7« 



JODRNAL OF HOBTIODLTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDBKEk. 



( Jidr », 1869. 



in tlie Znrieh garden. Tbere are pallida striata, \rhito wilh a 

 bine stripe; alba ccrrulia ndspcrsa, white Eprinkled with blue ; 

 rxcvia caleatina, white witli ii blue band, and several olhets. 



It is a marvtilone inct, that the American water weed, Ana- 

 <fharis aiiinastrum, has found its way into the Zurich garden. 

 ■Mr. Ortgias eaid he had taken, be thonght, every precaution to 

 ttvoid its being introduced ; but its Feed or some fragment at- 

 taolied to another aquatic had bronght it into one of the etonc 

 tanks for aqnatics. 



I was much struck with the result from one mode of cul- 

 tivating the Puulownia imperialis, adopted by Mr. Ortgiss. In- 

 stead uf iillowing it to become a tree, he annually cuts it down 

 CloEO to the ground at the approach of winter. In the spring it 

 throws u|i a stem mott robust, 18 feet high, clothed to the 

 ground with leaves 2 feet in diameter, and hearing some re- 

 .fiemblance to a gigantic Sunflower. — G. 



miODODEXDRON CULTUruE. 

 (Continued from page 49.) 



In oontinuatjon of the subject of soil, a very nsefnl kind is 

 ofttn met with in a yellow sandy loam, not the hungry sandy 

 soil WLiicb exists in some places, but sufficiently stiff to meet 

 the requirements of many other plants, and which when laid 

 down iu grass is often covered with a multitude of wormcasts. 

 Tracts of this character are funnd iu many places, and in such 

 tbere are healthy quiukset hedges. I urn not aware of any soil 

 mucli better than this fur the Bhododendron. A large extent 

 of soil of this dePoription exists near the southern bonndary of 

 the county of Kent, and near Tunbridge Wells and other 

 places. It also commonly occurs in Devonshire, and I recollect 

 Mr. Ptlvy. the then-gardener at Mount Edgeoumbe, near Ply- 

 niouth, pointing out to me in the park there, the line of de- 

 maiuatiou between it and a soil of an opposite character. On 

 one Bide of this line the Khododendron grew well, and the 

 flowersof the Hydrangea were blue ; on the other sidothe flowers 

 of the latter were pink, and the Ebododendron dragged on a 

 miserable existence. The soil alluded to does not make even a 

 remote approach to peat, being bulk lor bulk much heavier, 

 and in no resi ect resemtjles it excepting in its capabilities of 

 Buppl.i iu;; the wants of the Khododendron. Tracts of this kind of 

 soil are met with even in close proximity to the chalk forma- 

 tion, for instance, near Dorking, but they are less common 

 amoi'g great breadths of BtiH clay. A mound of this kind at 

 Preston Hall, near Maidstone, was taken possession of some 

 years ago by the proprietor, and planted with Bhododendrons, 

 and tbey thrive remarkably well. This soil, however, is more 

 sandy thau is usually met with, and I believe sufficiently moist. 



Among the soils which are most to be avoided, are those con- 

 taining much calcareous matter ; for useful as it is to many 

 plants, au abundance of it is fatal to the well-doing of Rhojo- 

 deudruus. It is next to hopeless to attempt the cultivation of 

 the plant iu chalky districts, or where limestone prevails. I 

 will uuw pass on to another kind of soil wtiich is said not to be 

 80 detiimentui to the plant, buu in which it is asserted by many 

 that it will succeed well — I mean a clay soil, but I have 

 seldom seen a satisfactory growth in soils of this class ; in fp.ct, 

 the places are so few where any approach to success has been 

 made in such, tiiat: I have never recommended Rhododendrons 

 being there tried, except in cases where they seemed to be a 

 necessity. CUye, however, differ in their chemical qualities, 

 and seme may bo more suitable than others, and may answer 

 for the common kinds of Rhododendrons, but I do not advocate 

 an extensive plantation on a stiff clay, and to mix clays with 

 lime, as is often done for agricultural purposes, makes the soil 

 loss suitable. A clay not containing too much calcareous 

 matter may be improved by mixing with it yellow sand in large 

 quantities, as the latter often contains sufficient ferruginous 

 matter fur the Rhododendron, while a bright orange sand too 

 often contains mure than enough. Much circumspection, and a 

 knowledge of the character of the clay, are indispensable be- 

 fore acting in the matter. It is not easy to explain what are 

 the features of a clay which may be converted into a fitting 

 bed fur the Rhododendron ; one from which bricks are made is 

 rarely suitable, especioUy if in burning those bricks shrink 

 very much, but the stiff soils where the Brake Fern is found 

 Inxuiiatiug may often be advantageously planted with Rhodo- 

 dendrons. 



I have rapntioned that the hard stone of the oolite formation, 

 mingled with earth of a kindred description, often furnishes a 

 Biogular but good soil for this plant ; a not less suitable one 



is often met with where sandstone prevails, and I have seen 

 plantations of this plant entirely amongst the refuse of a free- 

 stone quarry, as it was culled in the neirlh of England, differing 

 merely in its component parls from the Bath stone so exten- 

 sively used about London. This sandstone d^hri^ seems well 

 adapted for the growth of the Rhododendron, and where it 

 abounds (he plant may be tried with every prospect of success. 

 Indeed, I am not sure hnt crushed sandstone may be need 

 with advantage in those cases where an artificial comport is 

 necefisarv, or has to he added to the clays above referred to. 



Other descriptions of sells might be discussed, but I have 

 said enough to give the general reader an idea of what is suit- 

 able for the growth of the Rhododendron, or rather the soils 

 are described in which it will thrive tolerably well, while I have 

 attempted to point out (hose of a contrary description. I shall 

 now turn to another phase of Rhododendron cultivation— ono 

 to which there has been less attention hitherto paid than to 

 soils — and that is the rearing of plants. 



PBKrAnATtUX OF TDE YotJSG Pl4MS FOB PLiMING OoT. — 



Simple as this may appear, I believe it has more efiect on the 

 ultimate success of the plantation than is often allowed. It is 

 not by any means sufficient to order a number of plants from 

 a nursery and plant them at once ; such a course has seldom 

 been so successful as desired, and a casual glance at once ex- 

 plains why. In general, the Rhododendron is only grown ex- 

 tensively in the trade by nurserymen occupying ground exactly 

 suited to their wants, such as a good dry peat, vigorous growth 

 being the result. Plants are ordered for some place a long dis- 

 tance off, and to be planted in a soil not by any means so well 

 suited to their wants as that from which they came, and the 

 distance being great, the carriage is likely to become heavy ; 

 to lessen the expense the ball of earth attached to each plant 

 is reduced to the smallest size consistent with the plant's 

 living. Now, when we take into consideration the reduced 

 size of the ball, and the indifferent soil it is removed to, we 

 can hardly be surprised that considerable time is lost before 

 the plants become established iu their now home, and it ie 

 not unlikely that many will die under the ordeal. This is not 

 an isolated case ; I imagine a very great proportion of the 

 Rhododendrons obtained from the nurseries are subjected, at 

 least to some extent, to similar treatment — not that the trades- 

 man is in fault, for he cannot help it, and I have no doubt he 

 wotild willingly furnish a larger ball with each plant, only he 

 knows how much that would increase the charge for carriage, 

 which for common varieties is often as much as the price he 

 receives for them. The remedy for this state of things, especi- 

 ally in the case of the common kinds, as Rhododendron 

 ponticum, is to obtain a quantity of secdUngs with half a 

 dozen or more fall-sized leaves on each, and plant them out 

 in a nursery bed, in ground resembhng that which they are 

 ultimately to occupy. After having been planted about two 

 years they will have become bushy plants, and may be taken 

 np with balls entire, as their removal to their ultimate quarters 

 is not a serious affair when they are on the spot, and may be 

 said to have become naturalised to the soil and other conditions 

 of the place. Those who plant R. ponticum extensively for 

 game cover or undergrowth, I cannot too strongly recommend 

 to adopt this plan, as being the most certain to ensure success. 

 I have practised it here for many years, as affording better- rooted 

 plants than can be had elsewhere ; and thus the roots as well 

 as the whole plant are inured to the soil and situation they are 

 intended to occupy. 



A further recommendation in favour of the foregoing method 

 is, that in places where rabbits are very numerous, few, if any, 

 plants escape their destructive propensities, and it has often 

 been asserted that Rhododendron ponticum is proof against 

 them, but those who make the assertion have, perhaps, never 

 witnessed these prolific marauders in such numbers as are 

 met with in some localities, or they would have seen that 

 this plant, though suffering less thau many, is not exempt. I 

 have often been led to think that where new plants from a dis- 

 tance are brought near rabbits they are the first to suffer, while 

 those of home-growth escape. I suppose it is the novelty 

 that accounts for the greater injury done ; but I do not mean to 

 assert that the home-reared plants all escape, but they certainly 

 suffer less than imported ones; besides which, it very often 

 happens that the latter have been growing more closely to- 

 gether than the others have, and a more delicate set of side 

 branches may in some degree account for it. I think it is but 

 seldom this plant is partaken of as food, but the evil is quite 

 as great if the shoots are bitten off and the plant either iDJored 

 or destroyed. 



