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IRISH GARDENING 



Growing Alpines in Pans for 

 Exhibition. 



By W. D. Besant, Curragh Grange Gardens, 

 Co. Kildare. 



Alpine gardening in all its phases has of late 

 years sprung more and more into prominence, 

 until at the present time Alpine is almost a 

 household word. 



Growing Alpines in pans for exhibition is a 

 comparatively new form of the art, and one 

 which is deserving of more encouragement from 

 horticultural societies. This style of showing 

 Alpines has much to commend it, as one can 

 take their plants to the show and bring them 

 hack little or none the worse for their outing, 

 whereas in the older style of exhibiting — i.e., 

 the table of Alpines arranged in the form of a 

 miniature rockery, plants are simply ruined — 

 it is nothing but plant murder ; besides, the 

 exhibits when arranged in many cases look 

 ridiculous, the plants being often out of all 

 proportion to the size of the whole. 



The Royal Horticultural Society of Ireland 

 has awakened to these facts and introduced 

 at their spring show a class for twelve pans of 

 Alpines. Some of the restrictions in this com- 

 petition bear criticism. Nevertheless, the move- 

 ment as a whole is sound 



The choice of subjects suitable for pan cultiva- 

 tion and exhibition is wide and varied, providing 

 there are no restrictions in the competition as 

 to height, &c. ; but even if confined to dwarf 

 plants there are still many beauties, such as 

 Violas, Campanulas, Primulas, Myosotis, 

 Morisia, &c. 



Young plants are in the majority of cases 

 preferable to old clumps. By young plants I 

 mean one year olds. Of course there are ex- 

 ceptions, but on the whole young plants, and 

 plenty of them, give a better return in a pan 

 than two or three old clumps. 



In most places it is impossible to grow an 

 unlimited number of pans, so that a selection of 

 subjects for the particular season they are 

 required should be made during the summer, so 

 that when the. time arrives for panning up one 

 knows just how many pans are required ; a few 

 extra to fall back on, of course, should always 

 be made up. 



October is about the best time to place the 

 plants in the pans, treating each species 

 separately, and using the utmost care in pro- 

 viding drainage and just the proper soil each 

 individual requires. A frame oughf to be 

 prepared in a light airy position, deep enough 

 to admit of a layer of sand in the bottom in 

 which to plunge the pans. When all the pans 



have teen made up the work of plunging should 

 be carried out, sinking the pans to the rim, 

 except in a few cases where the pans are better 

 tilted at an angle, as for instance in the case of 

 Androsaces. Watering will have to be carefully 

 done now ; in fact if the plants are well soaked 

 when panned up very little more will be required 

 for a considerable time, and as the days in 

 November and December get duller and darker, 

 too much damj) must be carefully guarded 

 against ; the lights must be placed on the frame 

 on wet days or frosty nights. 



Framing is an advantage, but not an absolute 

 necessity. The pans may be plunged in some 

 sheltered place out of doors, provided some 

 protection is given to the damp-haters, such as 

 fixing a sheet of glass over them. 



Once safely through the winter and into the 

 brighter days of early spring many of the plants 

 will show signs of growth. When once the 

 plants are growing freely, a little mild feeding 

 is beneficial, especially to Saxifrages, Violas, 

 Campanulas, and several others. Feeding of 

 Alpines is a much-debated point, but it certainly 

 pays in pans, for if fed lightly with some ap- 

 proved fertiliser Alpines will grow more 

 vigorously, throw more flower, and larger, while 

 in some cases the colour is somewhat intensified. 



A few plants with hints how to treat them 

 may be useful to readers. 



Viola gracilis makes a splendid specimen pan. 

 Cuttings should be rooted during the summer in 

 good sharp soil. Make up the exhibition pan in 

 early autumn, placing the plants almost as close 

 as they will go ; by this method one gets a much 

 evener and better pan than by using two or 

 three old clumps, which as a ride are inclined 

 to be straggling. Other Violas which can be 

 treated in a similar manner are V. bosniaica, 

 cornuta papilio, Florairensis, &c. 



Morisia hypogasa is another gem for spring 

 work. Insert root cuttings in May in sand, 

 they will soon form a crown and start to grow, 

 when they should be potted singly into thumb 

 pots in a sandy compost with a little peat 

 added ; by the autumn they will have made 

 good plants, and should be panned up in a 

 compost similar to that used for first potting. 



Several of the Primulas lend themselves to 

 pan cultivation, as frondosa, rosea, Cock- 

 burniana, &c. P. frondosa androsea love shade 

 and moisture during the summer, and if possible 

 should be planted in a bed out of doors ; where 

 Such conditions prevail it is well to work into 

 the soil a fair quantity of leaf mould and peal 

 for these. In October lift the plants with a 

 ball and place in the pans as close as possible, 

 using soil with a goodly admixture of leaf mould 

 and pe;i1 . 



