December, 1915 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



149 



broadly conical in outline and are strikingly beau- 

 tiful. In Japan this tree has a rather limited dis- 

 tribution and grows on rocky slopes mixed with 

 Chamaecyparis obtusa (Retinispora) and other 

 Conifers, and its narrow plume-like crown is thrust 

 well above its neighbors. 



Arborvitaes, Miscalled Cedars 



Under the popular but misleading name of Cedar, 

 and to which the better name of Arborvitae should 

 be applied, are grouped a number of valuable and 

 decorative Conifers all 

 of which are much alike 

 when young. In this 

 stage they are either 

 spirelike, columnar, con- 

 ical or narrow pyramidal 

 in outline and have 

 dense scale-like foliage 

 of varying hues of green. 

 Generally they are re- 

 garded as shrubs, but it 

 is well to remember that 

 some of them rank 

 among the largest and 

 most valuable of forest 

 trees. For example : the 

 Giant Arborvitae {Thuja 

 plicata, or T. giganiea as 

 it is often called) of 

 western North America, 

 in the valley of the Col- 

 umbia River grows 200 

 feet tall and has a trunk 

 clean of branches for 

 fully 100 feet. The story 

 of this tree parallels that 

 of the Douglas Fir. It 

 was first discovered on 

 the shores of Nootka 

 Sound by Nee, who ac- 

 companied Malaspina 

 on his voyage round the 

 world (1780-1794), but 

 it was not introduced 

 until 1853, when William 

 Lobb sent seeds to 

 Messrs. Veitch, at 



Exeter, England. Plants from this source were 

 afterwards brought to eastern North America but 

 none proved capable of withstanding the New 

 England winters. Subsequently this tree was 

 discovered in Idaho. Seeds obtained from this 

 state have furnished us with a perfectly hardy race, 

 which grows freely and possesses all the good quali- 

 ties of an Arborvitae. The branches are close set, 

 spreading and much ramified at the distal end; the 

 branchlets are slender, often zigzag or curved, and 

 the densely appressed leaves are yellowish green on 

 the exposed side and much darker on the other. 



The native Arborvitae or White Cedar (T. oc- 

 cidentalis) is a rather small tree seldom exceeding 

 60 feet in height and is usually only 30 to 40 feet. 

 The outline is narrow conical or .columnar, and the 

 foliage light to dull green. This tree is very hardy, 

 and under cultivation a great many distinct forms 

 have originated, some with yellow and others with 

 white variegation, and a number are low growing 

 and most compact in habit. The dwarf forms 

 will be dealt with later, but it may be stated here 

 that the forms of this tree afford the greatest variety 

 of hardy Arborvitae we possess. 



Among the taller-growing kinds worthy of at- 

 tention are: Vervaeneana, a smaller and denser tree 

 than the type, with young branchlets deep golden- 

 yellow, changing in winter to brownish orange and 

 finally to green; Wareana, denser in habit with 

 foliage of a deeper and brighter green than the type; 

 Wareana aurea, with bright golden-yellow branch- 

 lets during the growing season; plicata, with short 

 branches and rigid, erect branchlets and brownish 

 green foliage, and its forms argenteo- and aureo- 

 variegata with silver and yellow branchlets; lutea, 

 which is pyramidal and columnar in habit with 

 bright yellow and orange-yellow young branchlets; 

 pendula, with rather slender branches bending 

 downwards, tufted branchlets and green foliage. 



The Chinese Arborvitae (Thuja orientalis), which 

 is a small tree 25 to 30 feet tall and columnar or 

 pyramidal in outline, is not hardy in New England. 



It has been in cultivation in Europe since 1752, and 

 has given rise to many forms which resemble and 

 are not superior to those of the native Arbor- 

 vitae (T. occidentalis) . 



Another Arborvitae (Chamaecyparis thyoides), 

 native of the swamps from Maine southward to 

 northern Florida, is very hardy and worthy of 

 recognition. It is a slender tree 60 to 80 feet tall, 

 with short, thin, spreading branches which form a 

 spire-like crown, and very small scale-like, imbri- 

 cated dull bluish-green leaves, which turn rusty 

 brown in winter. 



Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus 



it Syon House, England. The oldest living specimens 

 planted between 1662 and 1670 











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A young Cedar of Lebanon in the Arnold Arboretum. 

 Some raised from seed planted in 1902 are twenty feet high 



The Retinisporas 



Of late years the so-called dwarf trees of Japan 

 have attained wide popularity both in this country 

 and in Europe. One of the commonest of these is 



an Arborvitae, usually known as Retinispora obtusa 

 nana and correctly as Chamaecyparis obtusa nana. 

 These dwarfed trees are the outcome of Japanese 

 gardeners' skill and this variety is of garden origin; 

 but the type (C. obtusa) is one of the loftiest and 

 most valuable of Japanese forest trees. At maturity 

 it is 150 feet and more tall, with a large clean 

 trunk and wide-spreading branches forming a 

 rounded or flattened crown; but in a young state 

 the branches are slender and flat and spread hori- 

 zontally; the outline is narrow pyramidal and the 

 effect light and graceful. The leaves are dark 

 green. This beautiful 

 Conifer is perfectly 

 hardy in New England 

 and nurserymen would 

 do well to procure a 

 stock of seeds and raise 

 it in quantity. In Japan 

 it is very extensively 

 used for reafforestation. 

 Its close ally (C. pisi- 

 fera) is equally hardy 

 and, when young, very 

 distinct with its ascend- 

 ing-spreading, rather 

 plumose branches. At 

 maturity, however, it is 

 not easily distinguished 

 from C. obtusa, which it 

 equals in size and ap- 

 proximates to in the 

 value of its timber. 



Like other Arbor- 

 vitaes the Japanese 

 kinds have given rise to 

 numerous forms varie- 

 gated and otherwise. 

 Those of C. obtusa are 

 all low growing, but 

 most of those of C. pisi- 

 fera grow tall. Among 

 the best of these are 

 aurea, in which the 

 whole of the current- 

 season's growth is rich 

 golden yellow and 

 changes to green the fol- 

 lowing year; sulphured, 

 similar but of a paler hue; plumosa, very dense in 

 habit and strictly conical in outline and with dark 

 green leaves; plumosa albo-picta has the tips of the 

 branchlets creamy- white; in plumosa argentea 

 nearly the whole of the young growths are creamy- 

 white and become green the following year; in 

 plumosa aurea they are light golden yellow changing 

 as the season advances to deep green; squarrosa 

 is irregular in outline, densely and intricately 

 branched, and has short, pointed, pale bluish- 

 green leaves. 



The Really Dwarf Forms 



Thus far I have dealt only with tall-growing 

 Conifers but in gardens large and small there is a 

 demand for low-growing sorts and particularly 

 since there are so very few broad-leaved evergreens 

 hardy in this climate. Fortunately, among Coni- 

 fers there are dwarfs in great variety, some of them 

 sports from tree forms and others good species. 

 Of the White Pine (Pinus Strobus) there is a variety 

 (nana) which is a small, compact, roundish, bushy 

 shrub with short slender branches and leaves shorter 

 than in the type. The common and variable 

 Mountain Pine of the Alps and other parts of 

 Europe (P. montcna, often known as P. pumilio or 

 P. mughus) is well-known and highly esteemed; but 

 the Japanese Table Pine (P. densiflora var. um- 

 braculifera) deserves wider recognition for it is one 

 of the best of the low-growing Pines. This is a 

 round or broadly oval bush with thin branches and 

 gray-green leaves and is common in gardens in 

 Japan, where it is known as " Tanyosho." Another, 

 and dwarfer form, is known as " Bandaisho." 



Among Spruces, perhaps the best dwarf is Piced 

 Abies var. Clanbraziliana, a low-growing, dense and 

 compact shrub with bright green leaves. Another 

 fine variety of this Spruce is Gregoryana, which 

 seldom grows more than one to two feet high and is 

 very dense in habit. Other good sorts are nana, 

 Ehuangeri, pumila, and procumbcns. Of the com- 



of this tree in England were 



