56 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 363. 



Josiah Hoopes, at West Chester, Pennsylvania ; at Wode- 

 nethe, Fishkill-on-Hudson, and in Mr. Hunnevvell's Pine- 

 tum at Wellesley, Massachusetts. 



Hibiscus Syriacus. — The best forms of this interesting 

 and very variable shrub are not always planted in gardens. 

 Many of the forms seen in northern gardens are those with 

 double or semi-double flowers of mixed colors. These are 

 somewhat more lasting than the single-flowered varieties 

 if the length of time that individual flowers remain in good 

 showy condition is considered. The single-flowered origi- 

 nal species and its single varieties are, however, much 

 more desirable, as they are more purely beautiful. The 

 species varies greatly in the color of its flowers, there being 

 white, purple, red and other shades ; one of the most inter- 

 esting has large rosy purple flowers with a crimson centre. 

 These single-flowering plants bear seed in abundance, but 

 it often does not mature well in northern gardens. Seedlings 

 of varieties show some variation, especially where several 

 kinds are growing together, but as a rule a particular 

 variety will reproduce itself from seed. Where it is desired 

 to get the e.xact counterpart of some particular plant it is 

 best to propagate by layers, by cuttings of green wood 

 taken in right condition in July, or by cuttings of ripe wood 

 taken in the autumn or winter, and stored in moist sand, 

 and started either in the greenhouse or open air. In locali- 

 ties where the Hibiscus is not very hardy it maybe planted 

 with the main roots in two opposite directions, and in the 

 autumn the soil at one side of the stem may be removed 

 and the plant bent at right angles to the line of the roots 

 and covered with soil if necessary. Or it can be grown 

 in a tub, and be transferred to the pit or cellar in win- 

 ter. The greatest horticultural merit of these plants rests in 

 the fact that they are showy late-summer bloomers, keep 

 up a succession of flowers for a long time and thrive in a 

 city atmosphere where many other kinds of shrubs vi^ould 

 fail. They will flourish in a great variety of soils and in 

 cold climates, but do best in a dry, rather than a wet, 

 situation. 



Clem.vtis indivisa. — We have lately seen long flower- 

 covered stems of this plant used with charming effect in 

 the decoration of the walls of a ballroom. An inhabitant 

 of New Zealand, where it festoons trees and shrubs on the 

 borders of the forest, Clematis indivisa must be grown in 

 the northern states in a cool greenhouse, and succeeds best 

 when planted in a border of well-drained soil and allowed 

 plenty of head-room in which to produce its long fle.xible 

 branches, which are covered in January or February with 

 axillary panicles, often a foot in length, of flowers tvi^o 

 inches or more in diameter when expanded. The beauty 

 of their creamy white sepals is enhanced by contrast with 

 the bright yellovv' filaments and purple anthers of the sta- 

 mens. The plant ought to be a real addition to California 

 gardens, where it is probably known, and eastern florists 

 with large houses at command might grow it advantage- 

 ously for festal decoration, which every year in all Ameri- 

 can cities makes larger calls upon their skill, resources and 

 taste. An illustration of this plant was given in this jour- 

 nal (vol. vi., page 167). 



Cypripedium Sallieri Roeblingii. — As long ago as 1878 a 

 hybrid obtained by fertilizing Cypripedium villosum with 

 the pollen of C. insigne Maulei flovi'ered in England, the 

 cross having been made by Mr. Seden, who succeeded 

 Dominy at this work in the Veitchian Nurseries. Seven 

 years later, or in 1885, another hybrid between C. villosum 

 and C. insigne was raised by Monsieur Godefroy Lebeuf, 

 of Argenteuil, and was named C. Sallieri. According to 

 the laws of nomenclature which now prevail, C. Sallieri 

 ought to rank as a variety of C. nitens. Among the other 

 hybrids obtained by crossing different varieties of these 

 two species the one noted above is conspicuous for its 

 beauty. The seed parent was a fiine variety of C. villosum, 

 and the pollen parent was the variety Amesianum of C. 

 insigne. The seed was sown at the United States Nurseries 

 on the second of October, 1890, and it first flowered in 

 November, 1894. The plant has a bold habit, with dark 



lanceolate leaves about nine inches long and one and a 

 half inches across. The dorsal sepal is large, elongated, 

 recurved at the base. The upper part is white, and the 

 lower portion is yellow, heavily marked and spotted with 

 purple-brown. The petals and pouch are a brownish yel- 

 \o\v, the staminode is a bright golden yellow. It seems 

 altogether a very desirable plant, and has been named in 

 honor of C. G. Roebling, Esq., of Trenton, New Jersey. 



Cultural Department. 



Treatment of Amaryllis. 



T N visits to other gardens it is notice.able that the Amaryllis 

 ■'• or Hippeastrum is more generally cultivated than hereto- 

 fore. This is not surprising when one considers how easily 

 they are grown, and the great improvement that has taken 

 place of recent years in such strains as are sent out by Messrs. 

 Veitch and others. Some visitors who were here recently 

 were most enthusiastic in their praise of the display of Hippe- 

 astrums at the Chelsea Nurseries. The question was asked if 

 they did not take a great deal of heat, and it was a surprise to 

 them to find in the coolest house over one hundred flowering 

 bulbs that had been raised from the strain they had admired 

 when in London. We are trying a few this winter in the cel- 

 lar to see whether it is possible to keep them there when at 

 rest, and the experiment so far seems a success. If they can 

 be kept in a cool cellar after the foliage has died off it will be a 

 great gain of storage-room in the greenliouse. 



It has been noted previously that the best way to obtain a 

 good strain of Hippeastrum is to sow seed as soon as it can be 

 had fresh, which is in August. As the germinating power is 

 soon lost, it is best to wait until fresh seed is harvested, when 

 it should be sown as soon as it arrives. If this has already 

 been done, the young bulbs must be grown on without any 

 check until they are two years old. The foliage will then dry 

 off naturally, and the bulbs will be best kept perfectly dry, 

 until there are signs of growth in the early months of the year. 

 We have already picked out a few that were starting to throw 

 up flower-spikes, but the majority of them are still at rest, and 

 will remain so as long as we can keep them dormant, for we 

 want them most during May and later. 



After the bulbs reach llowering strength they are as truly 

 deciduous as a Hyacinth, losing both foliage and roots each 

 year. They must of necessity be potted in new soil as soon as 

 signs of growth commence, to avoid check to the young roots 

 just starting out. After potting, a warm greenhouse is all that 

 is needed to keep them growing until the warmer days of 

 spring have come. After flowering we put them in a frame 

 out-of-doors to mature the growth, and give them all the sun 

 and air in summer, since, being natives of South America, our 

 sun in summer is not too much for them, and serves well to 

 ripen and insure a good bloom the next year. It will be seen 

 that it is necessary to grow these bulbs in the greenhouse on 

 stages for three or four months only ; the space occupied 

 during that time is not such a great consideration when we 

 take into account the decorative uses of the plants when in 

 bloom. The most suitable soil is one that is rich and porous ; 

 we use charcoal freely, and loam, leaf-mold and a little manure, 

 preferably that from the sheep-pasture, seems to suit them 

 best. The bulbs should be potted in the soil to about half of 

 their depth, leaving the upper half uncovered. 



Thrips are the only enemies of these plants that seem to 

 trouble the cultivator, and their ravages are soon apparent by 

 the red color of the under sides of the foliage. We use Fir- 

 tree oil to spray with when it is too late to apply tobacco-dust 

 as a preventive ; but it is best to keep a sharp watch and take 

 this pest in time, when tobacco will be found an effective 

 remedy. 



Amaryllis aulica has been used as one of the parents of 

 some of the garden Amaryllis, with the result of a tendency in 

 the plants to be evergreen. This is a disadvantage if the bulbs 

 have to be stored under the benches, as these need a good 

 light in winter. Many of the evergreen sorts are good, but 

 they are excelled by those that have been obtained from the 

 deciduous species, such as Hippeastrum vittatum, H. equestre 

 and H. reticulatum. 



It is too often the case that a plant after it has bloomed is 

 put in some out-of-the-way corner, and left there until the time 

 comes to store if for the winter. But a glance at the bulbs 

 after they have flowered will show that they are shrunken to 

 about half their normal size, indicating loss of tissue. To 

 replace this the plants should be plunged info some material 



