iinsii {:.\im)i;m.\( 



Saxifrages New and Old. 



]'>y M^l;l;.\^ llt)i;Mi;i;<'«iis. KuMpton. AMicylcix, 



CJuc-ll's ('(Mllll\ . 



I'AKT 11. 



Km 



V.MMNi; tlic Kal s(l,i;.s ii';iy 1m- lutiiul sdipc mI' tin- 

 ilioic.sl autl m«.s1 iiitcn st Iult Saxilrani s. Wh- 

 maj(.ritv of llirm iiwikc ti^'hl iinss-lik.' .iisliini-.s 

 ..I" apvaV.-nt rnselKs I say apjiar.-iit . l:(<ai.s<' it 

 tlu' iiishiou 1)1' cxaiuiiu'il it will be loiiiul lli-.t tlic 

 losfttfs aiv iv>( st')iiinitt'. \>ui own. a <(tiuiiuni (ar- 

 root. I'lilikc tlu- Ai/o(.us— wliitli llowi-r in taily 

 summrr^ll-.f Kaliscliins Jlowt-r in i-avly spiiiiti. 

 I'h.v arc iv't (lilVuuK. but i-c(|iiir.' a very .sti.ny. 

 \v.-ir-.lraiuf(l soil, not iully shaded. l)ut at llu- 

 saiii.' tiii'.cnol loo arid a siinatioii. Here, (iiry do 

 lust wlu-rt" i\.v shade of :v l:ii->;t' sloiic kr,| s \\,<- 

 sun from li.i'iu lor soiiu- houis daily, and. u itli 

 few exceptions, all rejoice in ahundaiiic ol liin.- 

 stone on th.c surface of and mixed with tie so>l. 

 Thev are lust iiroiiagatcd In <areful division, oi- 

 cuttings taken immediately i-fter llowciinii' has 



cea.-ed- . . 



S. arelioides niakes a nice cushion when it is 

 ha.i»])y, and las tlower.s of a greenish yellow : it is 

 not everywhere a good doer ; it is a doubtful lime- 

 lover, and requires an esiiecially well-drained 

 situation : it will do Avith only two or three houis 

 of summer dav sun.shine. and m.uch dislikts a 

 heavv. .sodden 'winter soil. Var. i)iim,uiina is a 

 beautilul plant with tighter silvery foliage and 

 pure primrose llowers. Mr. Farrer sugg< sts. an.d 

 I agrte with him. that it is lar nearer to S. 

 diapensioi<Us than S. aretioidfs— it is rare in. 

 cultivation. S. apiculata is both one of the 

 easiest and most etfective of its section, having 

 stout, green. s]iiny cushions, which, given full 

 exposure, will sinother themselves with pa'e 

 sulphur flowers borne in bunchy heads. There is 

 a i)a'e form, var. pallida, with stronger foliage and 

 smaller tlowers ; two white forms, var. alba, (one 

 much lietter tha,n the other) and a var. macrantha, 

 whic-h I as yet have not flowered. S. a])iculata 

 is easily increased by tearing it u]) and i)lanting 

 the jneces. 



S. burseriana and its varieties almost need, a.n 

 article to themselves. Experts and collectors 

 wage wordy warfare over them : they seek to 

 determine the type and a'so to decide whether 

 S. burseriana is a sun-lover or ashade-'.over. As 

 regards the first ])oint, I will not be temj)ted into 

 enlarging upon it further than to say that, as we 

 get our ])lants from at least two distinct localities, 

 it is somewhat difficult to determine the type, and 

 in absence of any authoritative decision I should 

 personally be inclined to recognise as such the 

 old plant with green ST)iny foliage sent out as 

 S. burseriana and S. burseriana speciosa. As 

 regards situation, however, I have naore to say. 

 Mr. Clarence Elliott urges one to grow 

 S. burseriana in lull sun. ^Fr. Farrer, on the otlier 

 hand. st<itos that he finds it in its native habitat 

 growing in limestone rubble at the foot of sunless 

 clifCs ; it sni.acks somewhat of the cvstomof Irish 

 fairs to " si)lit the difference," but, be that as it 

 may, that is what I propose for the reader to do. 

 My' experience of the plant here is that it grows 

 and i)ros]iers in full shade, but does not flower so 

 freely as it does in sun ; in full sun, however, it 



iii\aiial.l\ Ihiiiin up .iiid <lies. I expert mir wet 



W illlels .ind ro|,>e.,neut ahsellceof rest pre\.-nt the 



pl.iiit> fioiii l!ouerin','so Ireelv when urown in full 

 shade. :in.i. oil the (dher hand. IliiuUt dilliciilt to 

 li.li.xe that good si/..(l plants ol S. burseriana 

 would isrr survive a ihitish suuMuer in full sun 

 wilL.iut careful and <ous1;:Mt wc.leriug. which ma> 

 hr p(issii»!e when plaids ;iie ^mw ii in frames near 

 .1 constant water s;ippl\. i>ut is another mattei- 

 when they are grown out on lockwoik. S. 

 buiseii.iia. \ ar. speciosa ami \;'r minor. liaN'eall 

 rathei- dull green, small spiny foliage and pure 

 while llowcis of perfect form, those of \ar. minor 

 li;.\inL:' \<T\ dwarl' llower slims ol' d< ep criinsiui. 

 'I'l;. s.' \alirli. ». I l.rli.VK. .onir I'loni a .lilTerelit 

 district to the oil:, IS. whi.h have much slioui^er 

 spiiu'S of blue-silver. .11x1 are ]iossibly freei' in 

 (lower. \'ar majiu- is the h< s( known.: var. 

 1ri(h-ntina. still lar-er llowis. olten waved at the 

 inai-in. .Mi-. I-\iiiei"s \ari.lies ••(iloiia" and 

 • .Mauua ■■ .ii-e. 1 think, selected loims of this, 

 var. creiiata is inusi distinct, with deii.-.ileU 

 crimped i.etals. 1 iiave also a. form s.-nt to inr 

 .IS var. macrantiia. which is the last to (lower. and 

 hr.s curiors loosely tulted folia,ge. .\ form oiu e 

 widelv known and now rarelv see is vai-. mult illora. 

 with ("iwarfer spinv fcdiaue and white (loweis. two 

 or Ihi-ee on a sten'i this must he a hvhrid and is 

 n.(d r.ii- lioin S. Sa'oinuni. Another jiyhrid form 

 is var. nsea. with |iii>.k (lowers. \'ar. elegans is 

 another new form with comjiact f(diag<' and |iink 

 flowers ojjening to white. 



S. buisiculata is a hybrid lietwcc n S. 

 buiseiiana and S. a|)icuhita : it resembh s a. very 

 sliiuig growing S burseriana. and bears white 

 llowers. S. Horyi is a rarity from (ireece. said 

 to he s\ iionymous with S. mai-ginata, but 1 

 imagine this was be^fore both plants were obtain.- 

 able true, otlierwise it is diHicult to undeistand 

 how they were confiised. S. lioiyi has the most 

 distinct foliage, forming a cushion of ]ia.le green 

 rosettes resembling tiny green roses : its floweis 

 are ])ure white and borne rather gi'udgingly. 



S. Bilekii is a hybrid with very tiglil cushions 

 and pa'e yellow flowers, not very far from tie 

 so-called >S. a.retioidcs var. primulina. S. Hori.sii 

 one must be careful about. My im])ressionistliat its 

 raiser increased his stock by raising seedlings from, 

 the original ])lant, as I have received several 

 forms of va,rying in.erit. My first i)lant is by far the 

 best, and to distinguish it I now term it var. 

 compacta : it luakts tight cushions, and hears 

 large sulphui-coloured flowers orv erect crimson 

 stem.s : these flowers have the ])erfeetly round* d 

 overlai)])ing petals one associates with S. 

 burseriana,. Other forms vary in the height and 

 texture of their foliage : the flower stems are 

 sometimes crimson and sometimes green, and the 

 ])eta's do not overlap, but incline to star-sha])e, 

 and in some cases approach very near to S. 

 Kyrilli. 



S. Boydi is one of three hybrids of great merit 

 raised by Mr. .James Eoyd (of, I think, S. 

 burseriana minor and S. aretioides), the others 

 being S. Faldonside and S. Cherry Trees ; all of 

 them have close, com])act cushions, fairly 

 intermediate between the parents, and all have 

 yellow flowers, those of S. Boydi being dee]) 

 yellow, those of S. FaMonside |)a!er and larger, 

 and those of S. Cherry Trees nearer to S. Boydi 

 in size, but of a very^ distinct pale lemon, and 

 none of them are easy' to manage. S. Faldonside 



