432 



ANDROSACE. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ANDROSACE. 



leaves retain much more dust and soot 

 than smoother and larger-leaved ever- 

 green alpine plants do, which makes 

 them more difficult of culture near cities 

 than most alpine plants. Androsaces in 

 cultivation enjoy small fissures between 

 rocks or stones, firmly packed with pure 

 sandy peat, or very sandy or gritty loam, 

 not less than 15 in. deep. They should 



Androsace sarmentosa. 



be so placed that no wet can gather or 

 lie about them, and so planted in be- 

 tween stones that, once well rooted into 

 the deep earth — all the better if mingled 

 with pieces of broken sand-stone — they 

 never suffer from drought. It is easy 

 to arrange rocks and soils so that, once 

 the mass below is thoroughly moistened, 

 ordinary drought has little effect. 



A few kinds such as A. lanuginosa and 



sarmentosa do well in ordinary conditions 



of soil ; but many of the 



Culture, dwarf " moss)^ " kinds rarely 

 thri\ e except in northern or 

 hilly districts under conditions more like 

 those of their native haunts. The nature 

 of the rock — whether sand or limestone — 

 is of importance, as failure often results 

 from neglecting this point. As with the 

 mountain Primulas, it is waste of effort to 

 try to grow these plants in any other soil 

 than their native soil. Then again, when 

 out of flower it is easy to forget such tiny 

 plants, so that they may suffer neglect 



while making the summer growth. A 

 constant watch is needed for aphis, slugs, 

 and red-spider. Towards autumn syring- 

 ing them with clear water does good, and 

 a surface-dressing of soil and stone-chips 

 helps before winter, and should be re- 

 newed in spring, if need be, when all 

 planting should also be done. When this 

 top-dressing is well done fresh roots are 

 often made from the underside of the pros- 

 trate stems, and this is a great gain. The 

 woolly-haired kinds, which often fail from 

 damp in our winters, should be planted in 

 the crevices of upright rocks, or under 

 protecting ledges ; where this is not 

 possible it is a great help to cover them 

 from October to March with a tilted glass, 

 to ward oft" rain and cold dews, while 

 allowing a free play of air. The rocks 

 among which they are planted should be 

 well sunk in the ground with thin layers 

 of good soil and broken stone between 

 them ; the roots of the Androsace delight 

 n the layer of moist earth just under 

 stones. Most kinds thrive in full sun, the 

 l^est aspects being south and west. While 

 a few kinds may be raised from runners 

 and cuttings, and some others from divi- 

 sion, many sorts can only be grown from 

 seed sown in sandy peat as soon as ripe. 

 Over forty species of Androsace are known 

 and others may be found when the moun- 

 tains of India, Thibet, and China are fully 

 explored. About twenty kinds are found 

 in the Alps, some extending eastward by 

 way of Austria, or southward to the Pyre- 

 nees, where four others occur peculiar to 

 that country. A large group belongs to 

 the Himalayas and reaches thence to 

 China ; of these about thirty kinds have 

 been described, of which a few have 

 reached our gardens, but the larger num- 

 ber are not in cultivation. They may be 

 divided into two groups ; one including 

 such easily grown kinds as A. lanuginosa 

 and sarmentosa ; and a second group 

 forming stemless tufts and found only in 

 rocky clefts. Those of the first group 

 will often thrive in level borders of free 

 soil, and root fi'om cuttings, or division ; 

 the mossy kinds are best upon the rocks 

 and are raised solely from seed. The 

 following list gives the best kinds in culti- 

 vation and of value for the choicer parts 

 of the rock-garden : — 



Androsace Albana. — One of the mossy kinds, 

 forming small rosettes of deeply-toothed oval 

 leaves and dense heads of pale pink flowers 

 from April to July. 



A. alpina. — A gem for the rock-garden but 

 not easily grown. Its tiny tongued-shaped 

 leaves are in crowded rosettes, forming cushions 

 of 2 or 3 inches high covered in June with 



