426 



Garden and Forest 



[Number 294. 



Cultural Department. 



Autumn-flowering- Bulbous Plants. 



STERNBERGIA LUTEA is a plant of the season which 

 seems to be mucli neglected, yet the bulbs are easily se- 

 cured. They increase rapidly, and a clump in flower is as 

 effective, and not less pleasing, than the Crocus in the spring. 

 The bulbs start into growth in early September, making about 

 six inches of leaf-growth, the flowers appear in late September. 

 These are something over two inches in diameter, are borne 

 on six-inch scapes, are of a clear deep yellow and crocus-like 

 in effect. The leaves are persistent during the winter, and 

 complete their growth in the spring, when the bulbs ripen and 

 become dormant. It is needless to say that bulbs of this kind 

 should be protected from the careless spader. The autumn- 

 flowering hardy bulbs have an unexpectedness in coming into 

 evidence which we are apt to associate with the flowers of 

 spring, and some of them are scarcely less pleasing than those 

 always favorite flowers. 



The double white Colchicum appeared last week, the pearl- 

 white flowers piercing the earth in perfect purity. These Col- 

 chicums have narrow petals which are of irregular lengths, 

 and the flowers are very attractive. A strong bulb will pro- 

 duce a cluster of five or six flowers, furnishing an effective 

 bouquet, lacking, of course, the foliage which, with all the 

 family, appears in the spring. The autumn Colchicum has 

 disappeared, its magenta-colored flowers being only pleasing 

 in a strong light. A handsome kind, C. speciosum, of an at- 

 tractive blue color, merits its specific name. C. Parkinsoni, 

 the spotted Colchicum, has but just disappeared. This well- 

 known kind has lance-shaped petals, which are reddish purple 

 and freely spotted. Merendera Bulbocodium (Colchicum 

 montanum) has very narrow lanceolate petals of bright ma- 

 genta, shading to white at the centre. It is an alpine Spanish 

 bulb, and seems entirely reliable, though not as effective as 

 some others of the family. 



The hardy Cyclamens are delightful plants, with which I 

 have had only success enough to wish that they were truly 

 hardy here. After trying about all the species out-of-doors, I 

 have concluded that a cool house or a warm frame is the place 

 for them. Sometimes plants have lived through a winter to 

 disappear the next. Our frequent thaws and changeable cli- 

 mate prove too much for them. Perhaps, if covered with 

 snow all winter, they might be long-lived out-of-doors. The 

 rosettes of the leaves of most kinds would make them charm- 

 ing plants, but the dainty little flowers add a fresh grace to 

 render perfect pictures. These "Bleeding Nuns" have mostly 

 white flowers, tipped with red, but there are pure white varie- 

 ties of some species. My present limited assortment seems 

 to be reduced to the autumn-flowering kinds, and they are 

 just starting up after having been kept dry during the summer. 

 Some of them, as C. Cilicicum, show flowers as the first sign of 

 life ; others, as C. Africanum, in a more orderly way, make 

 first a crown of foliage. 



Elizabeth, N. J. J. JV. G, 



Winter-flowering- Plants. 



EuPATORlUMS.^Among the desirable small-flowering plants 

 during the dull winter months for cut flowers and for decorat- 

 ing the house or the conservatory are several of the Eupato- 

 riums. E. atrorubeus, more generally known as Hebeclinium, 

 is one of the most useful, since it flowers very freely in winter 

 and requires no special care, except to pinch it back occasion- 

 ally and to give it abundant water. The flowers are red- 

 dish lilac, and the stems and young leaves are covered with a 

 reddish pubescence. E. riparium is another useful species, 

 especially for cutting, since it has a much more slender 

 habit than the first-named and produces white flower-clusters 

 in great profusion both from the tips and axils of the stems. 

 Cuttings of these plants root very readily, and the young plants 

 need stopping frequently to induce a shapely growth. 



BOUVARDIA Jasminoides. — This is not a novelty, but is a 

 plant with very pretty and quite fragrant flowers. In general 

 appearance it reminds one somewhat of Jasminum grandi- 

 florum, the pure white flowers being produced chiefly from 

 the tips of the shoots, while the leaves are smoother than those 

 of most of the garden Bouvardias. I have never seen this spe- 

 cies propagated by root-cuttings, as is common with many 

 other Bouvardias, but soft fips root in a short time when placed 

 in sand in a warm house. The cuttings should never be al- 

 lowed to wilt. 



LiBONiA FLORIBUNDA. — This old favoTite is often neglected 

 now for more showy plants, but when well grown in a five or 

 six inch pot it makes handsome little specimens, and is seldom 



out of bloom. Cuttings of Lib-'nia should be rooted in the 

 spring so as to secure good plants for the next winter, and 

 should be shifted on rapidly until they can be plunged out-of- 

 doors in some coal-ashes or similar bed to prevent them dry- 

 ing out too often. They can remain here until the nights be- 

 come quite cool. Some shade is beneficial to these plants 

 while they are outdoors, and this can be managed by covering 

 them witii a lath shade or by placing them on the north side of 

 a building. Under these circumstances they are likely to 

 escape attacks of red spiders. 



Begonia Gloire de Sceaux is one of the very best of the 

 Begonias for winter decoration. Its sturdy growth, great 

 masses of flowers and their color of sprightly pink combine to 

 make it most attractive. 



Chinese Primroses and Cyclamens should now be in their 

 blooming-pots, and may be kept in an outdoor frame for some 

 time yet unless the weather becomes severe. In places north 

 of Philadelphia, of course, they should be housed earlier. The 

 watering of these plants, however, requires some judgment 

 now, and the foliage should be kept free from moisture at 

 night by proper ventilation. Green fly is the particular pest of 

 Cyclamens and Primulas at any time, and this enemy can be 

 most easily held in check by spreading some tobacco-stems 

 among the plants. The stems should be chopped into short 

 lengths for convenience of handling. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W, H, Taplin, 



Orchid Notes. 



V\/E have just passed through the period of the greatest 

 '' * scarcity of Orchids in flower, and are now entering upon 

 the season which brings with it the finest display of the year. 

 Much has been done in recent years to add to the charms of 

 Orchid-houses in the autumn months, and we are reminded 

 of this fact by the opening of the first Cattleya labiata. This 

 new-old plant has been lavishly praised, perhaps, but when we 

 consider the time of its flowering, its freedom of growth and 

 its free-blooming habit, the commendation can hardly be called 

 extravagant. We have in all twenty plants, and eighteen of 

 these are flowering this season, and the other two were weak 

 to begin with. All were repotted in shallow pans last spring, 

 and many are producing four flowers from a growth, and one 

 has five flowers open on one stem. Next season we may look 

 for even more luxuriant growth. It must be admitted that, 

 taken collectively, the flowers of C. labiata vera are not of sucfi 

 uniform excellence as those of other varieties of this species, 

 such asC. Mendelli, C. Trianae, or even C. Percivalliana. The 

 two best we have were bought with the collector's description 

 attached and are good varieties, but the remainder are not re- 

 markable for individual worth, except for the season at which 

 they flower. C. labiata likes plenty of light, and it thrives well 

 when grown in shallow, well-drained pans suspended from the 

 roof. Another fine Cattleya, now in bloom, is C. Bowringiana. 

 This belongs to a totally distinct section of the genus, and is by 

 some considered to be a variety of C. Skinned, which it cer- 

 tainly resembles when in flower, but in habit it is quite distinct. 

 This also is of very free growth and is one of the very few 

 Cattleyas that may be said to improve year after year ; indeed, 

 ours have grown so freely that they have been repotted every 

 year. Care is taken to use only the best fern-root when re- 

 potfing Cattleyas, as this will keep sound many years. Very 

 little sphagnum moss is used with it, just enough to indicate 

 the condition of the plant as to moisture, and it is then a sim- 

 ple matter to crack the pot in which the plant is growing and 

 take off the pieces carefully, having ready a pot of suitable size 

 in which to place the plant with as little root-disturbance as 

 possible. In this way Cattleyas receive no check from repot- 

 ting if it is done just as they are about to start into new growth. 

 Cattleya Bowringiana is liable to be attacked by thrips during 

 the growing season, and a close watch must be kept or the 

 growth will be irreparably disfigured. In this respect it is sim- 

 ilar to others of the two-leaved Cattleyas, as C. bicolor, C. am- 

 ethystoglossa, C. Leopoldii and C. intermedia ; it is also liable 

 to receive injury from waterlodging in the young growths, and 

 in this respect is singular, so far as I have observed. We keep 

 all the above-named plants at the warmest end of the house 

 and sponge them frequently with Fir-tree oil during the grow- 

 ing season. 



European cultivators lay great stress on the desirability of 

 prevenfing Cattleyas from starting into a second growth the 

 same season, and their writings at times are perplexing to 

 American growers. I fancy the climate here hastens the ma- 

 turity of the bulbs and increases the tendency to second 

 growth, but it is also a common occurrence for the plants to 

 flower from both bulbs at the same time, a fact due in part, I 

 beheve, to the greater amount of sunshine here ; but whether, 



