i8 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 255. 



sirable flowers for indoor arrangements. Grouped with their 

 own foliage, there are few flowers more decorative than these 

 Irises. 



The first of this group to flower is I. Germanica, light and 

 dark purple forms of which arc so common in gardens. Tlie 

 ■white variety, only less common, which is known to the trade 

 as I. Germanica alba, seems to be of a different type. These 

 Irises do not seem to produce potent seed. I have from 

 Dammann & Company an Italian form under the name of I. 

 Germanica semperflorens, which gave early dark-colored flow- 

 ers, but it has failed to establish its title to its varietal name as 

 yet. A friend has sent me I. Germanica, var. Amis, but this has 

 not flowered here. I understand that there are several other 

 varieties differing in coloring and stature which are referred to 

 this species. After these follow closely the species I. pallida, 

 I. sambucina, I. squalens, I. lurida variegata, and the hybrids of 

 which they are the parents. Hybrids of these are numberless. 

 They are offered under names by the plantsmen, and it is 

 ditficult to make a selection from the Usts without including 

 those which are nearly identical. Practically they may be 

 divided into about half a dozen groups, though there are those 

 which are puzzling to determine. If one wished to form a rep- 

 resentative collection it would be well to first collect the spe- 

 cies named above ; also those known as I. neglecta, I. amoena 

 and I. plicata. Having these types, one can refer the hybrids 

 with some success to different groups, and gradually gather a 

 complete collection, avoiding an excess of those colors which 

 may not be considered desirable. I. pallida appears to me to 

 be the handsomest of the Bearded Irises. It is a plant of a 

 stately habit, with rigid, very wide leaves, and stem some two 

 to three feet high, furnished with large flowers, in good form, 

 of a beautiful soft lilac shade. The standards are large and 

 full, and the falls are wide and furnished with a bright orange 

 beard. They are delightfully fragrant. The Dalmatian form 

 of this Iris is considered the best. Hybrids of I. pallida will be 

 found in all collections of German Irises, differing in shades of 

 purple mostly. I. sambucina, I. squalens and I. lunda are re- 

 sponsible for the hybrids with smoky or bronze-tinted forms, 

 which are so odd in coloring. From I. variegata come the 

 forms with yellow standards and brown falls, very effective and 

 striking flowers in the garden. Hybrids of I. neglecta have 

 standards and falls of white, or marked with purple in its va- 

 rious shades, from reddish purple to pale lavender, while the 

 hybrids of I. amoena, with similar falls, are distinguished by 

 white standards. The blood of I. plicata is seen in the beauti- 

 ful flowers, which have white standards and falls, somewhat 

 crimped and margined with purple. 



The dwarf Bearded Irises so far have not awakened much 

 enthusiasm with me as garden-plants, though they have the 

 merit of being hardy and making a formal dwarf edging. The 

 best known ones are I. pumila and its variety alba, of a dis- 

 tressingly impure white. I. Chamaeiris has a yellow flower of 

 not a very attractive shade, though there may be better forms 

 than mine. I. Olbiensis, as I have it, bears a purple flower, 

 but there are also yellow varieties. While these may be de- 

 sired for a collection, handsome dwarf Irises may be found in 



other sections. <^ nr ^ _/ 



Elizabeth, N.J. J . N. Gerard. 



Decorative Plants in Winter. 



AFTER the season of Chrysanthemums, there is a scarcity 

 of winter-blooming plants for the greenhouse until the 

 natural blooming of spring bulbs ; and forethought and care 

 are necessary to provide a supply of decorative plants for use 

 during the winter months. It is not a difficult thing to have 

 Hyacinths and Tulips flowering in pots or pans, and the 

 methods of hurrying them on are generally well understood. 

 But it is a mistake to crowd them into bloom too early, and 

 the results are usually rheagre and disappointing. It is far 

 more satisfactory to have a good stock of other plants to carry 

 through until February, when bulbous plants may be had 

 with long flower stems and ample foliage. To fill this void, 

 we grow Linum trigynum to follow the Chrysanthemum. 

 The plants are rooted from cuttings in the spring. These are 

 set out in the summer and lifted in the autumn, beginning to 

 bloom in November. They are brightness itself in the green- 

 house. L. trigynum is very susceptible to coal-gas and is lia- 

 ble to the red-spider when grown indoors, but occasional 

 syringing will keep it clean. The more recent name for the 

 plant is Reinwardtia. 



The various strains of Chinese Primulas seem to be almost 

 perfectly established; one can obtain seed of a given color of 

 flower and form of foliage and rely on the results almost to a 

 plant ; the colors are very rich and the foliage abundant, and 



it seems almost impossible to improve on the single varieties. 

 The double ones, as obtained from seed, like the double Cin- 

 erarias, need a great deal of improvement. It is, indeed, a 

 question if they are desirable, the single kinds are so much 

 more beautiful. To have good large plants of Primulas, the 

 seed should be sown early in spring ; about the end of March 

 seems to give the best results if the plants are carefully 

 tended. To obtain plants of the blue variety, which is very 

 pretty by contrast with the others, it is necessary to sow the 

 seed even earlier, as this strain seems to lack the vigor of the 

 other colors. The Chinese Primroses succeed best in the cold 

 frames in summer and may remain there until there is dan- 

 ger of frost and damp; the latter evil is more to be dreaded 

 than cold, but at this period they need the warmth of a green- 

 house, where they will soon become gay with flowers. I find 

 there is a tendency with some strains of Primroses to flower 

 during early autumn. This is a decided disadvantage, as the 

 flowers are a very poor color at that time, besides being out 

 of season, and the plants do not give good results in winter, 

 even if the flowers are picked off in summer. The Chinese 

 Primrose seems to flower to a certain extent and then the dis- 

 play is past, and the period is governed by the time they com- 

 mence. Early flowering may be obviated by the later sowing 

 of those kinds that have this tendency. 



Poinsettia pulcherrima, an old and very showy winter dec- 

 orative plant, is indispensable. There are several varieties of 

 this species, which is a native of Mexico. The double variety, 

 so-called, is very poor as compared with the typical plant ; it 

 seems impossible to keep the foliage on, even when the plant 

 is small, and the bracts never make a good display. The white 

 form is attractive, though seldom seen. Old plants of Poin- 

 settias when kept dry, after flowering, may be kept at rest 

 until summer and tlien cut down and two or more shoots 

 allowed to grow. For most purposes cuttings taken in sum- 

 mer with a heel and rooted any time between May and July, 

 will give plants of various sizes. All of these are useful, as 

 the bracts are much more persistent and durable than the 

 leaves. To make Poinsettias last well in a cut state they should 

 be cut several days before they are needed for use, and the 

 stems immersed in water their whole length, when it will 

 be found that the foliage will not fade when used for decora- 

 tion, as it will when fresh cut from the plants. 



Of berried plants for winter use there is none so valuable as 

 the Jerusalem Cherry, though why this Solanum should be so 

 widely known by this name is a mystery, as the plant is a 

 native of Brazil. The Jerusalem Artichoke is also a native of 

 America. The best strain we have seen is that of Benary's, 

 calledSolanum capsicastrum nanum. Itisadwarf compact kind 

 that needs no pinching to make a very compact bush, which 

 is laden with the bright berries in profusion. As decorative 

 plants for the greenhouse they are good for three months, but 

 for the dwelling-house they are not so valuable, as they soon 

 shed their leaves and berries. To have good plants of this 

 Solanum with the least trouble, seed should be sown this 

 month and planted outdoors in June, where they will remain 

 until fall comes, and with it the time to lift and pot such plants. 

 I have noticed that the larger the berries of this Solanum the 

 less freely they are produced, and in this respect this dwarf 

 strain is the best I have ever seen, though the berries are 

 small compared with those of other strains. 



South Lancaster, Mass. -E- 0. Orpet, 



Some Winter-flowering Plants. 



AT this season of the year no brighter place can be found 

 than a greenhouse or conservatory, and, although only 

 a few square feet may be available, each single flower has 

 greater attractions than a whole border full of the same kind in 

 the summer season in the garden. There is no better con- 

 struction of simple design than a span-roof from twenty to 

 twenty-five feet wide, about sixty feet long, twelve feet to the 

 apex, and five feet six inches on the sides. Such a house is 

 very light, and with twenty-five feet inside there is ample space 

 for side-benches under which to place the heating-pipes, and 

 for a good walk around a central bed raised only six or eight 

 inches above the walk. This bed provides a good place for set- 

 ting out a few ornamental plants and for the storage of useful 

 Palms and other decorative plants used out-of-doors in sum- 

 mer ; it is also a useful and desirable place in which to plant 

 climbers for the roof. 



Just now the long racemes of Bignonia venusta, heavily 

 laden with bunches of bright orange flowers, are very 

 beautiful. Another old-fashioned flower, seldom seen and 

 often cramped and starved in a pot, is Euphorbia jacquinis- 

 flora. Planted out it is a revelation ; its long wreaths of bright 



