156 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



May, 1919 





m OPEN COLUMN' 



{ Readers Interchanges ff Experiences A 



Sleepy Heads. — I fear I can add but little to 

 the list of "Sleepy Heads," (page 66 of March) 

 at least before the spring work, but Cassia mari- 

 landica certainly belongs among them, and I can t 

 help but feel that the bright green Thermopsis 

 and the bushy Amsonia belong there too. I should 

 like to add the dull reddened, almost earth-colored 

 fronds of the lovely blue Anemone apennina, or 

 even the curls of dark colored Columbines as 

 things to beware of. Later in the season all the 

 bulbs keep being forgotten and I Wonder if others 

 have felt the same reluctance to replant a much 

 be-bulbed border. — R. S. Sturtevant, Mass. 



Summer Care of Azalea Indica. — Now that 

 our government threatens to prevent the import- 

 ing of Azaleas and other nursery stock, it be- 

 hooves one to take good care of the specimens he 

 already possesses, that they may blossom during 

 the years to come. I have an Indian Azalea 

 which has blossomed for six consecutive years in 

 the window garden, and which has grown from a 

 plant about eighteen inches in diameter to a 

 strong bush nearly three feet across. Last 

 summer we varied the treatment usually given 

 it, and instead of plunging it in the garden in a 

 half shaded spot, we set it on the uncovered end 

 of the southern veranda, where it had direct 

 sunlight from nine in the morning to three in the 

 afternoon. It was watered daily unless there 

 was rain, and the pot was turned frequently to 

 insure uniform growth. The result was that we 

 had a much better shaped plant than ever be- 

 fore, completely set with buds, a goodly number 

 of which were open on Christmas day, and now 

 (the middle of March) the last blossoms are be- 

 ginning to go. Even if you have neglected the 

 Azalea given you at Christmas or Easter and 

 have thrust it into the cellar, thinking that its 

 day was done, bring it out and see if something 

 can be done to revive it. Remove the top 

 layer of earth and put in fresh potting soil which 

 has a good percentage of leaf mould. If there 

 are any straggling branches cut them off, so that 

 the plant is fairly symmetrical. Set the pot in 

 a sunny corner of porch or veranda, water well 

 and turn frequently, so that the sun reaches all 

 sides of it. Young shoots will soon start, and 

 by the end of summer the centre of each tip should 

 show a small fat cone; these are flower buds. 

 The top layer of soil should be again replaced 

 with fresh earth and the plant brought indoors 

 about the first of September, or before danger of 

 frost. Keep in a cool, sunny window, turn the 

 plant frequently and spray daily, if possible, 

 with lukewarm water. — Mrs. James F. Burke, 

 North Easton, Mass. 



Why Is Hardiness? In the paragraph entitled 

 Decorative Dwarf Buckeyes (March, 1919), 

 the author expresses surprise that a Buckeye, 

 native to the South from Georgia to Texas, should 

 prove hardy in New England. Well, there are a 

 few other things of the South that prove hardy 

 even as far north as North Dakota, among 

 them being the Prickly-pear Cactus and the Span- 

 ish Bayonet. Now all of this is of interest only 

 as it points in the direction in which we must 

 seek for the characteristic that makes plants 

 hardy. We shall find many more plants of the 

 South hardy in the North]as we come to try them. 

 W hat seems to be required is a relatively thin 

 sap that can freeze, endure evaporation while 

 frozen and come out in spring still sufficiently 

 dilute so as not to interfere seriously with those 

 life functions of the plant that we seek to explain 

 under the terms capillarity and osmosis. Here 

 is a common every day example. Tulips and 

 Hyacinths can both be grown in North Dakota 



with' this difference that whereas but one year 

 in ten may be a good Hyacinth year, every year 

 is a good Tulip year. Why? A Tulip almost 

 ready to bloom may freeze brittle as glass and 

 still bloom but a Hyacinth overtaken by a severe 

 frost even much earlier in its growth is done for. 

 Crush with your fingers a Tulip leaf or stem and 

 you will find a thin sap. Do likewise with a 

 Hyacinth and you will find the sap thick and 

 viscous enough to pull out into strings. I claim 

 no certainty in the matter, but all my observa- 

 tions seems to indicate that the plant with a 

 thin sap has a much better chance of proving 

 hardy in our Northern climate than a plant with 

 a thick, viscous or mucilaginous sap. Where 

 the plant with the thin sap originated does not ap- 

 pear to affect the result. — C. L. Meller. 



Plants for the Shady Border. — A border meant 

 to keep the neighbors' dogs, the grocers' boys, and 

 the newspaper man (our milkman must have a 

 garden of his own, as he goes around) from cutting 

 across the lawn, follows a path part of which is 

 shaded all day by tall Maples. Jonquils, Prim- 

 roses, Forget-me-nots, and Columbine are lovely 

 before the Maples are in full leaf but when the 

 Lilium auratum bloomed there was nothing to 

 lend support to its tall slender stems. An appeal 

 to Mr. Edward Gillett, whose name I found in 

 the Garden Magazine, for something from the 

 woods brought Eupatorium ageratoides which 

 has proved a great success. It forms rather 

 bushy plants three feet high with white feathery 

 puffs of flowers that last until the wild Asters 

 open to take their place. — G. D. Beadel. 



Dahlias, but no Flower. Why? — Every time 

 I read an article on the Dahlia I feel just like 

 groaning — telling us what we already know and 

 refusing to touch on the thing that is making it 

 impossible to produce any flowers in this section 

 of the country! We have always found the mere 

 culture and winter care of Dahlia easy enough; 

 but, since the appearance in this territory of the 

 tarnished plant bug, it is out of the question to 

 get any flowers. This bug appears about the 

 time the plants get ready to flower, and it is 

 then "all over" with them. If buds appear they 

 all blast. Mostly the whole plant stands still 

 and refuses to grow, at least to any extent, till the 

 bug leaves, which is sometimes too late for any 

 blossoms before frost. Once in a while we get 

 a few. Last season I had just one blossom and 

 I had vigorous plants in a good place. So 

 when the article on Dahlias appeared on page 

 65 of March I was eager to see if our difficulty 

 had been solved, but not a word on the bug! 

 Now, good Dahlia raisers, Do you know how to 



handle this difficulty? If you do please be so- 

 kind as to tell us. Maybe the bug has not 

 reached you yet. But it will and then you will 

 be right where we are. It has been here a long; 

 time. Year after year we plant, in the hope 

 that the pest will be gone or forget our particular 

 garden. But, no; it is with us yet, coming from 

 where we cannot discover, yielding to no treat- 

 ment, getting into no traps. What are we to do? 

 — John W. Chamberlin, New York. 



Sunshades for Peonies. — Every Peony grower 

 knows what it means to have a hard rain beat 

 down and shatter his blossoms until his favorite 

 flowers have been ruined. One hard, beating 

 rain may spoil the appearance of a whole garden. 

 One reason for screening Peonies is to obviate such 

 a possibility. Another is to protect the more 

 delicate colors from the sun. Certain of the 

 most beautiful Peonies fade quickly in bright 

 sunlight. It is a common custom among growers 

 to cut such varieties in the bud, allowing the 

 flowers to unfold in the house. This treatment 

 is not necessary if screens are used, and better 

 flowers will be produced in the open air. And so 

 Mr. William Rollins, of Boston, an enthusiastic 

 Peony grower, devised a type of screen which 

 he has used with great satisfaction at his country 

 place in New Hampshire. In describing these 

 screens Mr. Rollins says that the uprights extend 

 four feet above the ground, and are set about three 

 feet apart. The frames are very durable and 

 strong, being made of iron. For the smaller 

 plants they extend four feet above the ground, 

 while six foot iron posts are used for the tall 

 growers. The uprights are set about three feet 

 apart. Light iron rafters a quarter of an inch 

 in diameter are placed across the top of the up- 

 rights to hold the cloth covers, and are held to- 

 gether at the apex of the roof by a cross shaped 

 bronze casting into which they are screwed. The 

 other end of each rafter is screwed into a bronze 

 eye, and these eyes are attached to the uprights 

 by bronze castings made hollow to receive the 

 tops of the castings to which they are fastened 

 by screws. This arrangement was designed to- 

 make possible the quick erection and removal 

 of the screens. They can be taken apart and 

 stored, if necessary, with but little trouble. 

 The roof is made of cotton drilling, and dyed 

 suitable tints to help in excluding the actinic 

 rays of the sun. The covers are held in place 

 by cords attached to the rafters. In writing 

 about his Peonies some time ago Mr. Rollins 

 pointed out a way to have them in the best of 

 condition for exhibition: they should be grown 

 in tubs sunk in the ground, and lifted at exhibi- 

 tion time.— E. I. Farrington. 





Sunshades for Peonies as provided by Mr. Rollins of New Hampshire to preserve the coloring in all its delicacy- 

 individual blooms or adjustable rods have long been in use among "the fancy" for Roses, Chrysanl hemums, 



Small shades for 

 Dahlias, etc. 



