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PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS philadelphus 



flowers each about ;, in. across appear in 

 May and June in compact corymbose 

 clusters at the ends of the branches and 

 also along the side shoots. The variety 

 purpurascens has the flowers suffused 

 with rosy-purple. 



Culture lie. as above. 



D. gracilis. — A Japanese shrub 1-2 ft. 

 high. Leaves small, ovate, pointed, ser- 

 rated. Flowers in April, white, numer- 

 ous, in terminal racemes. There is a form 

 called foliis aureis which has yellowish- 

 green leaves. 



Culture dc. as above. 



D. Lemoinei. — This is a beautiful 

 hybrid obtained by crossing D. gracilis 

 and D. parviflora. It is intermediate be- 

 tween the two parents and flowers freely. 



Culture dc. as above. 



D. parviflora. — A beautiful Chinese 

 shrub 3-6 ft. high, with ovate lance- 

 shaped toothed and wrinkled leaves, and 

 masses of creamy-white Hawthorn-like 

 blossoms borne in AprU and May at the 

 ends of the shoots. 



Culture (ic. as above. 



D. staminea. — A Himalayan shrub 

 about 3 ft. high. Leaves 1-2 in. long, 

 oblong or elliptic lance-shaped, greyish 

 downy beneath. Flowers in early sum- 

 mer, white, fragrant, in corymbs. 



Culture (ic. as above. 



DECUMARIA. — A genus containuig 

 only one species here described : — 



D. barbara. —An ornamental deciduous 

 climbing shrub native of the S. United 

 States, with round branches, and opposite 

 stalked ovate-acute entire or slightly 

 toothed leaves. The white sweet-scented 

 flowers appear about June and are borne 

 in corymbs at the ends of the shoots. The 

 more or less bell-shaped calyx has 7-10 

 teeth. Petals 7-10, narrowly oblong. 

 Stamens 20-30. 



Culture and Propagation. — This 

 plant may be grown against walls in the 

 less favourable parts of the kingdom, or 

 over tree-trmiks, trellises, porches &c. in 

 the mildest parts, in the same way as the 

 Climbing Hydrangeas. It thrives in rich 

 sandy loam in warm situations, andis bene- 

 fited by a good mulchixig of manure in 

 autumn or winter. It may be increased 

 by cuttings of the half-ripened shoots 

 inserted in sandy soil under a handlight 

 during the sunnuer months. The cuttings 

 should be kept shaded from the sun and 



sprinkled overhead occasionally until 

 rooted. They may afterwards be given 

 plenty of air and light, and be trans- 

 planted in spring. 



PHILADELPHUS (Mock Orange;. 

 This genus contains about 12 species of 

 deciduous ornamental shrubs with oppo- 

 site roundish branches. Leaves opposite, 

 entire or serrated, often clothed with 

 starry down. Flowers axillary, solitary, 

 or corymbose, often fragrant. Petals 

 usually 4, rounded or obvovate. Stamens 

 20-40. Styles 3-5, thread-like. 



Cultu/re and Propagation. — The Mock 

 Oranges grow well in fairly good loamy 

 soil. They flower on the wood of the 

 previous year— a fact that should be 

 remembered when pruning or cutting out 

 the branches. They are easily increased 

 from suckers or layers, and also from 

 cuttings 8-9 in. long, inserted in the soil 

 in autumn, and allowed to remain for 

 about 12 months before transplanting. 



The plants should always have plenty 

 of air and sunshine and are more effective 

 in beds or groups by themselves than 

 mixed up with all kinds of trees in a 

 shrubbery, where, owing to the absence 

 of light and air, the plants soon become 

 weak-stemmed and straggling. 



In the autumn or winter a good top 

 dressing of well-decomposed cow manure 

 over the soil wiU be of great benefit to the 

 roots and enable them to develop an abun- 

 dance of blossom the following season. 



P. coronarius. — This beautiful tree, 

 2-10 ft. high, is the well-known European 

 Mock Orange. Leaves ovate pointed, 

 serrate-dentate. Flowers from April to 

 June, white, over 1 in. across, with a strong 

 orange-like scent, and borne in racemes. 



There are several fine varieties, the 

 best being aureus, with beautiful golden 

 fohage which, however, gradually be- 

 comes greener towards autumn; argen- 

 teo-variegatus, with more or less silvery 

 leaves ; fiore-pleno (Ketelieri or primii- 

 Iceflora], with double flowers ; and nanus, 

 a bush about 2 ft. high, but not free- 

 flowering ; and vai-iegatus, the leaves of 

 which are edged with white. 



Culture dx: a.s above. The type will 

 flourish in almost any soil which is not 

 too wet, and it will flower profusely year 

 after year without the least attention, 

 e^■on in hard baUed soil. It is, however, 

 hotter to treat the plant well, as superior 



