376 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 343. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



Indigofera decora alba. 



THIS hardy Chinese herbaceous plant was described 

 on page 266 of the present volume of this journal. 

 Its value as a garden-plant is so great, however, that we 

 have had the illustration which appears on page 375 of this 

 issue reproduced from a drawing made by Mr. Faxon of 

 a plant in the Arnold Arboretum, where it was sent in 1885 

 by the Veitches, of London, who probably received it from 

 their collector Maries. The white-flowered variety of In- 

 digofera decora is perfectly hardy, and in our climate there 

 is no neater herbaceous plant or one that is more beautiful 

 when the long white racemes of pure white flowers stand 

 above the shrub-like head of clear green leaves. 



Plant Notes. 



Clematis paniculata. — This plant has been praised in 

 these pages so persistently that our readers may think it 

 needs no further commendation, but no one can see a good 

 plant in flower without admiring it and without feeling im- 

 pelled to sound its praises, and just now it is at its best. 

 The plant is by no means new, since Thunberg discovered it 

 more than a hundred years ago, and it was introduced into 

 English gardens before the beginning of the present cen- 

 tury. For some reason it was never much heard of in 

 English gardens, nor in American gardens either, although 

 it was probably introduced here thirty years ago, at least, 

 by Thomas Hogg, through the Parsons Nurseries. Per- 

 haps one reason for its slow recognition is that seeds some- 

 times ripen imperfectly here, and when sown in the spring 

 they do not often start for a year. When sown in the 

 autumn as soon as they are ripe they begin to come up 

 the next spring, but do not make flowering plants until the 

 second year. The real popularity of the plant began in 

 this country with Mr. Orpet's happy thought of grafting 

 it on our common native Virgin's Bower and Clematis 

 stans. The stock gives the plant an immediate start, and 

 it will grow several feet the first year. If, in transplanting, 

 the junction of the stock and cion is set under the ground 

 the graft will throw out its thong-like roots at once, so that 

 the root of the stock is soon of little use. We have already 

 figured the plant in vol. iii., and have reproduced a photo- 

 graph of a plant in bloom, and little needs to be said in the 

 way of describing it. Its ivory-white flowers appear in 

 long panicles late in August and continue to open for a 

 month, and they are borne in such wild profusion that the 

 plant becomes a mass of white above, while the lower part 

 of the vine is well furnished with large lustrous and almost 

 leathery leaves. These flowers are followed by heads of 

 fruit, which have long plumose tails of a reddish tint and 

 are almost as ornamental as the flowers. The foliage re- 

 mains green until late in autumn, and in November or early 

 winter it turns to a mass of bronze or copper color, over 

 which the feathery tufts of the seeds hover in a most grace- 

 ful manner. The plant is perfectly hardy and starts very 

 early in the spring. Altogether it is one of the very best 

 of ornamental climbers for porches and similar situa- 

 tions, and where it can run wild over the shrubbery it is as 

 much at home as our native Virgin's Bower. 



Lespedeza Sieboldii. — This plant was introduced from 

 japan some thirty years ago under the name of Desmo- 

 iilium penduliflorum, and as it appears at this season it is 

 one of the most graceful of hardy herbaceous plants in 

 habit, making a truly beautiful combination of flowers and 

 foliage. It is really herbaceous, but it has a shrub-like ap- 

 pearance, with stout pithy stems from three to six feet 

 high, which die down to the crown every winter. As the 

 roots increase in size, the stems increase in number 

 every year, until the plant forms a large clump. These 

 stems are covered with a minute pubescence which gives 

 them a distinct silvery appearance near the top, and each 

 one is terminated by an ample cluster of showy purple 



pea-shaped flowers, which is made up of many racemes, 

 from two to six inches long, springing from the axils of 

 the leaves. The plant has also been called Lespedeza 

 bicolor, which name really belongs to a hardy slender- 

 leaved shrub from north-eastern Asia, which grows to a 

 height of six or eight feet, with long graceful branches, tri- 

 foliate leaves on slender petioles, and racemes sometimes 

 terminal, but usually axillary, and either drooping or half- 

 erect. The rose-colored flowers are smaller, and not of 

 such a deep color as those of L. Sieboldii, and the large com- 

 pound racemes are not so dense and handsome. The 

 flowers begin to appear early in July, and expand for a 

 month, while those of L. Sieboldii do not appear until the 

 seeds of L. bicolor are ripe. Both of these plants were de- 

 scribed and figured in vol. iv., page 112, where the tangled 

 synonomy was first unraveled. In hot dry weather L. 

 Sieboldii sometimes has a habit of folding up its leaves, 

 but this year the plants seem to have endured the drought 

 remarkably well, and are flowering with great vigor. 



Begonia Vernon. — For two or three years past we have 

 spoken of this Begonia, a plant of the semperflorens group, 

 with bright red flowers and firm glossy deep-green foliage, 

 with a bronze or blood-stained tinge which endures 

 without fading in the full sunshine. Indeed, the plants 

 only assume their best form and color in a sunny border, 

 and in such a position the finely tinted leaves do not scorch 

 even on the margin. It is small wonder that this Begonia, 

 which was originally distributed by Messrs. Vilmorin, has 

 so quickly taken a place among bedding-plants of the first 

 rank. In the admirable herbaceous border around the 

 foundation of the Arsenal building in Central Park masses 

 of these plants are very effective. They do not grow tall, and 

 those on the edge of the mass flower close to the turf as they 

 grow away from their neighbors. They grow so quickly 

 from seed that they may practically be treated as annuals, 

 and they flower freely all summer long. Altogether they 

 make a most attractive bed, with enough color to make 

 it striking, while the dark and abundant foliage subdues 

 the tone, so that there is nothing glaring or obtrusive in 

 the general effect. 



Cultural Department. 



Seasonable Work. 



WE are passing through a period of unparalleled drought in 

 this section and it has been a difficult matter to keep 

 plants alive. When rain comes it will probably be abundant, 

 but the planting season will be a short one this fall, and all 

 preparations should be made for it, so that no delays may 

 occur after the needed rainfall. It is useless to lift plants or 

 trees when the soil is so dry that it will not stay on the roots, 

 and it is likewise useless to plant in dry soil, even if it is 

 watered after planting, for it is difficult to soak a dry, parched 

 soil, especially after it has been disturbed. A year ago we 

 transplanted a large number of evergreens at this season, with 

 such satisfactory results that we shall hereafter move any of 

 the hardy trees and shrubs, especially the Conifers, in autumn. 

 Magnolias are best moved in spring, as are also Rhododen- 

 drons, though we are preparing the beds for these now that there 

 may be no delay in spring when the plants arrive. For the 

 Rhododendrons we are using soil from a piece of intervale 

 land that was formerly submerged ; it is of a black peaty 

 nature and was laid up some years ago when drains were cut 

 through, and is, therefore, well sweetened by exposure to the 

 weather. With the addition of leaf-soil and the natural loam 

 this will make a good soil for the finer-rooting- shrubs, such 

 as Rhododendrons and Kalmias. All the Conifers like a 

 strong soil, with plenty of manure added ; the latter heightens 

 the color and induces vigorous growth as nothing else will, 

 provided there is sufficient moisture in the natural soil. 



The planting of herbaceous plants in autumn is equally im- 

 portant, and the soil should be prepared for them at once. As 

 these are to remain permanently they need liberal treatment 

 to insure good results for a long time to come. If the loca- 

 tion is a poor one, and the natural soil lacking in depth or 

 moisture, it is well to prepare the place by digging double the 

 usual depth and mixing in, as the work proceeds, plenty of 

 manure and good soil. Perhaps readers may tire of this con- 

 stant insistence upon the necessity of furnishing the roots of 



