234 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Lemoine, flesh-rose, dense clusters. Comte 

 de Kerchove, soft grayish pink. Bell de 

 Nancy, bright rose, shading to white in 

 centre. Louis Henry, rose-violet. 



SPECIES THAT EXTEND THE SEASON 



The season of lilac flowers extends over 

 seven weeks, beginning very early in May. 

 The earliest species to flower is Syringa 

 oblata which at Rochester, N. Y., comes into 

 bloom about May 6th. The flower clusters 

 are not shown as prominently as in the com- 

 mon lilac, but they are very fragrant. In 

 addition to flowering first of all. this lilac is 

 remarkable as the only one on which the 

 foliage colors in the fall, assuming a rich 

 russet-red tint. The common lilac {Syringa 



325. Flower buds of the lilac are longer than leaf 

 buds. Winter pruning destroys the flowers which are 

 already formed in the dormant buds and which de- 

 velop in spring as soon as the warmth is felt 



vulgaris), with its large train of showy 

 varieties, follows about a week later. This 

 species is the best for the general public, but 

 all the others are worth growing because they 

 extend the season of bloom. Incidentally 

 they are not attacked by borers. 



Blossoming about the same time as the 

 common lilac is the so-called Chinese Lilac, 

 (Syringa Chinensis), of obscure origin, but 

 said by Mr. A. Rehder to be a hybrid be- 

 tween the common and Persian lilacs, and of 

 world-wide distribution, having been found 

 long since even in the gardens of Pekin. It 

 is remarkably handsome in bloom, producing 

 on different varieties enormous lax clusters 

 of purple, red, and white flowers, and is dis- 

 tinguished from the common by this striking 

 feature. 



The Persian lilac (Syringa Persica) , a good 

 deal like the last in the disposition of its 

 flower clusters, but a smaller growing shrub, 

 from four to six feet in height, with narrower 

 and smaller leaves; and in its several varieties 

 with flowers varying from purple, and lilac, 

 to white. 



Syringa pubescens is a slender branched 

 shrub, with numerous short clusters of rosy- 

 colored, long-tubed, deliriously fragrant 

 flowers. It comes into bloom about the end 

 of May and first of June. It is a choice 

 species from northern China. 



Syringa villosa usually comes into blossom 

 about the end of the first week in June, and 

 has numerous dense oblong clusters of rosy- 

 colored flowers borne on the ends of all the 

 branches; and as the terminal bud, which does 

 not develop in the common lilac, always grows 



in this species, the branches frequently are 

 furnished with three clusters instead of two. 

 The foliage is very distinctive and handsome. 



In the first part of June the Hungarian 

 lilac (Syringa Josakea), with purple blos- 

 soms, and the Himalayan lilac (S. Emodi), 

 with dull whitish flowers, come into blossom. 

 Some prominent botanists consider that these 

 two are both forms of 5. villosa, but the 

 writer has often thought that they are both 

 distinct enough to be considered species. 

 It is said on good authority "that the in- 

 dividuals of Syringa Jostzkea now in culti- 

 vation have all come from a single plant found 

 in a Hungarian garden, and that it has never 

 yet been found in a wild state," but it is 

 probably of Asiatic origin. The foliage of 

 the Hungarian lilac has a great resemblance 

 to that of the white fringe. 



Toward the middle of June, the Amoor 

 lilac (Syringa Amurensis) produces very 

 handsome thyrses of white blossoms. The 

 plant has slender branches, and grows from 

 six to ten feet in height. This is not recom- 

 mended for general planting in exposed places, 

 because although it is quite hardy in winter, 

 it is very liable to be injured by late spring 

 frosts. I have seen its leaves blackened and 

 the flower buds destroyed by frosts in May. 



The Pekin lilac (S. Pekinensis) grows into 

 a tall, widely branching shrub fifteen feet or 

 more in height, with smooth, yellowish-brown 

 bark like that of a cherry tree. The white 

 fleecy flowers are produced on long compound 

 thyrses about the middle of June and are 

 very showy. 



The Japanese lilac (S. Japonica) grows 

 into a handsome small tree and has orna- 

 mental qualities of the highest order. The 

 showy, fleecy-white flowers are produced in 

 large clusters about the end of June and first 

 of July. 



The foregoing list includes all the impor- 

 tant species , in .cultivation. . ■ There . are-, two 

 other species, S. sempervirens, and 5. rotundi- 

 jolia, respectively from Yunnan and Man- 

 churia, only known botanically. 



PROPAGATION AND MANAGEMENT 



Most of the lilac species, especially the 

 Pekin and Japanese, germinate freely and 

 readily from seed, which if sown as soon as 

 ripe in flats and kept in a coldframe, will 

 come up the following spring. They require 

 no special attention, but must not be allowed 

 to get dry. Young plants can thus be raised 

 in great profusion. It is best to have the 

 varieties of Syringa vulgaris on their own 

 roots either from cuttings, suckers or layers. 



Cuttings are made of the young wood in 

 early summer. Placed in six inches of sand 

 in a hotbed and kept shaded from the sun 

 by a muslin screen four or five feet above the 

 frame, they root freely in six weeks or two 

 months. Layering is to be done in the late 

 summer and September. Suckers removed 

 in spring with good roots and cut back and 

 inserted in the ground will root readily dur- 

 ing the summer. 



THE DREADED BORER 



The lilac borer is one of the worst enemies 

 to contend with in the growing of the com- 



mon lilac and its varieties, and a good means 

 either to destroy or control it has not been 

 found. Plants budded on the California 

 privet or on the common lilac, which are 

 attacked by borers soon die, whereas when 

 on their own roots the individual can soon 

 be replaced by a good sucker. Root-grafting 

 on the California privet for the varieties of 

 Syringa vulgaris is a very good method. If 

 they are planted deeply, the privet suckers 

 will sprout from the base for a year or two, 

 but if these are promptly removed as they 

 appear they will vanish in time entirely, and 

 the plant will get on its own roots, and send 

 up suckers and sprcuts of its own. When 

 this occurs it proves that the life of the privet 

 has ended. 



Rose Beetles, Squash Bugs and 



Asparagus Beetles 



"D OSE beetles appear some time in June 

 -*- »- and in sandy localities are liable to 

 cause very serious injury. It is difficult to 

 destroy these insects either with poison or a 

 whale oil soap solution, and as a rule it 

 would pay to shield more highly prized plants 

 by covering them with mosquito netting. 



CUCUMBER PESTS 



The striped cucumber beetle and the 

 nauseous squash bug begin operations about 

 this time. Young plants can be protected 

 for a while from both with light screens. 

 Trap the squash bug under shingles laid 

 near the plants, and kill the bugs each morn- 

 ing. The striped cucumber beetle is held in 

 check by spraying with a poisoned Bordeaux 

 mixture or even dusting heavily with land 

 plaster or ashes. 



ASPARAGUS BEETLES 



The asparagus beetles and their grubs are 

 frequently abundant at this time and young 

 plants at least should be thoroughly pro- 

 tected with a poisoned spray. 



SCALE INSECTS 



The young of two of our common scale 

 insects, the scurfy scale and oyster scale, 

 appear the latter part of May or early in 

 June, and there is no better way of keeping 

 them in check than by thorough spraying at 

 this time with an insecticide like the whale oil 

 soap solution, one pound to five or six gallons 

 of water, or the standard kerosene emulsion 

 diluted with about nine parts of water. 



E. P. Felt, 



State Entomologist of New York. 



