120 



AZALEA 



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 

 ior 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 climate dry and hot. 



In the open, the flowering period of hardy Azaleas ex- 

 tends from April to July. First comes A . Canadensis , A . 

 rhombica and A. Vaseyi ; then A . nudi flora &nd A . mol- 

 lis, followed by A. Pontlca and A. calendulacea , and 

 nearly at the same time A. Schlippenbachi and A. 

 Albrecliti ; somewhat later, A. occidentalis, and last, A. 

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

 ful is the American A. calendulacea, which is hardly 

 surpassed in the brilliancy and abundance of its flowers 

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

 Ghent Azaleas, are the following : 



Single-fid, varieties : Albicans, white with yellow 

 blotch, fragrant ; Admiral de Ruyter, deep red scarlet ; 

 Altaclarensis, white, bordered pink, spotted yellow, 

 fragrant, 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 ; 

 Ge"ant des Batailles, deep crimson ; Hilda, red-orange ; 

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

 2019; Marie Verschaffelt, pink, blotched yellow; Morteri, 

 rosy pink with yellow blotch, S.B.F.G. II. 1: 10 ; Prin- 

 cesse d'Orange, salmon-pink; Sanguinea, deep crimson; 

 Tsarine, bright pink, R.B. 20: 277; Van Dyck, blood-red; 

 Viscosa floribunda, pxire white, fragrant. 



Double-fid, varieties : Arethusa, creamy white, tinged 

 yellow ; Bijou de Gandbrugge, white, bordered rose, 

 F.S. 19: 2024 ; Louis Aime" Van Houtte, carmine, tinged 

 orange, F.S. 19: 2022 ; Madame Mina Van Houtte, pink, 

 tinged salmon and white, F.S. 19:2021 ; Murillo, pink, 

 tinged purple, R.B. 19:232 ; Phebe, yellow, tinged or- 

 ange, R.B. 19:232; Raphael de Smet,pink; Virgile, pale 

 rose, striped yellow in the center, R.B. 19:232. 



INDIAN AZALEAS. This group contains A . Indica and 

 other species of the section 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. Kcempferi 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 cuttings or grafting. 

 The cuttings root best when made in August from half- 

 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 and Aug. 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 half 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 should 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 coldframe or in the open in a sheltered spot, 

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

 pared beds, where they make 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 months. 

 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 spider and thrips, from which 

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



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 summer in shade or partial shade, but now 

 it is the custom of the best growers to give them full 

 exposure to the sun, either planted out or in the pots 

 plunged to the rim in ashes or other good drainage ma- 

 terial ; in the latter case a top-dressing of 2 or 3 inches 

 of old cow manure is very beneficial. The only Ameri- 

 can treatise is Halliday's Treatise on the Propagation 

 and Cultivation of Azalea Indica, Baltimore, 1880. 



Some of the best varieties of Indian Azaleas are the 

 following (for a completer account, see August Van Geert, 

 Iconographie des Azalees, abbreviated here as Ic. Az.) : 



Single-fid. : Antigone, white, striped and spotted vio- 

 let, R.B. 7:241; Ic.Az. 3; Apollo, vermilion, Ic Az. 20; 

 Charmer, rich amaranth, very large, F.M. 5:303-4, 1 ; 

 Comtesse de Beaufort, rich rose, blotched deep crim- 

 son ; Criterion, rich salmon-pink, bordered white mul 

 blotched crimson, F.S. 8:796 ; Diamond, white, blotched 

 dark crimson, F.S. 21: 2233-34 ; Due de Nassau, rich 

 rosy purple, very free and large ; Eclatante, deep crim- 

 son, shaded rose ; Fanny I very, deep salmon-scarlet, 

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

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

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

 striped red, Gn; 16, 242, Ic.Az. 13 ; Jean Vervsene, 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 Victoire, 

 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: 2383, 

 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 Victor Van den Hecke, white striped and 

 speckled crimson, with yellow center, F.S. 15: 1567-68 ; 

 Princess Alice, pure white, one of the best ; Princesse 

 Clementine, white, spotted greenish yellow ; Reine des 

 Pays-Bas, rich violet-pink, bordered white, I.H. 13 : 479 ; 

 Roi de Hollande, dark blood-red, spotted black ; Sigis- 

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

 son, very showy, F.S. 19:2010-11, 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: 2177-78 ; Bernard An- 



172. Capsule of 



Azalea nudiflora. 



173. Azalea nudiflora (X 



dre", dark violet-purple, large ; Bernard Andre 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- 



