iS 97 . 



' ' ' GARDENING. 



227 



T. *>**-. v.itj 



CLEMATIS GRAVEOLINS 



well packed to stand their long journey 

 the prolonged absence from the soil must 

 somewhat impair their vitality. Some 

 evaporation of their natural moisture 

 must take place along the long lengths 

 of wood retained. This will occur even 

 under the most careful treatment. Long 

 handling of such merchandise, for they 

 are but merchandise, in the hands of the 

 dealer render some quite careless, and 

 even criminally negligent of a careful and 

 proper treatment. 



Only last week we saw at the receiv- 

 ing door of a large department store 

 a large wagon load of what looked 

 like the ampelopsis. They were piled 

 up in layers like so many scantlings. 

 No covering of any nature was placed 

 around or over the roots. When these 

 plants finally reach the dealer, they will 

 probably be dampened at the root and 

 moss placed around them so that when 

 the buyer examines them they seem tn be 

 in excellent condition. The period is too 



short between the time of undue exposure 

 and sale to show any damage that may 

 have occurred. Of course all vines we 

 buy may not have undergone this treat- 

 ment, still we do not know what trials 

 and tribulations our new possessions 

 may have undergone, and it is therefore 

 best to assume that they have become 

 considerably weakened. 



We gaze upon the long vines attached 

 to the roots and imagine their effect when _ 

 densely clothed with leaves. The roots 

 look strong and the wood of the vines is 

 apparently plump, and the temptation 

 to plant them just as they are, is very 

 strong. In fact so strong that some of 

 us cannot resist it, and in they go, to im- 

 pose upon the torn and weakened roots 

 the double duty of re-establishing them- 

 selves, and at the same time supporting 

 a head of growth that in itself is suffi- 

 cient to, and probably will, exhaust all 

 the reserve plant food stored up in the 

 roots beforethev haveestablished a work- 



ing force of food gatherers to replenish 

 the depleted rootsystem. Either a failure 

 to exist, ora weakened struggliuggrowth 

 for a few years is sure to follow. 



The proper thing to do is to cut the 

 vines back to at least one foot from the 

 ground This applies to all vines except 

 those (seldom obtained) that may have 

 been established in pots. In this case, if 

 the soil at the roots has not been dis- 

 turbed much, the vine may remain. 

 ■Climbing and pillar roses are classed as 

 climbers in this article and should be cut 

 back. 



Of the clematis there are some types 

 that bloom on the old and ripened wood 

 of the previous year's growth. To cut 

 these down would deprive one of all flow- 

 ers for the current year, and as nearly all 

 of the large-flowered section are subject 

 to disease, and many apt to die the first 

 year, it is best to try a half-way treat- 

 ment. Endeavor to obtain plants having 

 two or more main stems, and cut out one- 

 half of these, trusting to get blooms on 

 those left. Many nurseries in this coun- 

 try grow the clematis in pots. These 

 may be planted without cutting back. 



While on this subject it may be well to 

 state that owners cf clematises should 

 know the type to which these plants be- 

 long. If spring-bloomers, which flower 

 on the old wood, care must be taken to 

 preserve the old wood in the fall. The 

 Montana, patens and floricki types bloom 

 from the old wood, while the lanuginosa, 

 Viticella and Jackmanni section will 

 bloom from the wood of the current vear. 

 W. C. Ega.n. 



HINTS ON THE CULTIVATION Of tURBfl- 



GEOUS PLANTS. 



[Read before the Pennsylvania Horticultural 

 Society, February 16, 1^97, by Joseph A/eehan.] 



It is so common to hear 1 ersons say, 

 when viewing some woodland beauty, 

 "How I would like to transplant it to my 

 garden!" While it is true that hut few- 

 succeed in getting such plants to flourish 

 in their gardens, it is nearly always Irom 

 lack of knowing how to make them feel 

 at home. Let me mention the trailing 

 arbutus, Epiga?a repens, as an illustra- 

 tion. It is the common belief that this 

 lovely flower cannot be transplanted, 

 and more than once I have corrected 

 writers who have asserted this in public 

 print. 1 have transplanted it success- 

 fully, so have many others. Two sum- 

 mers ago, when in England, I saw a nice 

 patch of it in the Bagshot Nurseries, and 

 many other large nursery firms there 

 offer it for sale. It is not a native there, 

 so that it follows that at some time or 

 other the plants were safely transported 

 from here, seedlings of it being rare. This 

 plant likes shade and moisture and to be 

 undisturbed. It would not thrive in the 

 open garden, but if small, bushy plants 

 with a good ball of earth be taken and 

 set in a woodland where the required 

 conditions exist, they will live and 

 flourish. 



With native plants a little care should 

 be taken to provide for them situations 

 as alike as possible to those they have 

 been accustomed to. There are shade 

 loving plants and those that have grown 

 in open places. It often happens that a 

 partly shady border is at command, 

 where those that demand it can be 

 placed. It does not always follow that 

 a wild plant is found growing in the best 

 possible place for it. Take for example 

 the scarlet columbine, found on damp 

 rocks along the Wissahickon. I have 

 seen better specimens of it in open places 

 in gardens than ever I have seen wild, no 



