June 19, 1895.] 



Garden and Forest. 



247 



wards, thoug^h the bulbs, taken up a few days since, are sound 

 and hard. This observation is offered, however, onty as a 

 tentative one, for it does not answer to come to hasty conclu- 

 sions in garden matters. 



Few persons care to grow plants in the garden in the inclem- 

 ent season, but to those whose gardening fever braves all 

 the elements, the early bulbous Irises are fascinating sub- 

 jects, The choicest of these early kinds for the garden are 

 I. Bakeriana, I. histrioides and good forms of I. reticulata, 

 all of which are hardy, except I. histrio. I. Rosenbachiana, 

 of about the same period, is particularly beautiful and de- 

 sirable, and this is soon followed by I. orchioides, which, 

 with its distinct habit and numerous golden-yellow flowers, 

 should be in every garden. It is not plentiful yet, but 

 seeds freely, and should even be more widely grown. This 

 will scarcely fade before the dwarferrhizomatous Irises brighten 

 the border, though with quieter tints. I. pumila, purple, 

 and its white variety are both attractive and thrifty plants. 

 Slightly taller and a little later in appearing are I. Cham- 

 asiris, lemon-yellow, and I. Olbiensis, purple. There are numer- 

 ous species of similar habit, flowering time and height, but these 

 are easily available and as satisfactory as any of the class. A 

 little later there is a wealth of flower in many species, all more 

 or less interesting. I. Statellse is, perhaps, the best of the 

 nearly white kinds of the period ; it is a lovely flower and free- 

 blooming. Soon the hybrid German Irises are in flower, and 

 however much interest there may be in the species with their 

 various habits, different forms and colorings, there is no time 

 at which a garden of Irises is so gay and charming as when a 

 good selection of hybrid Germans are in full bloom. Former 

 notes in Garden and Forest have given, somewhat in detail, 

 the parentage and range of coloring of these hybrids, and it 

 will suffice to say here that a good collection will comprise 

 those with yellow standards of various shades, and brown or 

 reddish brown falls, the light lavender kinds, the purples of 

 varied hues, those with white standards and falls lined with 

 blue markings ; those with pink flowers. With these one can 

 scarcely go amiss, and there are also very quaint cuir color- 

 ings, sometimes with old rose, shadings which are pretty. 

 Those with smoky colorings are odd, but less desirable, while 

 hybrids of I. sambucina and I. squalens touch the extreme 

 of ugliness. These are mostly dull flowers with linings of 

 rusty purple on a dull white ground, and purplish red falls. 

 The collection should also contain the old purple early-flower- 

 ing I. Germanica common to gardens, and the white kind 

 which seems to do duty variously as I. Germanica alba, I. 

 Florenlina, etc., but is really a form of I. albicans. This Iris 

 is of a rather slaty white, but very handsome, free and deco- 

 rative. It has a somewhat heavy, but not unpleasant, odor in 

 close quarters. A pure white form of this Iris is one of the 

 handsomest of all Irises, but is rather uncommon. If one were 

 forced to choose one Iris of a purple tint it should be the Dal- 

 matian form of I. pallida, a plant with bold foliage, stems three 

 to four feet tall, and striking flowers of a light purple tint 

 which remind one in odor of the Locust- flowers. This plant 

 in full flower has an air of distinction and is most effective. 

 There are others, of course, an almost endless list, and not to 

 carry the reader too far afield this list may conclude with only 

 one more kind, a common one, which always excites enthu- 

 siasm. In a wet or dry place, I. Pseudacorus, its graceful 

 flowers with modestly drooping petals and cheerful golden- 

 yellow tint, is one of the many plants of which one can only 

 say nothing could be more beautiful. 



As these rhizomatous Irises now go out of flower, it is the 

 best time to move them and secure the kinds desired. They 

 soon commence to make a new growth, and ordinarily will 

 become well established before winter, and will flower next 

 year. They thrive in good garden-soil. It is well to raise the 

 beds slightly and to plant the rhizomes near the surface. After 

 planting and watering once to settle the earth, it is well to with- 

 hold water until they have commenced to grow, to avoid any 

 risk of rotting. These Irises are very tenacious of life, and 

 often seemingly hopeless dried rhizomes may be coaxed into 

 growth by planting them where there is no chance of forcing 

 with extra moisture and warmth. If the rhizomes are covered 

 with standing water or decaying vegetation they sometimes 

 rot, but, as a rule, they pass the winters without harm. Some 

 of the Irises like I. Pseudacorus and I. versicolor, however, 

 are equally adapted to wet and dry conditions, and such things 

 defy any cultural rules. They grow wherever they happen to 

 be located — that is, they do so in my garden, and I suppose in 

 a large majority of gardens, yet for a foreign friend, a skillful 

 grower of Irises, our common Flag will not grow at all. These 

 different experiences with plants are one of the things which 

 make gardening so intensely interesting. ^ „, ^ , 



Elizabeili.N.j. ^ J.N.Gerard. 



Notes on Chi-ysanthemums. 



CHRYSANTHEIVIUM plants intended for speciir.en flowers 

 sliould now 1)6 ready for another shift. There is a differ- 

 ence of opinion whether it is better to plant in solid beds, on 

 which the root area is unlimited, or on benches, where six, or 

 even a less number of inches, is allowed. In solid beds there 

 is always more danger from overwatering, and if the subsoil 

 is moist it will be difficult to ripen the growth well in the 

 autumn, a condition most essential to insure firm and well- 

 colored flowers. In the bench system the danger from over- 

 watering is much less, and for this reason, if for no other, the 

 plan is more satisfactory, especially for the inexperienced cul- 

 tivator. It is certainly easier to mature the growth in the 

 autumn. 



Ten inches apart is not too much to allow if exhibition flow- 

 ers are to be grown, but for general decorative purposes eight 

 inches will afford room enough. When the heights and colors 

 are known, a very good effect can be made in the arrange- 

 ment. In planting, care must be taken to make the soil firm 

 about the plants, so that no air-spaces are left. It must not, 

 however, be packed solid. The whole bed must be left open 

 enough for air and water to pass througli easily. Water should 

 be given quite sparingly until some growth is made, and not 

 in large quantities until the plants are growing vigorously. 



In many private places, where the convenience for benching 

 is limited, good blooms may be grown in seven or eight inch 

 pots, the size being regulated by the vigor of the variety, as 

 far as known, but it can generally be assumed that a strong- 

 growing plant in a small pot will continue to grow on in a 

 larger one. The plants can be carried through the interme- 

 diate stage by shifting from a three to a five inch pot, but with 

 care in watering this is not really necessary. When larger 

 pots are used they should be filled little more than two-thi"rds 

 full of soil, enough room being left for one or two top-dress- 

 ings of good loam. As recommended for plants when benched, 

 water must be given sparingly until the plants are well rooted, 

 but they may be syringed liberally on all bright days through- 

 out the season. Generally, on the bench system, one bloom 

 only is allowed, but in pots the English plan of allowing two or 

 three blooms can be followed successfully, since by shifting 

 the plants it is easy to give room for fuller development. 



From my experience, more satisfactory results come when 

 the plants are grown in a well-aired greenhouse. Outdoor 

 culture is almost impossible witli so many insect foes. The 

 tarnished plant bug may sap the life out of a promising shoot 

 and spoil a whole season's labor in one day. Under cover the 

 house can be closed and fumigated every week or two, and 

 this danger thus reduced to a minimum. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Haijield. 



Gloxinias. 



T^HESE beautiful greenhouse plants have not been left behind 

 ■^ in the general improvement which has taken place in what 

 are called florists' flowers. The best forms we now see are 

 principally from Gloxinia, or, more correctly, Sinningiaspeciosa, 

 a native of South America. Gloxinias are most useful as pot- 

 plants, the flowers, from their soft nature, being of compara- 

 tively little use for cutting. To grow them perfectly they must 

 have a warm temperature, be shaded from the sun, and the at- 

 mosphere must be kept rather moist. They do well in a mixture 

 consisting of equal parts of loam and leaf-mold, with the addition 

 of some rough sand and well-decayed cow-manure. The lat- 

 ter should be dried and put through a quarter-inch sieve before 

 being mixed with the other ingredients. In starting the roots 

 I prefer to put them into as small-sized pots as possible. After 

 the plants make a few leaves they sliould be shifted into 

 the sizes in which they are to bloom. The soil should be 

 packed quite firmly, with plenty of room for water, of which 

 the plants need large quantities when growing. While grow- 

 ing the plants should be syringed frequently, and as they 

 approach the flowering stage the atmosphere may be kept less 

 moist. When in bloom water should never touch the flowers, 

 and if syringing has to be done in the house for the benefit of 

 other plants, the Gloxinias in bloom should be removed to a 

 place where the water will not reach them. When about to 

 bloom a little weak liquid-manure applied occasionally will be 

 found to be helpful. It is a simple matter to have Gloxinias 

 in bloom early in the spring and until late in the fall. For 

 early blooming the old roots should be started in heat, and a 

 portion kept in a dry well-aired house to be started later on. 

 For blooming in the late summer months and in the fall, seed- 

 lings which are raised early in the year must be depended 

 upon. These should be grown on gradually until they are in 

 four and five inch pots. The roots from these seedlings make 



