120 



AZALEA 



wards removed to give space for other decorative plants, 

 and planted carefully in nursery beds, where they remain 

 till next spring ; and so on every year. Especially the 

 hybrids and varieties of A. mollis are often and easily 

 forced for winter-flowering. If intended for early forc- 

 ing, they should be grown in pots, and care taken to 

 allow them to finish their growth as early as possible ; 

 for later forcing, after Christmas, they may be potted in 

 fall, or even just before bringing them Into the forcing- 

 house. With a temperature of 50-55° at night, they will 

 bloom in about 6 weeks. The Ghent Azaleas are grown 

 in great quantities in the Low Countries and in Germany 

 lor export to America ; it is usually more profitable to 

 buy this stock each fall than to attempt to raise it here, 

 where labor is high-priced and the climat.- dry and hot. 



In the open, the flowering period ot liardy A ^al. :n cn 

 tends from April to July. First coni'S J .(■-/».//;. /,~. J . 

 rhombica a.r>d A . i'aseiji ; then ^1. //»(/(//^w<( and .1 . nml- 

 Us, followed by A. Pontlca and A. calcnduluc^a, and 

 nearly at the same time A. ScUlippcnhachi and A. 

 AWrechti ; somewhat later, A.occidentaUs,a.n(ilast, A. 

 arborescens and A. viscosa. One of the most beauti- 

 ful is the American A. caUndnlacea, which is hardly 

 surpassed in the brilliancy and abundance of its flowers 

 by any of the Ghent hybriils. Some good hybrids, or 

 <:ihent Azaleas, are the following : 



Single-fld. varieties : Albicans, white with yellow 

 l>lotch, fragrant ; Admiral de Ruyter, deep red scarlet ; 

 Altaclarensis, white, bordered pink, spotted yellow, 

 iragrant,B.R. 28:27; Anthony Foster, orange-yellow; 

 ■Comte de Gomer, bright rose, spotted orange, R.B. 

 1 : 97 ; Daviesi, nearly pure white, fragrant, Gt. 42:1307; 

 Directeur Charles Baumann, cherry red, spotted yellow; 

 G^ant des Batailles, deep crijnson ; Hilda, red-orange ; 

 Louis Hellebuyck, carmine, blotched orange, F.S. 19: 

 2019; MarieVersohatlVIt, pink, b'otched yellow; Morteri, 

 rosy pink with yrlii, I.] -. L. >.I'..P.G. II. 1: 10 ; Prin- 

 cessed'Orange, >.i it-uinca. deep crimson; 



Tsarine.brighti'iii :; I. ,;; Van Dyck, blood-red; 



Viscosa floribunda. \'\\y \ !ii:i . rra;j;rant. 



Double-fld. varieties : Arclliusa, creamy white, tinged 

 yellow ; Bijou de Gandbrugge, white, bordered rose, 

 F.S. 19:202i ; Louis Aim6 Van Houtte, carmine, tinged 

 orange, F.S. 10:2022 ; Jtadanie Mina Van Hoiitte, pink, 

 tinged prdin-m and vliit.-, F.S. 10:2021 : Blurillo, pink, 

 tinged ]'<••■■ ' ■. !■ !: I" ■.':,>; I'lirlH.. callow, tinged or- 

 ange, I.' i ' I I :, ', i. I di- Siii,a.].ii)lv; Virgile, pale 

 rose, M;;, : '. i i i la- . a uiri, 1;. r.. I'J: 232. 



Indian A.ial v . Tina iriaaup .a.iiiains .1 , Iiuliea and 

 other species o£ the soction Tsusia and the hybrids of 

 them. They are well known evergreen shrubs in the N., 

 requiring cultivation in the greenhouse during the win- 

 ter, but some varieties, as A. Indica, var. Kampferi and 

 var. amcena, are hardy even near New York. A. ros- 

 marinifolia and A. llnearifolia will stand many de- 

 grees of frost in somewhat sheltered positions. They 

 are rarely increased by seeds, which may be sown in the 

 greenhouse in the same way as with the former group. 

 Usually they are propagated by cuttinsrs or grafting. 

 The cuttings root best when made in August from halt- 

 ripened wood, and placed in sand under a frame, with 

 gentle bottom heat. Choicer varieties are usually in- 

 creased by veneer- or tongue-grafting, either in winter 

 or in July andAug. on vigorous-growing varieties raised 

 mostly from cuttings. Grafting on Rhododendron is 

 now used in some German nurseries with very good re- 

 sults. The best soil for Azaleas, if grown in pots, is a 

 sandy compost of half peat and Inilf leaf-soil, with an 

 addition of good fibrous loam. It is essential to plant 

 them firmly, and to give very good drainage. The base 

 of the stem sliould be just above the surface. The best 

 time for repotting is after flowering, when the new 

 growth commences. During the summer,they should be 

 kept in a coldfrarae or in the open in a sheltered spot, 

 with the pots plunged in the soil, or planted out in pre- 

 pared beds, where they m.ake a very vigorous and 

 healthy growth. In Sept. they should be repotted and 

 transferred to the greenhouse. They must have plenty 

 of water and free syringing during the hot mouths. 

 The natural flowering time is from April to June, but in 

 the greenhouse. Azaleas may be had in flower from Nov. 

 till June. Against the red spiderand thrips, from which 

 the Azaleas are liable to suffer if the air is too dry, free 



AZALEA 



syringing with water is the best remedy. Most of the 

 plants used for forcing in this country are imported 

 from Holland and Belgium ; and it is cheaper to buy 

 them than to attempt to raise them. Formerly Azaleas 

 were kept in sumitier in shade or partial shade, but now 

 it is tliH cusloiii of the best growers to give them full 

 exposure to the son. (illjcr planted out or in the pots 

 plan:,', d to tlio lain in :i-li. s or other good drainage nia- 



of old'cow nianore is v.rv beneficial. The onlv Annri- 

 can treatise is Hallidav's Treatise on tia' [■,-. a_a a,n 

 and Cultivation of Azalea Indica, Ball ill 



Some of the best varieties of Indian 

 following (for acompleteraccount, see An _ a- 1 \ ,in ' .. . i a. 

 loonni^raphie des Azalees, abbreviated here as Ita A/.. ) ; 



SiiiL-i-' tld. : Antigone, white, striped and s|>otted vio- 

 l.i. i; I;. 7:241: Ic.Az.:!; Apollo, vermilion, Ic Az. 20; 

 Clnunin-, rich amaranth, very large, F.M. 5:,f03-4, 1 ; 

 Couilcaao il« B.-anfort. rifh rose, blotched deep crim- 

 son ; Crit'aaai. taah a , i a a m - pi id; . Iimi d.aaal white and 

 blotched IT 11^ - i - - , a; ; in.uannd. u hdc, l,lotched 

 dark crinia.aa I -■ : ."a ::|; liua dr N.aasau, rich 

 rosy purple, \ aiv fna aadlar;;a: iv latantr, deep crim- 

 son, shaded rose ; Fanny Ivery, deep salmon-scarlet, 

 blotched magenta, F.M. 10: ^42 ; Fielder's White, pure 

 white, early, A. P. 13:1169; Flambeau, rich, glowing 

 crimson, Gn. 16:242,4; Fuerstin Bariatinsky, white, 

 striped red, Gn. 16, 242, lo.Az. 13 ; Jean Verviene, sal- 

 mon, striped, bordered white, R.B. 2: 145, Ic.Az. 11; 

 John Gould Veitch, lilac rose, bordered and netted 

 white, striped crimson, F.S. 20:2071-72; La Viotoire, 

 reddish, white towards the edges, spotted maroon crim- 

 son ; Louise von Baden, pure white, sometimes speckled 

 pink ; F.S. 17: 1796, F.M. 3: 158 ; Madame Charles Van 

 Eeckhaute, pure white, with crisped edges ; Madame 

 Van Houtte, scarlet rose, bordered white, F.S. 23: 2.383, 

 Ic. Az. 5 ; Marquis of Lome, brilliant scarlet, very 

 fine ; Miss E. Jarret, pure white, with crisped edges, 

 R.B. 14:213; Mrs. Turner, bright pink, bordered white, 

 spotted crimson, F.S. 8: 451 ; Mons. Thibaut, orange-red; 

 President Viator Van din Ilockc, whito striped and 

 speckled crim-on. w atli yrllnw cantar. I'.S. I,',: 1567-68 ; 

 Princess Alice, ).ma. wlid.-, onp ,d tin- liasi ; Princesse 

 Clementine, while. s|M,ii,al ^-rrmi-h y. Il..w ; Reine des 

 Pays-Bas, richviolci pink.burdorLdwldlu.l.H. 13:479; 

 Rot de HoUando, dark blood-red, spotted black ; Sigis- 

 mund Rncker, rich rose, bordered white, blotched crim- 

 son, very showy, F.S. 1942010-11, Ic.Az. 31; Stella, 

 orange-scarlet, tinged violet ; Wilson Saunders, pure 

 white, striped and blotched vivid red. 



Double-fld.: Borsig, pure white; Alice, deep rose, 

 blotched vermilion, I.H. 23:244; Baron M. de Rothschild, 

 rich purple-violet, large, F.S. 23: 2477-78 ; Bernard An- 



Azalea nudifli 



173. Azalea nudillora (X K). 



dr^, dark violet-purple, large ; Bernard Andr(3 alba, 

 white, I.H. 17:15, Ic. Az. 19; Charles Leirens, dark sal- 

 mon, blotched dark purple, good form and substance, F.S. 

 19:1971-72; Charles Pynaert, salmon, bordered white, 

 R.B. 10:25; Chicago, deep carmine, bordered white, 

 large ; Comtesse Eugenie de Kerchove, white, flaked red- 

 carmine; Deutsche Perle, pure white, early, R.H. 1886: 



