270 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. 



[ April 12, 1877. 



of the other epeoies, being very impatient both of wet and 



dronght 



SEDUM SPEOTABILE AND SEDUM AZOEICUM 

 VARIEGATUM. 



Mb. Recob& \iaB called attention to the merits of Sednm 

 bpeotabile toi the Tarioue pnrpoaee of bedding, Tase, and con- 

 servatory decoration ; and subsequently another contributor, 

 '' J. T. P>," pointed out the mode to grow it to perfection. 

 Valnablo as thelatter information undoubtedly is, your readers 

 will be pleased to learn that this Sedum is one of those con- 

 venient plants that can hardly be put in a wrong place, and, 

 jwithout unduly encroaching on the space required by its neigh- 

 Ijour, is capable of doing well without receiving any extra aesist- 

 auce when planted in a vase, and that vase occupying a position 

 where watering is inconvenient. I do not know of any plants 

 which succeed better without water than do the two above 

 named, while at the same time water does not injure them as 

 it often does many other succulent plants. Sedum spectabile 

 is one of those peculiarly convenient plants that it does very 

 well either with water occasionally like other plants, or can 

 endure a very long time without it, even in dry weather. This 

 qualification fits it especial'.y for occupying vases in exposed 

 positions, as it resists wind as well as sun ; and for all the 

 other purposes of bedding or occupying a place in the herba- 

 ceous border or elsewhere it is almost without a rival. The 

 wonder is how a plant pes sessing so many good qualities should 

 have remained so long nr.noticed. 



It is a very old plant, but my acquaintance with it dates no 

 farther back than 1862., when I observed it, I think, in the 

 conservatory of the Kcyal Horticultural Society's garden at 

 Kensington. It was then, I believe, called by another name, 

 bnt its merits struck m e as being such as to qualify it for other 

 purposes. I therefore obtained a plant ; but I confess feeling 

 not a little mortified Tfhen, on pointing it out to an old cottager 

 at the time it flowered with me under glass, he asserted he had 

 the same plant in flcwer in his garden, and bad had it there 

 all his life, it being perfectly hardy. Furthermore, he asserted 

 his belief that it was a British plant and to ba met with in a 

 wild state in certain places. This latter assumption I think is 

 not the case, at least I have never heard of its being found in 

 a truly wild state. Although as the outcast of a garden it will 

 struggle on amongst other herbage, and the ease with which 

 roots are emitted from any part of its shoots would appear to 

 favour its propagation under many ordinary circumstances in 

 which it might be placed, yet I doubt much of its being truly 

 wild. There is another Sedum with a flower of a brownish 

 red colour which is sometimes met with in old gardens : this 

 I believe is wild on some favoured dry rocky situations in 

 Britain, but is not so pretty as S. spectabile. 



The ease with which the latter is propagated is not the least 

 of its merits, for, as one of your correspondents remarks, the 

 young shoots that are furnished so numerously in spriug will 

 all grow into plants the same year if they are only inserted in 

 the soil. I have occasionally pulled off a quantity and merely 

 inserted them into the common soil, totally regardless of sun, 

 shade, or sand, and they have every one grown. About the 

 beginning or middle of March they are of a suitable size, and 

 the plant may be propagated to any extent without any of the 

 requirements so necessary for so many other plants. If they 

 only are placed on the ground the right end uppermost I think 

 they will all grow. Young plants produce the largest flowers ; 

 but I have never taken the trouble of thinning the shoots for 

 the purpose of obtaining extra-sized flowers, for the reason 

 that when grown in beds there is generally plenty of large as 

 well as small flowers, and I think that both are better than all 

 large, and in vases we cannot have too many flower heads ; 

 moreover, where a quantity of shoots are taken off for propa- 

 gating, those remaining most likely do become stronger. I 

 had a large oval bed in which the plants flowered for many 

 years, looking remarkably well. The ground was slightly raised 

 in the centre, and the flowers were in a perfect mass exactly 

 parallel to the surface of the bed, filling it completely; the 

 plants being the first season about a foot from each other, bnt 

 afterwards one-half of them were removed. An edging of another 

 plant surrounded the bed, which was often Iresine or some 

 other dark-leaved plant. This bed was as attractive ag any in 

 the garden, and required no attention whatever, only removing 

 the edging plants when no longer sightly and cutting down 

 the Sednm, which, however, was not done too early. As the 

 bed was at some distance from the ordinary observer the ap- 



pearance when the autumn had destroyed its floral beauty was 

 not objected to, and the stems remaining sheltered the incipient 

 buds. I do not think, however, any ordinary treatment is at 

 all likely to kill this plant, as with the exception of such plants 

 as Horseradish and some of the coarser weeds I do not know 

 of anyone more tenacious of life or easier to grow. 



Seiium azoricumvariegatiim.—A\though differing widely from 

 the last, this plant, too, is deserving of more extended culti- 

 vation than is usually accorded it. It is dwarf and prostrate 

 in growth, but it is well adapted for small vases, and being 

 perfectly hardy is suitable for such as occupy exposed situ- 

 ations. In a normal condition its foliage is of a glaucous hue, 

 bnt when each leaf is deeply tipped with a pretty creamy yellow 

 its appearance is very neat. It is seldom met with more than 

 4 or 5 inches high, very often not so much, but is well fitted 

 for occupying the edges of window boxes and such places where 

 a permanent plant is required. I think I have directed atten- 

 tion to this Sedum before, and only repeat it here where the 

 merits of the other one called for something being said in 

 favour of another member of the family. Of other dwarf 

 species someone else will possibly say something, as there aie 

 several that possess what I esteem one of the chief recom- 

 mendations aplant canhave — i.e., of being hardy. — J. Eobbon. 



SCAELET BUN NEE. 



This is a favourite and useful summer vegetable. In 

 England and Wales it is grown in nearly every cottage 

 garden, but in Scotland it is not so well known ; indeed, one 

 may see hundreds of cottage gardens there where this Bean 

 was never grown, and those who do grow it generally do so 

 for the beauty of the scarlet flowers and the value of the plant 

 as a climber ; but the pods are considered unfit for food. Such , 

 however, is by no means the case, as few vegetables are more 

 wholesome or better-flavoured, and it has the advantage of 

 growing and fruiting in cold localities where the Dwarf Kidney 

 Bean does not succeed. 



Some writers have the 'knack" of filling two or three 

 pages with instructions of how to grow some very small and 

 unimportant plant or crop ; but all that need be said about the 

 Scarlet Runner may be put in few words, because it is one of 

 the easiest of vegptables to cultivate, and it comes in long after 

 Peas and tender Dwarf Beans are past. In some large gardens 

 Scarlet Ennners are grown to come in wholly for late use, but in 

 small gardens they may be sown to come early and a long time 

 in succession. 



In preparing the ground, the part on which the row will 

 grow must be dug or trenched about 18 inches deep, add- 

 ing at the same time plenty of strong manure. The roots 

 do not run far, consequently it makes little difference what 

 kind of soil it is a few feet from the row. When a piece of 

 ground is wholly devoted to them the rows must be 5 feet 

 apart. Seed may be sown about the last weik in April for the 

 first supply, and after this sowings may be made as required 

 until the first week in August. When the plants are about 

 4 inches high earth them up and put in the stakps. These 

 may be placed 3 inches apart, and tliey must be 5 feet high. 

 The Beans may grow taller, but it is the best plan to top them 

 when they attain this height. It is not often that any dis- 

 tinction is made in variety of Scarlet Eunners, but one named 

 Premier and Webb's Selected are two very superior varieties. 

 — A Kitchen Gaiidener. 



P.S. — I see a list of vegetables given at page 201 for swampy 

 ground. Scarlet Runnera may with safety be added to those 

 named. 



BEODI.EA CALIFOBNICA. 



Ok the many strange and wonderful growths found in 

 California, the botanist finds few of a more peculiar habit, 

 and none that I know of deserves more attention than this 

 Brodiica. No other plant in the vegetable world acts as does 

 thia one. 



Brodiasa californioa belongs to the natural order Liliaceic, 

 and is known among the mass of floral people as the Twining 

 Hyacinth, a name which it well deserves, as will be seen by 

 the deaoription given below. It has two near relations, both 

 natives of California, but of a different habit ; they are B. coc- 

 cinea, bearing crimson flowers ; and B. grandiflora, bearing 

 blue flowers, 



13. californica starts growing early in the spring, it sends up 

 from two to four leaves, the latter very seldom; these are of 



