44 THE AZALEAS OF THE OLD WORLD 



ago the gardener, Charles Sander, collected seeds from the Holm Lea collection of 

 ' 'Indian Azaleas' ' and from them raised many plants. Among these when they flowered 

 were two of dwarf, compact habit which produced relatively small flowers (d cm. 

 diam.) carmine-red or crimson-lake in color. In the Holm Lea collection was the 

 well-known "Indian Azalea Decora" of European origin and introduced into the 

 garden of Marshall P. Wilder, Dorchester, Mass., about 1847. It is highly probable 

 that this was the parent of the two Azaleas above mentioned. The best of these 

 two Sander named " Garnet." This he crossed with an unknown Azalea having 

 small red flowers obtained from M. Atkinson, gardener for Mr. John L. Gard- 

 ner, Brookline, Mass., which to-day Sander thinks was R. obtusum Planch. After 

 a close study of the race I think this conclusion is correct. The best of the hybrids 

 from the above parents were crossed with R. obtusum f. album Schneid. and gave 

 rise to forms with rose-pink flowers. In more recent years the well-known " Hino- 

 degiri " has been used with excellent results. The outcome of some three decades 

 of hybridising, selecting and recrossing is a race of beautiful Azaleas of compact 

 twiggy habit with flowers from 2.5 to 4.5 cm. in diameter in varying shades of 

 rose-pink, salmon, red, scarlet and fiery crimson. Among the scarlet and crimsons 

 are deeper and richer shades than I have seen among any of the Azaleas of China 

 and Japan. The influence of R. Simsii forms is seen in the number of stamens, 

 which varies from 5 to 10 and is inconstant on the same individual; also in the 

 size of the flowers and in the ease with which the plants may be forced into blossom 

 during the winter and early spring months. Some of the forms have flowers no 

 larger than those of R. obtusum, though in the majority the flowers exceed in size 

 those of that plant. The race is singularly attractive and highly ornamental, and 

 it needs no expert knowledge to predict for X R- Sanderi a great future. Among 

 the best forms are " Suzuki," scarlet maroon, " Hebe," white with rose-red stripe, 

 " Hermione," deep salmon-red, " Ruby " crimson maroon, " Uncas," dark scarlet, 

 " Helena," rose-pink, " Hilda Hedlund," deep pink, " Holm Lea," crimson- 

 maroon, " Vulcan," salmon-red, " Natalie," salmon, " Muriel," rose-red, " Alice 

 Sargent," bright salmon-red, " Rose Queen," deep rose, " Havemeyer," rose-red, 

 " Brookline," carmine, " Venus," cerise, " Jupiter," fiery-red, " Mars," intense 

 scarlet, " Vivid," scarlet. To this group must be referred the highly appre- 

 ciated and well-known Azalea "Hexe" 1 or "Firefly" of American gardens, which 

 is a hybrid between R. obtusum f. amoenum and R. Simsii "Due de Nassau." 

 This favorite Azalea with rich red, hose-in-hose flowers was raised by Otto 

 Porster, Lebenhof , near Scheibbs, Lower Austria, about 1885, and was first exten- 

 sively cultivated round Dresden. At first it was not particularly esteemed and was 

 used as a stock on which to graft the ordinary "Indian Azaleas" of commerce; 

 later it became one of the most popular varieties, and before the Great War was 

 imported in hundreds of thousands into this country for decorative purposes. It 

 roots freely from cuttings and flowers profusely when quite small. One of its 

 parents, Azalea " Due de Nassau," is an old variety, having been exhibited in 

 London in June, 1862, by Charles Turner of Slough. There are several other 

 hose-in-hose Azaleas of much the same parentage as " Hexe." One of these, 

 " Vuylestekeana," has been crossed at Holm Lea with " Flambeau," a French vari- 

 ety, with erimson-maroon flowers of medium size. The result is a race with relati- 

 vely large (4 to 6 cm. diam.), hose-in-hose flowers varying in color from intense 

 scarlet to crimson-maroon, and perhaps the most highly colored of all Azaleas. 



1 Azalea indica (Hexe) Ad. Vanden Heede in Rev. Hort. Belg. XXXI. 49, t. 

 (1905). 

 Azalea Hexe Hort. ex W. Watson, Rhodod. and Azaleas, 67 (1911). 

 Rhododendron indicum Hexe Millais, Rhodod. 193 (1917). 



