March 7, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



97 



and Pyrenees are very easy to cultivate, and they grow quickly 

 if sown in spring-. They will flower the same year, and can be 

 planted either in the rockery or the herbaceous border. They 

 delight in a light sandy soil and a half-shaded situation. When 

 planted in rich soil they lose their character and vary in form, 

 color and shape. 



Some eight years ago I received from the late John Ball a 

 valuable Poppy which grows in the Atlas Mountains among 

 the rocks just as ours do in the Alps. It is the African form 

 of P. rupifragum, and was described by Ball as P. Atlan- 

 ticum. I do not know of another plant which blooms more 

 richly and abundantly. It is a brick-red and very delicate 

 in form, borne on long graceful stems, and it flowers from 

 May until the heavy frosts of November and December. It is 

 one of the choice plants for rockeries and wild gardens. 



Geneva, Switzerland. H. CorrevOtl. 



New and Rare Plants at Baden-Baden. 



pAPAVER GLAUCUM, introduced by me from Asia Minor, 

 -*■ has rapidly found favor with the public ; it is a hardy an- 

 nual, with large and numerous flowers of deep dazzling red. 

 It can be had in flower from April to November, and when 

 potted will make the greenhouse gay for a month longer. 



Verbascum pannosum, from Bulgaria, V. Wiedemanni- 

 anum and V. xanthophceniceum are also desirable plants ; 

 the first is a giant species, much like V. Olympicum, but the 

 spikes are thicker and denser, and the yellow flowers much 

 bigger. During the one or two years before it flowers it is an 

 ornament of the garden on account of its large tufts of woolly 

 leaves, which are nearly paper-white. The last-named two are 

 stronger growers and have finer flowers than V. phceniceum. 

 They should be in groups close together. 



Delphinium Armeniacum is an annual in the shape of D. 

 Ajacis, but the spikes are denser and the color of the flowers 

 is a strikingly brilliant blue. 



This year Artedia squamata, a beautiful umbelliferous plant 

 from Asia Minor, will be sent out. It resembles in shape 

 Nigella Damascena ; the leaves are finely cut and the creamy 

 white flowers two inches across, which appear in great abun- 

 dance, are sure to find admirers. The outer circle of florets 

 are broad-shaped, and thus the flower seems to be substantial 

 and elegant, too. 



Silene swertiaefolia is another novelty to come out this sea- 

 son. It flowers from July onward to October, and the much- 

 divided flower-stalks show numerous satiny white flowers, 

 beautifully shaped. 



Kniphofla longicollis seems to be another novelty of promise. 

 Many plants of it are flowering freely just now, but I cannot 

 judge as yet whether this is its regular time, or whether this 

 late blooming is caused by the late dry season. The spikes 

 are elegant, and the flowers vary from sulphur to bright yellow. 



For American summers Gazania nivea will be a welcome 

 plant ; it must be wintered in a greenhouse, but will make a 

 splendid ornament in the right place. The flowers are large, 

 pure white, with a yellow disk. There are numerous novel- 

 ties in bulbous plants, but these I wish to see again before 

 judging them definitely. 



Baden-Baden. 



Max Leichtlin. 



Chrysanthemums. 



T T is now time for the distribution of new Chrysanthemums, 

 * and these require to be made the most of from now until 

 planting-time. Many of the plants will come with cuttings on 

 them large enough to be taken off, and this may be done after 

 a few days when the plants have recovered a little. To grow 

 specimen plants we take out the tips only, which induces a 

 good bushy growth above the ground-level. If the plants are 

 to be grown for specimen blooms we cut low and box the 

 plants in good rich loam, hoping to get a plentiful growth of 

 suckers, as these make the very best cuttings. Varieties 

 which do not sucker freely may be cut to leaf-eyes, with the 

 prospect of getting fair plants by the 1st of June. 



My stock plants for blooms are frozen now, but early in 

 March they will be moved into slightly warmer quarters, and 

 started growing slowly, with every prospect of an abundant 

 supply of cuttings before the 1st of May. When this is possi- 

 ble, a period of rest should be given stock plants, thus adding 

 new life and vigor. The best time to put in cuttings de- 

 pends upon whether the flowers are intended for exhibition 

 or for home-decoration. For exhibition, most growers agree 

 that about the 10th of May is the best time to start the cuttings, 

 and for planting, about the 20th of June. The quantity of cut- 

 tings will depend upon the space to be occupied, and ten 



inches apart is not too much to allow. For general decorative 

 purposes later and closer planting may be practiced, and very 

 fair blooms may be grown if the planting is done as late as the 

 20th of July. It sometimes happens, as in my case, that the 

 date of planting has to be reckoned by the amount of head- 

 room that can be allowed. For early planting at least six feet 

 of head-room will be needed, and for later planting corre- 

 spondingly less. With the exception of Ivory, W. H. Lincoln, 

 Cullingfordii, Ada Spaulding, and probably a few others, which 

 require a longer season to mature, it is the general opinion that 

 for private as well as for commercial purposes medium early 

 or even late planting is best. This admits of closer planting, 

 and, what is still more important, fewer abnormally early 

 crowns are developed, and these seldom produce good flow- 

 ers. With the expert who fully understands the proper timing 

 and taking of the buds of the varieties he grows, it is different. 

 When he knows a bud is too early he has the alternative of 

 taking a terminal, which is always done. 



There is an impression, often expressed lately, that there are 

 too many novelties. Not many years ago a friend of mine, an 

 amateur grower, cultivated all American novelties, and some 

 European ones as well. But the task is too great for him now, 

 and he is not able even to keep any record of them. And yet 

 it would be an easy matter to grow all the really good novel- 

 ties we get, and all the remarkable varieties of a season could 

 be counted on one's fingers. There is sufficient material in 

 the- National Chrysanthemum Society of America for the for- 

 mation of a proper tribunal before which all new varieties 

 should go. As it is, American varieties are pre-eminent the 

 world over. While our plan of cultivation is good, and on the 

 whole best suited to our environment, our English friends 

 excel us in the cultivation of many Chrysanthemums, and this 

 is no less true of varieties of American origin. I am not aware 

 that the American bench system has been practiced to any 

 extent in England, but judging by the comparison between 

 bench and pot cultivation in this country, I should think they 

 would succeed even better than they now do if this method 

 were adopted. Changes come slowly. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Maranta Lageriana. — This plant has been in the market for 

 two or three years, and promises to be a useful addition to this 

 beautiful family. Its growth is moderate, and its nearly ovate 

 leaves are bronzy green and reddish beneath. It has a com- 

 pact habit, and soon makes a pretty little specimen. So far it 

 has been tried only for indoor purposes, and possibly it will 

 not prove as enduring as Calathea zebrina and one or two 

 other species that are often used for outdoor decoration in 

 summer. 



Adiantum cuneatum variegatum.— Variegated seedlings of 

 Adiantum cuneatum are not uncommon, but they usually 

 have little value. This one, which has been considered good 

 enough to have a name of its own, is, perhaps, the best of the 

 kind yet sent out, though, in my estimation, none of them are 

 as beautiful as the type. In A. cuneatum variegatum the pin- 

 nae are splashed and marked with white, and the characteristic 

 is so well fixed that it comes true from seed, and is thus readily 

 propagated. Variations from normal form or color always 

 find some market as curiosities, and as variegated Ferns are 

 comparatively few, there may be an opening for this one, 

 though, where space is limited, it may well be omitted in 

 favor of some of the other forms of A. cuneatum, of which 

 many have appeared. Some of these are crested, some dwarf, 

 some have much-divided pinna;, after the manner of A. fissum, 

 and one seedling has spirally contorted fronds. 



Holmesburg, Pa. W. H. Taplin. 



Dendrobium Phalaenopsis Schrcederianum. — I have spoken of 

 this valuable new plant in vol. vi., p. 467, of Garden and For- 

 est, but I am prompted to say more of it now that the plants 

 are in full bloom. This is not the usual period of flowering. 

 Established plants generally flower in the dull autumn months 

 and are very useful then, but those now in bloom were obtained 

 last June as dried imported plants, and consequently started 

 late. They all grew well, and every plant is now showing flow- 

 ers. There is a wide range of color in the plants already 

 flowered, some being dark and others pure white, with rose 

 shadings over the petals and lip. The paler forms are cer- 

 tainly the more pleasing and seem to predominate. When 

 this Dendrobium becomes fully established and makes a 

 growth equal to that of the imported plants, we shall be sur- 

 prised at the number of flowers to each spray. Full exposure 

 to the sun in winter is necessary to mature the growth, espe- 

 cially where this has been made late, and also a position in the 



