ALPINE PLANTS 



ALPINE PLANTS 



263 



as compared with the simple arrangement of the rocks 

 in pockets, overlumRing ledges, nooks, and so forth, 

 which is all that is retiuired for the great majority 

 of alpines. A common and particularly undesirable 

 metliod of procedure is to tumble a great mass of rocks 

 together, usually utterly without form or definite pur- 

 pose except to look "artistic," then pile soil amongst 

 them and plant the whole mass. If the idea is constantly 

 kept in mind that the rocks are for use primarily, that 

 they are cultural necessities, and that plants naturally 

 grow between, and among, and often half imderneath 

 them, — then the final result is likely to be beautiful, be- 

 cause they are useful and have been placed with an 

 eye to their sole r/u)ion d'etre in the alpine garden, 

 which is to be a home for alpine plants. 



In placing the rocks, indeed in the arrangement of 

 the garden generally, it is better to avoid situations in 

 which the drip from overhanging trees or other objects 

 win fall on the plants. No plants are specially bene- 

 fited by drip, and alpines, particularly those having 

 tomentose leaves, will suffer from such treatment. 



Plants for the alpine garden. 



Unfortunately, very few American dealers carry 

 anything like an adequate stock of alpine [jlants, and 

 only the commonest and best-known species are to be 

 found in the American trade. This has had the effect 

 of restricting the popularity of alpine gardening in this 

 country, and, furthermore, all the alpine gardens of any 

 size have had to seek in Europe for the large variety of 

 species that constitute a well-stocked collection. Many 

 European firms, particularly in England and France, 

 have speciahzed in alpines. At least 1,000 species are 

 offered by one continental dealer alone. A common 

 but altogether unsatisfactory method, and one that 

 has resulted in numberless failures, is the attempt to 

 import plants direct from these dealers. The time of 

 transit, the highly speciahzed character of the cultural 

 requirement of alpines, and the lack of attention dur- 

 ing transit, all operate to make such shipments costly 

 and usually unsuccessful. 



The best and most satisfactory method is to buy 

 seeds of the plants to be cultivated. The initial cost is 

 less than one-fifth and the personal satisfaction in having 

 grown one's stock of plants more than offsets the time 

 spent in this work. The seeds should be imported earlj' 

 in the spring or even in the late winter for those with 

 greenhouse facilities. Sow the seeds in pans or bo.<es 

 in a light soil of leaf-mold and sand in about equal 

 parts. It is best partially to shade the seeds and very 

 young seedlings for a few days. Pot up when the seed- 

 hngs are stout enough to stand the transfer, which of 

 course, varies with different species. If it is inconveni- 



ent to place them in their permanent home the first 

 year, they may be repotted and then the pots plunged in 

 ashes in the frame. With proper shading from the in- 

 tense sunlight, and a plentiful supply of cool water so 

 that the ashes are kept moist and cool, they will grow 

 very well under these conditions for the first year. 

 Many of the species can be grown always with this 

 treatment if one has no garden ready for them. The 

 shading for these frames is easily made of ordinary 

 plasterer's lath, the strips being placed about one 

 inch apart and the whole shade arranged so as to 

 be about 2}, 2 feet above the surface of the ground. 



Of all the genera cultivated as alpines, the most 

 important are the gentians, saxifrages, sedums, a few 

 dwarf primulas and the pinguiculas. These are much 

 better known abroad than in North America, but many 

 of the best of them can be grown in this country. 

 Among the gentians, Correvon of Geneva classifies 

 them for cultural purposes as follows: 



1. Calcareous-soil gentians requiring sun: alpina, 



angustifolia, Clusii and Kochiana. 



2. Sphagnum-moss species: bavarica, Rostanii, sep- 



temfida. 



3. Marshy-ground species: angustifolia (also in group 



1) asclepiadea, Pneiimonanlhe. 



4. Peaty sand and sandstone with peat in it: alba, 



Bigelovii, ciliata, frigida, Parryi, pumila, Wal- 

 lichiana. , 



5. Of indifferent habitat preference: brevidens, cruci- 



ata, dahurica, decumbens, macrophylla, Oliveri, 

 Saponaria, scabra, straminea, Wesclmiakovn. 



Among the saxifrages only the dwarf, usually peren- 

 nial, kinds are grown as alpines. In moist, rocky places 

 in the alpine garden the following species of pinguicula 

 wiU be useful: P. vallisnerifolia, P. grandiflora, with 

 purple and blue flowers and P. alpina with white 

 flowers. P. vulgaris and P. lusilanica may be grown 

 in general situations in the "alp." 



It is often necessary to make a definite selection of 

 species for a sunny or shad_y place, as most of our alpines 

 cannot be grown without reference to the amount of 

 sunlight. For those who can arrange only for a rather 

 sunny situation, in which the amount of shade is not 

 sufficient to keep the soil and rocks cool, the following 

 will be found helpful: 



Alpines for Sunny Situations. 



175. Alpine-gardening, — good rock-work in a cool 

 and protected place. 



