Jane 11, 1868. 1 



JOURNAIi OP HORTIOOLTUIIE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



417 



THE COMMON LAUREL AND ITS 

 ..^-.^^ HARDINESS. 



^^PnBpm HAT the poetic associations attached to some 

 ^ ^;''lL >;-,. plants have mucli to do with their popularity 

 there can be no question, especially when the 

 m.]\ object selected is of itself worthy of all that 

 is said in its favour. Thus it almost amounts 

 to sedition to whisper anytlung against Roses, 

 Forget-me-nots, Water Lilies, t!ie wild Prim- 

 rose, and others : all these plants jlossess 

 P'^ merits of their own sufficient to establish a 



reputation apart from the ideal qualities often 

 ascribed to them. Some other plants are less fortunate, 

 their title to the honours attached to their names not being 

 clearly made out. The national badge of the Sister Island, 

 the Shamrock, is, notwithstanding all tlie inquiries that 

 have been made about it, not by any means clearly identi- 

 fied •. while a still greater doubt seems to exist whether 

 the plant which forms the subject of the present article is 

 at all entitled to the name it bears ; the Laurel of olden 

 times being supposed to be a ditl'erent plant from the ooe 

 now commonly called by that name, and I imagine it is 

 vain to look for any authority to contradict or verify the 

 correctness of the appellation. 



As my purpose is to refer to cultural matters rather than 

 to open a discussion on terms employed many centuries 

 ago, I will not offer any opinion whetlier the Sweet Bay, 

 the Laurustinus, Alaternus, or Phillyrea formed the type 

 employed by the Greek sculptors, or whetlier it was the 

 common Laurel of the present time which was repre- 

 sented by them. Certainly appearances are against the 

 latter view, but it is enough that the present name has 

 been adopted by all, and no one is ever mistaken when 

 the term common Laurel is made use of Nevertheless, 

 a few years ago we were told that a superior variety 

 of this species had found its way amongst us, to which 

 the title of Colchian Laurel was given, and which, if 

 really different from the former, rendered the name 

 " common Laurel " more necessary than before. Now, as 

 I have not had much experience with this new Laurel, 

 and have some doubts whether the specimens I have 

 met with are correct, I should like to hear the opinion 

 of those who have grown this Laurel, and more espe- 

 cially how it deported itself in 18(17 in places where the 

 common Laurel suffered so much. An advantage which 

 it was said to possess over the common Laurel was 

 extreme hardiness : and as the latter plant certainly 

 succumbed to the cold in many places, the greater merit 

 is due to the Colchian Laurel if it passed through the 

 frosty ordeal unscathed : but if not, its other merits, if 

 enperior to those of the common Laurel, ought to be 

 told, or if it be merely the same plant slightly altered by 

 circumstances likely to pass away soon, then let that be 

 known also ; in fact, anything bearing on the matter 

 deserves to be made known, whether in favour of the 

 Colchian or of the common Lanrel. 



I am tKe more anxious to hear of the hardiness and 

 general character of this new Laurel (if it is a new one), 

 from the fact of having witnessed so much damage done to 



Ho. 876.-Vot. XIT, Kbw Suom 



the old kind in so many places. Great were the la- 

 mentations at the losses sustained in this way, even in 

 England, by the frost of January, l.s()7 ; in many instances 

 large belts of this shrub '.^O feet high were killed to the 

 ground, or within a foot of it, and though most, if not 

 all, of the subjects so killed down have grown again, the 

 shoots in many cases show unmistakeably that the plants 

 have been very much weakened. 



My attention was called to the condition of the shrub- 

 beries at a place that previous to January, 1807, exhibited 

 the highest possible luxuriance. The common Laurels 

 with limbs almost approaching timber-size, had been so 

 seriously hurt by the frost that the tops were all dead, and 

 only a few of the stoutest stems showed signs of life for 

 perhaps 4 or .5 feet up, and it was only a few of them, the 

 tops from 6 inches from the surface being in most cases 

 dead. Some had been cut down to the ground, some 

 partly cut in, and others not cut at all, and in most cases 

 fresh shoots were rising from the collar, but not so satis- 

 factorily as could be desu-ed. Doubtless the injm-y inflicted 

 by the frost affected the after-growth, as it is reasonable to 

 suppose that if the same plants had been cut down in a 

 moderately mild winter the after-gi'owth would have been 

 much better than it was after cutting down the top that 

 had been kUled by the frost ; but this is not the question 

 that was asked at the time, which was this — Ought Laurels 

 so injured to be cut down at once or not ? My previous 

 views were certainly in favour of letting them alone, 

 and I am not exactly convinced that I was wrong ; but 

 there were some examples where a good result had fol- 

 lowed cutting entirely down early in the spring. Now, 

 who is right ? In my own practice I let everything 

 hurt by the frost remain untouched as long as possible 

 when their appearance could be endured, and I have not 

 seen any reason to regret it. The damage done here by 

 frost even in 18117 was trifling compared to what it was in 

 many places, so that I have not had the opportunities 

 wliich others had of finding out the best way of recover- 

 ing a frostbitten tree or shrub. My own opinion was cer- 

 tainly in favour of letting the plants alone as long as 

 possible, while my friend the gardener was of a contrary 

 opinion. 



This subject in relation to Pinuses has, I believe, been 

 discussed in tlie pages of this .Journal, and in that case I 

 certainly advised the scorched and fox-coloured foliage 

 and branches to be let alone, and where this has been 

 done much benefit has resulted. Whether the same treat- 

 ment may be proper for Jjaurels and other evergreens not 

 of a resinous nature is a question I should like to see taken 

 up, as well as what is known with regard to the Colchian 

 Laurel ; for if additional hardiness could be imparted to so 

 graceful and valuable a shrub as the Laurel, that result 

 would be a boon to the ornamental planter, and especially 

 to those living in parts of the country where the common 

 kind is scarcely hardy enough to withstand ordinary 

 winters, and make the desired progress. 



As it is, the Laurel is more extensively planted than any 

 other shrub, and for quickly producing an effective feature 

 it cannot well be surpassed ; but where it has been planted 

 No. low.— Tou T»«IX. OiA aaaat. 



