Jane IS, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



461 



AUBEIETIAS. 



S^V'^W' ^^ ^^^^ spring gardening lias worthily be- 

 MM\|/ ' I J come so popular these riohly-oolourecl, freo- 

 flowericg, low-growing alpine plants are 

 commandiag oonBiJerable attention. There 

 are no mora useful spring-floweiiug plants 

 than the Aubrietias, none eo rich in their own 

 violet-blue flowers, none so dense and free, 

 none more hardy, and none better adapted 

 for various sites and modes of decoration. 

 In the pure air of the country and in the 

 murky atmosphere of the town they are equally at home, 

 and impart rich masses of colour to anj' garden in which 

 they are grown such as cannot be produced by any other 

 plants at the same period, say from March until June. 

 Indeed at no period of the year can such close and 

 effective blue edgings be produced as by lines of the 

 Aubrietias in spring. On rockwork no plants are so 

 conspicuous as these when flowering, and even when not 

 flowering their neat compact habits render them orna- 

 mental by their manifest appositeness to the sites which 

 they thus occupy. For window boxes they are amongst 

 the most appropriate of plants that can bo employed, 

 withstanding uniojured all the frost to which they are 

 likely to be subjected, and suffering less from drought 

 than most other spring-flowering plants. They will grow 

 in almost any soil, and, indeed, nothing appears to injure 

 these plants but extreme wet and overcrowding — that 

 is, permittiug them to be overshadowed by other plants. 

 Overhanging shade they cannot endure. Nothing must 

 intervene between their foliage and the sky, then will they 

 prosper and perfect dense carpets of rich colour. As 

 forming marginal fringes for raised beds and for hanging 

 over stones or rustic wofk no plants can equal them in 

 the spring, and if neatly' clipped after flowering they are 

 the reverse of being unsightly in the summer. They are 

 gi'adually finding their way into all gardens, but there 

 is BtQl room for their increase, and their dozens may 

 advantageously be increased to thousands, so effective are 

 they when seen iu long lines and large masses. 



Most easy is it to raise these plants in large numbers. 

 If one particular kind is desired for panelling where 

 absolute uniformity of growth is requisite then a given 

 variety must be increased by cuttings if the stock is scarce, 

 and by division if it is plentiful. Cuttings of the young 

 growth will strike readily in gentle heat the same as 

 Verbenas, but they must not remain in confinement a 

 moment longer than is necessary ; they will also strike 

 under hand-lights, dibbling them in deeply with all the 

 length of stem that can be slipped from the parent root. 



But the most expeditious mode of raising a stock of 

 plants is by sowing seed in heat early in the spring, or at 

 the present time under hand-lights, or even in the open 

 ground. The plants from seed, however, show some varia- 

 tion of character : they will differ in habit, also somewhat 

 in the colours of the flowers. Some plants will be more 

 robust than others, some later in flowering than the rest; 

 and all will not be equally floriferous. This diversity, 

 No, 791.— Vol. XXX„ New Seeieb. 



however, is not great and for ordinary purposes is no- 

 real obstacle in the way of producing a satisfactory effect,, 

 but for special and particular requirements, as in mosaic 

 bedding, seedling plants are not quite rehable. The 

 facility with which these plants are raised from seed and 

 their more or less sportive character has resulted in the 

 selection of varieties much superior to the original spe- 

 cies. A. purpurea, pale lilac, produced A. purpurea grandi- 

 flora, pale blue ; then came A. Hendersonii, violet blue; 

 A. Campbelli, ditto with a yellow eye; and A. graeoa, 

 reddish violet. Of these I have found A. Campbelli and 

 A. gra3ca the most useful and effective, producing splendid 

 cushions of flowers during the spring months. 



By sowing seed thinly in pans early in the spring-, 

 subsequently hardening-oft" the seedlings by gradations of 

 temperature, I have had sturdy little plants ready for 

 pricking-off in the open garden in May. By the autumn 

 these grew into healthy tufts G or more inches in diameter, 

 and which were transferred to the flower garden when 

 the bedding plants were cleared away. In the following 

 spring, or just a year from sowing the seed, they pro- 

 duced a display which was not surpassed, if equalled, by 

 the lines and edgings of Lobelias in summer. Seed sowu. 

 now in light soil and kept constantly moist to expedite 

 germination, subsequently transplanting the seedlings into ■ 

 stronger and richer soil, will, if duly attended to, make 

 plants 2 inches in diameter by November, and which will 

 flower freely next spring. Aubrietias remove safely from 

 the flower beds after blooming, become established in 

 the reserve plot, and from thence remove again as safely 

 into the beds in the autumn for another display. 



Nothing appears to injure them but extreme wet, and 

 shade by overhanging trees or flowers. Seedlings with- 

 stand wet much better than plants which have been 

 raised from cuttings or by division of the roots. When 

 a sufficient stock has been provided, I advise that every 

 year seed be sown thinly as soon as ripe in the open 

 garden, in order that a supply of vigorous plants is pro- 

 vided sufiicient for all requirements and to meet all 

 emergencies. If seed is selected from the best plants 

 varieties still further improved are sure to follow. If the 

 stock of plants happens to be larger than required by the- 

 owner of them, he will not have the slightest difhculty in 

 giving them away to the admiring visitors who inspect 

 his garden in April and May. 



I observe by the interesting accounts of the gardens of 

 Belvoir and Thoresby that Aubrietias are largely em- 

 ployed in the spring-bedding arrangements that havo- 

 made these gardens famous for that mode of decoration, 

 thus affording powerful testimony of the great value of 

 these lovely plants. Not only are they available for 

 panels and lines in regular bedding arrangements, but 

 they are equally effective when grown as isolated clumps 

 or cushions in mixed borders or informal flower beds ; 

 they are, in fact, plants for all gardens and almost any 

 style of decoration. 



By their extremely hardy nature, their compact and 

 agreeable habits, their rich colours, and certain and free- 

 flowering character; also by their adaptability for de.- 



No. U4C.— Vol. LV., Old SEaiKs. 



