SCHIZOCODOX. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



SCIADOPITYS. 



849 



purple and yellow blossoms copiously 

 spotted. Its chief varieties are — papilio- 

 Jiacei/s (purple spotted), Fries/! (white), 

 atro-purpKirits (deep purple with dark 

 eye), and Tom Thumb (a dwarf compact 

 variety). 5. poriigctis is similar to 5. 

 pitinatiis., but has larger flowers. The 

 half-hardy kinds are S. retiisus (deep 

 rose and orange flowers with crimson 

 tips), tj7-aJtanii (lilac and orange), and 

 Hoflkcri (pale rose and yellow). These 

 are also beautiful, and worthy of being 

 grown well. One of the best for growing 

 in pots is IVisetotiensis, a compact pyra- 

 midal form of S. retusus^ with large flow- 

 ers in blending white, pink, and yellow. 

 This should be grown cool, just like a 

 greenhouse Cineraria. Caraway's is a 

 good strain of large-flowered forms, very 

 useful for cutting or decoration. If treated 

 as half-hardy annuals, the seed should be 

 sown in heat in spring, but if treated as 

 biennials, the seed should be sown in Au- 

 gust, the plants preserved in the green- 

 house till May, and then planted out in 

 rich, sandy loam. Chili. 



SCHIZOCODON {Japanese Mooji-iaort). 

 — S. soldafielloides was introduced by 

 Captain Torrens, who in 1891 found the 

 plants growing beside sulphur springs in 

 the mountains of Japan, and, after carry- 

 ing them hundreds of miles, succeeded at 

 last in bringing home three or four living 

 plants. The flowers of the Schizocodon 

 are like those of a large Soldanella, prettily 

 fringed, deep rose in the centre, passing 

 into blush or almost white towards the 

 edges. It requires much the same treat- 

 ment as Shortia, thriving in well-drained 

 sandy loam and peat, in cool and moist 

 but not wet or shady places. Partial 

 shade allows a finer development of the 

 rich crimson leaf-tints in autumn. Cap- 

 tain Torrens says: — "The plant I found 

 in an overhanging bank surrounded by 

 moss and moisture. Since I brought it 

 home I have kept it in a pot with peat 

 and sand. It is a hardy plant, and I have 

 had it out two winters in a cold frame, 

 and it seems to have stood the climate 

 well." 



SCHIZOPETALON.— 5. Walkeri is a 

 curious cruciferous half-hardy annual from 

 Chili, about i ft. high, with slender stems, 

 and numerous white almond-scented ele- 

 gantly fringed blossoms. If sown in .\pril 

 or May, in light, warm, rich soil in the open 

 border, it flowers in July and August, and 

 may also be sown in pots, but the ball of 

 earth must not be broken, as the plant 

 will not bear transplanting. 



SCHIZOPHRAGMA {Climbmg Hy- 

 drangea). — S. hydrarigeoides is a Japanese 



climbing shrub allied to the Hydrangea, 

 with tall slender stems that send out roots 

 which will fix it to a wall. Its wood is of 

 a soft character, resembling that of the 

 slower-growing Ivies, and it annually gives 

 off fresh sets of roots along its branches, by 

 means of which it clings to rocks, stone, 

 stucco, bricks, and even wooden palings. 

 Its leaves are much less in size than 

 those of the climbing Hydrangea, sharply 

 toothed at the edges, and of a lovely shade 

 of green, which contrasts prettily with the 

 reddish tinted young wood. It is deci- 

 duous, of free growth, and flowers freely 

 in sunny positions. The sterile flowers, 

 though similar in effect to those of the 

 Hydrangea, are readily distinguished, 

 being composed of a single bract, whereas 

 the Hydrangea flower is made up of four. 

 I know one case where a plant has grown 

 in a sunny corner of the house near French 

 windows, up the sides of which there is 

 lattice-work, and so charmed were the 

 owners with the tender foliage, feathering 

 the coign of the window, that they made 

 more lattice-work in front of the window 

 so that the creeper could extend and form 

 a natural sunshade before the glass. In 

 a few years a plant had grown 1 1 ft. high 

 and as much in width. 



SCHIZOSTYLIS {Kaffir Lily). — S. 

 coccinea is a handsome bulbous plant from 

 Kafifraria, with the habit of a Gladiolus, 

 from 2 to 3 ft. high. The flowers appear 

 late in the autumn on a one-sided spike 

 opening from below upward, of a bright 

 crimson colour, resembling in form those 

 of Tritonia aiirea, and should be well 

 grown wherever cut flowers are desired 

 in winter. It is hardy, and in a mild 

 autumn will flower out of doors, but 

 should have some protection. A good 

 row planted close to a wall or fence, with 

 some temporary protection against severe 

 frosts, will give many spikes for cutting. 

 S. coccinea loves moisture both in the air 

 and in the soil. " When residing close to 

 the sea in Dorset," says West Dorset, " I 

 could grow this winter Flag splendidly 

 in a shallow trench in good rich soil. In 

 summer it was deluged with water when 

 the weather was dry, and in autumn a 

 splendid crop of strong spikes of bloom 

 resulted. In North Hants, with a hot, 

 dry, light soil, I never could grow it well, 

 although I always kept it watered at the 

 roots during" summer." Increase by seeds, 

 or division in spring. 



SCIADOPITYS' VERTICILLATA 

 {Umbrella Fine). — A stately evergreen 

 tree attaining a height of upwards of 100 

 feet in its own land, and forming a dense 

 pyramid of verdure of remarkable beauty. 

 ^ I 



