Apbil, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



141 



Boston, but it blooms so early that the buds 

 are often killed, even at New York. 



The favorite ornamental prunus is the 

 flowering almond (P. Japonica, but often 

 called P. Sinensis), which has double blush 

 or rose-colored flowers and appeals to those 

 who love formal flowers. The almond of 

 fruit growers is P. Amygdalus, and this also 

 has double pink and white-flowered forms. 



After the peaches, come the plums and 

 cherries. The common ornamental plums 

 are varieties of the European plum (P. 

 domestica), except the flowering plum (P. 

 triloba), a compact Chinese shrub six feet 

 high, which is completely covered with 

 double pink flowers. The favorite orna- 

 mental cherries are varieties of the sour 

 cherry (P. Cerasus), especially the varieties 

 ranunculiflora and persicasflora. 



The ornamental pyruses bloom later and 

 their flowers usually appear at the same time 

 with the leaves. They include pears, apples, 

 and crabs. Their effect is such that they 

 might be classed with the trees that bloom 

 before the leaves. They bloom when flowers 

 of all kinds are abundant. 



The best member of the group for floral 

 effect is the flowering crab {Pyrus spectabilis), 

 a large Japanese shrub or small tree which 

 is completely covered with single rose- 

 colored flowers, appearing with the leaves. 

 It has red fruits about the size of a pea 

 which do not last until winter. Of the 

 double flowered pyruses the favorite is the 

 Chinese flowering apple {Pyrus spectabilis), 

 a small tree which blooms earlier than the 

 common apple and has darker-colored flowers, 

 these being almost coral-red in bud. This 

 plant is often catalogued as Mains spec- 

 tabilis. Probably the largest-flowered form 



7. Winter sweet (Calycanihus praecoz), a fragrant- 

 flowered shrub which blooms outdoors on Long 

 Island in January, if sheltered 



8. The Japanese witch hazel, unlike ours, blooms 

 in February or March. This picture, taKen in No- 

 vember, shows the buds all formed 



of it is var. Riversii which has semi-double 

 bright, rosy-red blossoms. 



Parkman's crab, a favorite near Boston, 

 is a Japanese species known to tradesmen 

 as Pyrus Parkmani, but its correct name 

 is Pyrus Halliana. Its rose-colored flowers 

 are usually semi-double and hang grace- 

 fully on slender reddish pedicles. It is a 

 bush or small tree, growing six to fifteen 

 feet high. The fruits are brownish red, the 

 size of a pea or a little larger, and a great 

 attraction to the birds. 



The Japanese quince (Cydonia Japonica) 

 also belongs to the rose family and is often 

 considered a species of pyrus. There are a 

 dozen varieties of it in every color from white 

 and blush through salmon to red, but the 

 bright red form will probably always be the 

 favorite. It is often grown as a hedge plant. 

 The naturally grown bush, however, is un- 

 doubtedly more graceful. Unfortunately, 

 this plant is particularly sensitive to the San 

 Jose scale. 



The trees that have the largest flowers are 

 the magnolias. The common white one of 

 early spring is Magnolia Yulan, commonly 

 called Magnolia conspicua. This has fra- 

 grant, cup-shaped flowers about six inches 

 across. It is a Chinese species and attains 

 a height of fifty feet in its native country. 

 The magnolias that are colored outside form 

 the group of hybrids of which M. Soulan- 

 geana is the prototype. They derive their 

 hardiness from the Chinese white magnolia 

 (M. Yulan) and their color from M. obovata, 

 a tender shrub with petals that are purple 

 outside. Among these hybrids are Magnolia 

 Alexandrina', Lennei, Norbertiana, Soirtan- 

 geana, speciosa, speciosa nova, cyathijormis, 

 rustica rubra, spectabilis, superba and tri- 

 umphans. The colors and seasons of bloom 

 of these have never been carefully recorded 

 and published. Any one who would make a 

 collection of them and furnish these facts 

 to The Garden Magazine would be per- 

 forming a service to American horticulture. 



The azaleas may fairly be called the show- 

 iest spring-blooming shrubs for, while lilacs 

 and hydrangeas have larger flower clusters, 



azaleas are, or should be more completely 

 covered. Also they have a very wide range 

 of colors, possibly the widest to be found 

 among shrubs. The favorites are the hardy 

 hybrids which are chiefly derived from the 

 Chinese azalea {A. Sinensis, but known to 

 nurseries as A. mollis). These, however, 

 mostly bloom in May. The best April- 

 blooming azalea is the pure pink azalea 

 {A. Vaseyi). The common wild azalea of 

 the North (A. nudiflora) has a less showy 

 flower and the color is not so pure a pink. 



BLOOMING IN MAY 



The flowering dogwood is one of the 

 showiest of the large-flowering trees, possibly 

 even more so than the magnolias. The 

 showy part of the flower is the involucre, 

 the true flower being an insignificant affair 

 in the centre. The involucre is about three 

 or four inches across and composed of four 

 bracts, each of which has a notch in the end 

 caused by the action of frost on expanding 

 buds. One of the wonders of Nature is the 

 fat winter buds of the dogwood, which are 

 not protected by varnish, like the horse 

 chestnut, nor by a woolen overcoat. 



PRUNING EARLY-BLOOMING SHRUBS 



A good rule is: "Don't." Of course, it 

 is always in order to cut out dead wood, but 

 that is not pruning; pruning is the removal 

 of live wood. More flowers can be secured 

 by heading in slightly, immediately after 

 flowering, because this encourages the pro- 

 duction of many small young shoots and since 

 these shrubs bloom mostly toward the ends 

 of the branches, the more shoots the more 

 flowers. But it is better to have fewer 

 flowers and a natural bush than a mere ball 

 of flowers. 



The earliest-flowered magnolia, M. stellate. Has 

 flat, star-shaped, white flowers in March 



