HELIANTHUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. HELIANTHUS. 



60 1 



generally at their best and in their greatest 

 numbers. Although the flowers are some- 

 what restricted in their range of colouring, 

 the plants vary considerably in their 

 seasons of blooming, in habit, and also in 

 the positions in which the most may be 

 made of them. From their robust growth, 

 the majority of them are essentially suitable 

 for borders where plenty of scope may be 

 had, and where attention may be given to 

 the proper grouping of the different species 

 and varieties. Some few of the species 

 which may not be considered showy 

 enough for the flower border proper 

 could be planted in the woods, in isolated 

 beds, or among shrubs, where their 

 particular and characteristic habits could 

 be seen to advantage. 



It would hardly be policy to grow the 

 whole genus in any one garden unless 

 shrubberies abound on a large scale. H. 

 multiflorus and its varieties, H. rigidus 

 and its varieties, H. decapetalus and 

 a few others are essentially border plants, 

 where, when doing well and in full 

 flower, they form a feature of no mean 

 beauty. H. Icetiflorus, H. orgyalis, H. 

 Iczvigatus, and H. divaricatus would make 

 handsome groups in open shrubberies, 

 and giganteus, doronicoides, grosse-ser- 

 ratus and others might with advantage 

 be relegated to the wood, where, in open 

 exposed positions, they would form inter- 

 esting groups. They increase so rapidly 

 as a whole that it will be needless to say 

 anything about propagation, which may be 

 done in autumn or spring with good 

 results. Other species not mentioned, 

 but which may be of interest to many, are 

 H. angustifolius, Maximiliani, mollis, and 

 occidentalis^ the two last being early- 

 flowering species rare in gardens. 



H. DECAPETALUS is one of the most 

 charming species in the whole genus 

 as a background to mixed borders 

 or as a feature in open shrubberies. It 

 forms large, bushy, well-balanced plants 

 4 to 6 ft. in height, with strong, much- 

 branched stems, rough on the upper half 

 and usually quite smooth on the lower. 

 The leaves are broadly oval, pointed, and 

 thin in texture ; flowers 2 to 3 in. in 

 diameter, of a rich sulphur-yellow, pro- 

 duced in great abundance, and very showy. 

 It is found plentifully on the banks of 

 streams in Canada and Georgia. 



H. GIGANTEUS is a very tall, elegant 

 plant. The stems often exceed loto 12 ft. 

 high, the leaves narrow, tapering to both 

 ends ; the flowers deep yellow, 2 to 3 

 in. in diameter. It is one of the latest to 

 flower, and has been found variable under 

 cultivation, giving rise to several garden 



names. Moist ground, in Canada and 

 Louisiana. 



H. L/ETlFLORUS is a handsome species, 

 very little known in gardens, although the 

 name was freely used for forms of H. 

 rigidus. It is, as a rule, rather later in 

 flowering than the H. rigidus forms, and 

 unfortunately in cold wet seasons or early 

 winters does not bear good flowers. It is 

 a much taller and stronger plant than H. 

 rigidus, the flowers, 4 to 5 in. across, of 

 a bright yellow with yellow disc. The 

 leaves are thin, entire, or coarsely toothed, 

 and the bracts of the involucre always 

 acute, a very distinctive character in this 

 genus. The roots are somewhat similar 

 to those of H. rigidus, perhaps larger, and 

 they certainly travel further. It is a 

 native of prairies and barrens, Illinois, 

 Wisconsin. 



H. MULTIFLORUS. The late Dr. Asa 

 Gray always considered this plant a garden 

 variety of H. decapetalus. There is strong 

 evidence, however, of its being a hybrid, 

 the parents of which it would be difficult 

 now to ascertain with accuracy. It is so 

 very distinct from all the other species so 

 well known in gardens under its present 

 name, and such a good all-round plant, that 

 it well deserves specific rank. It rarely 

 exceeds 3 to 5 ft. in height, producing 

 numerous large fine rich yellow flowers, 

 remaining a considerable time in good 

 form. The var. maximus has larger 

 flowers with more pointed rays, and the 

 varieties plenus and Soleil d'Or are both 

 very desirable double-flowered forms. All 

 the varieties of H. multiflorus should find 

 a place in collections, however small. 



H. ORGYALIS, though a small-flowered 

 plant, is yet one of the best of the genus 

 for the picturesque garden in southern 

 counties. It is one of the late-flowering 

 species, and is often damaged by early 

 frosts. It grows from 6 to 10 ft. high, 

 having numerous linear leaves and bunches 

 of deep golden-yellow flowers. It should 

 be grown in sheltered spots, otherwise it 

 requires a great deal of staking. It is a 

 native of dry plains of Nebraska and 

 Texas. 



H. RIGIDUS. This distinct though 

 variable species is perhaps the best known 

 of all the Perennial Sunflowers. It is still 

 found labelled Harpalium rigidum in some 

 gardens, and is often confounded with 

 H. missuricus and H. atro-rubens, the 

 latter of which, so far as I know, is not 

 now in cultivation. Typical H. rigidus is 

 figured in the Botanical Register, t. 508, 

 and Botanical Magazine, t. 2668, as H. 

 atro-rubens. H. rigidtis grows from 4 to 

 5 ft, in height, with a rough hispid stem, 



