HUSH (JARDENING 



Saxifrages New and Old. 



IJv .MlKKAY lltiKNim 



ipton 



IV\i:t 1\-. 



I iiAVi: ;iliv.((lv ...-.upir.l 111.. IV s|.a.-.. II, .1,1 1 

 iiit.iul.-tl f(.r th.' win. If nf (lu- pivs.iit s.iirs ..f 

 artirlfs. and thf ]\[(>ssifs ami scvci-al smaller 

 sections are still Itefinv lue. and. iipun considei-a- 

 tiiiii. I have tieterinined to make hut a (Vii-soiy 

 examination, of the Mossy sect ions— tlu' many 

 siiecies and i,'arden foi-ins which they contain 

 aic almost intinite in mimher. and. apait from 

 the (juestion of space, there are rea.sons which 

 reiuler th<' task of classifying' them cxceiitionail v 

 (lillicult. 'riie Mo.sSies seed freely and interhreeil 

 interminahly. Even when one collects a s])ecie.s 

 in its native hahilat one linds many varying 

 forms within the s])ace of a few yards, and one 

 result of im])ortinir species and planting them 

 in gardens where tlie bees can liyhridise tliem is 

 to \itterly <-onfuse the s])ecies almost beyond 

 recognition, and the task of classifving them is a 

 dinic lit one even to the ])ossessor df a h.Tbarhuu. 

 At l-;dinhiirgh. where Professor Hayly Halfour 

 specialises in Saxifrages, order is gradually being 

 evolved out of cliaos, and no doubt had the 

 Saxifrage Conference been held this s])ring we 

 should have been able to clear u]> a great many 

 dotibtful pc.ints. As it is, with the exce])tion 

 of a few well delined species that one finds fairly 

 true everywhere, one sees in gardens — ^botanic, 

 juivate and nursery — names in bewildering 

 variety for ai>))arently identical or nearly identical 

 ])lants, and I so nustrvist the names of n\y 

 Mossies that I liave swept most of them away, 

 and they shall remain nameless until son'ie 

 authority makes it his business to sort oiit the 

 sjjccies and describe tliem in such a way that the 

 ordinarv mortal will be able to recognise them. 

 After all. for the ordinary rock gardener to delve 

 ih'e))ly into the minute dilTerences of the Mossy 

 .s])ecies — nuuiy of which an- difhcdlt to grow and 

 kee]) — is unnecessary laboui-. The average rock 

 gardener grows Mossies ]irimi])ally for effect, and 

 to mt-et this requirement all he" need do is to 

 purchase a few of tlie large-flowered liybrids, 

 sow their seed, and from the residting seedlings 

 (which come \i]) ])rofusely) lie slicndd obtain souie 

 formsequal,if notsu])erior, to numy of tlie high! y- 

 pi'iced " named " varieties of commerce. For 

 such a ]iurpose 1 would suggest Sax. Bathonerxsis 

 or Sanguinea Sujierba na the best red. Sax. 

 umscoides var. .lewel as the best non-fading 

 crim.son, and Sax granulata x deci]):ens, a large 

 coarse growing whitt — these will cross freely and 

 give him as many varying forms as lie re(iTiires. 

 If he hankers after ".species" the following are 

 all strong, easy growing ))lants : — S. Walhieei. 

 S. muscoides var. allioni var. jjyKnise, var. Khei, 

 S. ( analiciilata, S. pedemontana cei'vicornis, 

 S. (cratoiihylla, S. decipiens var. Sternbergii, 

 S. palmata, S. exarata, S. rigescens, and 

 S. triiida — all these will grow anywhere in any 

 soil not too i)arched or waterlogged . A few choicer 

 species not difficxdt to grow are S. Pedatifida and 

 S. obscnra, S. Maweana, S. biternata, S. tenella 

 and S. Oranensis. New and attractive species 

 requiring well drained jiositions are S. Erioblasta, 



S. Nexa.l.'usis. S. |{alfouri. S. ( ieiuinipaiM. S. 

 Sediforuus. S. Couifera and S. Strigosa. Dillicult 

 species to I).' avoided are S. Aphvlla. S. flagellaris, 

 S. Stellaris. :iihI S. Ovmosa. 



Of lixbiid-. a> 1 >.;i,l. everv.uie can rais<- his 

 ..\vu. but 1 u,Mii.l put ill .1 g <i,,\ u..i(l for S. 



|-'e)-gilsoni. one of the \.|\ e.llli.'sl to llower. its 



d< cp crims .11 lliiwci-. larkin.: IIh' >i/,i'. but having 

 moi'e charm llian iiiaii\ (,| the new large (lowered 

 hybrids. S. l.iiHJ.avan.i is also. I believ.-. a 

 hvbii.l. Inil \,i\ distinct -clo.se mossv foli;ig»- 

 ami innuineiahle. .almost steudess. white* flowers. 



We have now l.'ft the big se<-t ions behind us. 

 and as most of those which j'emain are quite 

 small 1 will not d.-al with them sepai^atdv. 



S. eidsa is a tvpieal Aiiieiiian Saxifrage. 

 S|)lendid iniposin- ioliagf. still more imj.osing 

 flower stems, and almost i iiipeic.pt i ble flowers, 

 it is very distinct, hut coarse and ugly, and 

 suitalile only for rough and danqt corners. 

 S. pennsylvanica is sm.alier and not .so coarse, 

 S. ni alls has piostiate i-osettes of i>ale green, 

 s])ade-shaped. leatlurv leaves, slightly toot/hed : 

 S. reflexa. from .lapiin, is not unlike it. but 

 stronger ; S. iiulidida is a curiously unknown 

 gem from \. W. America, and is. to mv mind, 

 the most attractive ot all ilie American Saxifrag.-s : 

 it makes flat i-osettes like an alpine primula : 

 its leaves are shiny and of a dark green, with 

 crimson underneath, edges toothed and incliiu'd 

 to recurve: then from the centre of each rosette 

 springs a flt)wer stem only 2 (jr 13 inches high, 

 crowned with a crowded head of small white 

 flowers with scarlet anthers. The effect they 

 l)roduce is both dainty and charming. 1 got 

 S. I'ufldula som.e years ago and sent it to Kew 

 and Glasnevin, but it does not apjiear to have 

 strayed into cxdtivation at all : it is ])erfectly 

 easy to grow in light soil in half-.shady situations. 

 Another American that succeeds under similar 

 treatment is S. Inte^rifolia, pi-obably one of the 

 most distinct Saxifrages in cultivation ; it has 

 entire shiny bright green leaves, s])ade-sha])e<l 

 or rather canoe iiaddle shaped, and throws up 

 ca])itate heads of whif.e flowers on red flower 

 stem.s in late A])ril. 1 heard it once described as 

 " Primula Cashmeriana crossed with a lawn 

 daisy " — a fantastic but realistic description. 

 I do not know why it is not in general cultivation. 

 No doubt it is very rare, but it is so robust that 

 once established there should be no fear of losing 

 it. The tme S. Mertensiana is an interesting 

 ])iant with round, slLuhtly deutated, light green 

 leaves with hairs on their surface and also on 

 their stems. One used to receive for it S. 

 lieterantha. a distinct plant with small bright 

 green, deeply dented leaves, Hha])ed more like those 

 of Cam]), garganica. S. heterantha is of the 

 same clan as S. Lyalli — a very rare American 

 that I have only recently got true : the latter has 

 similar l)ut larger leaves wjfiich s])ring from surface 

 rooting r/iizome-like growths. S. Nelsoniana is 

 another interesting plant ; growth similar to 

 that of S. Mertensiana, but its leaves are of a 

 bright deej) green and brilliant crimson under- 

 neath. None of these Americans have flowers 

 of any value except S. Hulidula and S. Integri- 

 folia. Possibly the quaintest of them all is 

 S. Nutkana ; a full .sized ])lant of this makes 

 a large, jierfectly flat rosette of j^ale yellow-green 

 leaves, with dentated edge and three or foui 

 projecting teeth at the I'nd of each leaf; then 



