516 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 461. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



Valeriana Sitchensis. 



AT elevations of five or six thousand feet above the sea 

 on the slopes of Mount Ranier, the great Washington 

 mountain, at the point where the forest has been forced on 

 to narrow rocky ridges in its struggle to maintain itself 

 against the cold of the enormous ice-capped peak, alpine 

 flowers grow in a profusion, variety and luxuriousness 

 which is hardly known elsewhere in the United States. 

 The beauty and abundance of these flowers has given its 

 name to Paradise Valley, one of the best known of these 

 high slopes, as it is the principal camping-place for trav- 

 elers who wish to try the ascent of the mountain or 

 enjoy the magnificent views which can be obtained from 

 this spot. 



Among the Columbines and Gentians, the Dog-tooth 

 Violets and Dodecatheons, the delightful white-flowered 

 alpine Rhododendrons, the dwarf Mountain Ash and the 

 alpine Sedges and Grasses, the Sitka Valerian is conspicu- 

 ous with its clusters of pale flesh-colored flowers, which 

 possess such a powerful and delightful fragrance that it 

 passes as a Heliotrope among the campers on the mountain. 



Mr. Curtis, of Seattle, took a number of photographs 

 last summer in this valley, among them a bunch of 

 this Valerian, which is reproduced on page 5 1 5 of this 

 issue. We are unaware if any attempt has been made to 

 grow this plant in gardens, or whether this inhabitant of 

 high northern countries and mountain slopes could be 

 induced to bear the conditions of a lowland garden. The 

 attempt to cultivate it, however, is certainly worth making, 

 as it is one of the most delightful flowers of the far north- 

 west. 



Cultural Department. 



Selaginellas. 



A FEW of the more common sorts of this extensive genus 

 are generally found in most greenhouses, but a consider- 

 able collection of them is rarely seen in private gardens. 

 Even in the commercial places they are not so generally 

 grown as their decorative qualities and comparatively easy 

 culture seem to warrant. 



The most extensively and most easily grown species is the 

 moss-like Selaginella Kraussiana, which is so well known that 

 description is needless. Apart from being grown as individual 

 plants in pots or pans, there appears to be no end to its uses, 

 such as for covering the surface of pots or tubs around Palms 

 and other plants ; for hanging baskets, for planting around the 

 edges of beds and rockeries ; as a ground-work for covering 

 unsightly walls in greenhouses, where it grows freely in 

 sphagnum-moss held to the wall by means of wire netting. 

 There is a golden form, S. Kraussiana aurea, and one with the 

 points white-tipped, called Variegata, which is the most delicate 

 of the three, and is somewhat subject to damping, on which 

 account it should not be watered overhead. 



To have fresh healthy plants of any of these varieties it is 

 necessary to renew the pots or pans every three or four 

 months by filling with fresh soil and inserting small tufts of 

 the fresh points, some two inches apart, all over the surface. 

 A suitable soil is composed of well-rotted sod, leaf-mold and 

 sharp sand in about equal parts. The variety known as 

 Brownii also appears to be a form of the above species, but is 

 somewhat harder to handle than any of the foregoing, and is 

 probably most useful when confined to small pots, and re- 

 quires a lighter and more open soil. We have found a fair 

 percentage of cocoanut-fibre refuse mixed with the soil of 

 great advantage in growing this plant. 



The neatest and most compact of all the dwarf-growing 

 forms is the beautiful little Selaginella densa, which forms a 

 cushion of lively green, and only grows about one inch 

 high. It is sometimes a little hard to establish, but once 

 started it grows freely, and keeps in good condition for several 

 months without renewing. S. Martensii is a free-growing and 

 very useful species, requiring much the same treatment as 

 those described above, but less frequent shifting, and, as it is 

 of stronger growth, it should be planted in larger pans, where 

 it will make nice specimens about nine inches in height. 

 There are several varieties of this, including a variegated 



form. S. involvens is another pretty species which also in- 

 cludes a variegated form ; the average height is about four 

 inches, and the habit of the plant symmetrical and compact, 

 and this, like all the foregoing, requires a greenhouse or inter- 

 mediate temperature, plenty of water at the roots, but as little 

 overhead as possible, especially during dull weather, when all 

 of them are more or less susceptible to damping. 



The Selaginellas which require stove or warm-house treat- 

 ment are tor the most part larger, though slower, growing 

 species, and require much the same treatment as Ferns. The 

 most convenient method of propagation is by division, rooted 

 portions of the creeping stems being easily procured. Most of 

 them can also be increased by layering of the leaves. Some 

 varieties, such as S. Emaliana, propagate themselves very 

 quickly. If the pots are set on a bed of sand or ashes, small 

 particles of the leaves get broken off; these, being very brittle, 

 quickly make roots in the sand and form little plants all 

 around the pots. The species and varieties of this class are so 

 numerous that only a few of the best may be named here. 

 These include S. tasselata, a first-rate sort ; S. Victoriae, S. 

 grandis, S. hrematoides and S. fiagellifera. 



The climbing species, Selaginella Wildenovii, is another 

 well-known form well worthy of a place in every warm green- 

 house. To bring out the true metallic blue tint of the foliage 

 it should be grown in a well-shaded situation. S. uncinata also 

 attains a bluish tint under similar conditions. This is a very 

 desirable trailing variety, which, if subjected to somewhat cool 

 treatment, can be partially dried off and rested during the 

 winter months and started up again in spring. 

 Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



Late Chrysanthemums. 

 1\/TRS. JOSEPH THOMPSON is the most beautiful white 

 •l'-*- variety, early or late, which I know. It is an irregularly 

 incurved Japanese of extremely graceful form. It seems to 

 me an ideal Chrysanthemum, not 100 dense, but with enough 

 florets to make an even globular flower. The upper florets 

 turn in at the tips, leaving just a trace of an opening, where 

 the centre of the bloom should be, but this is completely ob- 

 scured. The lower petals interlace the stem for two or three 

 „ inches. The foliage is bold, of firm texture, and although the 

 stem is stiff it is in no way objectionable. The whole plant is 

 healthy and of low growth, ft has been in bloom for a month 

 and scarcely yet shows traces of age, except the faintest tinge 

 of pink, and this really adds to its beauty. 



Mrs. Emil Buettner, a charming yellow, is equally beautiful, 

 though quite different. This also is a plant of low, stocky 

 growth and of perfect constitution. The bloom lasts a long 

 time in full beauty. It is pleasing to watch the changes the 

 flower undergoes. In the bud stage it is very full, slow in 

 opening, and expands rather flat and radiating, with straight, 

 delicately pointed, strap-shaped petals, broadening and deep- 

 ening to orange color at the base 1 . The florets elongate from 

 the centre until the bloom is perfectly globular. As the flowers 

 develop, the petals become elegantly twisted and pass from a 

 clear yellow to a straw color, a bloom quite different in build 

 and color from that suggested in the earlier stages. 



Mrs. S. T. Murdock is a lovely pink .flower of a different 

 form. It is reflexed and less graceful than the two varieties 

 already described. Besides being late, it is valuable on account 

 of its unique coloring. It is extremely lustrous. The surface 

 of the florets is completely covered with crystal-like lenses, 

 which refract the light. For decorations under electric light 

 it is singularly effective. The plant is of luxuriant growth, a 

 perfectly free bloomer, and can always be counted upon to 

 produce a perfect bloom, no matter what bud is taken. 



C. B. Whitnal ranks as an old variety, though introduced less 

 than ten years ago, and is retained mainly on account of its 

 distinctive characters. It is a Japanese incurved, but so closely 

 built that the English authorities class it with the truly in- 

 curved, or what we used to know as "Chinese incurved." 

 The color is maroon-purple, and, altogether, it is the best dark 

 variety for late decorations, taking the place of the crimson- 

 colored varieties, all of which are earlier. -_* 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Bamboos. 



A RECENT note in Garden and Forest mentioned the 

 hardiness of the Japanese Bamboos in Washington, Dis- 

 trict of Columbia. They are also hardy farther north. Here, 

 where we have winters which are probably often much more 

 severe on such plants, the roots of the species or varieties 

 which have been tried have stood out without protection 

 about five years, and sometimes the canes have been unin- 

 jured. If this were the whole story of the Bamboos, one could 



