28 



The Florists' Review 



Sgptbmbeb 22, 1921 



PLANT FEBEKNIALS. 



Autumn an Auspicious Time. 



At this time of the year the atten- 

 tion of the florist is dirccti-d to hardy 

 perennials for two, possibly three, rea- 

 sons. One is that if he takes orders for 

 planting residence grounds he should 

 undertake to stimulate fall plantings of 

 perennials among his home-owning cus- 

 tomers. Anotlier is that he should, for 

 his own use next summer, consider 

 planting perennials which will do well 

 for cutting. Such blooms come in handy 

 in the hot weather, are always useful 

 and add variety at a time when green- 

 house flowers are not at their best. 

 Again, if the florist has vacant property 

 adjoining his retail establishment, be 

 it store or greenhouse, a planting of 

 perennials, in a border or in another 

 form, will be a delight to his own artis- 

 tic eye and an object of admiration by 

 customers next summer. . 



Writing on the topic of hardy peren- 

 nials for autumn planting, W. E. Bon- 

 trager, of the Ohio Experiment Station, 

 makes such enthusiastic statements as 

 these: "The well arranged perennial 

 border is a perpetual delight. As new 

 pictures unfold from day to day one 

 wonders whether this type of ornamen- 

 tal planting is not the climax of per- 

 fection in achievements horticultural. 

 The long, stately pageant of the season 

 begins with the primulas, German irises, 

 foxgloves, columbines, oriental poppies,, 

 hardy feverfews and is followed by 

 Maltese cross (lychnis), sweet williams 

 and other pinks (dianthus) in many spe- 

 cies. Succeeding these came the be- 

 witching blues of the hardy larkspurs 

 and the hollyhocks in a myriad of col- 

 ors. Midsummer is ablaze with the finer 

 perennial phloxes, which cover a season 

 of two or three months, while the strik- 

 ing, picturesque heads of the yuccas now 

 are seen at their best. In late summer 

 the rosy-purple spikes of gay feather 

 (liatris), the golden yellow of heliop- 

 sis and the various rudbeckias, gaillar- 

 dias and veronicas enliven the scene. 

 Goldenrod, the sedums, boltonias, wild 

 asters and Japan anemones bring up the 

 rear of the procession and linger even 

 after killing frosts have wrought deso- 

 lation throughout the precincts of lawn 

 and garden." 



Some Good Sorts. 



Most perennials may be handled quite 

 readily in autumn and an ideal time 

 in which to make such plantings is l^ve 

 interval extending from September 15 

 to November 1. Whether the stock is 

 purchased, transplanted from a cold- 

 frame or obtained by the division of 

 old clumps, the soil conditions which 

 prevail at that time can scarcely be im- 

 proved upon. Sweet williams may be 

 divided and will give better results than 

 if moved in the spring; an old clump of 

 hardy larkspur (delphinium) becomes 

 the source of numerous strong divisions; 

 worn-out plants of hollyhock will be re- 

 juvenated by transplanting and will 

 iflower the more profusely next summer 

 in consequence of it. Baby's breath 



(gypsophila) and upright virgin's bow- 

 er (Clematis recta), both fine for mak- 

 ing bouquets, beside sea lavender (stat- 

 ice), mullein pink (agrostemma), Chi- 

 nese bellflower (platycodon), rudbeck- 

 ias, evening primrose (Oenothera) and 

 gas plant (dictaninus) are all excellent 

 plants. 



Perennials are of especial value in 

 any piece of planting which is being 

 developed along naturalistic lines and 

 can be utilized in so many ways that it 

 is possible to give only some general di- 

 rections for locating and displaying 

 them. Much depends on the ingenuity 

 and resourcefulness of the planter. 

 Should there be unlimited space, states 

 Mr. Bontrager, colonies of yucca, fox- 

 glove, hollyhock, hardy larkspur, iris or 

 peony which embrace twenty-five or 

 more plants of a kind will become strik- 

 ing features of the landscape and are al- 

 ways greatly admired. Often such colo- 

 nies may be effectively edged with low 

 plants- like Young's evening primrose, 

 lungwort, hardy feverfew, stonecrop 

 (sedum) or old woman (Artemisia stel- 

 leriana). On lawns of limited area per- 

 ennials may be planted in small, infor- 

 mal clumps or groups before masses of 

 evergreens or shrubbery, or in small 

 openings which frequently occur along 

 the margins of such groups. The peren- 

 nial border is usually a long, narrow bed 



situated in front of a garden fence, 

 alongside a walk or facing a tree or 

 shrub growth of some kind. In it plants 

 are usually grouped according to height, 

 and the possibilities for diversity and 

 variety in arrangement are without 

 limit. 



Orouping by Height. ' 



For convenience in planting, peren- 

 nial plants may be subdivided into three 

 groups, according to height. Hollyhock, 

 hardy larkspur, gay feather, American 

 senna (cassia), tall rudbeckias, bolto- 

 nias and wild asters comprise the taller 

 ones and ought to be used in the back 

 row or for the center of groups. Next 

 in height come the foxgloves, Canter- 

 bury bells, sweet william, perennial 

 phloxes and low-growing rudbeckias, 

 all of which lend themselves admirably 

 to massing and ought to be banked be- 

 fore the taller kinds. As low, border 

 or edging plants the third group of per- 

 ennials will consist of lungwort (pul- 

 monaria), which has handsomely mot- 

 tled foliage; leadwort (Plumbago lar- 

 pentse), Young's evening primrose 

 (CEnothera Youngii), lamb 'sear (Stachys 

 lanata), columbine (aquilegia), hardy 

 feverfew (Pyrethrum roseum) and old 

 woman, a silver-leaved plant which re- 

 semliles dusty miller but is hardy. ' 



Some of ;.these perennials whose flow*- 

 era have value for cutting are the dou- 

 ble forms of hardy feverfew (pyreth- 

 Euni), which come in pink, red and 

 white, upright virgin's bower (Clematis 

 rej^a), Coreopsis grandiflora, delphin- 

 ium and perennial pea (lathyrus). Lath- 

 yrus White Pearl has unusually large, 

 white flowers that are useful in the mak- 

 ing of floral designs. 



OEOBOE WASHINGTON'S PAUtfS. 



John C. Hatcher, who conducts stores 

 at Amsterdam and Schenectady, N. Y., 

 and a greenhouse at Hoflfmans, N. Y., 

 has in his possession two fine specimens 

 of Cycas revoluta. They are twelve to 

 fifteen feet high, and the trunks are 

 fourteen inches in diameter. These 

 palms are said to have been originally 

 the property of George Washington, 

 father of our country. These palms were 

 given to Mr. Hatcher to take care of by 

 Senator Starin, United States senator 

 from New York state at one time. He 

 was also owner of Glen island and of 

 the famous ferry boats plying between 

 it and the mainland. The senator now 

 is dead, the family is disintegrated and 

 the estate sold. Members of Senator 

 Starin 's family long ago were friends of 

 Washington and, of course, the palms 

 i-ame into liis possession through this 

 friendship. 



S. A. Kost, of Buffalo, suggests that 

 these palms would make a tremendously 

 powerful drawing card for the national 

 flower show at Cleveland next .spring. 

 The newspapers would give the historic 

 palms descriptions and photograjths, and 

 the public would want to see them. At 

 the close of the show, probably one of 

 the prominent horticultural institutions 

 of the country would wish to purchase 

 the i)alms, either the United States 



Botanical Gardens, at Washington, or 

 the park commissioners of one of our 

 great cities. The combination of his- 

 torical and horticultural interest would 

 make these palms something of public 

 attraction wherever they were. 



In writing to one of the prominent 

 Ohio florists engaged in promoting the 

 Cleveland national flower .show, Mr. 

 Kost says: "Cleveland is to have a fine 

 flower show next spring, the finest in 

 the country. Why not get Cleveland to 

 take the palms? Look at the big draw- 

 ing-card they would be, these palms, 

 the living mementos of George Wash- 

 ington, the father of our country! If 

 they were on exhibit at the show, people 

 would come from all over the country 

 to see those wonderful palms. It would 

 bring more historical interest into the 

 florists' business. I think Mr. Hatcher 

 would like to get these palms placed 

 where they will be seen and appreciated 

 by the public. The palms are now tak- 

 ing up a lot of room, eating their heads 

 off, so to speak, and bringing in no 

 return. Air. Hatcher is now an old man, 

 has been in Amsterdam over sixty years 

 .•md no doubt would like to see the palms 

 placed in some public institution. There 

 is no consideration of money or profit in 

 this; only the expense of their upkeep 

 these many years in his greenhouse is all 

 that is asked." 



