NEW CHINESE TREES AND SHRUBS FOR 



THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND OTHER 



FAVORED REGIONS* 



By E. H. Wilson, 



Arnold 

 Arboretum 



[Editor's Note: — This is the eighth article in a series that Mr. Wilson, the well known traveller and plant collector, is contributing to 

 The Garden Magazine. In the present article Mr. Wilson speaks more directly of the outlook for the warmer parts of this country and 

 the possibilities that many of his new introductions offer for the Pacific slope, the Gulf Coast region, etc. — parts of the country to which 

 novelties have been all too few in the past. Many of the plants here referred to will, of course, be available tn the parts of the country not 

 exactly South or Pacific, as in Maryland and even in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.] 



THE region of the Pacific slope with 

 its mild and genial yet diversified 

 climate offers enormous horticul- 

 tural possibilities, and in the state 

 of California alone it is possible to cultivate 

 out-of-doors a greater variety of plants 

 than in any other state of the 

 Union. In the north the climate 

 is similar to that of the west coast 

 of Scotland; in the south it is like 

 that of Palestine; from San Fran- 

 cisco to Santa Barbara it resembles 

 that of the Riviera and Algiers. 



Among the great attractions at 

 the Panama-Pacific International 

 Exposition in San Francisco and 

 the Panama-California Exposition 

 in San Diego were the remarkable 

 floral displays. Visitors from the 

 East and Middle West fully con- 

 versant with the horticultural ma- 

 terial grown in their own sections 

 were amazed and bewildered at the 

 variety and the totally different 

 class of plants which nourish out-of-doors in 

 California. Plants which in the East and 

 Middle West are grown under glass in pots 

 for table and hall decoration in California 

 grow out-of-doors into large bushes and 

 stately trees; and the same is of course also 

 true to a certain degree of the region abut- 

 ting on the Gulf of Mexico. 



In New England only plants from the 

 cold temperate regions of the northern 

 Hemisphere flourish in the open ground 

 but on the Pacific slope and in the real 

 South the plants of the cool and warm 

 temperate regions of both Hemispheres 

 thrive out-of-doors and garden lovers there 

 may enjoy the beauties of a host of plants 

 eastern gardens know not of. 



There are drawbacks of course and gar- 

 deners in these warmer climes have diffi- 

 culties peculiarly their own. In parts of 

 the South there is a meagre water supply 

 but this can and will be overcome by 

 irrigation. In many places the soil is more 

 or less alkaline and such a soil most plants 

 abominate. When only slightly or mod- 

 erately alkaline the soil may be neutralised 

 by growing on it crops of beets or even by 

 washing. In only slightly alkaline soils most 

 trees arid shrubs will grow if vigorous speci- 

 mens a yard or more tall be planted andgiven 

 careful attention for a few months. With 

 young seedlings and small plants raised from 

 cuttings it is otherwise, and until these be- 

 come of fair size and full of vigor it is nec- 

 essary that they be grown in a neutral soil. 



•Copyright, 1015, by Doubleday, Page & Co. 



Except in extreme cases the difficulties 

 are not insuperable, and over the greater 

 portion of the Pacific slope there is little 

 to hinder successful gardening. Parts of 

 California have become one of the flower- 

 seed producing areas of the world and it is 



Buddleia asiatica with pendant foot long inflorescence of sweetly fragrant white 

 flowers. Was seen at several Eastern flower shows last winter 



A new evergreen Holly {Ilex Pernyi), which grows up to 

 18 feet, with red berries, will surely be a welcome hedge 

 for warm regions. 1 1 has glossy leaves f inch long 



highly probable that others will become 

 famous for bulbs of the sorts now obtained 

 in such quantities annually from Holland. 



197 



The Roses of Oregon are renowned and the 

 highly colored apples from the northern 

 areas of the Pacific slope are famed the 

 world over. 



Many new plants have been raised on the 

 Pacific slope by various people, including 

 a new race of Roses by crossing the 

 Chinese Rosa gigantea and the 

 Himalayan R. Brunonii. Mr. John 

 McLaren, the nestor of Californian 

 gardening, has shown what an in- 

 finite variety of beautiful plants 

 can be successfully grown in the 

 open ground in and around San 

 Francisco, and the wonderful col- 

 lection in the Golden Gate Park 

 is a monument to the skill, fore- 

 sight and perseverance of this re- 

 markable man. 



Now, recent exploration work in 

 central and western China has 

 added some hundreds of new plants 

 to Western gardens and of these 

 rather less than one half have 

 proved hardy in the states of Massachusetts 

 and New York. In Great Britain virtually 

 all have become acclimatized and there is 

 good reason for believing that a majority 

 will flourish on the Pacific slope and on the 

 Gulf. Some have already proved their 

 adaptability, as, for example Cotoneaster 

 pannosa and Jasminum primulinum. 



I do not propose to mention here the new 

 introductions from China which thrive in 

 the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Mass. 

 These either have been, or will be, dealt with 

 elsewhere in this series. My object here is 

 to mention certain trees and shrubs of an 

 ornamental character suitable for the more 

 favored climate but which cannot withstand 

 the rigors of New England winters. Many 

 of these are evergreen in character and all 

 are of proven value in parts of Great 

 Britain and France. I will commence with 

 the Rose so universal a favorite and one in 

 which we are so deeply indebted to China 

 who gave us the parents of our Tea, China 

 and Rambler Roses. 



SOME NEW ROSES 



Three species of Musk Rose (Rosa Rubtis, R. 

 Gentillana and R. Helcnac) are abundant in the 

 temperate parts of eastern and central China and 

 two others {R. filipes and R. longicuspis are common 

 in the western parts of that land. The first four are 

 quite new and the fifth though long ago recorded 

 from India has remained an obscure plant down to 

 the present time. All are strong growing species 

 making tangled bushes 15 ft. tall and 20 ft. and 

 more through and all have fragrant musk-scented 

 flowers. In R. filipes the inflorescence is pyramidal 



