66 



IRISH GARDENING 



valuable fibre for the manufaclure of string- plants masquerade, both of reddish colour ; one 



and cordage, &c. is quite a good deep red and the other is of a 



The tall, bare stem of the Club Palm forms a poor dingy reddy brown. The best form is a 



natural pillar for climbing plants, and the sur- really effective plant, and the Editor would be 



face soil a short distance away from the stem pleased to hear from any reader who has tried 



may be freely worked, for in light rich soil such it in the open. 



as the plant loves, the thong-like roots go down Cordyline australis in some gardens is still 



straight and deep. .As the plants get old they known as C indivisa, hut the latter plant is 



provide quite a palmy feature to the landscape quite distinct, as the illustration will show. C 



wliich is most attractive. When grouped with indivisa is by far the finest species in the genus. 



plants such as the 

 Hardy Palm, (Cham- 

 aerops Fortunei), 

 \' u c c a recurvifolia, 

 Phormium Cookii, 

 and the hardy upright 

 form of the New Zea- 

 land Flax, the as- 

 sociation is most 

 pleasing, the tall 

 stems of the C 1 u h 

 Palm rising above a 

 groundwork of such 

 as these suggests 

 quite a tropical ap- 

 pearance. 



With young plants 

 in the colder counties 

 it is well during the 

 winter to tie up the 

 leaves to shelter the 

 more tender-growing 

 p o i n t, and a mat 

 wrapped around will 

 provide further shel- 

 ter if necessary. 

 Even if plants are 

 cut down by frost in 

 winter, quite a num- 

 ber of shoots usually 

 push out from the base in the spring. 



This Club Palm is very easily raised from 

 seed, and the seedlings often show quite a varia- 

 tion in the length and width ol' the leaves. 



Cordyline australis Doucetti is a handsome 

 variegated form, with green leaves edged with 

 white, useful for conservatory decoration. .Mr. 

 Beamish, of Cork, has tried it in the open, but 

 it has not proved quite hardy. 



C. australis De Groot is of Continental origin, 

 rather like an improved Doucetti, with a wider 

 marginal band of white. 



Under the name C. australis lentiginosa two 



I'holo l\v] 



CORDVLINE INDIVISA VERA 

 In iMr. Walpolt's (_;arden, Mount Usher, Wicklow. 



but not very common, 

 and unfortunately not 

 so hardy as the com- 

 mon Club Palm. At 

 Castlewellan, in Co. 

 Down, and with .Mr. 

 Walpole, at .Mount 

 L'sher, in Co. Wick- 

 low, are good speci- 

 m ens w h i c h are 

 t h r i ving extremely 

 well. When llourish- 

 ing it is a really noble 

 plant, and should be 

 given a sheltered 

 position, or the wind 

 may disfigure the 

 leaves by splitting 

 the ends. The leaves 

 are frc>m fciur to five 

 feet long by six 

 i n c h e s broad, the 

 colour is a pale green 

 above with a strong 

 centre vein of rich 

 reddish brown, while 

 the under surface of 

 the leaf is quite 

 glaucous. It makes 

 a beautiful pot plant, 

 but is very fastidious and liable to die otf sud- 

 denly. If planted out in a suitable position it 

 gives less trouble when given a well-drained 

 soil of loam, peat and sand. In New Zealand 

 this species rarelv branches, and grows from 

 live to twenty-five feet high. 



Cordyline Banksii has a slender stem spar- 

 ingly branched, and often grows in the form ot 

 large clumps. In the milder counties the leaves 

 are as much as six feet in length and lwc"> to 

 three inches broad across the middle, and con- 

 tracted at the base into a long sheathing petiole. 

 The leaves are further characterised bv numer- 



rc. ;■■. /;. 



6 led liigll 



