AZALEAS 



273 



the collection of these Jap- 

 anese Azaleas shown by the 

 Henry A. Dreer Go. of Phil- 

 adelphia. 



Whether we will be 

 always short of Ghent 

 Azaleas, or whether they 

 will again become as plen- 

 tiful as they were before the World War, 

 there will still be a great future for the 

 Kurume varieties in white, pink, and red, 

 single and semi-double. What should 

 make them still more popular is the fact 

 that a fair-sized plant in a 5-in. pot can 

 be produced from a cutting in about the 

 same time it takes to grow a specimen 

 Cyclamen. This means that the retail 

 grower can sell the plants reasonably 

 and still make a fair margin of profit. 



Easter may be Lily time and for 

 those who don't so consider it we have 

 plenty of variety in the way of suitable 

 flowering pot plants. Yet outside of the 

 French Hydrangeas nothing new has 

 been introduced for many years and for 

 the great majority of the smaller florists, 

 Azaleas have been too expensive to handle. I look for these 

 newcomers from Japan to prove a blessing. More than that, they 

 are hkely to be grown on, by even small growers, when their culture 

 is once understood. 



Native or Hardy Sorts 



In sections of the United States where Azaleas will overwinter 

 outdoors and thrive, they should certainly be used freely in the 

 planting of home grounds. They are all deciduous shrubs and with 

 their bright colored flowers — which appear during May and eeirly 

 June, mostly before the leaves — and especially when planted in 

 groups, they brighten up the landscape as few other plants will. 



The nurseryman lists a number of varieties consisting of col- 

 lected native stock, but while such plants, especially when in a 

 small state, do nicely for planting out, there is more or less risk 

 connected with them, especially if they are not watched carefully 

 until they become well established. A better way by far is to obtain 

 stock which has been grown on in the nursery for one or more years. 

 It costs a Httle more, but with such plants there is hardly ever any 

 loss. 



Fig. 104. — Azalea am(ena. 

 One of the many fine hardy 

 Azaleas. It is of rather low 

 growth, evergreen emd a mass 

 of bloom in early May. The 

 flowers are pink with a tinge 

 of purple 



