12 



The Florists^ Review 



SKI"i'BMBHK 17, ItH 



e Hardy Garden 



THE HARDY PERENNIAL GARDEN. 



Hardy Chrysanthemums. 



One or two varieties of hardy chry- 

 santhemums are already flowering. Of 

 these Seven Oaks, double yellow, has 

 been in bloom over a month. Rosy 

 Gem, with light pink, single, daisy-like 

 flowers, an introduction from Korea, is 

 graceful; so, also, is Autumn Glory, 

 pure white. Many of the small pom- 

 pon varieties are in bud, but it will 

 be October befor* these commence to 

 make a show. 



Artemisia lactiflora, with its light, 

 airy looking, pure white panicles of 

 flowers, scented like a Crataegus, is 

 splendid for cutting. Our plants are 

 five feet high and attract the attention 

 of all visitors. The only campanulas 

 left are a few C. pyramidalis, now 

 nearly over, and the little dwarf C. 

 Carpatica, or Carpathian bellflower. 

 The latter blooms all summer long and 

 is one of the best plants for edgings 

 and rock work that we have. Another 

 border or rock plant never without 

 flowers in summer or fall is Viola cor- 

 nuta. The varieties V. alba and "V. 

 atropurpurea, or G. Wermig, are the 

 best. These violas are easily propa- 

 gated from cuttings. Cut some of the 

 blooming plants and they will soon give 

 a great crop of nice, stocky, succulent 

 cuttings. These violas do not come 

 true from seed. 



Three Good Montbretias. 



Montbretias are not usually treated 

 as border plants; many do not class 

 them as hardy. With a good covering 

 of leaves and with well drained ground, 

 25 degrees below zero will not harm 

 them. A fine trio of sorts are Ger- 

 mania, G. Davidson and Prometheus. 



Of the funkias, F. lanceolata, with 

 blue flowers, is now open. F. subcor- 

 data grandiflora, with its large, hand- 

 some leaves and spikes of pure white 

 flowers, is a little on the wane. In the 

 way of bright colored flowers, Geum 

 coccineum Mrs. Bradshaw, double scar- 

 let, flowers persistently, and is one of 

 the best of late novelties. Lysimachia 

 elethroides, with its long, dense, re- 

 curved spikes of white flowers, is a fine 

 florists' perennial. It lasts remarkably 

 well in water. 



Excellent for Cutting. 



Boltonia asteroides, white, and B. 

 latisquama, pink, are two robust plants 

 now in flower, excellent for cutting, 

 and each grows from five to seven feet 

 high. There is a dwarf pink variety, 

 B. latisquama nana, which I have found 

 extremely useful. The hardy larkspurs, 

 or delphiniums, are giving a nice sec- 

 ond crop of flowers now. Early spring- 

 sown seedlings of these are also bloom- 

 ing finely, D. Chinensis being a mass 

 of flowers. 



A useful perennial for cutting is 

 Pyrethrum CChrysanthemum") uligi 



nosum. Some years the tarnished plant 

 bug raises havoc with it; otherwise it 

 makes a wonderful show. It is best to 

 divide it every second year. 



Other Marketahle Flowers. 



Stokesia cyanea and S> c. alba are 

 still full of their large, cornflower-like 

 flowers. Centaurea montana and C. 

 dealbata are also flowering freely. 

 Cimicifuga simplex, Monarda didyma, 

 M. didyma rosea, Eupatorium agera- 

 toides, E. coelestinum and other useful 

 plants are still flowering. 



Physostegia Virginica and P. V. alba 

 are fine perennials for any florist to 

 grow and increasing numbers are seen 

 in the markets each year. The plants 

 are now at their best and are five feet 

 in height. Rudbeckia maxima, four 

 feet in height, with large yellow flowers 

 with black centers, and R. Herbstone, 

 six feet in height, are the two best 

 rudbeckias at this season. 



No one should fail to plant some of 



the beautiful Thalictrum dipterocar- 

 pum. The flowers are lilae-mauve, Avith 

 yellow stamens. The plants are f ou r to 

 five feet high. It is grand for cutting, 

 perfectly hardy and ia easily ra sed 

 from seed. 



Showy and Effective. 



Sedum spectabile, with its light fo- 

 liage and immense rosy heads, is ex- 

 ceedingly effective now. The variety 

 Brilliant is of a specially rich color. 

 Lobelia cardinalis, usually associnted 

 with swamps, makes a grand border 

 plant. To increase stock, I would ad- 

 vise anyone growing it to save hig 

 own seed and sow in January; then 

 practically every seed will start. !Nfo8t 

 of the seed sold has no germinaUng 

 properties left. We still have some tew 

 veronicas. For the backs of borders, 

 the robust ironweeds, or vernonias, now 

 in flower, are worthy of note. Lepachys 

 pinnata, with finely divided leaves and 

 yellow flowers with a black cone, is 

 quite effective. 



This does not by any means exhaust 

 the host of September flowers and I 

 have not named lilies. Among these 

 the various forms of Lilium speciosum 

 are now making a grand show. L. 

 auratum, L. superbum and L. tigrinum 

 each help to make the hardy garden 

 attractive at this season. And here 

 and there I note a few of the colchi- 

 cums, or autumn crocuses, coming 

 through the soil, a sure sign that sum 

 mer is nearing its end. 



LOWER LEAVES DYING. 



There is something wrong with our 

 carnation plants. The trouble looks to 

 me like a blight, if there is such a 

 thing as carnation blight. The leaves 

 turn brown and die, usually the lower 

 ones, but sometimes one or more far- 

 ther up. So far, no plants have really 

 died. The plants left in the field are 

 affected almost as badly as those in 

 the house. The white varieties are af- 

 fected much worse than the pink or 

 red ones. We are now spraying with 

 Bordeaux. Is there anything else we 

 can do? Will the plants outgrow it? 



K. & S. 



You do not give enough data on which 

 to base an opinion and so I can only 

 surmise what may be attacking your 

 carnations. Sometimes the drying up of 

 the lower leaves is the result of a lack 

 of nourishment, in cases where the roots 

 refuse to take hold of the new soil read- 

 ily. When a plant is lifted, it contains 

 enough vitality to support the foliage 

 a few days without nourishment sup- 

 plied through the roots, and if the roots 

 become reestablished within a few days, 

 nothing more than a slight cessation of 

 growth takes place. But if this break 

 in the supply of nourishment from the 

 roots is prolonged, the leaves begin to 

 die for lack of it. 



Another common cause of dying foli- 



age on newly planted earuatious it* wLai 

 is commonly known as leaf-spot. You 

 will readily recognize this disease bv 

 the round, dark colored spots on the 

 leaves. Fairy ring acts in a similar 

 way, but differs in appearance in that 

 it produces a dark colored ring instead 

 of a solid spot. For both of these the 

 Bordeaux mixture is the proper rem 

 edy. Pick off the affected leaves and 

 continue the use of the Bordeaux about 

 once in ten days. If the plants are not 

 too badly affected, they will outgrow 

 it, but if they have been severeJv 

 checked, it might pay you better to re 

 plant with healthy stock. A. F. J. B. 



DEPTH OF SOIL IN BENCH. 



My carnations have been in the bcucli 

 for one month and, as the soil was not 

 extra heavy, it has settled down f om 

 the top of the side-boards. Would i b« 

 advisable to put some more soil on top 

 to fill up the bench, using the same 1 ind 

 of soil as that in which they v ere 

 planted? F. M. 



It would not be advisable to add n oTe 

 soil to your carnation beds, as you ug 

 gest. Any soil, whether light or heavy, 

 will settle down below the level of tb' 

 edge-boards after a few waterings. I' 

 you started with four inches of soii. or 

 thereabouts, you need not worry alou* 

 not having enough depth after the set 

 tling has taken place. __ We have ''ee" 

 the finest carnations produced on 3<" 



