138 



IRISH GARDENING. 



The Arboretum. 



1 \ (I 



Auuust 



itiun lin> hrrn uivni t<. 



ir.-riitl\ planted thai is. witliiii 



oi- tw... All llu- It-adci-s air carr 



■.I. an.! if any liavc .ij;<>( lnokm n,- 



ttt'iiii)t is nuulc fo i'oi)lacc fli.iii \>s 



ill.- last vr; 

 liillv cxaiiii 

 inju.v.l. a.. 



Ixiiii;- up a side hi-aiicii. sliould one Ix- suitaliK' 

 placed, otlx'iwisc the side hranclics near tlir loj) 

 aif shoileiicd hack (i iiiclu'S or inor*". accordiiit;- 

 to tlu'ir Icni^th. witli the ohjecl of si reii^'tiieniiiK 

 th.> huds at tl»e hase of the iiijuied leader in ilie 

 hoi)e t)l" ii;ettiiiK a stiH^it:; younji; leader in s])rin.u. 

 'Poo nnicli short oiiiiiK •>!' reniovinfj; of the lower 

 liranelies is not advisable, othei-wise the leader 

 nia\ lipow too long and too late. I'ailinii' to 

 tliieken as it lengthens, and often sulTerini;- in 

 winter. Older trees may be thinned out if 

 necessary, even (houijh still in leaf, as the upward 

 (low of sap is now very little, and the removal 

 of even quite large branches may be carried out} 

 w'itliout risk of injury to the tree. As has been 

 jiointed out before in these pages, large trees 

 which have ceased growing to height often 

 become very dense, and when in full leaf are 

 easily affected by strong wind, and may sustain 

 irrepara})le damage. If. however, they are kept 

 reasonably thin, the wind can pass through 

 aniongt the branches, and meeting with less 

 resistance, causes no damage to the tree. With 

 valuable trees such work is worth doing, and 

 the branches to be removed can often be best 

 determined while the tree is still in leaf. Wiille 

 going through the young trees, all which, un- 

 fortiu>ately. may have required staking, are 

 carefully examined to see that the ties are not 

 too tight, and that the stakes are not rubbing the 

 stem or branches, therby injuring the bark and 

 rendering easy an attack by fungi. One of the 

 worst pests we have had to deal with was a 

 species of nectria. to all appearance the sanie as 

 that which attacks fruit trees. It particularly 

 afTects horse chestnuts and niaples, but occurs 

 on many others. If a young tree is very badly 

 affected, it is just as well to burn it, but if got in 

 time the affected bark, through which the brightly 

 coloured perithecia are seen protruding, should 

 b.- entirely cut away, and the wound thus formed 

 heavuy coated with coal tar. In this way we 

 have succeeded in curing quite a number of trees. 

 Occasionally, too, American blight makes its 

 appearance on ornamental species of pyrus just 

 as it does on apple trees. If the tree is not too 

 big and the attack not too severe, methylated 

 spirits applied with a small paint brusli is 

 effective ; for larger trees spraying in winter 

 with a good caustic wash is the only deterrent. 

 Many other diseases and pests attack trees and 

 shrubs, and the arboriculturist's life H hardly 

 l^ss free from worry than the fruit growers. 



Among the prettiest shrubs in flower now are 

 the hardy Fuchsias, of which tliere are several 

 (luite hardy and some hardy in sheltered positions . 

 Perhaps the best for general purposes is Fuch&ia 

 Riccartoni, which makes a fire bush in a few 

 years, flowering freely annually, the bright red 

 sepals surrounding the puiple corolla being 

 quite showy. Another strong grower is F. 

 corallina, like the last of garden origin, but 

 producing larger leaves and flowers, the sepals 

 being rich scarlet. F. macrostemma makes a 

 beautiful wall shrub, throwing out its young 

 branches from the main stems on the wall and 

 bearing abundance of flowers, the calyx brilliant 



scarlet, contrasting will with the soft, green 

 leaves. F. gracilis is anotlier form, but with 

 snialler leaves, Hn- flowers having red sepals. It 

 seems quite haidy here, and makes a useful 

 lockery shrul). F. i)umi!a is a dainty little gem 

 whicli lu-re never gets mucli above a foot higli. 

 branching freely fiom the l)ase and fornung a 

 (linse rmind shi'ub, jn'oducing abui'dance of 

 small llow'er; with red sepals. Fuchsia coniea. 

 with slim red and p\lrple (lowers, grows well here 

 on a wall, as also does F. globosa. F. serrat ifolia. 

 \'\ l';pi)si and F. excorticata. the curious flowered 

 New Zealand(!r. h\ mieroi)hylla. F. jjarvillora and 

 1*\ thymifolia. comparatively small growers witli 

 tiny lloweis, (louiish here on the rockery. 



One of the prettiest small trees I have noticed 

 lately in the arl)oi'etum is Hobinia pseudacacias 

 rar- rosynskyana. The; leaves are long and 

 pendulous, of a fi-esh green colour : the whole 

 effect of th(! tree growing among others is very 

 graceful. 



For some reason the later (lowering Spir.eas 

 alluded to last month are not pait ieularly good 

 here this year. As a rule the japonica group can 

 be relied on for a display in AugUFt, and the 

 salicifolia set are also usually satisfactory, but 

 the latter especially is poor this year, and there 

 is little promise of flower or the large-growing 

 pinnate-leaved species, which are best known in 

 gardens by .Spiraea Lindleyana and S. Aitchisoni, 

 but now include several other handsome species 

 from China. This may be a purely local condi- 

 tion since one would have supposed the showery 

 weather in eail> summei' very suitable for 

 grow^th. 



However, there are comiieusat ion. in the 

 autunm flowering Ceanol buses. Fuchsias, Spar- 

 tium jvmceum still a blaze, 11 ydraiigea ai-borescens 

 grandiflora with hiige heads ol bracts. Solanum 

 crispum, «.^c. The Cornisli Heath i;.: now making 

 a show, and Avhere the Heaths grow well what 

 a fine display can be made with varieties of the 

 common Ling Oallura vulgaris! These varieties 

 vary enormously in height, and some are quite 

 hairy, while others are smooth. The white forms 

 are mucli favoured. Alba minor, a dwarf one, 

 being very pretty : Alba Serlei, tall and graceful, 

 is a fine vainety, while Alba pilosa, with greyish 

 foliage, is distinct and beautiful ; of those with 

 coloured flowers Alporti is a great favourite, tall 

 and strong growing, with crimson flowers ; others 

 are flore plena, with pink double flowers .hypnoides, 

 a dwarf compact variety with purple flowers, and 

 I'oxii, dwarf with pink flowers. 



Perovskia atriplicifolia is making a pretty show 

 just row. It is a delightful autumn flowering 

 shrub for a sunny position in well-drained soil. 

 The grey leaves surmounted by long spikes of 

 light blue flowers make a very pretty combina. 

 tion. The whole appearance of the plant is grey 

 blue, even the calyx of the flower being thickly 

 covered with grey hairs. It is best cut hard back 

 in spring, and when the young shoots are three 

 to four inches long they root readily if detached 

 with a thin " heel "of the older wood. 



Buddlieas are now making a good show about 

 the grounds, the most usef j1 being the various 

 varieties of B. variabilis, C. Since B. var. 

 Veitchiana was introduced many improved forms 

 have been sent out, notably magntfica; and 

 superba ; from these again seedlings have been 

 raised, and some with enormous inflorescences 

 and varying in colour have been obtained. 



B.. Dublin. 



