IRISH GARDENING. 



25 



The Clematis. 



By ). W. BESANT, Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. 



WHEN properly cultivated, the various 

 species, varieties, and garden forms of 

 the above genus are among the most 

 useful and charming of climbing or trailing 

 plants. Few other genera yield such a grand 

 display over such a long season, but to get the 

 best results strict attention must be paid to 

 cultural details. 



Many of the species are 

 delightful plants, while a 

 host of garden varieties 

 have originated through 

 the skill of several hybri- 

 dists. It would be im- 

 possible within the scope 

 of an ordinary article to 

 deal adequately with all the 

 species worth growing, but 

 a few of the more distinct 

 may be here noted. 



Clematis calycina (syn. C 



balearica), a native of Minorca, 



and flowering; as early as Feb- 

 ruary and March. The habit 



of growth is pleasing, the shoots 



slender, and the leaves ternate. 



The flowers are white, marked 



with reddish purple, rather 



small but numerous. 



C. campanijlora, a Portu- 

 guese species, is a rampant 



grower, covering a large space 



in a short time. The leaves 



are biternate, and the flowers 



small but freely produced, being 



white, tinged with purple, and 



somewhat nodding and bell- 

 shaped. 



C. cirrhosa, from North 



America, is an interesting and 



pretty species, flowering in 



March or earlier. This species, 



as well as the first-mentioned, is 



more or less evergreen. The 



leaves are ovate, and produced 



in clusters or fascicles. The 



flowers are greenish white, and 



rather pretty, considering the early season of their 



appearance. 



C. crispa is also from North America, and flowers 



in summer. The flowers are nodding and light purple 

 in colour, the leaves ternate and acute. A charming 

 evergreen. 



Clematis flavimula, a well-known species from South 

 Europe. A vigorous grower and an excellent subject 

 for quickly covering a large space. It is useful for 

 clothing unsightly spots with a mantle of greenery or 

 for scrambling among the branches of a dead tree. The 

 leaves are pinnate and smooth, with variously-shaped 

 leaflets, the flowers white and very fragrant. 



C. florida, a Japanese species, has given rise to a race 

 of garden forms which I will mention later. The 

 flowers of C florida are of a pallid colour, and the leaves 

 ternate, the leaflets being ovate and acute. 



C. grata, a Himalayan species, not showy, but of 



Piece of Larch Stem affected with 

 " Canker." 



Note that the trouble started after the branch 

 was two years old (the numbers i, 2, &c., represent 

 each a j-ear's growth). Once started the wound 

 spread wider and wider each year. The disease 

 prevented wood being formed within the affected 

 area and killed some wood and bark alreadj' formed 

 (marked D). Cam. shows position of the cambium, 

 CoY'. is the cortex or rind. 



lA/tcr H. Marshall Ward.'] 



some merit through its fragrant flowers, the latter of a 

 yellowish white colour, but rather small. 



C. lanuginosa, a hardy Chinese species, of robust 

 habit, producing very large flowers of a pale, lavender 

 colour. The leaves are generally ternate, the divisions 

 acuminate. This species has been used in hybridising 

 to a considerable extent, and some of the varieties so 

 raised have largely superseded the type. 



C. montana, a Himalayan species, is one of the 



grandest early flowering climbers we have. The 



beautiful pure white flowers are usually produced in 



abundance in early summer, and remain in beauty for a 



fortnight or more. A vigorous species, well adapted for 



trailing over an old wall, fence, or arbour, and hardly 



ever failing to flower freely. 



In a heavy clay soil in Scotland 



Cfijr/. this plant thrives amazingly. 



C. montana grandiflora, intro- 

 duced by Veitch, has larger 

 flowers, while C. montana ritbens, 

 also a recent introduction of 

 Messrs. Veitch, promises to be 

 a great acquisition ; in habit like 

 the type plant, but with dark, 

 red shoots and leaves and lovely 

 pink flowers. 



C. orien talis, an Eastern 

 species, bears greenish, yellow 

 flowers in panicles. The leaves 

 are pinnate, with lobed leaflets. 

 An interesting species, but as a 

 garden plant it is superseded by 

 the following variety : — • 



C. orien talis var. tanguticus, 

 flowers larger than the former, 

 and distinctly yellow. In habit 

 the variety follows the type, but 

 is altogether more ornamental ; 

 in autumn the feathery fruits are 

 much admired. 



C. panicnlata, a Japanese 

 species, sometimes confused with 

 C. flanimiila, and adapted for 

 use in the same way as that 

 species. A vigorous grower, 

 flowering usually earlier than 

 C. Jlammula, the flowers similar 

 to those of flammula, and like- 

 wise sweet-scented. 



C. patens, a native of China 



and Japan, is the type of the 



early flowering garden clematis, 



a section to be dealt with later. 



The species produces mauve 



flowers and ternate leaves, but 



for purely decorative work has 



given place to more recent 



forms. 



C. vitalha, a British species, is too well known to call 



for lengthened notice. It is a first-class plant to use in 



the .same way as C. flammvla or C. panicnlata, especially 



on chalky soils, where it flourishes. 



C. viticella is a native of South Europe and Western 

 Asia, and bears blue or purplish rose flowers, leaves 

 generally ternately arranged with entire lobes. The 

 garden varieties of this species are more generally met 

 with than the type, and are more showy, flowering in 

 autumn. 



Clematis of Garden Origin.— C. aromatica, a de- 

 lightful plant, bearing reddish, violet flowers, each with 

 a central tuft of yellow stamens. The leaves are 

 variously shaped, and often irregular. This is a trailing 

 plant, and should be planted where the shoots can hang 

 down from some slight eminence, otherwise supports of 

 some kind must be used. Free flowering, with aromatic 

 flowers, it is a grand plant in its right place. 



