IRISH GARDENING 



71 



from its centre rises a flower stem which bears 

 not only the usual inconspicuous flowers but 

 also tiny young plants which eventually fall to 

 the ground and soon take root. These young 

 l)lants are for their first season bright green in 

 colour, their leaves being as succulent as a 

 tSedum and almost entire. I think it is the most 

 distinct Saxifrage I have come across. S. 

 granulata, the Meadow Saxifrage, with its pure 

 white flowers, is too well known to require 

 description. Its cousin, S. cernua, is smafler 

 in every way, and increases itself in a manner 

 not unlike that of S. Xutkana, Init in this instance 

 the young plants are tiny bulbils, which soon 

 root and send up leaves. For all these I Would 

 advise soil lightened with leaf-n\ould or peat and 

 cool exposures. 



S. aspera and its cousins S. broncnialis and 

 S. sedoides are interesting rather than attractive, 

 and seem to be the connecting link between the 

 Mossies and the oppositifolias, making tufts of 

 more or less hairy rosettes and bearing creaniy 

 flowers. They do not like a hot spot, and witli 

 nie ju'efer a peaty and stony sloi)e on which they 

 can ranxble. S. rotundifolia and its varieties 

 are very easy ])lants indeed ; any damp and 

 shady (-onu'r will suit them. There are .several 

 more or l.ss ([i>tit)ct named varieties of the tjqje 

 (which has iialc yreen, very round leaves and small 

 flowers, white or spotted). I grow son^e under 

 the names of S. repanda, S. lasiophylla var. 

 villo.sa (very dwarf and hairy), S. hedersefolia and 

 S. Rhodopea. Tlie last two are distinct, S. 

 liedersefolia having the brightest flo«'ers of the 

 section. 



Two fine Chinamen are S. Fortunei and S. 

 Mandschi.riensis. Of the former there are two 

 forms, one with green leaves and the other with 

 leaves of a bright and shiny bronze. They bear 

 ])ure white flowers, most distinct in shape, the 

 u)i])er i)etals being short and the two lower 

 ]>ctals elongated like a water wagtail's tail 

 I'calhei's. Tney flower in October, and are 

 consequently liable to be cut down by early 

 frosts. S. Mandschuriensis is dwarfer and 

 hartUer, but its flowei-s are not so attractive. 

 Other Saxifrages which 1 believe come from the 

 same ]»art of the world are S. tuscxita'formis and 

 S. sarmentosa, neither of which is quite hardv 

 her.'. 



liast of ail we come to tin- bog lovers, S. hircuUis 

 and S. diversifolia, witli bright yellow flowers ; 

 S. aizoides und. its fine variety var. atrorubens ; 

 S. Brunoniana and its var. Majuscula, with their 

 iListinct bright green Androsace-like rosettes at 

 the end of scarlet runnei's thrown out by the 

 jiarent ])lant. 



l)('S|)ite the amount ofspace I have occupied, 

 1 have by no means exhausted the list of intei'est- 

 ing Saxifrages. .Many, however, though of 

 interest to the collector, are not of much value 

 as " garden ]ilants," and I juust therefore ])ass 

 them by. It is, no doubt, difiicult for the rock 

 gax-dener who does not s])ecialise in Saxifrages 

 to select froni so many nanu's the snaall number 

 of ])lants he requires, and Mr. KIwes has suggested 

 to me the desirability of making such a selection, 

 and including in it as far as possible ])lants not 

 only ttie best in size and colour of their section, 

 but also in ease of ])ro])agation and of cultui-e. 

 Unfortunately the best in size and colour are not 



always the easiest to grow and propagate, but 

 I will do what I can to fulfil his request. 



Aizoons, white forms. — S. Aizoon Rex, S. 

 Churchilli, S. Lingulata Bellardi. 



Coloured forms. — S. Aizoon rosea, S. Aizoon 

 lutea, S. Cartilaginea, S. Kolenatiana. 



Kabschias, yellow forms. — S. Faldonside (not 

 too easy), S. Paulinge, S. Borisii compacta, S. 

 Haagii, vS. Godseffi, S. apiculata, S. Roche. iana 

 Ivitea. White forms. — S. Apiculata alba, S. 

 Marginata, S.S. Burseriana Gloria, minor and 

 Speciosa. 



Oppositifolias.— Yar. W. A. Ciarke, var. latina. 



Umbrosas. — S. primuloides, S. Geum x um- 

 brosa. 



Mossies. — S. Wallacei, S. Lindsayana, S. 

 Bathonensis, S. Muscoides var. .Jewel, S. 

 Erioblasta, S. Granulata x Decipiens. 



Vari lis other distinct Saxifrages. — S. Aizoides 

 var. Atrorubens, S. Rotundifolia var. Hedrsefolia, 

 S. integrifolia, S. rufidula. 



Englerias.—H. Griesbachei, S. porophylla, S. 

 luteo-viridis, S. Kellereri, S. ^tribaryi and S. 

 thessalica. 



In conclusion, I would like to thank souic of tlie 

 x'eaders of Irish Gardexixg for the interesting 

 letters they have sent to me and also for the help 

 I have received (and am still receiving) from the 

 Saxifrages they have sent for my inspection. 

 Many of the plants sent were old friends with new 

 names, but others were local or garden forms of 

 nrach interest. For some unknown reason those 

 frequent and interesting discussions upon diffi- 

 culties of culture and the raising of new varieties 

 of species that one observes weekly in the English 

 gardening press are almost entirely absent from 

 the correspondence column of Irish Gardening, 

 and one is therefore unable to approximate the 

 anaount of interest its readers take in any ))ar- 

 ticular form of gardening, and I had grave doubts 

 when I undertook the present series of articles 

 whether the cultivation of Saxifrages in this 

 country had made sufficient strides to justify 

 them. ' I have, therefore, been both surprised 

 and gratified by tlie number of interesting letters 

 I have received and the points raised in them, 

 and if I have not been able to deal with all these 

 l)oints in tlie articles, it is not because I do not 

 appreciate their importance, but on account of 

 considerations of space. I will, however, en- 

 deavour to reply to most of them by letter. 



Rhododendron dilatatum. 



A XATlVK of .lapan. this Azalea is one of our most 

 distinct Ai)ril-fiowering deciduous shrubs. Bushes 

 u]) to 30 inches high, closely packed with rosy- 

 ]nir])le flowers a coui)le of inches across, have a 

 charm all their own. Sheltered among the ever- 

 green species on a south or west border, and in a 

 cosv nook in the rock garden, K. .lilatatum is 

 worthv of more attention fr-iiu cultivators. It is 

 allied to R. rlioml>icum. having unsj.ott.'d llowers. 

 but is a better garden j.lant. May be pn.pagated 

 from lialf-nuiture young shoots inserted as cut- 

 tings towards the "end of .June in a j.ropagating 

 frame with slight bottom heat and by seeds. 



R. dilatatum was first introduced by Messrs. 

 Veitch in 18S:i. and Mr. Wilson collected seeds 

 during his recent visit to .Japan. It is figured in 

 the Botanical Magazine tab. 7()S1. A. O. 



