7 io 



PETUNIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PHILADELPHIA. 



scented, in April. Though hardy, it is 

 fragile, and is best placed on the well- 

 made rock-garden, in sandy fibry loam, in 

 level sunny spots, where it can root 

 freely in moist soil, mingled with broken 

 stones. It may also be grown in pots 

 plunged in sand in the open air, and in 

 frames in winter, but it becomes " drawn " 

 and delicate under glass. Easily increased 

 by seed or careful division. Alps and 

 Pyrenees. 



PETUNIA. In certain positions, some 

 of these showy half-hardy plants of the Sol- 

 anum order produce a charming effect in 

 masses ; and all are well suited for large 

 vases, for baskets of mixed plants, for low 

 trellises, and for planting under windows 

 and walls. The spots chosen for Petunias 

 should be open and sunny, and the soil 

 deep and rich, for in low damp situations 

 they mildew and canker as soon as the 

 first cold nights of autumn set in. The 

 best bedding varieties are Spitfire, dark 

 purplish-crimson ; Dr. Hogg, purple, with 

 white throat ; Miss Amy, crimson and 

 white ; Countess of Ellesmere, rosy- 

 crimson, with a lighter throat ; and 

 Delicata, white, striped with purple. If 

 they are sown in heat in February or 

 March, good plants may be had for putting 

 out at the end of May, but it is not safe to 

 plant them out earlier. Seedlings, too, 

 are now so good that they are frequently 

 planted in mixed borders for cutting. 

 The named kinds must be propagated 

 from cuttings. Cuttings should be in- 

 serted in August in a bed of leaves or 

 other fermenting material at a tempera- 

 ture of 70 to 75, and with a top-heat of 

 65, since they strike quickly under such 

 conditions. As soon as rooted they should 

 be taken out of the bottom-heat and 

 placed in cold frames till frosty nights 

 set in ; then removed to an intermediate 

 house and placed on shelves near the 

 glass, remaining there in store-pots till 

 spring, then potted off singly and grown 

 sturdily on till planting-out time. The 

 roots are so brittle that, however well 

 they are rooted, the soil does not ad- 

 here to them ; and this is why it is 

 necessary to pot singly, for if the plants 

 are put in pans or boxes, and transplanted 

 thence to the beds, they suffer greatly, and 

 are a long time getting re-established. 

 W. W. 



PHACELIA.-Californian hardy annuals 

 of easy culture : none of the cultivated 

 kinds very important. P. congesta is the 

 best, and smaller than either P. tanaceti- 

 folia or circinalis. They have dense heads 

 of small blue or violet flowers. Hydro- 

 phyllaceas. 



PHILADELPHUS (Mock Orange}. 

 Handsome flowering shrubs, with the ex- 

 ception of P.mexicanus, hardy, and many of 

 them from their beauty deserving a good 

 place. They are generally seen struggling 

 for existence in some choked-up shrubbery 

 border, and often in some shady spot where 

 the bloom is sure to be meagre. Where 

 planted in a group or mass, ample space 

 should be allowed for the access of sun- 

 shine, as upon this will to a very great 

 extent depend the future display of bloom. 

 The larger kinds are seen to great ad- 

 vantage when isolated on the Grass or 

 disposed thereon in a group of three or 

 four, plenty of room being allowed each for 

 its full development. Some of the smallest, 

 and especially P. microphyllus, look well 

 in a small bed by themselves, or they 

 may be employed as a foreground to the 

 larger kinds. In pruning the Philadelphus, 

 as with most other flowering shrubs, if 

 carried, out at all, the main thing should 

 be to remove exhausted and useless wood 

 rather than to interfere with clean recent 

 shoots. The entire genus (and more par- 

 ticularly the larger growing forms) is in a 

 very confused state, and it is no uncom- 

 mon thing to see two names applied to one 

 plant, or a couple quite distinct bearing 

 one name. 



P. microphyllus. This forms a dense 

 bush, at the most not more than a yard, 

 and frequently less, in height, clothed with 

 small Myrtle-like leaves, disposed in a 

 regular manner on the slender twigs, 

 which in their turn are arranged very 

 regularly. The flowering spray is hand- 

 some ; its fragrance is very different from 

 that of any other kind, being more like a 

 combination of ripe Apples and Quince. 

 This little shrub is a native of New 

 Mexico and some of the adjacent States. 

 It was not long in Europe before the 

 hybridist took advantage of such a distinct 

 shrub, and M. Lemoine, of Nancy, raised 

 a variety, Lemoinei, which was announced 

 as the result of a cross between P. micro- 

 phyllus and the European P. coronarius. 

 It forms a shrub in appearance about 

 midway between its parents, and flowers 

 profusely. The blossoms possess the 

 fragrance of its North American parent, 

 without any of the heavy smell common 

 to the Mock Orange. Since P. Lemoinei 

 was sent out, a second form has made its 

 appearance from the same source, under 

 the name of P. Lemoinei erectus. Though 

 of more erect habit, it is in other respects 

 much like the preceding. 



P. grandiflorus. While P. micro- 

 phyllus is the best of the small-growing 

 kinds, this is the best of those with large 



