'.v%^.V 



c Pieris floribunda, excellent for edging; evergreen. 

 Flower buds are carried all winter, opening in May 



Azalea Sinensis, flowers from orange to pink, late 

 May. One of the best early flowering shrubs 





Leucothoe Catesbaei, southern evergreen and much 

 used as undergrowth in rhododendron beds 



The Best Hardy Plants of the Heath Family— By John Dunbar j 



Rochester, 

 ew York 



THE GORGEOUS RHODODENDRONS, AZALEAS, MOUNTAIN LAURELS AND OTHER CHARMING PLANTS OF THE SAME 

 BOTANICAL AND CULTURAL GROUP— SEVEN YEARS' SUCCESS WITH THESE LIME-HATERS IN A LIMESTONE REGION 



[Note. — This article makes an important contribution to horticultural knowledge by demonstrating that the secret of rhododendron culture is the plant's hatred of lime. It 

 shows how the difficulty can be overcome in limestone regions by the simplest means. It also explains why peat, though necessary, is only an incident. The author is Assistant 

 Superintendent of Parks at Rochester, N. Y. He has special charge of the planting and collections at Highland Park which is gaining an international reputation for its combination 

 of artistic planting and complete botanical collections of hardy trees and shrubs.] 



THERE is a large group of plants belong- 

 ing to one great class, the heath family, 

 the cultivation of which sometimes seems to 

 be as elusive a problem as the plants them- 

 selves are worthy. The rhododendrons, the 

 most striking and gorgeous members of this 

 galaxy, are planted by the carload, and un- 

 fortunately frequently die in equal quan- 

 tities. They have subtle requirements, 

 but these once supplied, the rhododendrons 

 the heaths, and the azaleas offer charming 

 possibilities for our gardens. What more 

 desirable for fringing the tall masses of the 

 rhododendrons and azaleas than some of the 

 dwarfer, more or less trailing, heaths, or the 

 intermediate andromedas ? 



Over in England they are pleased to make 

 "American Gardens," which means plant- 

 ations of the rhododendron alliance, which 

 will nourish in well-drained peaty soils. We 



can have real "American Gardens" here, 

 carrying out the idea entirely with native 

 shrubs of the heath family, but the con- 

 ditions once provided, it is also possible to 

 grow some of the most delightful genera of 

 the whole world, and why not add the 

 Scotch heather, the Irish and the Cornish 

 heaths, and a few of the showy exotic azaleas ? 



THE SECRET OF GROWING RHODODENDRONS 



Twelve years ago I planted a small selec- 

 tion of hardy Catawbiense hybrid rhodo- 

 dendrons in a well protected ravine, in light 

 loamy limestone soil (The soil in this 

 region contains lime). The surface of the 

 bed was annually mulched with leaf soil and 

 leaves, and they were well watered, but they 

 always looked unhappy. They struggled 

 along, produced but few flowers, made little 

 growth, and were scorched every winter. 



The sheep laurel (Kalmia angusiifolia) , has narrower, smaller leaves and darker flowers than the common 

 mountain laurel. It begins to flower a little later, but finishes at the same time 



334 



Five years later another attempt was made 

 on an entirely different plan. In this same 

 ravine, which is thoroughly protected from 

 the sweep of north, northwest, and west 

 winds, an irregular area of about two thou- 

 sand square feet was dug out, to a depth of 

 from two to two and one-half feet. There 

 being good natural drainage, the space was 

 simply filled in with soil taken from a swamp, 

 or a kind of sink hole amongst some small 

 hills, containing a deposit of partially de- 

 cayed organic matter — leaves, moss, fern 

 roots, etc., forming a material intermediate 

 between muck and peat. It did not show 

 any evidence of sourness. Rotted cow 

 manure, equal to about one-tenth the bulk 

 of the new soil, was spread on the surface, 

 and forked over with the top soil until quite 

 fine. 



This bed was also planted with a selection 

 of hardy Catawbiense hybrids, and during 

 every year since, they have grown strongly 

 and flowered freely; they are very happy and 

 vigorous, and have had no special protec- 

 tion, other than that afforded by the lay of 

 the land.. I have been told that we could not 

 overcome the lime in the soil beneath, and 

 that it would work up, by capillarity. But 

 the bed has flourished for seven years, and 

 there are no evidences as yet of the lime 

 working up. As a matter of fact, the water 

 with which the bed is frequently soaked in 

 the summer time contains lime, but even 

 that does not seem to affect the plants. 



Even if there is no lime in the soil, the 

 beds for rhododendrons should be prepared 

 two, or two-and-a-half, feet deep; the top 

 soil, or any that contains humus, being 

 retained and mixed with leaf mold, or peaty 

 soil and cow manure. 



When rhododendrons are growing in a 

 congenial soil, they will stand more sunshine 

 than is commonly believed, but they cannot, 

 under any conditions, endure the sweep of 



