Vol. 111. No. 25. 



MARCH 1908. 



^ IRISH OARDEININQ 



A Monthly Educational Journal devoted to 

 the Advancement of Horticulture in Ireland 



The Mock Oranges (Phiiadeiphus). 



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



BOTANICALLY classed with the Saxifra- 

 g-aceee, the subjects under notice would 

 seem, to the casual observer, to have little 

 affinity with the saxifrag-as of our rock gardens. 

 An examination of the flowers, however, shows 

 a close relationship, in the 

 essential org^ans, with those 

 of the typical g^enus. 



Very few shrubs will better 

 reward the cultivator, and 

 thoug"h not exacting- as to 

 soil requirements, a g^ood rich 

 loam should be provided at 

 planting- time. If g-iven a 

 fair start, most of the species 

 and varieties will g-row 

 vig-orously for many years ; 

 indeed, the tall g-rowers 

 should be given plenty of 

 space at the outset, and 

 planted either at the back 

 of wide shrubberies, where 

 they will not overgrow less 

 robust plants, or as isolated 

 specimens on the confines 

 of a lawn, where they will 

 form objects of considerable 

 beauty. 



Pruning should be strictly 

 attended to if the best results 

 are to be had. Immediately 

 after flowering, the plants 

 should be thinned out, re- 

 moving all weak or useless 

 sprays, and cutting back the 

 stronger leading shoots to within a few buds 

 of the base. If it is desired to have the 

 plants a certain height for some purpose, of 

 course the strong shoots may be left rather 

 longer until the desired height is reached, when 

 they can be cut back annually. The foregoing 

 remarks refer more particularly to the tall-grow- 

 ing forms of Phiiadeiphus. The dwarfer sorts 



Phiiadeiphus Pearle Blanche. 



Froin a PhotograJ>h l>y courtesy 0/ Messrs . Peiiuell 

 ami Sous, Lincoln, 



are eminently suitable for bays in the front of 

 the shrubbery or for beds on the lawn. The 

 treatment is much the same for both sections, 

 but these dwarfer sorts seem to become more 

 quickly exhausted than the tall forms. For 

 some years they will produce 

 plenty of strong-flowering 

 shoots and blossom profusely, 

 but ultimately incline to a 

 twiggy kind of growth which 

 is less floriferous. This need 

 be no detriment, however, 

 as propagation by means of 

 short, half-ripened shoots is 

 very easy. These, if inserted 

 in sandy soil and given a little 

 heat, root in a few weeks ; 

 even a hand-light without 

 heat is sufficient if thecuttings 

 are firm and taken from the 

 parent branch with a very 

 slight "heel." When rooted 

 they may be potted off" into 

 small pots, and placed in a 

 cold frame until spring, when, 

 if planted out in nursery 

 beds, they will soon form 

 bushy little plants. 



Most of the species and 

 varieties are sweetly scented, 

 and out of doors this is very 

 enjoyable, but in a room the 

 scent becomes sickly. Of the 

 stronger forms Phiiadeiphus 

 gordonianiis and P. inodonis 

 are scentless, but otherwise make admirable 

 specimens. Other fine species are — P. coro- 

 iiariiis^ a S. Europe plant, and, perhaps, the 

 best known in gardens ; P. gnindiflorus, from 

 the S. United States, and its varieties flori- 

 bundus and laxus ; P. Lciinsii, from N. W, 

 America ; and P. Satsunii from Japan. Of 

 the dwarfer forms P. Letnoinei is desirable ; 



