September 4, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



429 



Lemoine's Hybrid Gladioli. — Witli the early and brilliant 

 Brenchley's Gladiolus, this new race comes into bloom. 

 The value and beauty of tJiese Gladioli cannot possibly be 

 overrated, and the more I see of them the more I am 

 convinced that they will in time usurp the place long occupied 

 by the more delicate varieties of the Gandavensis race, wliich 

 few can grow well. Lemoine's are hardier and more robust 

 in growth, and though they have not at present that massive- 

 ness of spike which characterizes the best of the Gandavensis 

 hybrids, they rival them in diversity and richness of color. 

 This race owes its hardiness chietly to its parent, G. pnrpureo- 

 auratus, which is quite a hardy bulb with us, growing strongly 

 and propagating itself with singular freedom. The other 

 parent was one of the Gandavensis race, but now, as elsewhere 

 stated, M. Lemoine has hybridized with G. Saundersi, which is 

 another hardy species, with large, brilliantly-colored flowers. 

 I have just seen a collection of the newest hybrids, and 

 out of two dozen the following were in perfection of bloom 

 and extremely fine : Sphinx, deep crimson, with lower petals 

 blotched with velvety maroon ; Lamartinc, flowers very large, 

 cerise crimson petals, with white blotches on lower petals ; 

 Boussingault, pale pink petals, flak-ed with crimson, lower 

 petals lullf bright canary-yellow, and half blackish-crimson, a 

 very striking sort ; Deleuil's Zelie, mauve pink, lower petals, 

 blotched with white; Gained, like Zelie, but larger; Enfant de 

 Nancy, very rich and deep crimson, lower petals maroon. 

 Other sorts not past their best were Mars and W. E. Gumble- 

 ton, both choice kinds. All these have Hower-stems ranging 

 from two and a half feet to foin- feet high, the spikes carrying 

 from ten to fifteen ffowers. All have tlie characteristic hood- 

 like flowers of G. purpiirco-auratiis and G. Saundersi, but this 

 peculiarity is not so marked in the later as in the earlier 

 hybrids, and no doubt M. Lemoine will in time produce varie- 

 ties with flowers as large and open, and as dense on the spike, 

 as the best of the Gandavensis race, which now they quite 

 eclipse in point of color. W. G. 



Kew. ^___ 



Perennial Coreopsis. — These are among the best of hardy 

 garden flowers as they require very little attention, reproduce 

 themselves freely from self-sown seeds, and make a brilliant 

 display from June until frost sets in. C. lanceolata has Ijecome 

 in a comparatively short time one of the best known of the 

 genus, and certainly no hardy plant produces more flowers 

 throughout the season. Its large, bright-yellow tfowers are of 

 good substance, and stand well when cut. C. grandiflora, 

 from the mountains of North Carolina, is equally good in all 

 respects. The flowers are a trifle darker in color, more stellate, 

 and the plant itself has a spreading habit. As soon as it begins 

 to grow, C. gratidiflora also begins to branch, so that, by the 

 time the flowering period is reached, the smallest plant has 

 become a dense bush some two feet in diameter. This plant 

 deserves to become as popular as C. lanceolata. C. verticillata 

 is a pretty species, with whorls of very narrow leaves, quite 

 distinct from the preceding. C. verticillata is very floriferous, 

 and a desirable plant. C. delphinifolia is a taller growing plant, 

 well grown plants being often three or four feet high. The 

 foliage, as the name implies, resembles that of the Larkspurs. 

 The flowers are produced from the tops of the stems, and are 

 quite showy, though not so large as those of the other species. 

 C. tripteris grows from six to eight feet in height, and is suit- 

 able for the back row of the flower border, or for planting in 

 shrubberies. The stems are clothed with elegant three-parted 

 leaves, and just now the stems are surmounted by a branched 

 panicle of very fragrant yellow flowers, the fragrance resem- 

 bling that of the old English Wallflower. This plant may be 

 effectively associated with Silphiiuns, Hellanthiis orgyalis and 

 Rudbeckia maxima, all of which are of about equal height 

 All the above species of Coreopsis are perfectly hardy and 

 perennial, and they would probably be far better known, were 

 they exotic, and less easy to cultivate. 



Lobelia splendens var. Victoria is a plant that has often 

 been catalogued and sent out as a variety of the Cardinal 

 Flower, L. cardinalis, with which, however, it has no specific 

 affinity. It is a variety selected from the Mexican plant L. 

 splendens, and, it may be added, that as a decorative herbaceous 

 perennial it has no rival, the dark, purplish, crimson foliage 

 resembling in color the Iresines so much used for bedding 

 purposes. The flowers are similar in color to those of L. car- 

 dinalis, but they are three times the size. For fall effect there 

 are few plants to equal this Loljelia, especially when planted 

 in masses, or associatetl with some plant of variegated foliage. 

 I once saw a large circular bed of this Lobelia intermingled 

 with the variegated Abutilon Thompsoni, antl the effect was 

 charming. The hardinessof theA'ictoria Lobeliais notsufficient 



to warrant its being left in the open ground in the eastern 

 states. The crowns need lifting, and require protection from 

 severe frost dm-ing winter. In spring these may be diviiled 

 and replanted in the position they are to occupy during simi- 

 nier. Any oneobtiiining this plant as a variety of L. cardinalis 

 would be led to suppose that it reciuired a moist soil and situ- 

 ation, while, as a matter of fact, this would be extremely injuri- 

 ous. L. splendens needs a rich dry soil. The variety in 

 question comes fairly true from seed,' but its germination is 

 somewhat erratic. We have found that plants may be looked 

 for anywhere between six weeks after sowing and the end of 

 the succeeding eighteen months. E. 0. Orpet. 



Passaic, N. J. . 



Odontoglossum Schlieperianum. — This Orchid should find a 

 place in every collection on account of the beauty and size of 

 its flowers. Its nearest affinities are O. grande and O. Insleayi, 

 to the latter of which Dr. Lindley considered it to be so closely 

 related that he gave it the varietal nameoimacranthum, because 

 the flowers were much larger than in that species. O. Schlie- 

 perianum has dull-green, ovoid, compressed pseudo-bulbs, 

 each bearing two broadly lanceolate leaves, about five or six 

 inches long. The flowers are usually borne in June on strong, 

 sub-erect scapes ; the oblong-ligulatc sepals are of a bright 

 lemon-yellow, covered with transverse blotches of reddish- 

 brown, except at the slightly recurved tips ; the petals, which 

 are broader, and somewhat abruptly narrowed at the base, are 

 of the same color as the sepals, but have a few reddish- 

 brown blotches on the lower portion only. The oblong- 

 obovate, emarginate lip is pale-yellow with chocolate bars at 

 the base, while the conspicuous bright-yellow crests are 

 spotted with crimson. Like most Odontoglossums, this species 

 requires to be potted in a compost of peat and sphagnum 

 moss, and should be placed in a rather warm corner of the 

 house, as it is a native of Costa Rica. Water may be freely 

 given during the growing season, which takes place after 

 flowering, but must be greatly diminished during the winter 

 months, when the plants are at rest. 



The earliest notice of this plant appears to be in 1856, when 

 it was sold in Covent Garden, London, with other Orchids 

 from Central America. It flowered for the first time in Europe 

 in the collection of Herr Schlieper, of Elberfcld, Germany, in 

 honor of whom it was named. 



Vanda teres — For the last three weeks several plants of this 

 species have been flowering one after another in (juick suc- 

 cession, and the beauty of their flowers and pecidiar appear- 

 ance present an aspect quite distinct from other members of 

 the Orchid family. With the exception of the beautiful Vanda 

 Hookeriana and V. teres, most plants of this genus have dis- 

 tichous, strap-shaped leaves, some being very long, and others 

 very short in proportion. V. teres has quill-shaped stems and 

 leaves of a dark-green color, and a climbing habit. Two 

 flowers are generally borne on a short raceme springing from 

 the side of the stem opposite the leaves. The sepals are 

 oblong-obtuse, the upper being generally erect and nearly at 

 right angles to the roundly-ovate petals. Both sepals and 

 petals are creamy white, tinged with pink or magenta, which 

 color is usually much more intense on the petals than on the 

 sepals. The lateral lobes of the handsomely-colored lip are 

 foldcvl over the column in the shape of a helmet ; the middle 

 lobe is spreading in front, where it is cut into two obovate 

 divisions, and in connection with the two side-lobes forms a 

 large conical spin- at the base. The throat is orange-yellow, 

 with radiating lines of crimson spots on each side, while the 

 surface of the middle lobe is beautifully veined and washed 

 with rosy magenta. There are several varieties of this species, 

 which can only be distinguished by the color of the flowers. 



It is not very difficult to grow V. /^r^Jj successfully, provided 

 that it be grown in a house with a warm and moist atmosjihere, 

 in a position exposed as much as possible to the rays of the 

 sun. Here the plants are grown in a compost of peat and 

 loam, with silver sand mixed, and all planted out close to the 

 glass. During this warm weather they are syringed several 

 times during tlie day, antl receive a liberal supply of water at 

 the roots also. Very little shading is given except when very 

 hot. The plants may also be grown on blocks of wood with 

 equal success, and placed in a pot three parts filled with 

 charcoal, and covered with a layer of sphagnum moss, receiv- 

 ing abundance of water din-ing the simimer months, but much 

 less in the winter, when the tempcratm-e for this sjiecies should 

 be about 65°-7o° Fahr. during the day, and fi'om 'Cwv. to eight 

 degrees lower at night. 



Dr. Wallich introduced this X'anda from Burmah in 1826, 

 but it is not, however, confined to this region, having been 



