1150 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



shining, clothed with appressed bristles. Flowers pentandrous. Calycine segments 

 lanceolate, acute, deeply toothed, bristly. Filaments glabrous. Stems several, rising 

 from the rootstock, 2 4ft. long, procumbent, naked. Branches fascicled, leafy at the 

 tips, beset with appressed silvery bristles, which change to brown as well as the calyxes. 

 Flowers solitary, or in pairs, nearly sessile, involucrated by bracteas. Corollas large", of a 

 brilliant salmon colour, glabrous outside; the limb spreading, with oblong blunt lobes ; 

 the upper lobes marked with deeper-coloured spots. (Don's Mi//., m. p. 8*6.) There is a 

 subvariety of this kind, having the flowers pale pink and striped. A procumbent shrub, 

 from 2ft. to 3ft. high, a native of Japan, flowering in May and June. Introduced in 

 1833, but, at present, extremely rare in British gardens. 

 tt. R. rcticulatum D. Don's MSS., Don's Mill., 3. p. 846. ; A. reticulata Hort. Leaves broadly ovate, 



acute, rather coriaceous, sparingly hairy, glaucous, and reticulately veined beneath. Stems erect, 1 ft. 



or 2ft. high, stiff. Leaves stiff, IA in. long, rounded at the base, bright green, and shining above, beset 



with a few appressed bristles, as well as the young shoots. This is a shrubs, a native of Japan, or. the 



mountains, where it grows from 1 ft. to 2 ft. high, which was introduced i n 



1834, by Mr. Knight of King's Road, Chelsea ; but, as it has not yet flow- 

 ered in England, very little is known about it. 

 j* R. Fdrrerx Tatc, Swt. F/.-Gard.,M ser., t. 95., Don's Mill., 3. p. 846. ; 



A. Farrenr Hort. ; and our Jig. 958. ; has the branches stiff, villous while 



young, but glabrous in the adult state. Leaves stiff, coriaceous, ovate, obtuse, 



ending in a short cartilaginous mucro, attenuated at the base, nerved, 



and reticulately veined, hairy on both surfaces, with somewhat recurved 



ciliated edges. Petioles ciliated at the base. Flowers terminal, solitary. 



Calyx pilose, 5-lobed. Corolla spreading, with undulated segments, lilac, or 



pale purple-red. It is a dwarf deciduous shrub, with decandrous flowers. 



A native of China, whence it was brought by Captain Farrer, in 1829. 



It flowers in March, but very little is known of its habit. 



-* R. decumbens D. Don MSS., Don's Mill., 3. p. 846. ; A. deci'imbens \ 958 



Hort. ; has the stem decumbent; leaves ovate, acute ; flowers pentandrous ; 



segments of the calyx ovate, acute, ciliated ; flowers crimson (Don's Mill., 



3. p. 846.) It is a native of China, whence it was introduced by Knight and Tate in 1823. It flowers 



in April and May. 



B. Indian Azaleas not yet introduced. 



m R. scabrum Don's Mill., 3. p. 846.; A. scabra; R. maximum Thunb. Ft. Jap., p. 181. ; has 

 the leaves ovate, mucronulate, and acute at the base, coriaceous, and from 14 in. to Sin long The 

 flowers are of a deep rose colour, and bell-shaped, with the corolla 3 in. in diameter. It is a shrub 

 a native of Japan, in woods on mountains. 



m. R. macron at urn G. Don ; A. mucronata Blum. Bijdr., p. 853. ; is a shrub, a native of China ; and, 

 according to G. Don, " perhaps the same as R. /edifolium" (A. i. alba Lfniii.\ 



& R Burmnnni G. Don ; A. roamariniftklia/form. ex Blum. Bijdr. , p. 853., but not of Roth ; has the 

 leaves linear-lanceolate, long-acuminated, with recurved margins, clothed with silky down on both 

 surfaces. Flowers pentandrous. It is a shrub, a native of Japan. 



* R. m6llis G. Don; A. mollis Blum. Bijdr., p. 853. ; has the branches pilose; the leaves oblong-lance- 

 olate, acute, narrowed at the base, ciliated, very soft beneath ; the flowers in fascicles. Calyx very 

 short. Tube clothed with silky tomentum. It is a shrub, a native of China. 



JH R. LoureMtout G. Don ; A. punctata Lour. Coch., p. 113. ; has the 1 'aves lanceolate, quite entire, 

 rugose about the edges, smooth. Corolla white, dotted with red, as also the calyx, anthers, and germs 

 Flowers terminal. (Don's Mill., 3. p. 846.) It is a shrub, a native of Cochin-China, where it grows to 

 the height of 4 ft. or 5 ft. 



iv. Propagation and Culture of the half-hardy Species of "Rhododendron and 



Azalea. 



The soil best suited for these plants is heath mould, or peat as it is commonly called, mixed with 

 fine loam and vegetable mould. For rearing plants from seed, and simply growing the species, such 

 a compost, or even peat alone, or sandy loam, will suffice ; but, for producing large plants, which shall 

 flower profusely, the essence of rotted dung, or of some other manure in which animal matter is in- 

 cluded, requires to be added. The splendid specimens of Azklea and Rhododendron which annually 

 attract so much attention in the April and May exhibitions of our Horticultural Societies have, in 

 general, all been grown in very rich soil, and often watered with liquid manure. The Indian azaleas 

 more particularly require a rich soil, in order to flower freely and abundantly, and produce those 

 splendid pyramids of blossoms which are so much admired at our shows. On the other hand, when 

 the Indian species of Rhododendron and Azalea are to be treated as half-hardy, they ought to be grown 

 in soil which is poor rather than rich, and kept dry, more especially in autumn, In order to insure 

 the production of no more wood than can be ripened. 



The situation most suitable for half-hardy rhododendrons and azaleas would appear to be a border 

 in front of a wall facing the east ; because almost all the species of the order, and more especially all 

 the Indian species of the genera Rhododendron and Azklea, are natives of woods on mountains, and 

 thrive best when somewhat shaded. The best mode, where it is intended to have a good collection, 

 and to display the plants to the greatest advantage, would be to plant them in a conservatory, with a 

 movable roof and sides, both of which could be taken away in summer ; or in an open space between 

 two walls, built in the direction of north and south ; and on which walls a temporary roof might be 

 placed in the winter season, such as is recommended for the half-hardy Leguminacea? (p. r!97.) t and 

 the half-hardy heaths (p. 1103.). If the Indian, or tree, rhododendron! were grown by themselves in 

 the open ground, being evergreens, they might be covered, during winter, with a roof of boards or 

 thatched hurdles, with only a few windows here and there, as is practised with orange trees in the 

 north of Italy, and sometimes about Paris. 



Propagation. The Indian tree rhododendrons are propagated by layers, or by grafting on R. 

 ponticum or R. catawbie!nse ; and they may also, though with difficulty, be increased by cuttings of 

 the growing wood, planted in sand, and then closely covered with a bell-glass, and put into heat. All 

 the Indian azaleas are very readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood. Both rhododendrons 

 and azaleas ripen seeds in our green-houses; and these should be sown immediately after being 

 gathered, or very early in the spring, in flat pans or pots rilled with sandy peat, or peat mixed with 

 a little loam and sand. The seeds should be covered as slightly as possible, and then placed in a very 



