9 6 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 472. 



ing through the stand of Pines, is a beautiful sight. The 

 stems range from twelve to eighteen inches at the lowest 

 limit of the plants, to but six or eight inches at its high- 

 est range. The size of the flowers varies but slightly, 

 though the falls and standards are somewhat reduced in 

 the highest altitudes. 



The climatic conditions under which it grows are natu- 

 rally varied when so wide a range suits this species. The 

 lowest temperature at the height where it begins to ap- 

 pear was 22 degrees, Fahrenheit, in eight years of 

 observation, the highest 112 degrees. Although the seeds 

 from which most trees of the Sugar Pine (Pinus Lambert- 

 iana) are raised have been gathered at altitudes between 

 3,000 and 4,000 feet, it must not be expected that Iris gath- 

 ered from low limits would do equally well in eastern 

 gardens. The dwarfed plants at 4,500 feet altitude are 

 exposed to very severe winters, tempered only by the 

 heavy snows which fall in those regions. At Panther 

 Creek, Amador County, I have known snowfalls ten feet in 

 depth, while one winter in about five may not know snow 

 deeper than ten inches. Good drainage seems essential to 

 the growth of this Iris, and, above all, a period of rest dur- 

 ing the whole summer. In our Sierras, at the altitude of 

 1,300 feet, no rain falls after the middle of May, unless 

 there happens to be a shower about the Fourth of July, 

 until in fall when the advance showers of winter set in 

 about the middle of September. The mean rainfall at 1,300 

 feet elevation is about thirty-five inches, most of which 

 falls during December, January and February. 



Applying these observations to eastern conditions, I 

 would say Iris Hartwegii should have the most sunny place 

 in the garden, unless your summer equals the extreme heat 

 I have recorded. It should be well up on a slope, above a 

 rock wall, or in a similar position, and kept from freez- 

 ing too deep in the ground. While there are far more 

 gorgeous Irises to be found, and most of them are more 

 easy of cultivation, it is the charm of succeeding with what 

 seems refractory which will add greatly to the pleasure of 



cultivating Iris Hartwegii. _ TT 



Berkeley, Calif. George Hansen. 



Cultural Department. 



Notes on Hardy Plants. 



MANY hardy plants in cultivation are valued mainly be- 

 cause they come into bloom very early in spring, when 

 there is a dearth of bloom outside of the greenhouse, or 

 because they bloom late, when most other flowers are past. 

 Helianthus Maximiliani belongs to a very late-blooming class ; 

 it hardly matures its flowers here in Vermont, and it never 

 seeds here. It seems quite hardy, and, if not so late, would 

 be a good plant for this section. Its lateness should be in its 

 favor a little farther south. It never has had a chance to 

 develop its full height here, but I understand that it grows to 

 be eight feet or more high in the latitude of New York. 



One of the best Sunflowers I have tried here is the Willow- 

 leaved Helianthus, H. orgyalis. It is a tall and stately plant, 

 which, under favorable conditions, attains a height of eight 

 and ten feet. It is also late in blooming, but its flowers come 

 to maturity here. These are orange-yellow, not large, but 

 numerous, borne in large panicles, and they last a long time. 

 It takes more than a severe frost to injure them, and nothing 

 short of a freeze which kills most plants seems to affect it. 

 The long stems are well set with narrow drooping leaves, 

 which give it an attractive appearance during the entire grow- 

 ing season and until winter has fully set in. This continuous 

 attraction throughout the season is seldom found in hardy 

 perennials. The plant shows to best advantage when massed 

 in a round bed. It spreads from the root quite rapidly, and a 

 few plants soon form a large clump. 



Erigeron glaucus, of western North America, has much to 

 commend it to growers of hardy perennials. In good garden 

 soil it attains a height of ten to fifteen inches, and bears good- 

 sized flower-heads of a purplish hue. It needs only ordinary 

 garden soil to succeed. 



The Willow-leaved Ox-eye, Buphthalmum salicifolium, of 

 Australia, grows a foot and a half high, with good-sized 

 flower-heads of Daisy-like shape, resembling those of Core- 

 opsis lanceolata, but of a deeper orange shade. It is perfectly 



hardy here and grows freely without extra care. It blooms in 

 early summer and continues for a considerable time. 



For rock-work in full sunlight, or in sunlight half the day, 

 the Barrenworts (Epimediums) make a pretty group. E. 

 violaceum, which is a variety of E. macranthum, is the most 

 robust grower with me. All the species do fairly well here 

 after they are established. The foliage is their principal 

 attraction, though the flowers are prettv. E. niveurn has deli- 

 cate white flowers, and those of E. sulphureum are of a sul- 

 phur-yellow shade. Epimediums are propagated by division 

 of the root, and this is best done in the latter part of the 

 summer. 

 Charlotte, vt. F. H. Horsford. 



The Japanese Ampelopsis. 



j\ FEW hints on the cultivation of this deservedly popular 

 ■'*- climber, Ampelopsis tricuspidata, or Veitchii, as it is 

 sometimes called, are likely to be useful, especially regarding 

 the raising of young plants ; this may be done from cuttings 

 or seeds. The latter method probably entails the least labor 

 and trouble, but when uniformity is desired the plants must be 

 grown from cuttings, for the seedlings are apt to vary greatly 

 in size, in form of leaf and in vigor of growth. All the plants 

 assume more or less gorgeous tints in fall, but the coloring 

 varies so much that harmony can only be had from carefully 

 selected cuttings. The cuttings should be young growing 

 points taken with a heel toward the end of the summer, and 

 struck in sand either in a cool propagating-bed or a cold frame, 

 or inserted singly in small pots in a free sandy compost. They 

 quickly strike root and become well established before the 

 leaves fall off. They should be kept dormant through the 

 winter and protected against severe freezing. In spring they 

 may be planted while yet dormant, or after they have started 

 a little. 



Seeds germinate best when sown soon after they are gath- 

 ered, which is usually about the beginning of November. 1 

 have seen the berries sown entire, but it is better to wash the 

 seeds out. They should be sown in flats in a light sandy com- 

 post and lightly covered. Germination is somewhat slow, but 

 nearly all will come sooner or later if the seeds were thoroughly 

 ripe when gathered. The soil must not be kept too wet, or 

 the seeds will rot after germination has taken place. The 

 seedlings will be ready for potting into small pots about the mid- 

 dle of February, and it is not advisable to attempt this operation 

 earlier, as nothing is gained by handling the plants when very 

 small. One more shift will be required into three-inch pots ; 

 they can then be planted about the end of Mav, having pre- 

 viously been gradually hardened off. These plants are not 

 particular as regards soil in their permanent quarters, but if it 

 is poor where the plants are to be set it is worth the labor to 

 remove it and replace it with soil of a better quality. The 

 plants should be set close to a wall, and a fastening of some 

 sort provided to keep the shoots attached until they have 

 made sufficient growth to enable them to cling of themselves. 

 Carefully handled young seedling plants under favorable cir- 

 cumstances will grow to be eight to ten feet high the first 

 season, with anabundance of luxuriant foliage. Plantedabout 

 three feet apart they will do much to beautify an unsightly 

 wall in one season. 



If the wood is not sufficiently ripened the fall after planting 

 slight protection maybe needed, otherwise this is not neces- 

 sary. Branches of evergreen trees placed against the wall 

 over the plants make a convenient covering. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. William Scott. 



Carnation Notes. 



T)Y this time most growers will have inserted cuttings for 

 *-* nextwinter's plants ; some easily rootedand quick-growing 

 varieties, such as Daybreak, Alaska and William Scott, will 

 still make good stock by planting-out time, but I prefer to have 

 the main portion in somewhat earlier, as a much larger per- 

 centage of the plants will root in January and February than 

 later in the season, when it is more difficult to avoid extremes 

 of temperature. Our cuttings will be boxed off about the 

 middle of March ; this will allow ample time for them to make 

 nice plants by the time they can be transferred safely to sum- 

 mer quarters early in May. Plants rooted during December 

 and early in January expressly for summer flowering are now 

 in boxes on the shelf of a cool house. The cuttings have been 

 stopped once, and will shortly be transferred separately to 

 three-inch pots. About the end of March they will be placed 

 in a frame in which a few inches of warm manure has been 

 well-tramped down and covered with a coating of coal-ashes. 

 If potted much earlier the little plants are liable to become 



