IRISH GARDENING 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 

 VOLUME XIII ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



No. 150 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



Editor J. W. Besant 



AUGUST 

 1918 



Pancratium illyricum 



And other Half-hardy Plants of the Amaryllideae 



The natural order Aniaryllideai cuutaiiis iiumy 

 interesting and beautiful plants — some well- 

 known and appreciated, like the Daffodil, and 

 others not so well known, though none the 

 less lovely. The majority, however, are not 

 so hardy and accommodating as the Daffodil, 

 and require care in selecting positions for them, 

 hence they may be termed half-hardy, though 

 the amount of protection required is governed 

 entirely by local conditions of soil and climate. 

 Too little regard is paid to the soil in consider- 

 ing whether a plant may safely be planted out. 

 Gardening people know well that ofttimes a 

 plant will survive and flourish in a seemingly 

 cold district, and perish where the climate is 

 much warmer ; the cause is usually to be found 

 in the nature of the soil. A porous well-drained 

 soil is more favourable to plants of doubtful 

 hardiness than a stiff", wet soil, and a soil 

 containing a good proportion of natural humus, 

 or decayed vegetable matter, is more suitable 

 than one mainly composed of mineral matter, 

 and which is inclined to become hard and im- 

 penetrable. 



Some of the best known and hardiest of the 

 Amaryllids are Pancratium illyricum and P. 

 maritimum, the Belladonna " Lily," Amaryllis 

 Belladonna, and several species and varieties 

 of Crinum. 



Where there is any doubt about suitability 

 of the soil or climate it is best to plant in a 

 narrow border at the base of a wall facing 

 south. There a most interesting collection of 

 plants may be grown. The wall may be fur- 

 nished with interesting shrubs requiring pro- 



tection, or the border may be adjacent to a 

 greenhouse. Sometimes the rock garden may 

 be made use of, as a sunny slope facing south 

 is capable of providing a suitable home for 

 many plants hailing from warmer countries. 

 Pancratium illyricum is shown in the present 

 issue of Irish G.\rdening flowering quite 

 happily on the rock garden at The Bush, 

 Antrim. There the soil is of a loamy porous 

 nature, and Mr. Barton grows many plants 

 extremely well. P. illyricum is a native of 

 Bosnia, Dalmatia, &c., and is generally fairly 

 hardy. It has a large bulb from which arise 

 long strap-shaped leaves surmounted in early 

 summer by umbels of fragrant white flowers 

 borne at the ends of stout main stalks. P. 

 maritimum fi'om S. Europe is a somewhat 

 similar species with narrower leaves and white 

 flowers, the central " cup " of which is finely 

 fringed. 



Amaryllis Belladonna, a delightful autumn 

 flowering plant from S. Africa, is pretty gener^ 

 ally known in gardens. There are several 

 colour varieties varying from pale pink to red- 

 dish purple, the deeper shades being most 

 effective. The leaves are produced in spring 

 and summer, ripening off before the flowers 

 appear. The base of a sunny wall is a suit- 

 able position to plant, and the soil should be 

 well drained. Closely allied to the Amaryllis 

 are the Hippeastrums, of which two species 

 are hardy in sunny, sheltered positions, viz., 

 H. Ackcrmannii and PI. pratense. The former 

 has large handsome flowers of a deep crimson 

 produced in umbels on stout main stal'ks. The 



