98 



IPJSH (lARDENlNO 



t'l'ct. ill (lr\, sluulv situations on tlic niai^ins 

 of piiu* forests on tlio castciii llanlv ol ilic 

 Licliiaim Kaiijze. and also t)V Mi. Wilson in 

 WcstiTii China anioiii: heather. 



A. tihctiea is a (U-MltIiI ful small iiidwini; 

 spei'ies, imieh reseini)liii,<r .\. s(iii|i( r\ i\ oidfs. 

 hut with hroader leaves, and the whole plant 

 softly hairy like A. villosa. Th.- leaves aiv 

 arran,ue(l in rosettes and are spathulate in shape. 

 ahout t hi'ee-cpiarteis of an inch lonu and hall 

 an inch hroad. It spreads ity f(Uinini: in'w 

 rosettes on short stolons, which arise at the 

 time of tloweriuLi. The lloweriiei stems are 

 aiiout an iiieh hi<ih. hearinu an iindiel of six to 

 nine tlowers on lon.LT pedicles, the llowcis heiii^: 

 white witli a yellow eye. This plant was intio 

 dueed hy dailies Witch & Sons from Kansn. 

 China, throuizh their collector. Mr. W. Puidoin. 

 w ho is again explorinji the wilds of North Western 

 China in coini)any with Mr. Reginald Fariai'. 



The ty]ic of this sjieeies is a native of 'i'ihet . and 

 has narrower leaves. Koi-ms found in Western 

 ('hiiia and Kansu. according to Pax in his 

 inonograph of the genus, are known as A. 

 tihetica r(tr. Maiia . 



A. Watkinsii is not a species, hut evidently 

 a form of A. sannentosa, which hails from the 

 Himalaya. It is a free-growing plant, spread- 

 ing freely and flowering profusely, bearing 

 many Howered umbels of deep rose-pink flowers. 

 It seems scarcely separable from A. Chumbyi. 

 and also much resembles A. sannentosa i)rimu- 

 loides. ])ut all are very beautiful and desirable 

 for the rock garden. 



Celmisia coriacea. 



This liandsome New Zealand eom])osite 

 tiowered finely in the J^otanic Cardens at 

 Glasuevin in the early days of June. The 

 particular plant here illustrated carried 

 flower heads about two and a half niches across, 

 and made a most attractive picture. The 

 leaves are some ten inches long, covered Avith 

 silky hairs, which gi\e the plant a peculiarly 

 bright and silvery apiiearance, which, together 

 with the showy flower heads Avith long pure 

 white florets, rendei- the plant a particularly 

 desirable one for a clioice ])osition in the rock 

 garden. 



In the matter of cultivation the Celmisias 

 are not exactly easy subjects, though some of 

 the difticulties which presented themselves in 

 the early days are not now so formidable. Im- 

 IKirted seeds on which growers had formerly to 

 rely are difficult to germinate and very hard to 

 manage immediately after germination. No doubt 

 during the long voyage from New Zealand their 



\italit\ lieeaine impaiic I. and many eeilainly 

 failed to terminate at all. This dillieulty has 

 |o some extent l)een oNeiconie liy the produc- 

 tion of homegrown -ee:l>. which. Ix-ing sown 

 when gathered, geiininale readily, and with 

 care grow away freely. To olitain a good ero|) 

 of seed it is iidvisai.le to ero.ss- polliiuUe the 

 llowcrs. as it will he noticed that the anthers 

 aic ripe l)ef<.ic the stiL:nias expand, thcreh.re 

 it is necessary to ohtain pollen fidm younger 

 llowels. The ripe seeils ma\ he sown ill a 

 compost of \ci\ >and\ loam with a little tiiK- 

 peat mix.-d thron-h it. Th.' pots should he 

 thoidiighlN soaked pic\ ions to sowini;. and the 

 seeds lightly co\cfei| in. .\ c«)ol house en- 

 frame is (piite snitahle foi- home saved seeds, 

 though a waiin greenhouse with a night tem- 

 perature of .").") ()!■ ihereahonis has heeii h)und 

 i»etter for imported .seeds. With the liome- 

 savetl seeds germination is fairly rapid, and the 

 seedlings shouM he allowed to develo]) their 

 lirst pair of true lea\cs heh)re hcing ])otted ofl' 

 singl\- into small thnnd. pots. Thereafter, cul- 

 tivation consists in potting on as recpiired. 

 using a similar com])ost in a rather more lumin 

 condition until the jilants are strong enough to 

 place in jiermanent positions. 



Celmisias dislike too much o\erhead moisture, 

 especially in winter, and prefer a sheet of glass 

 arranged over them to throw off snow and i-ain 

 during that season, at the same time admitting 

 plenty of hght and air. Although many hairy- 

 leaved plants enjoy full sunshine, Celmisias 

 seem to like a position in half shade, away from 

 the fnll glare of the noon and early afternoon 

 snir. Given such a position in well-drained 

 soil, which can be kept moist in summer, there 

 seems every hope that these handsome New 

 Zealanders, will prove as welcome to our gar- 

 dons and no more difficult to manage than 

 juany Alpines from less distant lands. 



In addition to the species quoted above, 

 several others are proving amenable to culti- 

 vation. 



C. verbascifolia is also a fine plant approaching 

 C. coriacea, but the leaves are less hairy on the 

 upper surface, though densely covered with felt 

 below. The flower heads are also large, the 

 outer florets being pure white, the stems reaching 

 a height of from 1") to 18 inches. 



C. Maekauii has leaves up to 15 inches long, 

 but nari'ower than in the previous species, 

 tapering to a sharjj ])oint and smooth on both 

 surfaces. The flower heads are fairly large, but 

 the outer florets are thin and jiapery, of a pale 

 lilac colour. 



C. Monroi is a pretty species, with shorter and 

 narrower leaves, rather hairy on the upper sur- 



