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PLANT CULTURE 



Calycanthus Fi-ORrous 



Courtesy Henry A. Dreer, Inc. 



Philadelphia, Pa. 



are prized by some on account 

 of the vinous fragrance of the 

 flowers, which are dark claret 

 in color. 



Propagation. C. occiden- 

 talis and C. floridus bear seeds 

 freely which take only a short 

 time in germinating after being 

 sown. The seeds may be kept 

 in their capsules during Winter 

 and sown in a frame during 

 the first half of April. The 

 seed leaves are very large, dis- 

 turbing the surface soil a good 

 deal in unfolding, therefore the 

 seed should be sown thinly. 

 The seedlings may be allowed 

 to remain a year in their 

 germinating quarters before 

 being transplanted. Plants 

 are also secured by layering the branches. 



CARYOPTERIS (Blue Spiraea). This is unmistakably one 

 of the finest shrubs introduced in recent years. C. incana {Masta- 

 canthiis) was, and is, sometimes called the Blue Spiraea, but it has 

 no relation to that genus, as it is a near relative of the Chaste Tree 

 (Vitex) which is among those plants comprising the \'erbena family. 

 It is one of the last shrubs to come into flower, opening out about 

 the first half of September and lasting several weeks. The flowers 

 are produced in fair-sized heads in the axils of the leaves on the 

 shoots made during Summer; the color is bluish purple or white. 

 Caryopteris has been tried for several years, and in Northern sec- 

 tions, owing to its being killed to the ground in Winter, should 

 there be treated more as an herbaceous plant than as a 

 shrub. In the latitude of Philadelphia and favorable positions 

 farther north it has come out all right through recent Winters. In 

 Washington bushes of it are now 6 feet high. 



Propagation. The propagation can be carried on at any time 

 during the Summer or Fall, preferably during the latter season, for 

 which preparations should be made some time in advance by cutting 

 back some of the stronger shoots to induce them to send out side 

 shoots. The blind wood can be used during the flowering period. 



