224 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



July, 1919 



and the Leathenvood (Dirca palustris). Last 

 year the latter began to bloom in the Arboretum 

 on the 17th of April, somewhat earlier than usual. 

 Shepherdia, which was named after John Shep- 

 herd, an English botanist, is represented by 

 numerous species, and in this country is found 

 growing practically all the way from the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific. The Buffalo-berry is the most 

 decorative of the family, and is particularly 

 useful when strong, bold effects are wanted. 

 Although it will grow in the East, it thrives best 

 in the upper Mississippi Valley, where its berries 

 are often used in the making of jellies and jams. 

 Distinction is given the plant by its foliage, which 

 is light green above and silvery beneath. 



The Leathenvood is a better plant for the 

 eastern part of the country. Its small yellow 

 flowers appear before the coming of the leaves, 

 and are followed by small black berries, which, 

 persist well into the winter. Dirca gets its com- 

 mon name of Leatherwood because of its tough 

 flexible branches, which can be doubled up in 

 hoops and almost tied into knots without break- 

 ing. Both the Buffalo-berry and the Leather- 

 wood will thrive in almost full shade. 



XJO PLANT puts on its summer dress earlier 

 ■^ than the new Chinese introduction Prin- 

 sepia sinensis, which has bright yellow flowers 

 about two-thirds of an inch in diameter. Flow- 

 ers and leaves come at the same time. Tests in 

 the Arnold Arboretum prove this to be a remark- 

 ably good plant for the Northern states. Its 

 hardiness has been demonstrated, and it seldom 

 fails to flower. It may prove to be an especially 

 good hedge plant, as its stems and branches are 

 armed with stout spines which, give it as much 

 protective value as is possessed by the better 

 known Japanese Barberry. The drawbacks to 

 the wide dissemination of this plant are the facts 

 that it does not produce seed freely, that it is 

 not easily increased from cuttings, and is re- 

 sentful of transplanting. 



Much had been expected of Corylopsis, a genus 

 which is allied to the Witch-hazels, and which 

 produces a profusion of flowers before the leaves 

 open, these flowers being a delicate canary yellow 

 in color and having considerable fragrance. 

 Several species will survive an ordinary winter, 

 but they have their flower buds killed when the 

 temperature goes unusually low. One kind, 

 however, C. Gotoana, from Central Japan, has 

 proved exceptionally hardy and bids fair to be a 

 very important shrub for Northern gardens, even 

 in the most exposed situations. 



Perhaps a good word should be said in passing 

 for the well known Japanese Magnolia stellata, 

 and the Chinese Magnolia conspicua, which have 

 demonstrated their ability to withstand the 

 coldest winters of New England without having 

 their flower buds injured. 



Another shrub deserving much more atten- 

 tion than it has ever yet received is the Enkian- 

 thus, four Japanese species of which arouse as 

 much interest and comment as any plants grow- 

 ing in the foreign collection at the Arnold Arbor- 

 etum. The Enkianthus, in one form or another, 

 is occasionally catalogued, but might well be 

 planted in gardens everywhere except in sec- 

 tions where limestone soil is found. Like all 

 members of the Heath family, the Enkianthus 

 cannot endure lime. Clusters of drooping bell- 

 shaped flowers — dull red to white, according to 

 the species — deck the plant from top to bottom 

 late in the spring, and the flowers last a long time. 

 In the fall the foliage turns to scarlet crimson or 

 deep wine color, adding much to the beauty of 

 the garden late in the season. 



It generally has been considered that the 

 Bladder Sennas (Colutea) are hardy in most of 

 the Northern states. They suffered severely, 

 however, during the winter of 1917-18. In most 

 cases the plants were not killed outright, but the 

 flower buds were destroyed and much of the wood 



had to be cut out. This renovating process is 

 often needed, however, and more flowers are 

 produced when the plant grows up again. 



/""\NE lesson derived from the experiences of 

 ^-' that trying winter was that only a very 

 few of the English Hybrid Rhododendrons are 

 truly hardy in the Northern states of America. 

 Owing to this fact more attention should be given 

 the native and a few foreign species. The little 

 known and comparatively dwarf species from the 

 South, which has been given the name of Rho- 

 dodendron carolinianum is a plant to be used 

 widely, both on large estates and in small gardens. 

 It blooms very early, the flowers are attractive, 

 and its general habit is good. 



The Rhododendron Boule de Neige, a hybrid 

 of one of the Caucasus species, has proved itself an 

 ironclad plant for the United States. It is one 

 of the most satisfactory of white flowered Rho- 

 dodendrons, especially for smaller places, never 

 growing large, and blooming when very small. 

 Another immigrant, and a true Caucasian species, 

 is Rhododendron Smirnowii, with pink flowers 

 which is also particularly to be recommended 

 because it is absolutely proof against the lace- 

 winged fly, owing to a peculiar felt-like covering 

 on the under part of the leaf. 



The Asiatic and North American Azaleas are 

 worthy of much wider recognition in all places 

 where they can be grown, which means locali- 

 ties having a soil free from lime. The beautiful 

 Azalea Kaempferi, which Professor Sargent in- 

 troduced, occasionally loses many of its flower 

 buds, but the Azalea known as Rhododendron 

 japonicum, also brought here by Professor Sar- 

 gent, goes through the hardest winters wholly 

 uninjured. This is found to be a splendid ad- 

 dition to our garden shrubs. It is brilliant 

 in color, very free flowering, and keeps its blos- 

 soms for a long time. 



Most showy of all the Azaleas is the native 

 R. calendulaceum, from the mountains of North 

 Carolina and Tennessee. No American shrub 

 can be set ahead of this Azalea in the matter of 

 sheer beauty. It has shown itself fully able to 

 resist the most severe winter weather of New 

 England, and is a plant worthy of extensive use. 



Another native is Azalea arborescens, which 

 grows native in the mountain regions from Penn- 

 sylvania south, and is an excellent garden sub- 

 ject. Although less showy than some of the yel- 

 low flowered Azaleas, it is an exceedingly beau- 

 tiful shrub having very fragrant pure white blos- 

 soms. It blooms later than calendulaceum and 

 ahead of the Clammy Azalea or Swamp Honey- 

 suckle (R. viscosum), which inhabits the swamps 

 of the Eastern states, and marches at the rear of 

 the Azalea procession. 



The only reason why these Azaleas are not more 

 widely known is because few nurserymen offer 

 them for sale. The only successful way to pro- 

 pagate them is by seeds, a work requiring consid- 

 erable time and labor. The Arnold Arboretum 

 though, has demonstrated the unusual value of 

 these plants, and probably a popular demand 

 for them will result in their wider propagation. 



TT IS a matter of regret that the Buddleias 

 ■*■ (Butterfly-bush or Summer Lilac) have not 

 shown themselves hardier in the Northern states. 

 If banked Up with earth and cut back in the man- 

 ner advised for Roses, which is the best treatment 

 to give them, they will usually go through a 

 winter except in exposed places. Many times, 

 though, they are killed outright to a very large 

 extent when a particularly severe winter comes 

 along, especially if the ground is not heavily 

 covered with snow. As far north as New York 

 City the Buddleias can be depended upon; be- 

 yond that wintering them is a gamble. In spite 

 of that fact, there is no reason why they shouldn't 

 be grown in the garden because they are very 



easily started from seeds, and will- commonly 

 flower the first season. They are also grown 

 with great ease from cuttings. 



The Honeysuckle family is a very large one 

 and includes plants which vary greatly in size 

 and habits. Some of the Bush-honeysuckles 

 are among the most valuable plants, either 

 North or South. Lonicera Korolkovii amoena 

 is the most beautiful shrub to be found in the 

 Arnold Arboretum collection late in the spring. 

 Even when not in bloom it is a pretty plant, 

 its gray-green leaves being unmatched by any- 

 thing else that grows. In the morning when 

 covered with dew, the effect produced by this 

 plant is marvelous. The flowers are light pink, 

 and the combination is exquisite. Here is a true 

 aristocrat among garden shrubs. Lonicera Ko- 

 rolkovii in itself is an excellent plant, and so is L. 

 Maackij, which produces creamy-white flowers 

 in great profusion, the blossoms being followed by 

 dark red berries. Of course the common Fragrant 

 Bush-honeysuckle (L. fragrantissima), is not tO' 

 be overlooked. It is a reliable shrub, and will 

 keep its leaves nearly all winter if given a shel- 

 tered position. Various Tartarian Honeysuckles 

 are also desirable, both for their little pink and 

 white flowers and for the red or yellow berries 

 which add to their charm in late summer. For 

 brilliant color in August plant L. Morrowii for it 

 produces great quantities of bright red fruits. 

 It was thought for several years that an evergreen 

 climbing Honeysuckle, hardy in the Northern 

 states had been obtained from China in L. Hen- 

 ryi. It thrived well in the Arnold Arboretum 

 until the big test winter when it was cut to the 

 ground, but the roots came through all right. 



A SHRUB bound to take an important place 

 **■ in our gardens when it becomes better 

 known is Neillia sinensis, which belongs to a 

 genus of the Rose family, and is one of the hand- 

 somest shrubs brought here from China. The 

 red-brown bark separating into scales reminds 

 one of the native Ninebark, to which it is allied. 

 The flowers are clear pink, bell-shaped, and 

 nearly half an inch long, borne in many flowered 

 racemes, very graceful and artistic. 



Fall and winter color in the garden offers an 

 interesting field for the progressive gardener 

 and there are many hardy shrubs that lend 

 themselves to the scheme, several species of 

 Evonymus for instance. The Burning-bush is 

 well known, of course, for its warm autumn color,, 

 but other kinds are even better for a fall display 

 because they carry great quantities of fruit,, 

 consisting of pinkish capsules which open and 

 disclose red berries hanging by slender threads. 

 Perhaps Evonymus Bungeanus is the best of all, 

 but it is no more showy than E. yeddoensis, of 

 more recent introduction, and a wonderfully 

 beautiful plant in the autumn. People who plant 

 these will have a revelation as to the value of 

 decorative plants for beautifying the garden late 

 in the season. 



DERHAPS the best known shrub bearing 

 *■ persistent red berries is Ilex verticillata, or 

 Black Alder, a thoroughly hardy native plant. 

 Another almost equally valuable plant, with red 

 fruit, is Aronia arbutifolia, the so-called Choke- 

 berry of some sections, extremely useful for 

 roadside planting. Aronia nigra, having black 

 berries, looks well when planted with it. This; 

 combination has been used extensively along the 

 parkway in Boston and Jamaica Plain, and the 

 results are excellent. In many catalogues the 

 Aronias will be found under the name of Pyrus. 

 Speaking of fall color we must not forget the 

 Indian Currant or Coral-berry (Symphoricarpos 

 vulgaris) which never grows tail, and which is; 

 made beautiful by its long, slender stems, set 

 with small pink berries, that last long, and against 

 a background of snow look like so many jewels. 



