762 RHODODENDRON. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. RHODODENDRON. 



flower-shows, where numbers of the finest 

 kinds are brought in spring and taken 

 away in summer. In the case of all choice 

 and rare varieties remove the seed-vessels 

 after flowering, thus saving the strength 

 of the plants for future good growth and 

 flowers. 



Hardy Rhododendrons seldom flower 

 profusely in consecutive years, but fine 

 displays biennially are usually made. 

 Established plants can take care of 

 themselves and in strong loamy soil 

 artificial waterings are not required. 

 In very dry summers mulching the roots 

 of a few single plants that occupy a 

 rather dry position is often necessary, 

 but where the beds are on level ground 

 they succeed without this attention. This 

 is not so in all cases, as drought in the 

 early autumn months often kills many of 

 the large plants on shallow soils. Rhodo- 

 dendrons are, as a rule, safe from over- 

 dryness at the root until August ; then, if 

 the weather should be dry, a good soaking 

 of water twice a week and a mulch over 

 the roots of half-rotten manure, 3 or 4 in. 

 in thickness, will maintain them in health. 

 Some degree of shade is helpful to Rhodo- 

 dendrons, all the more so in dry soils and 

 in the districts with a slight rainfall. 



THE EVILS OF GRAFTING. Apropos of 

 this subject, Mr. Scrase Dickins, writes : 

 "We have a large number ot grafted 

 Rhododendrons, planted over thirty 

 years ago, from the base of which 

 every year a thick growth of suckers 

 springs up ; these require to be cleared 

 off in the early summer, and again in 

 the autumn, if the intended variety 

 is to retain its claim to existence ; 

 but the labour entailed is considerable, 

 and many are overlooked or passed by 

 for want of time. Occasionally one comes 

 across a great bush of the common 

 ponticum, with a small scraggy piece in 

 the centre to show that once it was 

 meant to be a hybrid variety of special 

 beauty ; but the worst of the whole 

 business seems to be that the older the 

 plant the larger is the base from which 

 the suckers spring, and consequently the 

 larger is the number of suckers. With 

 Ghent Azaleas the trouble is nearly as 

 bad ; the common yellow form on which 

 they are grafted, being a strong grower, 

 soon makes short work in ejecting the 

 less vigorous intruder. It is very un- 

 fortunate when, after a certain number 

 of years, the labour and money spent in 

 an endeavour to obtain some specially 

 beautiful effect results in a common- 

 place arrangement of lilac and yellow. 

 When the snow has prostrated large 



Rhododendrons, those that are on their 

 own roots will often raise themselves in a 

 thaw without help ; whereas those that 

 are grafted will most likely have broken oft' 

 short at the base. If the union between 

 the stock and the scion is so imperfect 

 as to give way under these provocations, 

 it follows that the flow of sap and con- 

 sequent development of the plant must 

 be seriously interfered with. In some 

 cases this may prove beneficial in 

 restraining a coarseness of growth and 

 inducing fertility, but it is the reason 

 why we do not possess in our gardens 

 finer examples of graceful and well- 

 cleveloped natural specimens. In order 

 to gain new and improved varieties, it is 

 necessary to raise a large number of 

 seedlings. If nurserymen were to give 

 their attention more generally to raising 

 seedlings and layered plants, it might 

 with reason be expected that they would 

 raise a large number of new and improved 

 varieties. If planters, looking forward 

 to the future, as planters as a rule must 

 do, would insist on being supplied by the 

 nurserymen with own root plants only, 

 then our successors would have finer ex- 

 amples to thank us for, and we should be 

 increasing our store of what is beautiful 

 among our treasures in garden and wood." 

 The following is a list of the best hardy 

 varieties : 



