February 24, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



115 



NURSERY NOTES. 



PRIMULAS AND CYCLAMENS AT 



READING. 

 Messrs. Sutton & Sons have made a specia- 

 lity of Primula sinensis for many years past, and 

 the number of plants they cultivate has 

 increased 



Fern type of leaves ; and we also saw some very wide is the range of colour and form to be ob- 

 pretty lavender and pink shades. On the occa- 

 sion of a recent visit to the London Road nur- 



series at Reading a batch of 300 or so plants of 



in flower made a verv brave 



Crimson King " 



show. This variety is very valuable during the 



dull davs of autumn and winter, as it blooms could be 



tained. 



Double flowered varieties are becoming popu- 

 lar, chiefly on account of their ease of 

 cultivation, especially as compared with the 

 older types of double-flowered Primulas which 



from 



cuttings 



or 



in 



1876 



very considerably, 

 only 4 ounces of seed 



T7 «„^i« quite earlv in the season: 



For example, * * J 



. i 



Brilliant King 



j > 



is 



was 



saved, 



another handsome flower, with blossoms even 



whilst in 



* „ ... i j ion larger than those of " Crimson King. 



1911 the quantity reached 120 * • -.. „ ... .. ,„ Jj, 



> > 



" Lord Roberts/' with its large-fringed flowers 



ounces, and the number of plants grown of a ^ salmon ' shad ade a ° ° ttv dis . 



in pots was about 15,000. *otso many years ^ „ p „ ^ 



range of colour in the Chinese Primula 



Reading Scarlet 



and 



ago the 



was very limited ; at the present day the colours & ^ colour combination . The « Czar 



and shades are almost infinite in their variety. 



One object of the crosses which are now being 



grown only 

 by division. The "Duchess" type can now 

 be had in double-flowered form as freely as 

 in single, and with a wide range of choice in 

 colour. Perhaps the most useful of all is 

 the double white ; it is free in flowering and 

 close in growth, a most suitable Primula for 



is 



undertaken at Reading is to eliminate the yellow 

 eye and replace it by a pure white 

 The effect would be very beautiful in the case 

 of, say, Crimson King or Reading Scarlet ; and 

 there seems no reason to suppose that such 

 novelties will be long delayed. 



In the case of single-flowered varieties, there 

 are no fewer than 20 types or colours; in the 

 double-flowered section the number is about 10. 



two shades of blue in another variety made quite cutting. " His Majesty " is the finest form at 



present obtainable, and Messrs. Sutton find it 

 difficult to supply the demand for seed. There 

 are many coloured varieties— blue, salmon-pink, 



a variety of a rich violet blue with a yellow eye 

 and dark stems. It has an excellent habit of 



centre. g rowtn and a most pleasing appearance. It is Carnation-flaked, and pink with moss-curled foli- 

 age — all attractive and ornamental. A conspicu- 



hoped that in time it will be possible to produce 

 this colour with light stems, and also in double 



flowers. 



Blue," with its bold, upright 



" Reading 



trusses of blossom, is a very handsome flower, " Crimson King." 



1 << T^__J' Tfc" 1_ >> " i.A__ ' A__ _ '4.L ^r- . . 



ous variety is the improved double scarlet ; great 

 pains have been bestowed upon the colour, and it 

 is now almost as rich in this respect as the single 



and " Reading Pink 



dainty, elegantly-fringed 



is a pretty variety, with 

 folos&oins. M Coral 



Fig. 50.— weeping beech in Messrs. waterer and sons 1 nursery 



(See p. 114.) 



Single-flowered varieties are naturally the most Pink " is one of the best to use for decoration at 

 popular. " The Duchess " takes the first place night; artificial light seems to set off to the best 



advantage its rich, creamy hue. 



" The Pearl " is one of the oldest varieties, 

 but is still extremely popular. It has the great 

 advantage of flowering very freely, and the blos- 

 soms — a delicate tint, almost white- 



ill this section ; it is very charming, being pure 

 white, with a clear zone of rosy -carmine surround- 

 ing a yellow eye. Immense quantities of this 

 variety are grown in order to supply the demand 

 for seed, and the effect is most pleasing when 

 400 or 500 plants are seen growing in one clump, 

 all in full flower. Hybrids produced from numer- 

 ous crosses with Duchess vary in colour from 

 blush-white to crimson. They are all interesting, 

 though they differ in merit, and they retain the 

 zone in the centre. 



Of those with characteristic foliage we may 

 mention the Duchess ivv-leaved form. Among 

 giant forms there is one of a crimson colour 

 with blossoms 3 inches in diameter ! Of the 

 white flowers, "Royal White" may be said to he 

 the best ; it is an extremely handsome type, the 

 purity of the blossoms seeming to be intensified 

 by the dark foliage. Another white variety is 



are very 



ornamental. 



" Snow Queen " and " Silver King " are some 

 of the few varieties without the yellow eye. The 

 leaves are respectively pale green and a rich 

 bronze, the latter, especially, forming an ex- 

 cellent foil for the pure-white flowers. 



" Rosy Queen " is a charming pink-flowered 

 variety with Fern-like leaves. The pure-white 

 " Snowdrift " and the pale-hued " Lavender " 

 may also be mentioned as Fern-leaved varieties; 

 and there are many others equally attractive. 

 We have by no means mentioned all the 

 attractive varieties which are to be found in 

 this section ; but we must now leave the single- 



We next visited the Stellate or " Star " sec- 

 tion, and found that here much progress had been 

 made. At least a dozen specified varieties are 

 now obtainable, and many of them are extremely 

 attractive, notably the giant forms of ruby, 

 white and carmine, as well as the Fern-leaved 

 and Carnation-leaved forms. The "White 

 Queen " star has the true stellate habit, both 

 in flow r er and foliage ; the colour of the flower is 

 particularly pure and clear. The blue varieties, 

 both pale and dark, are very pleasing, and we 

 especially liked a salmon-pink variety named 

 u Lord Roberts." Ruby star is a striking form, 

 with the darkest colour of all. 



In the case of Primula obconica considerable 

 advance had been made. The habit of growth 

 is very much improved ; the stiff flower-stems 

 now carry much finer flowers than formerly, and 

 the colours are good and clearly defined. The 

 pure-white, pale-blue, crimson, and pink are 

 especially attractive, and many of the blossoms 

 measure 2 inches across. 



Cyclamens. — The houses devoted to the culti- 

 vation of these flowers were a perfect blaze of 

 colour, and as each section contained large quan- 

 tities of plants the effect was striking. As many 

 as 4,000 plants are grown in one season. 



Immense progress has been made with Cycla- 

 mens since the first introduction of C. latifolium 

 from Palestine; some few plants of the original 

 type were brought by Mr. Arthur Sutton in 1906 

 from Mount Carmel, and are still growing at 

 Reading. The flowers are 1 inch deep, with nar- 

 row petals, shapely and distinctly pretty, but 

 the original type, although useful and freely- 

 flowering, can scarcely be compared with the 

 numerous giant forms, which retain the best cha- 

 racteristics of the old form. 

 600 



plants of 



We saw a clump of 

 Giant White," many bearing 



with marbled foliage, is deservedly 



"Giant White," which has green stems and the flowered plants, having said enough to show how 



flowers 3 inches deep, with petals 1 inch wide : 

 a most imposing display. Among coloured forms 

 giants are numerous. Crimson, salmon-pink, 



rose-pink, salmon-scarlet — all these were there 

 in profusion, the masses of colour producing a 

 marvellous effect. " Vulcan," a rich crimson 

 variety 

 popular. 



Flowers with fringed petals are increasing in 

 variety and find many admirers. A new type of 

 foliage seems to be developing — marbled, with a 

 silver edging, and a glaucous green centre. 



Our tour of inspection was now over, and we 

 turned regretfully from the bright, warm houses 

 to the cold air outside; glad, however, 

 to think that, through the untiring efforts of 

 horticulturists, it is possible at all seasons of 

 the year to forget the inclemency of the weather 

 in the contemplation of a profusion of bright 

 flowers. Glad, also, to see that the possibilities 

 of improvement of Primula and Cyclamen are 

 by no means exhausted, and that the future has 

 in store many novelties of these beautiful crea- 

 tions of nature and florists* art. M. 



