AZALEA 



HEATH OBDER 



AZALEA 595 



May, large, yellow or orange, tinged with 

 red. 



This must not be confused with 

 Rhododendron pontiotim (p. 590), a quite 

 different plant. 



Culture do. as above. A very large 

 number of garden forms have been de- 

 veloped from this species. 



A. rhombica {Bhododendron rhoin- 

 biciim). — A much-branched Japanese 

 shrub with rhomboid elliptic leaves 1-2 

 in. long, assuming a soft bronzy tint in 

 autumn. The bright rosy flowers 1^—2 in. 

 across appear in May and are usually 

 borne in pairs. 



Culture do. as above. 



A. Schlippenbachi. — A loose-growing 

 deciduous shrub 3-5 ft. high, native of 

 the wooded hiUs of Corea and Manchuria, 

 and found also in Japan. The stoutish 

 branches are furnished with obovate wavy 

 leaves about 4 in. long, dark brown and 

 hairy when young, but green and smooth 

 when fully developed. The beautiful 

 bright rosy flowers, shaded with lilac, and 

 spotted with brown at the base of the 

 corolla, are borne on hairy stalks, and 

 appear in March and April, sometimes as 

 many as 6 in a cluster in the axils of the 

 upper leaves. 



Culture dc. as above. This species is 

 quite hardy in the Thames VaUey, and 

 ■small plants may be gently forced into 

 early bloom in conservatories in spring. 



A. speciosa. — A pretty N. American 

 shrub 3-4 ft. high, with hairy branches, 

 and lance-shaped, ciliated leaves, acute at 

 both ends. Flowers in May, scarlet and 

 orange, sUky ; calyx downy. There are 

 numerous varieties. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. Vaseyi. — -A beautiful deciduous 

 shrub, native of the mountains of North 

 Carolina, where it reaches a height of 15 

 ft. or more. It has shining green lanoe- 

 •shaped pointed leaves 1^3 in. long, with 

 a few hairs on the upper surface and 

 along the margins. The clear rosy-pink 

 flowers, about 1^ in. across, with oblong 

 petals, the 3 upper ones of which are 

 spotted with reddish-brown, appear in 

 April, while the leaves are still in the 

 bud. The variety album has pure white 

 flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. This pretty 

 flowering species ripens seed almost every 

 year, and is quite hardy, at least in the 



Thames Valley. Yomig plants are easily 

 raised from seeds and when only a few 

 inches high begin to bloom. When 2-3 

 ft. high they make grand flowering bushes. 



A. viscosa {Swcmip Honey sucMe). — 

 A North American shrub 2-4 ft. high. 

 Leaves oblong ovate, acute, edges ciliate, 

 midrib bristly beneath. Flowers in July, 

 white, fragrant, in downy, clammy, and 

 leafy clusters. The variety nitida has 

 shining green leaves, with a bristly mid- 

 rib, and white flowers tinged with red. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. sinensis {A. mollis). — A beautiful 

 Chinese and Japanese shrub, 3-4 ft. high. 

 Leaves deciduous, elliptic, acutish, 

 .covered with a hairy down, greyish 

 beneath. Flowers in May, orange-red or 

 yellow, bell-shaped. 



There are many double and single 

 flowered varieties of this species, as well 

 as numerous hybrids with other species, 

 most of them iised for forcing in con- 

 servatories in early spring. The flowers 

 are now in a good many shades of colour 

 and vary from white through pale yellow 

 to orange, red, and pink. The foliage also 

 is very handsome in autumn as it assumes 

 various tints of colour, and where the 

 plants are grouped in large masses or 

 beds, the more or less brilliant hues of the 

 foliage form an effective feature on the 

 landscape in autumn. As A. sinensis 

 itself is quite hardy at least as far north 

 as the Midlands, many of its varieties 

 would doubtless prove equally so in the 

 open air. Seeds are ripened freely in 

 favourable parts, and if sown as soon as 

 ripe, or in spring in cold frames or green- 

 houses, in the same way as recommended 

 for Ehododendrons at p. 585, young plants 

 will be readily obtained. The more plants 

 are raised in this way from home-saved 

 seed the more likely are really hardy 

 varieties to be obtained. The following is 

 a list of some of the best known forms of 

 A. sinensis; but it should be borne in 

 mind that new names are constantly 

 appearing in catalogues. 



SiNGLB-FLOWEEED VaEIETIBS OF 



A. SINENSIS {A. mollis) 

 Alphonse Lavalle, orange, shaded 

 scarlet ; Anthony Koster, a splendid rich 

 golden-yellow with large flowers ; Baron 

 de Constante Behecque, shaded nankeen, 

 blotched glossy orange ; Baron Edmund 

 de Bothschild, red, yellow spots ; Bouquet 



Q Q 2 



