254 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 435. 



in the general collection, and it would be a difficult task 

 to mention all the splendid sorts that fixed my attention 

 there. A few first-class kinds which Mr. Waterer named 

 as peculiarly adapted to gardens in America were Mrs. C. 

 S. Sargent, one of the loveliest of all varieties, best described 

 as a pink Everestianum, as it partakes of all the good quali- 

 ties of that sort ; F. L. Ames, Mrs. S. Simpson, Mrs. Hun- 

 newell, Mrs. Price Lade, Lady Gray Egerton, Mrs. R. S. 

 Holford, Sigismund Rucker, Sappho, J. Marshall Brooks, 

 Martin H. Sutton, Marchioness of Lansdowne, H. W. Sar- 

 gent, H. H. Hunnewell, Harry Veitch, C. S. Sargent. The 

 last named is in bud this week, and is valuable on account 

 of its lateness. 



The seedling Azaleas, to the crossing and raising of which 

 Mr. Waterer has given so much time and care of late years, 

 are wonderful, all the more so, considering the scanty 

 material that has been worked upon. In size of flower 

 they rival the Rhododendrons, while for exquisite and 

 subtle shades, of tint they are beyond description. One 

 sees the most fiery scarlets, the richest yellows, the purest 

 whites, and every gradation of color between these 

 extremes. Unfortunately, none of these seedlings can be 

 described individually by name, as Mr. Waterer is even 

 more reserved in naming the Azaleas than the Rhododen- 

 drons. Only a few of extraordinary merit are so distin- 

 guished. So many worthless old varieties are named that 

 all but those having the highest qualities are sent out simply 

 as Knap Hill Azaleas. I am inclined to think that some sorts 

 of exceptional merit will receive names this year, especially 

 some of the very large flat-flowered forms, and a new type 

 of double-flowered sorts that I saw for the first time. One 

 of these has a dense cluster of clear pink flowers on long 

 branches that recall at once some of the finer sorts of 

 double-flowered ivy-leaved Pelargoniums. These double 

 flowers last so long and carry their blooms so well that 

 they are especially adapted for cutting, and will some day 

 be a valuable addition to market florists for cut flowers. 



At Kew and a few other places this year a great feature 

 among Rhododendrons has been the new race of hybrids 

 that have sprung from the Fortunei type. They afford a 

 a new phase of beauty as regards form of flower and color, 

 but do not conform in truss with the standard fixed for the 

 other race. The flowers have long foot stalks and loose 

 trusses, and therefore cannot hold themselves up in rough 

 weather. They are, nevertheless, a decided gain, and it is 

 only a matter of time to remedy the defects if careful selec- 

 tion and crossing is persevered in. At Kew some of these 

 hybrids have been lovely, particularly those recently 

 named Mrs. Thiselton Dyer and F. Thiselton Dyer. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Watson they are the result of intercrossing R. 

 Fortunei and R. Thomsoni. They are of luxuriant growth 

 and have large trusses of widely open flowers, ranging 

 from ablush white to a deep rosy red, and invariably a 

 conspicuous blotch of carmine on the upper petal and a 

 blotch of deeper hue at the base of the corolla. Mr. George 

 Paul, of the Cheshunt Rose nursery, has been working at these 

 hybrids in the same direction, and he has produced some 

 remarkable ones which may in time become first-rate varie- 

 ties. I do not think these will be suitable for America, 

 except in the western and southern states, as they flower 

 much earlier than the Catawbiense and other hybrids. 



Roses. — The long spell of drought and heat has retarded 

 the opening of buds on Roses, and the plants have had a 

 hard struggle with insect pests, but there is one race of 

 Roses that seems to defy these drawbacks and is on the 

 high tide of beauty. These are the Ramanas Rose hybrids, 

 Rosa rugosa, and no flowers are more delightful at Kew 

 this week. Two of the Continental varieties are flowering 

 profusely. One is a pure double white named Coubert. It 

 is much like R. rugosa in habit of foliage, more dwarf and 

 bushy, while every shoot carries a cluster of deliciously 

 scented flowers of the purest white. The other variety is 

 Belle Poitcvine, which is like Coubert in habit, but the 

 semidouble flowers are carmine-purple and scented. These 

 are first-rate garden Roses, as they continue a long time in 



bloom. Two other hybrids are quite distinct from the lat- 

 ter in growth, as they tend rather to a rambling habit and 

 long shoots. These are the Dawson and Mrs. A. Waterer. 

 The Dawson has pale rosy pink flowers in profusion all 

 along its spreading slender shoots. Mrs. A. Waterer is a 

 cross between R. rugosa and General Jacqueminot, and 

 was raised some years ago by Mr. A. Waterer, Jr., at Knap 

 Hill. It is a spreading grower, and every shoot is densely 

 wreathed with double flowers of a deep crimson and pos- 

 sesses a most powerful perfume. These two Roses are 

 unquestionably among the finest we have for planting in 

 places where they can spread about in a free way. All 

 who see them are charmed with them. I wrote last week 

 about Paul's Carmine Pillar Rose, which is the finest early 

 variety I know, the profusion of large, single, brilliant 

 crimson flowers being highly effective. It is still in perfec- 

 tion, and is associated this week with Crimson Rambler, 

 which bids fair to become one of the commonest garden 

 Roses. Every garden should include this half dozen Roses. 

 We are having a glorious season for trees and shrubs, 

 and some Magnolias have never been finer in this country. 

 We are now enjoying the grand American species, M. tri- 

 petala and M. Fraseri, both noble trees in or out of 

 flower. The aromatic fragrance of these two Magnolias 

 and of M. glauca perfumes the Azalea garden at Kew. The 

 most remarkable flowering shrubs at Kew this week are 

 the dwarf Leguminosea', Cytisus scoparius Andreana, 

 quite the most beautiful of its tribe, and in splendid condi- 

 tion this year. There are two new hybrid Cytisus raised 

 at Kew worthy of special notice. One has been named C. 

 Kewensis. It is a cross between C. Ardoini and C. alba, 

 . and is quite intermediate between those species as regards 

 the flower, which is about the size of that of C. alba and 

 pale yellow in color. It is distinct from either in habit, 

 being quite prostrate, and spreading on the ground. There 

 is a mass a yard across, and the flowers are so profuse that 

 the foliage, which is trifoliate, is hidden. This is a valuable 

 acquisition among dwarf shrubs for the rock garden, or on 

 any position where its slender shoots can fall over a ledge 

 to display the graceful growth of the plant. Another form 

 of it from the same cross differs in the much deeper yellow 



and rufous color of its blossoms. „,.„. _ ,, . 



Kew. William (jOldring. 



Plant Notes. 



Styrax grandifolia. — The so-called large-leaved Styrax, 

 although a native shrub, is rarely seen in American gar- 

 dens. It is a first-class ornamental plant and should be 

 better known. It has recently been in blossom in the 

 Meehan nurseries in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and its 

 white flowers are well set off by the large and generally 

 obovate leaves, which are green above and soft gray and 

 downy beneath. The blossoms are borne on elongated 

 racemes and they open successively from the base toward 

 the tip, so that flowers near the apex are still opening long 

 after those first expanded have fallen. It is a large, vigor- 

 ous shrub when well grown, sometimes attaining ten or 

 twelve feet in height, but it only reaches its best develop- 

 ment in the southern states, where it is most at home. Al- 

 though it will grow well in many places where the climate 

 is not much more severe than at Philadelphia, it is not likely 

 to thrive much farther north than New York, and is not gen- 

 erally considered hardy in New England. 



Styrax Americana is more dwarf and more hard)'' than 

 S. grandifolia and will live and flower a good deal farther 

 north. It flowers at the same time asS. grandifolia. The 

 pure white flowers are open, bell-shaped, pendulous, soli- 

 tary, or in very short and few-flowered racemes, and they 

 havea faint but distinct and sweet fragrance. The leaves are 

 small, or from one-third to one-half the size of those of S. gran- 

 difolia, and they are green and smooth or nearly smooth on 

 both surfaces. The habit of the plant is open, and it will 

 thrive as far north as Massachusetts without protection in 

 winter, although it is not found wild north of Virginia. 



