 

 through tlu! apical end of the fruit, the mycelium 

 permeates the whole of the fruit, and ])roduces 

 the condition known as " sleei>y." Such infected 

 fruit does not decay, but becomes dry and 

 mummili(Hl, and ])i'oduces a cro]) of s]iores which 

 disseminate, the disease tlu^ following season. 

 To lucvent this, all diseased fruit should Ix; 

 carefully collected and burned. An e(Te<tive 

 remedy is to spray with weak Hordt'aux mixture 

 when the young fruits have set and at intervals 

 afterwards. 



