43o 



Garden and Forest. 



[September 



0] EARIA HAASTI. — This is probably the most useful of the 

 numerous species .of this genus which have so far been intro- 

 duced from New Zealand and tested in gardens in this coun- 

 try. At least a dozen species could be named as having larger 

 and prettier Mowers than this, but they are either too tender or 

 too straggling in habit to obtain a place amongst first rate 

 hardy flowering shrubs. When first introduced O. Haasti was 

 cultivated in pots in the greenhouse, and it was only after about a 

 dozen years' trial that its hardiness became generally known. 

 In many of the best gardens in England it is now largely used 

 both as a small specimen plant for the border and in large 

 masses for bold effect. At Kew it is particularly effective in 

 the form of large beds, which are now a mass of white starry 

 flowers. It is also fine as a specimen. The plant is as com- 

 pact in habit as the common Box, and it bears the knife or 

 shears quite as well as that plant. Grouped with summer- 

 flowering plants, such as Liliums and Gladioli, it forms a most 

 Satisfactory ground or foil. Then it possesses the exceptional 

 quality of remaining a long time in bloom, and of being at its 

 best in the month of August. At Kew there are several plants 

 of it trained against a wall, and these are quite as well flowered 

 as those in the open, and apparently as healthy. In the warmer 

 parts of England it grows apace; I have seen it in south Wales 

 over six feet high and eight feet in diameter. It may be propa- 

 gated from cuttings with as much ease as Box. 



Eucryphia pinnatifolia. — Although one of the hand- 

 somest of flowering shrubs or small trees, and notwithstand- 

 ing its having been in cultivation in England at least ten years, 

 this plant is yet scarcely known in ordinary gardens. In the 

 nursery of Messrs. Veitch at Coombe it is a great attraction at 

 this time of year, being thickly clothed with pure white flow- 

 ers as large as, and shaped like, those of the St. John's Wort, its 

 near relative. In gardens where this plant will succeed it 

 should be well represented, for it is handsome even when not 

 in flower. A basket of flower-branches was one of the most 

 attractive of the exhibits at the last meeting of our Royal Hor- 

 ticultural Society. A word in respect to the propagation of 

 this plant. It does not strike freely when cuttings of ripened 

 wood are used, but if the young shoots are taken when about 

 half ripe and placed in a little warmth they strike root in a 

 short time. 



Abies Tsuga. — This handsome Japanese species has just 

 obtained a first-class Certificate notwithstanding its having 

 been introduced as far back as 1853 by the late Dr. Siebold 

 and named Tsuga Sieboldii. It has the habit and general ap- 

 pearance of the Canadian Hemlock Spruce. It forms a pretty 

 pot specimen as well as being an elegant conifer for small 

 lawns, etc. It is, of course, quite hardy in England. There 

 are good examples of it on the lawns at Kew. 



Tilia euchlora. — Some branches of this Lime were lately 

 shown by Messrs. Veitch and obtained a first-class Certificate. It 

 is a tree of striking appearance, having heart-shaped leaves fully 

 seven inches long and wide, the texture leathery and the color 

 a deep glossy green. Messrs. Veitch recommend it as a fine 

 avenue tree, holding its leaves much longer than ordinary 

 Limes. It has been introduced from Japan. 



London. W. WatsOll. 



Cultural Department. 



Preparing' for Easter Flowers. 



AT the late Florists' Convention in Boston, Mr. James 

 Dean, of Bay Ridge, New York, read an essay on the 

 Easter flower trade. The extracts which we give below com- 

 prise the more strictly cultural portions of this paper : 



Three-fourths of all the Easter Lilies are now forced from 

 bulbs of L. Harrisii, which is more profitable and flowers more 

 freely than L. longiflorum, and the plants are not liable to come 

 blind. They can be forced with safety at a higher temperature 

 than plants of L. longiflorum, and if they are removed to a tem- 

 perature of fifty degrees at night, with air during the day, two 

 weeks before the flowers open, they will be just as firm and 

 will yield nearly twice the number of flowers. Most of the 

 Lily bulbs come from Bermuda in July and August. They are 

 at once potted in a light sandy loam to which has been added 

 about one-third of well-rotted manure. The bulbs are placed 

 about one inch below the surface of the soil, and the pots are 

 then set close together in a frame out-of-doors, treated to a 

 good watering, and covered with a mulch of hay or straw to 

 prevent the soil from drying out rapidly and save watering. 

 They can remain out-of-doors until frost, although a degree 

 or two of frost will not injure them. From the time they are 

 brought into the greenhouse until New Year's, a night tem- 

 perature of forty to forty-five degrees with plenty of air during 



the day is all they require. After New Year's they may be re- 

 moved to another house or the night temperature may be in- 

 creased to sixty or sixty-five and even seventy degrees if the 

 weather proves bad and there is little sunshine. The flower 

 buds should be brought well above the foliage six weeks 

 before Easter, so that one standing in the doorway of the 

 greenhouse can plainly see all the buds. Bear constantly in 

 mind that it is much easier to hold the flowers back by 

 shading and giving plenty of air, which hardens and stiffens 

 them and enables them to bear transportation, than it is to 

 hurry them into flower bysteaming the pipes and givingthem 

 warm water. Under such treatment, Lilies are fit only for 

 the rubbish heap. Before delivery each flower should be 

 covered separately with fine tissue paper, and the buds or un- 

 opened flowers should be treated in the same way. In fact, 

 every plant sent out for Easter should be wrapped, for although 

 it takes a great deal of time in the rush of Easter work there 

 will be little complaint of flowers damaged in transportation 

 if this precaution is used. 



The Azalea is second in importance on the list of Easter 

 plants. The most of the plants for forcing come from Ghent, 

 reaching here in October, and although packed carefully they 

 do not always arrive in condition to be flowered the same sea- 

 son. They often drop their foliage and flower buds, and then 

 must be grown another year before flowering. The success- 

 ful Easter grower never depends on his last importation of 

 Azaleas for Easter forcing, but always carries at least one year's 

 stock of plants ahead to meet loss or damage. The Azaleas 

 during the winter months can be kept in a night temperature 

 of forty degrees, with plenty of air during the day, until eight 

 weeks before Easter. If Easter comes in March, fifty-five degrees 

 will answer at night; if Easter comes in April, fifty degrees will 

 suffice. It will be necessary to set some of the late varieties 

 into heat two weeks earlier. Do not stand the plants under 

 the shade of some convenient tree during the summer months 

 and expect them to flower the following winter. Give them 

 the open sunshine, plunged or planted out in a Pansy frame. 

 If the soil is heavy add sand and leaf mould, as the Azalea de- 

 lights in a light, loose soil. Mulch, but do not use manure, 

 and water and syringe to keep down red spider. Treated 

 thus they will make a good growth and mature their flower 

 buds and give a good crop of flowers when they are wanted. 

 They should be carefully housed before frost to prevent injury 

 to the buds. 



The Hydrangea is now pushing the Azalea closely for 

 second place on the list of Easter plants. And certainly a speci- 

 men plant of H. Otaksa, covered with its immense clusters of 

 bright pink flowers, is worth seeing. These flower-clusters, 

 often measuring over twelve inches in diameter, and of a color 

 that shows equally as well by gas as by daylight, make the plant 

 very ornamental. Thomas Hogg is still a favorite, with its pure 

 white flowers, and will always retain a prominent place among 

 the plants grown for Easter. Hydrangea rosea deserves to be 

 grown in all collections, although the flowers are not as large 

 as those of H. Otaksa, nor is the plant such a vigorous grower. 

 The color and the freeness with which it produces its flowers 

 will always give it a place as a market variety. A cutting 

 struck in March, planted out before the first of May in a good 

 rich soil and mulched and watered regularly, will by October 

 make a plant fit to go into a seven or eight-inch pot. The 

 plants should not be pinched or topped after the middle of 

 June if they are wanted for Easter forcing. They may be 

 lifted by the 10th of October, potted in good rich soil and 

 placed in a cold frame until New Year's, with abundant air 

 during the day and the frames covered by night to protect them 

 from frost. They are brought into the greenhouse at New 

 Year's, and given a temperature of sixty degrees at night, with 

 air during the day, for three weeks, after which the tempera- 

 ture is increased to sixty-five degrees at night, with little air 

 during the day, until the flowers begin to color. Then more 

 air is gradually given during the day and the temperature re- 

 duced at night to give bright color to the flowers and harden 

 the plant so that it can stand out in the air without wilting, as 

 a great many of our city florists have to display their plants in 

 the open air in front of their stores. This rule holds good for 

 all plants that are forced for flowers, especially so with the 

 Hydrangea and the Rose Madame Plantier, both of which, if 

 grown in a warm temperature and exposed without being 

 hardened, will wilt very badly when exposed to cool air. The 

 Hydrangea when in growth requires plenty of water and an 

 occasional watering of liquid manure will be a benefit to the 

 plant. 



The Cytisus comes next in importance as an Easter plant. 

 Two kinds are grown. C. Canariensis is best suited for 

 decorations when large plants are required ; C. racemosus is 



