366 



Garden and Forest, 



[Number 394. 



most interesting one was sent out from a German nursery 

 a few years ago. It is strictly fastigiate, and promises to 

 be useful wherever trees of a slender columnar form are 

 needed. 



Ericas. — Few of these can be classed among strictly 

 hardy plants in our north-eastern states, Init in many situa- 

 tions several of them seem to be as much at home as our 

 native plants. Last winter was a trying one for many 

 shrubs, but the Ericas endured the season fairly well and 

 are now well in bloom in the Arnold Arboretum. The 

 Heaths do not like the shade or drip of trees, but on some 

 such place as a sheltered tussock in a meadow in full sun- 

 shine they probably could be naturalized. While they like 

 peaty soil they will do well in a deep sandy loam if it is 

 not too wet. E. vagans, E. Tetrali.x, Calluna vulgaris and its 

 varieties are now in bloom. 



Hibiscus coccineus. — This southern plant, which grows 

 wild in the swamps on the coasts of Georgia and Florida, 

 attains a height of from five to seven feet in cultivation, 

 and bears great numbers of flowers, which are more con- 

 spicuous both for size and color than those of any other 

 herbaceous Rose Mallow. The bright red corolla is often 

 eight to ten inches across, and even more, and the appear- 

 ance of the plant in full bloom is strikingly beautiful. Sin- 

 gle specimens grow into erect pyramidal shape with one 

 central stalk, but, since the foliage is rather scanty, the 

 plants may be set somewhat closely, and in this way they 

 make most effective groups. The deeply cleft leaves, as 

 well as the stems, have a bluish tint, which adds to their 

 distinct appearance. Of course, this spe.cies is not thor- 

 oughly hardy in this latitude, but the root can be safely 

 stored during the winter in a cellar or under a greenhouse 

 bench, and it is certainly worth this e.xtra attention. It has 

 been known to winter safely out of-doors as far north as 

 Philadelphia. It may be added that plants grown from 

 seed raised in northern gardens will endure the vi'inters 

 better than those which come from the south, and this is 

 true of many other plants which come from warmer 

 climates. 



Pentstemon campanulatus. — This beautiful Mexican spe- 

 cies is rarely seen in our gardens ; perhaps, because it is 

 not quite hardy. The plant is as easil)^ raised from seed as 

 any of our common garden annuals. If the seeds are sown 

 in March the plants will begin to bloom in July. Mr. 

 Cameron, of the Harvard Botanic Garden, notes the fact 

 that many of our tender native species of Pentstemon 

 make a better display in late summer and fall by raising 

 them annually from seed. The flowers of P. campanulatus 

 vary in color ; some of the plants have flowers of a pink 

 shade, while others have dark purple and violet flowers. 

 The specimen before us has a tubular or campanulate 

 ' corolla of a red-maroon color, and the petals are whitish 

 on the inside. The flowers are produced in long showy 

 raceme-like panicles, which are nine to fifteen inches long. 

 The plants are three feet high, and the stems are thickly 

 covered with dark green, ovate, lanceolate, serrated leaves. 

 It grows best in a light rich soil and in a position where 

 it is not shaded. 



Ipomcea Learii. — -Among the tropical Morning Glories, 

 this is, perhaps, the best and most floriferous. The flowers 

 are fully four inches across, produced in great profusion 

 throughout the summer and autumn months. They are 

 intensely blue, slightly purple in the throat ; the color is a 

 most pleasing one, and the lasting quality of the flowers is 

 considerable. The inflorescence, a compound fascicle, pro- 

 duces from twelve to thirty almost stalkless flowers in suc- 

 cession, and the axillary peduncles are eight to ten inches 

 long. The cordate leaves are occasionally imperfectly 

 three-lobed, but mostly entire, six inches long on slender, 

 equally long petioles. The twining stem is very slender 

 and somewhat hairy. This species, although a native of 

 Ceylon, often goes by the name of Mexican Morning 

 Glory, a name properly belonging to the nearly related 

 Ipomoea rubro-ccerulea. It can be propagated by means - 

 of cuttings very easily in this country. Rich fibrous soil 



is most satisfactory, but comparatively small pots are suffi- 

 cient even for large and floriferous specimens. A northern 

 or western position, in diffused sunlight, is preferable to 

 any other, as the flowers in such a position will last till late 

 in the afternoon. Ordinary summer temperature is quite 

 sufficient, and the plant is well adapted to outdoor use on 

 trellises, on walls or verandas, where its hundreds of flow- 

 ers will make a gorgeous and effective display. Plants 

 used during the summer for such purposes may be cutback 

 before the fall frosts commence, arid should be stored in a 

 somewhat dry state until the following season in a cool 

 greenhouse or a light and frost-free cellar. 



Cultural Department. 



Notes on Hardy Perennial Plants. 



A T this (une Cedronella cana has showy spikes of purplish 

 -'"^ flowers. It is a neat hardy plant from Mexico, and a 

 small bed eighteen inches wide by three feet long is very at- 

 tractive. Tlie height of the plants varies from two to three feet, 

 and the square stems liave ovate-oblong fragrant leaves. A 

 light warm soil and a sunny position suits them well. Young 

 plants are very easily raised from seed sown in spring. 



The prettiest and showiest Malvaceous plant in bloom is 

 Callirrhoe involucrata. It is a dwarf prostrate perennial, and 

 although some of the descriptions say the stems only grow 

 two feet long, under good conditions here they are more than 

 five feet long, The stems are thinly clothed with rounded 

 leaves, which are five-parted and the segments incisely lobed. 



The flowers are produced singly in the axils o£ the leaves. 

 The hairy peduncles are from four to six inches long, and the 

 large, showy, purplish flowers are two inches across. This 

 Callirrhoe makes an excellent rock-garden plant, where its long 

 prostrate stems can hang over rocks, and in such a position 

 Its flowers are seen to the best advantage. When this plant 

 gets a congenial situation it blossoms continually all summer. 

 A light rich soil and plenty of light is necessary for the welfare 

 of this plant. Here we have to protect the old plants with a 

 good deep covering of leaves in the winter. Young plants 

 which are raised from seed in spring make a good display in 

 summer if the seeds are sown in March and planted out in May. 



Some of the blue-flowered Aconites are valuable fall- 

 flowering perennial plants. They help to break up the mo- 

 notony of yellow shades which are so plentiful in the, garden 

 at this time. A. autumnale is a very desirable plant, and one 

 that deserves to be grown by all lovers of hardy perennial 

 plants. It is a distinct and stately plant, attaining a height of 

 four feet or more when well grown. Its stems are thickly 

 covered with thick dark green leaves, which are deeply cut 

 and slightly drooping. The rich bluish purple flowers are 

 produced plentifully in loose panicles, and when large clumps 

 are grown they make a good show. The second row from the 

 back of the mixed herbaceous border is a suitable place for 

 this plant, and it likes a deep rich soil. It has fibrous roots, 

 and is propagated by division in the fall or spring. 



The common Monkshood, Aconitum NapeUus, is showy at 

 this time with its large terminal racemes ot blue flowers. It 

 grows from three to four feet high, and makes a good com- 

 panion in the borders to the fall-tlowering Phloxes. This plant 

 is poisonous, and care should be taken when planting that 

 it is placed in a position where no danger will arise froni its 

 presence. 



.Statice latifolia is admired by almost every person when it 

 flowers profusely and is well grown. Its large, loose, airy 

 panicles of small blue flowers are produced in great abun- 

 dance. They are often compared to those of Gypsophila panicu- 

 lata, and are quite as useful when cut for mingling with other 

 flowers. The plants grown in the borders here are large, 

 measuring a yard or more across when they are in bloom, 

 and about a foot and a half high. It is very hardy and re- 

 quires no protection in winter. When large established plants 

 have to be moved care should be taken that the long thick 

 roots which they make are not broken too much, as the 

 plants do not bloom so well the first year after moving if the 

 roots are destroyed. As the roots go down several feet in the 

 soil, it is beneficial to give them a deep rich one. Seeds are 

 produced plentifully, and young plants are easily raised from 

 them and bloom the second year. 



Sedum spectabile, with its massive heads of small rosy pur- 

 ple flowers, is now very effective. This is the handsomest 

 plant of all the hardy Stonecrops. It is so easy to grow, and 

 its needs so easily supplied, that it should be one ot our com- 



