iSgj. 



• • • 



GARDENING. 



PRIMULA STELLATA. 



The smallest sized ones will be Skimmia 

 Japonica, Aucuba Japonica, Prinos gla- 

 ber. Yuccas, Mahonia Japonica and .1/. 

 aijuifolia, kalmias, Buxus rotundifolia, 

 Andromeda Japonica, A. floribunda and 

 A. Catesbsei. 



Some notes on some of these trees and 

 shrubs will be of use to you. All are be- 

 lieved to be quite hardy enough for your 

 purpose, as they can be grown as far 

 north as Philadelphia, some of them in 

 partly sheltered situations. 



Cephalotaxus is not a broad-leaved 

 evergreen, but it is almost as good as one 

 for your purpose, having deep-green foli- 

 age which keeps green all winter and a 

 bushy habit of growth. 



Cistus laurifolius has not glossy foliage, 

 but it is a beautiful hardy broad-leaved 

 evergreen and one almost unknown in 

 our countrv. The leaves possess an aro- 

 matic odor. 



Photinia serrulata has been placed on 

 the list, as it has been claimed to be per- 

 fectly hardy much farther north than 

 Washington. There are plants about 

 Philadelphia which have stood perfectly 

 in an open shed, with the thermometer 

 showing but TO" above zero It is well 

 worth trying by you, as it is a lovely 

 evergreen. 



Should you plant the Magnolia grand- 

 iliora, the hollies, the mahonias and the 

 Prinos glaber, your success will be greater 

 if you first cut off all the foliage, unless 

 the plants be pot grown In fact, all of 



the broad-leaved evergreens are the better 

 for being treated in this way. 



Should you plant kalmias and rhodo- 

 dendrons, add some sand and decayed leaf- 

 mould to your soil to suit their fine roots. 

 Jos. Meeban. 



The Greenhouse. 



PRIMULA STELLATfl. 



Primula stellata (Star primula) is a 

 new and distinct plant sent out by Sutton 

 of England, differing in habit and appear- 

 ance from all other primulas. In habit 

 it has a graceful and light appearance, 

 growing about nine inches high, the 

 flower stalks about fifteen inches high, 

 carrying hundreds of creamy white flow- 

 ers three-fourths of an inch in diameter, 

 in whorls or tiers one above the other all 

 up the flower sta'k. They last a long 

 time in flower and for cut flowers thev 

 are very useful, lasting a long time in 

 water. They are easy of culture, requir- 

 ing the same treatment as the Chinese 

 primroses, and are easily raise 1 from seed 

 which should be so.in in March if large 

 plants are wanted. They seem to like 

 plenty of drainage and a good open soil 

 to grow in. 



The English gardening papers speak 

 very highly of this plant and advise keep- 

 ing over the plants a second year, as they 

 give a great many more flowers and do 



J67 



nicely in this way. We shall keep a lew 

 of ours over and see how they behave 

 with us. No doubt this new primula will 

 become quite popular when better known 

 as it is one of the freest and most graceful 

 flowering primulas there is. 

 Mahwah, N.J. David Frasek. 



TECOMA SMITH1I-S0LANUM WENDLANDI. 



"T. W. P.." writes: "Tacoma Smithii 

 was recommended to us for chrvsanthe- 

 nium treatment and to succeed them, but 

 it' has not bloomed vet. We have it in a 

 large 4 inch pot."' A large + inch is 

 rather indefinite; possiblv it is 5-inch, but 

 that does not matter; ihat is not the 

 treatment, neither can it be called a plant 

 to succeed the chrysanthemum, as it is an 

 utterly different plant. It is a greenhouse 

 climber, will do well in a temperature of 

 50 and should be planted out where it 

 can remain permaiientlv for years. If 

 you cannot give it a permanent border in 

 the greenhouse the next best would be a 

 large tub. 



The same subscriber writes that a plant 

 of "Solanum Wendlandi" set in the open 

 ground last spring grew to the height of 

 20 feet, a remarkable growth. It was 

 taken up in the fall, some of its lar<*e 

 fleshy rootscut off and potted. It dropped 

 its leaves; new leaves have since been 

 tormed, but with all that it has an un- 

 happy look. Don't get discouraged- 

 keep it rather dry and it need not have 

 the best ot place in the greenhouse. Plant 

 out again after danger of frost and von 

 will no doubt be rewarded by a fine lot of 

 flowers. When planting out cut back t.» 

 within two feet of the roots. 



Wm. Scott. 



SOWING SEEDS-GERANIUMS. 



Please give me information on below 

 subjects: 



1. When shall I sow seeds of cinerarias, 

 primroses, calceolarias, gloxinias ami 

 cyclamens? 



2. I have a couple of cinerarias now in 

 bud. Should these early buds be pinched 

 ofl or allowed to grow? Although well 

 supplied with water, the leaves wilt badly 

 in a cool greenhouse. What is the cause"? 



3. Please give me the names of about 

 a dozen best winter-blooming geraniums, 

 old or new. single or double. E. 0. X. 



Tennessee. 



1. Cinerarias, if wanted in bloom by 

 the following Christmas, should be sown 

 in May, but they are difficult to manage 

 during the hot months and are not a great 

 acquisition in midwinter, so I would not 

 advise them sown until late in August; 

 then as they grow the season is more 

 favorable to their main requirement, 

 which is a low temperature at all times! 

 but not one degree of frost. June is a 

 good month in which to sow primroses, 

 and they will then flower in December! 

 Calceolarias should be sown in August. 

 Like the cineraria, it is difficult to grow 

 in the heat of summer. Gloxinias can be 

 sown at once. You will not get a large 

 plant the first year. The florists who 

 raise a quantity of these beautiful plants 

 to have the one year old bulbs for sale, 

 plant out the little plants in a frame in 

 rich light soil, covering at first withglass 

 and afterwards with some light cotton 

 cloth for shade. They will mostly all 

 flower and you can pick out the fineones 

 and discard the poorer. The bulbs will 

 make fine plants for pots the following 

 year. Cyclamens should have been sown 

 in October, and then you could have fine 

 plants in December and January. You 

 can still sow cyclamens and mav expect 

 good plants in bloom a year hence. 



