1176 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



gets so large as to touch the adjoining ones, it ought to be taken out; or, if it 

 is an old plant, it may, perhaps, be cut back ; or all the plants in the bed may 

 be taken up, and re-arranged at greater distances from one another than 

 they were before. 



We have already observed (p. 1076.) that no plants suffer less from removal 

 than the .Ericaceae, because they may always be taken up with balls, and, 

 indeed, may be removed when they are in full flower. The best season for 

 removal is moist weather in autumn ; and the next best, moist weather in 

 April or May. (See M'Nab's Hints on the Planting and general Treatment of 

 Hardy Evergreens ; and Gard. Mag. y vol. vii. p. 78., and vol. xii. p. 567.) 



The soil of the beds ought to be wholly renewed every five or six years ; 

 and, when this is done, all the plants ought to be taken up and divided, pruned, 

 or thrown away, and replaced with other plants, as may be found necessary. 

 The soil removed may be laid in ridges, in the reserve garden, and mixed with 

 an equal quantity, or more, of leaf mould ; and, after lying a year or two, it 

 may again be put to use in the ericacetum. The cultivator of .Ericaceae, of 

 roses, and of other shrubs that are grown chiefly for their flowers, should 

 bear constantly in mind, that these will not be produced in abundance, and of 

 fine forms and colours, unless the plant have ample nourishment, light, and 

 air. Instead, therefore, of rhododendrons and azaleas being planted in 

 poor heath soil, and being crowded together so as to show only the upper 

 surface of the plants, as they now are in most gardens, they ought to be 

 planted in sandy peat and loam, enriched with a large proportion of leaf 

 mould; and each shrub ought to stand perfectly detached; and it should 

 rather be as much as 2 ft. from the adjoining one, than so near it as 2 in., in 

 order that the roots may have sufficient space on every side to enable them to 

 collect nourishment, and that the heads of the plants may not shade one 

 another. The only two ericacetums that we recollect seeing managed to 

 our satisfaction in these particulars are, that of the Rev. Thomas Gamier, at 

 Bishopstoke Vicarage; and that at Bagshot Park, under the care of Mr. 

 Toward. At the former place the Ericaceae are planted in roundish groups 

 on the lawn adjoining the house; and they grow so vigorously that they are 

 taken up and replanted every two years, generally in the month of September. 

 The azaleas and rhododendrons are taken up with large balls of earth ; and 

 the ground is so well watered at the time of replanting, that the plants never 

 lose any of their leaves. They are placed at such distances as nearly to 

 touch one another; so that, if they were not taken up, and placed farther 

 apart every two years, they would soon form a matted thicket, and display 

 blossoms only on their upper surface; whereas, by keeping each plant distinct, 

 it displays its blossoms all round from the ground to the summit. The soil in 

 which these plants are grown is composed of two thirds of sandy peat, and 

 one third of rich loam. The loam, Mr. Gamier finds absolutely necessary to 

 promote the vigorous growth of azaleas, rhododendrons, and almost all kinds 

 of American shrubs. {Gard. Mag. y vol. x. p. 129.) Mr. Gow, gardener at 

 Tullyallan, in Perthshire, found Rhododendron ponticum, and some others of 

 the more vigorous-growing Ericaceae, thrive in clayey loam, and in common 

 garden soil, which had been deeply trenched, and mixed with abundance of 

 leaf mould and road scrapings. (Ibid., p. 35.) 



The order in which the different species of Ericaceae are disposed in an 

 ericacetum may be various. Where there are but a lew kinds to be dis- 

 tributed over a large space, the same species may occur in two or three places ; 

 but, where there is a very complete collection, most effect will be produced by 

 keeping all the plants, of every species and variety, together; so that the same 

 species may never be found in two different places. Where the object is 

 more to excite a botanical interest than a floricultural or a picturesque one, 

 the genera, species, and varieties should follow each other, or be grouped 

 together, much in the same way as they are in botanical works; for example, 

 in this Arboretum : but, in other cases, the evergreen species may be inter- 

 mixed with the deciduous ones, so as to give a clothed appearance to every 



