FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 



395 



Name. 



Country or 



Origin and 



Natural Order. 



Colour 



AND 



Season. 



General Remarks. 



Prunus Persica (the 

 Peach) 



P. Armenaica (the 

 Apricots) 



P. Armenaica (com- 

 mon Apricot) 



*P. Mume 



Northern China 



Japan 



P. toraentosa 



P. triloba 



China and Japan 



China 



Small, 

 white, open- 

 ing early in 

 the year, 



and 



frequently 



blackened 



by frost 



Rose; 



early, before 



the leaves 



pinkish 



Pink; 

 March or 

 early April 



grafting. The latter is not 

 usually a good stock for bud- 

 ding, the bark being too thin 

 to hold the bud properly, 

 which objection does not hold 

 good with the mussel plum 

 stock. The species can also 

 be got from seeds and P. 

 nana is best raised as stated 

 from layers, or cuttings of 

 half-ripened wood, which 

 will strike, though not very 

 readily. 



Many of the species in this 

 group are amongst the most 

 precious flowering shrubs of 

 the garden. All can be in- 

 creased by seed. P. tomen- 

 tosa and P. triloba flore-pleno 

 can also be got from layers 

 or cuttings. Half-ripened 

 wood of the latter will also 

 root readily, and soon form 

 sturdy young trees. These 

 two in particular should 

 always be on their own roots : 

 a plum stock kills them in a 

 few years. 



We mention this because it is 

 the parent of the various 

 varieties of Apricot. 



This is a small and pretty tree 

 of upright growth, and the 

 leaves large and shining 

 green in colour. There are 

 four varieties, viz. , flore-albo- 

 pleno, double white ; flore- 

 roseo-pleno, double bright 

 rose ; flore - rubro - pleno, 

 double red ; and pendula, 

 which makes a pretty, small, 

 weeping tree if worked stand- 

 ard high. 



This is a pretty, small branch- 

 ing shrub, with stout leaves 

 covered with a thick tomen- 

 tum ; the flowers are followed 

 by small red fruits. 



The species is not of much 

 account, but the double 

 variety flore-pleno is one 

 of the most handsome of 

 flowering shrubs. Its large, 

 double, rose-coloured flowers 

 are produced so profusely 

 that hardly a leaf is visible. 



