438 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 453. 



a few exception?, on (heir being suitably planted and well 

 established. 



The time of planting, as has been lately noted in Garden 

 and Forest, is an essential point with some few species like 

 I. Hartwegii and I. Macrosiphon, whose habits are peculiar, 

 owing to climatic conditions in their natural homes ; and there 

 are some central Asiatic kinds of Oncocyclus and Regelia 

 classes which require special annual treatment. But taking 

 the rhi/.omatous Irises as a class they may be moved at any 

 time from one part of the garden to another, or from a neigh- 

 boring garden, if in a growing condition and the ground is not 

 very cold. They seem, as a rule, to endure removal best just 

 after flowering, when a new growth commences. But to 

 establish the same Irises received from a long distance at the 

 beginning of cold weather is another and more difficult matter. 

 The Irises from a distance will have usually come to a com- 

 plete state of rest, and neither their roots nor leaves are in a 

 condition for action. Often from a distance one receives mere 

 withered rhizomes. To expose such plants to outside condi- 

 tions is, of course, to invite destruction, for they are practically 

 lifeless masses of albumen. Such dormant pieces should be 

 carefully planted in a frame or cool house, with the rhizomes, if 

 stout, only partly buried and kept cool, but free from frost and 

 ratherdry. Under such treatment they will usually revive in due 

 season, and in the spring can be transferred to the borders, with 

 safety. Irises like thesun. and it is important that the fast-creep- 

 ing rhizomes of such as the German Irises should be in a posi- 

 tion to be ripened by the sun and kept from overshadowing 

 grasses and weeds. These rhizomes naturally creep at the sur- 

 face. Other Irises, such as I. cristata, send their thin rhizomes 

 just under the surface, and the soil in which they are planted 

 should be open and adap'ed to such growth. Still another 

 class of Irises, as I. Sibirica, I. ensata and the Japanese Irises, 

 are furnished with many fine roots and comparatively small 

 rhizomes, and may be planted like any hardy perennial, with 

 no special care for the rhizomes. Irises of this class may be 

 mor.e highly fertilized than the others, the Japanese Irises 

 especially requiring high culture in this particular. Most of 

 the Irises enjoy liberal supplies of water when growing, and 

 often have considerable adaptability, thriving in wet or dry 

 situations. The well-known subaquatic. I. Pseudacorus, 

 thrives equally well on the upland as when its feet are in 

 water. 



The bulbous Irises with annual roots, the Reticulatas, 

 the Spanish and the English, are better lifted annually, as 

 they naturally are dormant in summer, and may be injured in 

 wet weather. But those with fleshy persistent roots, known as 

 Junos, of which I. Persica is a type, are best left undisturbed. 

 These thrive best in a rather heavy soil in a southern exposure, 

 rather protected, as they flower early. 



Among so many plants it is difficult to advise a beginner as 

 to a selection, but as a start, and avoiding rare sorts, a fair rep- 

 resentative list may be made up of the following kinds, named 

 nearly in the order of their flowering, and none of which offer 

 any difficulty in cultivation : Iris orcbioides is a very distinct 

 bulbous Iris with beautiful golden flowers, and quite the earliest 

 showy species. After this the dwarf Irises will soon flower, 

 white, yellow and purple forms of I. pumila. Then taller forms, 

 such as I. Chamasiris and I. nudicualis. The bulbous Span- 

 ish and English Irises follow in succession, the former showing 

 leaves in winter and requiring liberal supplies of water when 

 growing. I. Sibirica, in several purples and a white form, are 

 also early. The mid-season display of Irises is made by the 

 showy hybrid German kinds, offered in great variety. From 

 a florist's list, if properly described, one may select a dozen 

 kinds, giving a fair representation, to which additions may be 

 made later. I. pallida should not be omitted from any collec- 

 tion. For the later season the main reliance is on the Japanese 

 varieties of I. laevigata, a dozen or so kinds giving a fair rep- 

 resentation of the colorings. This is only a small collection, 

 but I refrain from meniioningmany beautiful kinds which many 

 will be glad to add as they discover the unfolding beauties of 

 these (lowers. 



Elizabeth, n.j. J. N. Uerara. 



Experience with Summer-flowering Plants. 



IN well-ordered flower gardens north of the fortieth parallel 

 the plants used for summer decoration have been safely 

 housed before this date, and the planting of hardy bulbs is in 

 many instances completed. The experience of the past season 

 maypro^e helpful in planning next year's operations. Outdoor 

 Roses in the vicinity of Philadelphia have been satisfactory in 

 most instances; the benefits of thorough watering in dry 

 weather and mulching the beds have again been proved. 



Even where this extra care was not given, the growing weather 

 of the latter part of the summer induced quite strong growth 

 on established Roses. In a neighboring garden some plants 

 of General Jacqueminot. Ulrich Brunner and Mrs. John Laing 

 bore stout canes from five to six feet tall, which seemed to be 

 ripening up nicely. La France is a general favorite in this 

 locality, and is seldom entirely without flowers from June to 

 the end of November, and in favorable seasons even later. 

 This Rose is not injured severely by the winter here, except in 

 very exposed positions. Hermosa is seen in most gardens, 

 but is frequently winter-killed to the ground. It could proba- 

 bly be carried through in much better condition by laying 

 down the shoots and burying the whole plant in earth. Crim- 

 son Rambler lias not yet been generally planted in this locality, 

 and the plants used were quite small, so that its full beauty 

 has not yet been seen ; there appears to be no question as to 

 its hardiness. If we can grow this Rose to the same perfec- 

 tion that it has been grown during the past summer on some 

 of the noted English estates we have something worth looking 

 forward to. On one place in England a high fence was cov- 

 ered with a mass of Crimson Rambler to a height ot eight or 

 nine feet, and was a perfect blaze of color. 



Eckford's Improved Sweet Peas have been eminently satis- 

 factory with us the past season, having grown fully six feet 

 high where they were provided with a support of galvanized 

 wire netting. They were covered with bloom from June 30th 

 until frost. They were sown in drills and covered with about 

 two inches of soil, the only fertilizer being a small quantity of 

 chicken-manure worked into the soil before the seed was 

 sown. During dry weather they were thoroughly soaked with 

 water twice a week. Spikes bearing four flowers were not 

 unusual. A bed planted wiih Canna Egandale and surrounded 

 with a border of Abutilon Souvenir de Bonne occasioned 

 much favorable comment. This Canna is one of the most 

 Horiferous varieties I have seen, the spikes large and branch- 

 ing and the color bright red, while its bronzy foliage contrasts 

 admirably with the white variegation of the Abutilon. The 

 newer Abutilon, Lavitzi, is said to be an improvement on A. 

 Souvenir de Bonne. It has not yet been tested as a bedder here, 

 having but recently been offered for sale in this country. Many 

 of the Abutilons are available for bedding purposes and espe- 

 cially adapted for large beds, producing rich effects both in 

 foliage and flowers. 



Sanchezia nobilis has appeared to good advantage the past 

 summer planted out in the full sun, having leaves fully one 

 foot long and handsomely veined with bright yellow. The 

 Hydrangea season was cut rather short in this section by a 

 severe hot spell just as the flowers were opening, but the after- 

 colors of the trusses on H. pamculata grandiflora have been 

 very attractive, and show once more the value of this plant in 

 the autumn-color scheme of the garden. H. hortensis is 

 sometimes partly winter-killed in this vicinity unless it is given 

 slight protection. A little further south it does not appear to 

 suffer to any great extent. Some of the finest specimens I 

 have seen were in Wilmington, Delaware, where it seems to 

 be planted quite as freely as H. paniculata grandiflora, and 

 produces immense trusses, the majority of which are tinted 

 blue. 



Holmesbur K , Pa. W. H. Taplin. 



Coriaria Nepalensis. — This is certainly a charming plant. From 

 a woody root-stock numerous twigs push up in spring. These 

 are clothed from bottom to top with alternate heart-shaped 

 bright green leaves, each about an inch across and set close 

 to the stem. The plant thus forms a cheerful-looking bush 

 three feet in height. The flowers appear in graceful nodding 

 spikes at the end of each twig and are insignificant. Later, 

 they rapidly develop into beautiful fruits of a bright deep yel- 

 low color, hanging from the twigs like currants. Imagine a 

 small bush with bright green leaves, supportingadozen of these 

 nodding spikes six to eight inches long, each spike carrying 

 about fifty of the small shining fruits of a deep crystalline yel- 

 low, and you may get some idea of its striking beauty. It is 

 quite hardy here, and during summer new shoots are con- 

 stantly coming on, so that its bright fruits are seen until 

 November. 



Baden-Bjden. Max Lcichthn. 



Late-flowering Begoniis.— A recent allusion in GARDEN 

 and Forest to the pretty little autumn-blooming Be- 

 gonia Natalensis reminds me to say that it is establishing 

 itself, as B. Evansiana has done, under the benches in 

 the greenhouse, where both make the very best kind of 

 a screen. B. Socotrana is another of these fall-blooming 

 species, bulbous in character and especially distinct. The 



