GOOD TREES AND SHRUBS 227 



flowers are borne on wood of the previous season's growth, consequently 

 all pruning and thinning of the shoots should be attended to in early 

 spring, as the full growing season is then available for the production of 

 wood. 



Chionanthus virgfinicus (Fringe Tree) is a charming deciduous 

 shrub with fragrant white thread-like flowers in great drooping clusters. 

 It is a North -American shrub ; succeeds best in cool soil and partial 

 shade. It has lately been used for forcing with considerable success 

 for indoor decoration during winter. Hard forcing should be avoided, 

 and the plants never allowed to want for water. 



Choisya ternata (Mexican Orange Flower) is a precious shrub with 

 bright evergreen foliage, and in spring each matured shoot bears a terminal 

 cluster of white sweet-scented flowers, which are well adapted for placing 

 in bowls for room decoration, as they can be cut with their own foliage. 

 It also blooms in autumn and during very mild winters. The Mexican 

 Orange Flower is hardy in most parts of the British Isles, is bushy, of 

 free growth, and flourishes in ordinary soil. It should be planted liber- 

 ally, as it is one of the gems of the shrub garden. It is not advisable to 

 expose it to cold east winds, and a few plants in pots make a welcome 

 addition to shrubs suitable for forcing. In very cold localities space 

 should be reserved for it against a wall. Cuttings of young shoots taken 

 off about midsummer and planted in light soil and placed in a warm case 

 emit roots in about a fortnight. 



The Rock Roses, or Gum CistUSes, are excellent shrubs for dry 

 banks, particularly if facing south or south-west, because it is only on 

 perfectly ripened shoots that flowers are produced, and although the 

 latter are of such fleeting duration they are borne in profusion over a 

 long period. C. florentinus is a charming kind, neat in growth and very 

 free-flowering. Its white flowers are blotched with yellow. C. ladani- 

 ferus, the typical Gum Cistus, has thick sticky leaves and bold white 

 flowers blotched with purple. A grand plant for the sea-coast, C. villosus, 

 bears lilac-coloured flowers suffused with purple. C. laurifolius is another 

 pretty free-flowering kind, and quite hardy. Its flowers are white. 



Clerodendron trichotomum. Here we have another autumn- 

 flowering shrub or small tree, introduced a hundred years ago. It is 

 vigorous and distinct both in foliage and in flower, its ovate deep green 

 leaves changing in autumn to shades of orange and red, and its sweet- 

 scented flowers appear abundantly in terminal cymes, the conspicuous 

 purple calyces affording additional beauty. It delights in a rich, well- 

 drained soil, and protection from piercing winds is essential. 



Clethras. Few hardy Clethras are cultivated in this country, still 

 they are exceedingly ornamental, easily grown, and all have fragrant 

 flowers. They grow well in fibrous loam, but prefer a moist, peaty soil. 

 C. alnifolia (the Alder-leaved Pepper-Tree) is rarely more than five feet 

 high, and bears a great profusion of small white flowers towards mid- 

 summer. The variety tomentosa should be grown for its flower display. 

 It is of similar habit to the type, but the flowers are bigger and borne 

 at least three weeks later. 



