PRUNUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PRUNUS. 



659 



P. JACQUEMONTI. A pretty shrub, 

 native of N. India, where it is found 

 at altitudes from 6,000 to 12,000 feet, with 

 flowers of a bright rosy pink, about half an 

 inch across, and borne in great abundance 

 on the growths of the previous summer. 

 The Chinese P. humilis is nearly related to 

 this. 



P. JAPONICA (Double Chinese Plum). 

 This is one of the most lovely of spring- 

 flowering shrubs. The single form prob- 

 ably not in cultivation ; the double one 

 has white flowers with a more or less rosy 

 tint, some, indeed, of a distinct rose colour. 

 It can be struck from cuttings, but it is 

 better to layer the shoots of an old plant. 

 In that way nice flowering plants can be 

 obtained in two years. Grafted plants 

 neither grow nor flower so well, and a con- 

 stant watch has to be kept for suckers. 

 Syn., P. sinensis. 



P. LAURO-CERASUS (Cherry Laurel). A 

 noble evergreen tree often overplanted and 

 misused, and where this is so, Cherry 

 Laurels have to be continually cut back 

 to keep them within bounds, and their 

 hungry roots prevent the cultivation of 

 better things anywhere near. Several 

 varieties are in cultivation, the best of 

 which are colchica, caucasica, and rotundi- 

 folia, all with broader, larger leaves than 

 the common Laurel and preferable to it 

 on account of their hardier constitution. 

 Salicifolia, angustifolia, and parvifolia are 

 narrow - leaved varieties, the last being 

 often grown under the name of Havtoghia 

 capensis. A new variety from the Shipka 

 Pass (shipkaensis) is said to bethe hardiest 

 of all.' 



P. LUSITANICA (Portugal Laurel).- A 

 noble evergreen rarely seen in its full 

 beauty, because it is nearly always choked 

 with other things in the shrubbery. It is 

 as a group, and allowed full freedom of 

 growth, that its value both as a winter 

 and summer shrub is seen, though like 

 the Cherry Laurel it is often overplanted. 

 Var. myrtifolia has smaller leaves than the 

 common forms, and its branches are of 

 more erect 'growth. Being dwarf er, it is 

 also better suited for shrubberies. Var. 

 azorica has much larger leaves, and fewer 

 but larger flowers on the raceme. Spain, 

 Portugal, and the Azores. 



P. MAH ALEB (Mahaleb) . None of 

 the European Cherries surpass this in its 

 springtide beauty. The Mahaleb is a native 

 of Central and Southern Europe, perfectly 

 hardy in England, reaching a height of 

 20 to 30 feet, of free graceful growth. 

 Especially is this the case with the variety 

 pendula, which, although not strictly 

 weeping, is of looser, laxer habit than the 

 type. The leaves are each 2 inches long, 

 and the pure white flowers appear in rather 

 flat racemes in May. 



P. MARITIMA (American Beach Plum). 

 A very handsome bushy shrub, new to 



British gardens. Its beauty is the great 

 profusion of its early flowers, but the purple 

 or yellow fruits, covered with a dense 

 bloom, though rather small, are edible. 

 A good kind for sandy shore lands. 



P. MUME. Under the hands of Japanese 

 cultivators this has varied into numerous 

 forms, and there are now at Kew varieties 

 with flowers red and white, single and 

 double, as well as one of the pendulous habit. 

 The wood resembles that of the common 

 Apricot. The plant is leafless at the time 



Frunits japonica,. 



of flowering. It has been in cultivation 

 for some years, both here and on the Con- 

 tinent, but disguised under other names, 

 one of which is Prunus Myrobalana fl.~ 

 roseis. Corea. 



P. NANA (Dwarf Almond). This, a 

 native of Southern Russia, is one of the 

 dwarfest of the Almonds, being from 2 feet 

 to 5 feet high. It flowers during March and 

 April when the leaf-buds are only beginning 

 to burst, the flowers being of a lively rose 

 colour and about three-quarters of an inch 

 across. The leaves are narrow, smooth, 

 dark green, and glossy. It is a charming 

 shrub, and can be .easily and quickly 

 propagated by layering. The species will 

 thrive in a dry situation better than most 

 Almonds. There is a pretty double form. 



P. PADUS (Bird Cherry). This beau- 

 tiful tree, a native of Britain as well as 

 of North and Central Europe and Asia, is 

 often 40 feet high, the flowers being borne 



