May II, 1892.] 



Garden and Forest. 



225 



flowered species, but is attractive. T. Greigii, a species 

 with large, bold, brilliantly colored flowers, is already well 

 known. " The largest-flowering- Tulip 1 know is T. oculis 

 soils, var. mervensis, a peculiarly stately plant, with scarlet 

 flowers blotched with black. T. Turkistanica is a cu- 

 riosity, producing sometimes as many as nine flowers on a 

 single scape ; they are white and yellow within and mauve 

 without. T. Alb'erti, T. lanata, T. Kesselringii, and T. 

 Eichleri are well worth cultivation. In mediaeval times many 

 of these Tulips were brought to Constantinople to the Caliph's 

 garden, and from there were sent to Holland, where they 

 were used in the production of garden hybrids and ultimately 

 lost in their original forms. 



It is evitlent that the next ten years will give us more new 

 and beautiful type forms of Tulips than the last twenty-five 

 years have done, as importations of plants from Armenia and 

 Persia are now far in e.xcess of anything known before ; and a 

 vast field is now open for the systematic crossing of the 

 different species, or of the species with the best forms of 

 garden Tulips. According to my experience with these 

 plants, the female parent gives the form to the oft'spring. 



liaden-Baden. MaX Leichtlill. 



Seasonable Work. 



THE plant-grower at this season is burdened with pressing 

 work of many kinds. The plants intended for bedding 

 out will naturally be among the first to be attended to, for most 

 of them will be required during the next two or three weeks 

 (at least in this latitude), and to prevent any check in growth 

 after they are planted out they should be properly hardened 

 off by abundant ventilation if they are kept in the greenhouse. 

 The better plan is to place them in a cold frame, if such a con- 

 venience is at hand. With tender kinds, such as Coleus, Alter- 

 nantheras, Acalyphas, Crotons, Musas and other plants of suc- 

 culent growth, nothing is gained by very early planting, for 

 the check thus given frequently results in permanent injury, 

 and to avoid this it is wiser to keep such plants where they can 

 be protected until the third week of May or even the first of 

 June in exposed locations in the middle states. 



The many good qualities of Crotons and Acalyphas as bed- 

 ding-plants should not be forgotten, for the rich effects pro- 

 duced by them cannot be easily surpassed by any others. 

 Tuberous Begonias, too, ought to be largely used, and in ap- 

 propriate locations they will prove among the most showy of 

 outdoor flowering plants. These should be grown into sturdy 

 specimens before 'being planted out, for though the tubers 

 may be planted while dormant and prove successful in some 

 cases, yet a more even bed will be secured by the use of well- 

 established plants, and the season of flowering will then ex- 

 tend from the time of planting out until frost comes in the fall. 

 In the greenhouse, also, there are many things to be pro- 

 vided for in order to keep up a constant display. For instance, 

 the Gloxinias, Gesneras, Achimenes and Tydseas are all valu- 

 able for summer decoration of a conservatory, and will all 

 need liberal treatment now, such as sufficient pot-room, good 

 drainage, a fresh light soil, enriched with liberal supplies of 

 thoroughly rotted cow-manure. 



All plants of this character should have plenty of room for 

 the best development of their foliage ; the Gloxinias especially 

 need this precaution, and as the leaves frequently become a foot 

 or more in length under good cultivation, the plants may need 

 lifting up on an inverted pot to keep the foliage clear of the 

 bench. Some of the Tuberous Begonias are excellent pot- 

 plants for conservatory decoration, among these being B. 

 Boliviensis, B. Sutherlandii, B. Chelsonii and B. Froebelii, all 

 • of which are worthy of more attention, and they should now 

 Ije nicely started. 



Caladiums also should now be started, and as soon as they 

 become established will require an abundance of moisture 

 both at the root and in the atmosphere to develop their 

 finest foliage, and when the pots become well filled with roots 

 a top-dressing of manure and also watering with liquid fer- 

 tilizer will be beneficial, for Caladiums are gross feeders, and 

 can assimilate large quantities of stimulating food. The 

 Alocasias should now be in active growth, and, like all of the 

 Arum family, enjoy plenty of moisture when in that condition. 

 Light potting is best for these plants, and especially for the 

 tenderer species, like A. Sanderiana, A. intermedia, A. Sedenii 

 and others, and in all cases thorough drainage is essential. 

 Seedling Cyclamens for next winter's flowering should now be 

 ready for a shift from the small pots in which they have been 

 potted off into those of three or four inch size, and these plants 

 also should not have the soil pressed too hard into the pots, 

 and should have a light open compost in which may be in- 



cluded some pulverized brick. An airy location, with plenty of 

 light, is necessary to insure a sturdy growth of good foliage on 

 Cyclamen i^ersicum, and when such growth is secured there 

 is seldom any difficulty in getting a good crop of flowers. 



Pot Chrysanthemums for next fall will also need attention 

 now, a steady growth being most desirable, and an essential 

 point in securing this is to avoid all extremes in watering. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. H. TapUlt. 



How Some Half-hardy Shrubs Survived the Winter. 



NO winter, however mild or cold, passes without leaving 

 some marked effects on the arborescent vegetation, some 

 of which are often least expected. It is never safe to predict 

 just in what condition any of our half-hardy trees or shrubs 

 will come through a particular winter, because the injuries are 

 not proportionate with the degrees of temperature registered 

 by the thermometer. The condition of the plant when the 

 period of rest begins in the autumn is a powerful factor in de- 

 termining how much vitality there will remain in the spring, 

 and usually sudden opposite changes in temperature are more 

 injurious than extreme weather if uniformly cold. The past 

 winter was, on the whole, probably a little colder than the two 

 preceding in the vicinity of Boston. But at no time did the 

 temperature fall much below zero of Fahrenheit, and although 

 the ground was bare a large part of the time, there was more 

 snow than in either of the previous seasons. 



A look now over the collections of shrubs here plainly shows 

 to what extent any of them sustained injury. Rhododendrons 

 and Azaleas have wintered remarkably well, and very few buds 

 show signs of injury. Even such uncertain species as R. 

 Dauricum and R. mucronulatum, notable for their extremely 

 early flowers, have blossomed better than usual. Daphne 

 Cneorum, with the slight protection of leaves which it usually 

 requires, appears in fine condition, although no doubt there 

 are exposures where it has suffered. Plants of D. Mezereum 

 covered with soil, and others beside them left quite unpro- 

 tected, showed that there was little or no advantage this sea- 

 son in covering, for the unprotected plants are in quite as fine 

 condition as the others, although the flower-buds may have 

 been more injured by spring frosts because they developed 

 earlier. 



A Japanese Ilex, I. Sieboldi, also came through the winter in 

 better condition by being left uncovered than closely adjoining 

 plants of the same species which were carefully bent over and 

 covered with soil. Some of the tips of the protected plants 

 have an unhealthy appearance or are dead, and appear as 

 though they had heated in the soil, whereas the unprotected 

 plants are perfectly sound and healthy to the last bud. 



The pretty-flowered Corylopsis pauciflora, from Japan, may 

 be found hardy in some situations about Boston, but as it is 

 placed in the Arboretum it does not generally survive the win- 

 ters well without some sort of shelter. It forms a slender 

 many-stemmed bushy shrub. Last autumn one-half of the 

 stems of the plant were bent downward and covered with soil, 

 the other half left exposed. As a result the half of the plant 

 which was protected is now (May 4th) well laden with a profu- 

 sion of its beautiful straw-colored flowers, while the ends of 

 the shoots of the unprotected portion are nearly all dead, a 

 large proportion of the buds are destroyed, and only a very 

 few straggling blossoms have developed, chiefly on the lower 

 portions of the stems. 



Ribes sanguineum is another pretty plant whose branches, 

 in this latitude, it is well to cover if good blooms are desired. 

 Repeated experiments, similar to that with the Corylopsis, 

 have shown the need and advantage of protection, and as the 

 stems bear bending very well it is an easy matter to peg them 

 down and cover with soil. By treating Gordonia Altamaha in 

 the same way we are able, late in the autumn, to get some of 

 the beautiful white single Camellia-like flowers from this 

 southern plant. 



Stephanandra flexuosa, not long since introduced from Japan, 

 did not give promise of much hardiness when first planted in 

 the Arboretum, but it is now well established, is about six feet 

 high, and its buds on most of the stems appear fresh and liv- 

 ing almost to the tips. The plant had no protection whatever 

 during the winter. 



Repeated attempts prove that, as a rule, there is not much 

 satisfaction to be had in attempting to grow the different forms 

 of Hydrangea hortensis in the open air here, if the object is to 

 raise the flowers. In spite of heavy coverings the stems an- 

 nually die to such an extent that no blossoms are produced. 



The different common species and forms of Tamarix have 

 come through thewinter in first-rate order. Very often the 

 ends of the branches are destroyed. The European "Gorse" 



