492 



Garden and Forest. 



[October 8, 1890. 



Hybrid Violas. 



A CORRESPONDENT of the Gardeners' Chronicle 

 makes the following notes on these Tufted Pansies, 

 as they have been appropriately called : 



These plants are rapidly growing in favor, and for bedding 

 purposes they are invaluable. I know of nothing that can sur- 

 pass the effect they produce when judiciously planted, and few 

 Mowers are more adaptable. Large two or three-year-old 

 clumps of Violas are the most beautiful objects one can have 

 in a garden in May and June, a period when the Mowers are 

 most numerously produced. 



Amongst sterling new kinds put in commerce this year may 

 be mentioned Duchess of Fife (Baxter), light primrose, dis- 

 tinctly edged with blue, a strong grower and good habit, an 

 improvement on Goldfinch ; this novelty will be a leading 

 Mower in future years. Ada Adair (Baxter), clear shining rose, 

 dark centre; very pleasing Mower, and one of the best twelve. 

 Delicata (Baxter), soft, rosy lilac; quite a new shade, a taking 

 Mower, and a very free grower. Crimson King (Baxter), rich 

 crimson, primrose eye, white brows; a finely formed Mower, 

 and the best of this shade. 



In the list of good but somewhat older kinds, we may name 

 John Burns, rich dark velvet purple, heavily marbled with, 

 light peach, white brow, clear eye. Countess of Hopetoun, 

 pure white, compact habit, free bloomer. Holyrood, dark 

 blue, compact habit, extra fine. York and Lancaster, dark 

 purple, beautifully striped with white, shaded with rose ; very 

 pretty. The Mearns, rich plum, upper petals edged with 

 white ; very attractive. Evelyn, dark blue, shaded white ; 

 very fine. Mrs. Baxter, dark purple, with pure white top petals, 

 extra large Mower, free habit ; best of its class. Sovereign, 

 golden-yellow, compact, immense bloomer. Picturata, mauve; 

 very fine. Neptune, purple, with light back petals. Royalty, 

 bright yellow ; first-rate. Columbine, white, margined with 

 rosy-lilac ; extra fine. Lucy Ashton, little centre, edged all 

 round with a broad band of rosy pink, after the style of Colum- 

 bine, but retains its color much better in hot weather ; a vigor- 

 ous grower. Gipsy Queen, very light lilac, heavily streaked 

 with violet ; a novel and pretty Mower. Hugh Ainslie, top 

 petals bluish mauve, shading to white, under petals rich 

 indigo-purple; clear yellow eye, surmounted with white brows; 

 a large, showy Mower and a free bloomer. Mrs. H. Bellamy, 

 upper petals pale lavender, under petals deep solid purple; fine 

 clear yellow eye, with white brows ; large, circular and smooth 

 as a show Pansv ; a free grower, with a good habit ; novel 

 and quite distinct. Marchioness of Tweeddale, pure waxy 

 white, fine habit, first-rate bedder. 



Preparation for Winter. 



THE present is a busy season of the year to the plant- 

 grower and a press of work now requires immediate 

 attention. One of the first things to be attended to is the 

 housing of tender plants, as sharp frosts may be looked for at 

 any time after the 1st of October. And for this reason it is 

 quite time that Crotons, Aralias, Musas, Pandanus, Ficus, 

 Acalyphas, and all other plants that are easily injured by frost, 

 and that have been in use for bedding:, vases and the like, 

 should be brought under shelter. The Crotons should be cut 

 back as they are brought in and potted up into as small pots 

 as possible, and by keeping them a little close for a time they 

 soon recover from the shock. 



Some good cuttings are also secured in this way, the young 

 plants from which may be grown on into useful size by the 

 following spring. A few of the Acalyphas, when potted up 

 and placed in a warm house, will yield an abundance of cut- 

 tings to supply stock for the following season, for these plants 

 root as easily and quickly as Coleus, and for many purposes 

 are much more effective. 



Cannas may remain out-doors until the foliage has been 

 marked by the frost, as one likes to enjoy these noble plants 

 as long as possible, and the first light touch of frost will do no 

 harm to the roots. It is well to save some seed of Cannas and 

 sow it during the winter or early spring, as the seedlings fre- 

 quently vary considerably from the parent plant. If the seed 

 be selected from some of the improved varieties, it is quite 

 probable that something of value may be secured among the 

 seedlings. 



If not already under cover, Carnations for winter blooming 

 should now be lifted, a cloudy day being selected for the 

 operation, if possible. If the plants have a good watering 

 immediately after planting and frequent syringings for a few 

 days they soon recover from the effects of removal. 



The staking and tying of the Carnations may be deferred 

 until the more important work of the season is attended to. 



Bou vardias, Poinsettias, Heliotropes, Stevias and Eupatoriums 

 will, of course, be under cover before this time, as these use- 

 ful winter-fiowering plants do not improve by being kept out- 

 doors after the nights become cold. In fact, the Poinsettias are 

 quite susceptible to cold, and soon become stunted and lose 

 their lower leaves if they are chilled, and in this case, of 

 course, the bracts produced are inferior in size. 



The various bulbs for winter forcing will also be re- 

 ceived about this time, or in some cases earlier, and should 

 forthwith be potted or boxed, as the case may be. No time 

 should be lost in potting up bulbs of Li Hum longiflorum, so 

 that their growth may be made steadily, and without unneces- 

 sary forcing, though it should be remembered that if the 

 latter plants are required to be in bloom at Easter calculations 

 must be made accordingly, and it must be borne in mind that 

 next Easter will fall on a much earlier date than the last one. 

 Lily-of-the- Valley, unless specially ordered for early forcing, 

 will probably not be received until the last of October or be- 

 ginning of November. 



Some strong plants of Deutzia gracilis, and also some 

 clumps of Astilbe Japonica, should be potted, since both 

 these plants are particularly useful for white Mowers during 

 the latter part of the winter and early spring; but as both are 

 perfectly hardy, they can, of course, remain in the ground un- 

 til the more tender plants are disposed of. 



Any necessary repairs, such as painting, glazing, etc., that 

 have not been attended to during the summer, should be 

 made at once, because the condensation of moisture on the 

 roof of a greenhouse becomes much greater as the nights get 

 cooler, and it is therefore more difficult to find the roof dry 

 enough for such repairs than it would have been earlier in the 

 season. On an old roof many leaks may be stopped by the 

 application of liquid putty or thick paint with a putty-bulb. It 

 takes but a short time to apply the liquid to each strip on a 

 house 100 feet long, and the escape from drip thus secured is 

 a great comfort for so small an outlay. A good mixture for 

 this purpose is composed of equal portions of white lead and 

 putty, mixed with enough good linseed oil to give the required 



consistency. 



Holmesbuis:, Pa. 



W. H. Tapiin. 



Spanish and English Iris. — These are the most common of 

 the bulbous section of this genus and are very charming when 

 grown in masses. The flowers have a good range of shades 

 of yellow, bronze, blue and purple, and, being freely produced, 

 the plants are in bloom for several weeks. While the bulb- 

 dealers distribute a fair number of these bulbs every season, 

 they do not seem to survive in gardens, or at least in those in 

 which no care is given to the special requirements of plants. 

 Bulbs of these Irises are hardy in a suitable position, and there 

 should be success in growing them where their requirements 

 are understood. In their native haunts they are subject to 

 extremes of dryness and moisture, so they should be planted 

 in a deep border, where in summer they will receive little or 

 no moisture, and, if possible, a good baking. In winter and 

 spring they will have moisture enough anywhere outside in 

 this climate. Under the south wall of the house is a good 

 position for these bulbs, and in such a place they do well with 

 me, living and fiowering freely. There is one point, however, 

 which requires attention : the bulbs must be frequently sepa- 

 rated and replanted, certainly as often as every other year ; 

 otherwise, as they break up so freely, they will overcrowd each 

 other and starve out. Mr. Orpet's mention of these bulbs led 

 me to look to my stock, and I find that last year's fiowering 

 bulbs have each thrown off four or five well developed offsets. 

 These quickly came to fiowering size. 



Iris reticulata is another hardy bulb which requires a little 

 care in placing, the main point with this being to plant it in 

 a position where it will not start so early that hard frosts and 

 high winds later will cut it off. Its fault is its precocity of 

 bloom. This bulb forces readily, and its Violet-scented Mow- 

 ers are attractive though not very showy. Varieties of /. reticu- 

 lata and allied species are now becoming numerous in culti- 

 vation and make interesting groups. Single specimens are 

 not at all conspicuous. It would be interesting to know what 

 proportion of the /. Susiana tubers, distributed every year by 

 the bulb dealers, are Mowered. This and allied species will 

 by no chance succeed under careless treatment, as will many 

 plants. It is usually recommended that they be planted in 

 late winter in a cold frame. It should be added that in such a 

 position they must have all the air possible. Good success 

 can be had with them by planting in a warm border as late in 

 the year as possible and mulching with six inches or so of 



