THE CULTIVATION OF ALPINE PLANTS 



is some vagueness in the use of the term 

 JL Alpine as applied to plants. It never means 

 merely the plants of the Alps. Indeed, the epithet 

 Alpinus is applied botanically to mountain plants 

 from other continents besides Europe. But besides 

 this geographical looseness there is also some uncer- 

 tainty about the character which is implied by the 

 word Alpine. Some people apply it generally to all 

 plants which grow on mountains, however readily 

 they may adapt themselves to the lowlands. Others 

 confine it to those high mountain plants which can 

 only be grown in our gardens in special conditions 

 and with some care and skill. This seems the best 

 use of the word for any one who considers Alpine 

 plants from the point of view of their cultivation, 

 since it is only the more difficult among them that 

 need to be cultivated in a peculiar way. 



But, even if one confines the term to mountain 

 plants that need special conditions, there still remains 

 the difficulty that such plants vary a good deal in the 

 conditions which they require; and ignorance of this 

 fact causes many failures. Not only do Alpine plants 

 come from many different climates, but even the 

 same range of mountains will usually afford a great 

 diversity of conditions, resulting in an equal diversity 



in the character and requirements of the plants which 



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