THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



233 



vulgaris) are after all the most beautiful and 

 showy. It is over thirty-five years since, 

 that M. Victor Lemoine, the French nursery- 

 man, began the improvements that have re- 

 sulted in giving to the world what is known 

 as the new race of lilacs. 



There is a very old variety of Syringa vul- 

 garis known in gardens as azurea plena, with 



323. Good specimens for the lawn. Must be pruned 

 yearly to Keep them in proper bounds. Pruning in 

 winter will sacrifice the next season's flowers, but 

 overcrowded shoots can be removed then to shape 

 the bush properly. Plant common lilacs (Syringa Vul- 

 garis) in fall because they start growth early in spring 



small clusters of double lilac blossoms. The 

 pistillate flowers, which never appear to have 

 stamens, are entirely covered with the 

 corolla lobes, so as to be beyond the reach of 

 natural fertilization. Lemoine fertilized a 

 number of the blossoms of this variety with 

 the pollen of some of the best known varieties 

 of the common lilac of that day; one of 

 which was Ville de Troyes. The Japanese 

 lilac {Syringa oblata) was also used. Amongst 

 these seedlings was the first distinctly showy 

 double lilac, with lilac-blue flowers, which 

 was named Lemoinei. Some others in this 

 set were Le Gaulois, Mathieu de Dombasle, 

 and Renoncule. These new double varieties 

 were used as seed parents, and fertilized 

 with the pollen of the best known single sorts. 

 From this second cross came such lovely 

 kinds as President Grevy, Alphonse Lavalle, 

 Michel Buckner, Pyramidal, etc. The work 

 of improvement and selection has constantly 

 progressed ever since and every year sees 

 new, distinct and beautiful variations in form 

 and color unknown before. 



THE BEST VARIETIES, SINGLE 



White. — Marie Legraye, large and pearly 

 white individual flowers. Princess Alexan- 

 dra, erect, medium -sized clusters. Frau 

 Damman, large clusters, individual flowers 

 medium-sized. Madame Moser, loose, prom- 

 inent clusters, free flowering. Alba pyra- 

 midalis, pyramidal clusters. 



Rosy pink to silvery pink. — All these are 

 particularly attractive because of the delicate 

 shades: Dr. Regel, rosy pink. Ecken- 

 holm, silver}' pink, flowers abundantly. 

 Furst Lichtenstein, rosy pink, individual 

 flowers large. Schermerhornii, flesh -pink, 

 shading to white. Jacques Callot has the 

 largest individual flowers of any variety 



known to me. Lovaniensis, silvery pink. 

 Lilarosa, silvery to creamy pink. The last 

 two are a good deal alike. 



Dark-flowered single. — Ranging through 

 violet -purple, purplish red, and reddish pur- 

 ple. Dr. Lindley, remarkably showy dark 

 red in the bud. Ludwig Spath, the most 

 representative purple-red. Aline Mocquery, 

 the nearest approach to a distinctly red 

 lilac. Toussaint Louverture, dark carmine 

 in the bud, turning to violet-red when fully 

 open. Volcan, violet-red. Philemon, dark 

 reddish purple, very attractive. President 

 Massart, showy dark red in the bud, has a 

 straggling habit of growth. 



THE BEST DOUBLES 



White. — Madame Lemoine, the best double 

 white. Madame Casimir Perier, dense clus- 

 ters. Obelisque, fastigiate habit of growth. 

 Madame Abel Chatenay, large clusters, but 

 has not flowered freely with us. 



Lavender lilac, and bluish lilac. — There 

 is quite a large variety of lovely forms in this 

 group, and a selection from the following 



will be satisfactory: Alphonse Lavalle, 

 violet -blue, long erect clusters, individual 

 flowers star-shaped. President Grevy, lav- 

 ender-blue, very large somewhat drooping 

 clusters. Lamarck, light blue, shading to 

 rose. Leon Simon, bluish red. Monu- 

 ment Carnot, bluish lilac, large clusters. 

 Condorcet, pale blue, shading to white. 

 Doyen Keteleer, lavender-blue, very hand- 

 some. Guizot, bluish lilac, superb variety. 

 Marc Micheli, sky blue, shading to white, 

 very distinct. 



Dark colored (from purplish red and red- 

 dish purple, to violet-red). — The best are 

 Charles Joly, very dark red, perhaps the 

 darkest of all the doubles. Colbert, dark 

 red. Georges Bellair, dark wine - color. 

 Latour d'Auvergne, violet - purple, free 

 bloomer. Souvenir de L. Thibaut, reddish 

 purple, large clusters and very double. 

 Marechal de Bassompierre, purple-carmine, 

 very striking. 



Rosy lilac to rosy pink. — Mme. Jules 

 Finger, rosy pink, early flowering. Rosea 

 grandiflora, rosy lilac, early flowering. Emile 



324. If you want a large-flowered, white, single lilac grow Marie Legraye. Don't bother with the old 

 small-flowered sorts when you can get one liKe this. By cutting out all sucKers as they appear, the new lilacs, 

 which come grafted on common lilac or privet, will root above the stock; after that sucKers will not bother 



