66o 



PRIJNUS. 



tHE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEti. 



PRUNUS. 



in drooping racemes, in the commonest 

 form being 4 inches to 6 inches long. 

 There are varieties, however, finer both in 

 the flowers and racemes. The common 

 Bird Cherry is a tree rather for the park 

 and woodland than the garden proper, 

 but the Manchurian and double-flowered 

 varieties fully deserve a place among 

 flowering trees. 



P. PENDULA (Rose-bud Cherry). A 

 beautiful Japanese Cherry and one of the 

 earliest to come into flower, commencing 

 usually towards the end of March. Its 

 pendent growth has led to its being 

 commonly worked on stocks 5 to 6 feet 

 high, but it comes true from seed. The 

 leaves are much like those of the common 

 Cherry, the flowers of a lovely shade of 

 soft rose and borne in profusion. In the 

 United States, where the summers are 

 much hotter, it thrives better than in 

 England, and it should, if possible, be 

 planted in a sunny spot sheltered from the 

 north and east Syn., Cerasus pendula. 



P. PERSICA (Peach). Although neither 

 so free-growing nor so hardy as the 

 Almond, the Peach in various forms is 

 beautiful, and in positions sheltered from 

 the north and east ought to be planted 

 freely. There are now varieties at the 

 service of the planter, chiefly single 

 and double forms, with white or red 

 flowers. One of the best of these is 

 camellitzflora, with large single or double 

 red flowers. There is also one with purple 

 foliage known as foliis rubris, this colour 

 extending also to the fruit. The double 

 Peaches are often very handsome in 

 warm valley soils. Best from seeds or 

 layers, the grafting on the plum leading 

 to death or disease. 



P. PROSTRATA (Mountain Cherry). A 

 rare species, and one of the most lovely of 

 the dwarf Cherries, a native of the moun- 

 tains of the Levant, and, although not 

 strictly prostrate (at least in cultivation), 

 is a low spreading bush, the long, slender 

 branches arching outwards and down- 

 wards to the ground. The flowers, borne 

 on very short stalks, are of a beautiful 

 lively shade of rose, are half -an -inch to 

 three-quarters of an inch across, and so 

 plentiful as to almost hide the branches. 



P. PSEUDO-CERASUS (Japanese Cherry). 

 This is the tree whose flowering marks 

 one of the epochs of the year in Japan. 

 In the forests of N. Japan this species 

 becomes a large timber tree, but in 

 England it is not often seen above 20 

 feet high, and it is the double-flowered 

 varieties that are cultivated in England. 

 They are of various shades of rosy white, 

 and are known under such names as 

 Cerasus Watereri, C. Sieboldi, etc. More 

 so perhaps than any other are these double- 

 flowered Cherries worth extensive planting, 

 never failing to flower, being of surpassing 

 beauty and perfectly hardy. They should 

 be grown on a cool, moist bottom, and the 



effect they produce in spring is all the 

 greater if room can be afforded for a grove 

 of a dozen or so trees with a backing of 

 Holly or other evergreen. 



P. SERRULATA.- A native of Japan, 

 and can be recognised by its peculiar 

 mode of branching. The main stem 

 is erect for a few feet, but then branches 

 off almost horizontally into three or 

 four divisions, and henceforth ceases to 

 send up a defined lead. It is picturesque, 

 representing one of the modes of growth 

 we have come to regard as essentially 

 typical of Japanese tree vegetation, and 

 its rosy-white double flowers come about 

 a fortnight later than in the common 

 Japanese Cherry. The single - flowered 

 form is not in cultivation. 



P. SIBIRICA (Siberian Apricot) . A pretty 

 little shrub now becoming better known 

 in gardens, where it is valued for its 

 early white or pink flowers carried in 

 profusion. 



P. SIMONI. Has leaves of about the 

 same size as the common Almond, but 

 the tree itself is of more erect habit and 

 frequently resembles the Lombardy Poplar 

 in form of growth. The flowers are white, 

 and appearing in February and March. Its 

 fruit is deep purple, and ripens early. 

 China. 



P. SPINOSA FLORE-PLENO (double Sloe 



or Blackthorn). This flowers at the 

 same time as the Sloe, its blossoms white, 

 about half an inch in diameter, and not 

 perfectly double, the centre of the flower 

 containing a cluster of stamens. The 

 flowers are thickly crowded on the short 

 spiny branches, the black colour of which 

 serves to show off more vividly the beauty 

 of the flowers. It is one of the most 

 charming of March flowering shrubs. 

 There is a neat garden form in which the 

 leaves are a dark purple colour, like that 

 of P. Pissardii. 



P. TOMENTOSA. A pretty and very 

 distinct little Cherry from China and Man- 

 churia, its dense crown unlike other kinds, 

 and of beautiful effect. The pink flowers 

 come just before the hairy leaves, solitary 

 or in pairs, and with very short stalks. 

 The round fruits, set close against the 

 branches, are a pretty bright red. 



P. TRIFLORA (Japanese Plum). More 

 commonly grown in American gardens 

 than with us, and mainly valued for its 

 fruits. These are not equal to our orchard 

 plums, but are very abundant, of fine 

 appearance, and keep well, and the trees 

 are singularly free of disease. 



P. TRILOBA FL.-PL. Perhaps the most 

 lovely of all the dwarf Prunus, it is a 

 native of China and was introduced by 

 Fortune. The flowers are at their best 

 in early April, and each one measures i 

 to 2 inches in diameter. On first opening 

 they are of a lovely shade of delicate 

 rose, changing with age to an almost 

 pure white. It is hardy and will thrive 



