256 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



Januaby, 1912 



species in the follow- 

 ing section. 



FOUR YELLOW FLOW- 

 ERED STONECROPS 



The yellow flow- 

 ered stonecrops have 

 the advantage of a 

 pure and popular 

 color, but I was 

 rather disappointed 

 with the group. 

 Many of the species 

 were attacked by 

 plant lice, and al- 

 though I sprayed 

 them with kerosene 

 emulsion, they lost 

 their lower leaves, 

 and some were so 

 weak that they had 

 to be staked. The 

 yellow flowered spe- 

 cies differ from the 

 preceding section in 

 having narrower 

 leaves and non- 

 tuberous roots. 



The everlasting 

 stonecrop (S.A izoon) 



— see page 255— is the oldest and best 

 known of the yellows. It grows about i£ ft. 

 high and is said to bloom in late summer, 

 but with me it began to flower the middle 

 of June. It is not a showy plant, the 

 clusters being comparatively loose and 

 few-flowered. The plant is coarse almost 

 to the point of weediness and is inclined 

 to sprawl. I had this true to name from 

 five different nurseries. I cannot recom- 

 mend it for borders, but it is doubt- 

 less satisfactory on rough rockwork in 

 sand and full sunshine as shown on 

 Page 255. 



S. Maximowiczii is supposed to be a 

 better plant, for it is used by the carpet 

 bedding fraternity, and is one of the few 

 perennial stonecrops of which seeds have 

 been regularly catalogued by one of 

 the leading seed firms in New York. My 

 two specimens were too much like the 

 everlasting stonecrop, differing only in 

 botanical characters, the sepals being of 

 unequal length, and the buds flask-shaped, 

 i.e. dilated below and narrowed above into 

 a long beak. 



5. Asiaticum differs from the other 

 yellows in having opposite, instead of 

 alternate leaves and these are so deeply 

 cut as to be almost pinnatifid. Also its 

 clusters are globose, instead of flat. Barr 

 speaks of the " rich orange-brown anthers. " 

 This sounds like a distinct and beautiful 

 feature. As this is a native of the Him- 

 alayas, its hardiness is to be questioned. 



S. Laggerii was not advertised in America 

 before Bailey's "Cyclopedia" was written 

 but has lately been catalogued in Rochester, 

 N. Y. My specimen had unequal sepals, 

 like S. Maximowiczii, but broader leaves, 

 and both bloomed a week or two later 

 than 5. Aizoon. From the garden point 

 of view I should consider 5. Laggerii too 



r£*» 



The hybrid stonecrop (Sedum hybridum) is very close to the Kamtschatcan. which is probably the best 



creeping stonecrop with yellow flowers 



much like the others to be worth culti- 

 vating. 



Part II. — The Creeping Stone- 

 crops 



We come now to the creeping stone- 

 crops which are typified by 5. ternatum, 

 shown on page 257. Unlike the tall 

 stonecrops they have creeping barren 

 stems, while the flowering stems stand only 

 a few inches high. They are not so showy 

 as the tall ones, but on the other hand they 

 are wonderful spreaders, completely hiding 

 every vestige of soil with luxuriant carpets 

 in many shades of green, gray and blue. 

 Unlike the mossy stonecrops they are too 

 strong for carpeting bulb and rose beds, 

 and I therefore recommend them for 

 edging borders of perennials and carpeting 

 the ground beneath shrubs. One dis- 

 appointment I must record. The whole 

 group is described as evergreen by Masters 

 and other European writers and I made 

 this a prominent feature in my key to 

 Sedum in Bailey's "Cyclopedia." But 

 after living with the plants two winters, I 

 found that every one in my collection lost 

 its leaves in winter. These barren stems 

 then look so unattractive that I called 

 them the "rattail section" in my own mind. 

 In the latitude of Washington, D. C, they 

 might be evergreen, but there is no trouble 

 in distinguishing them from the mossy 

 stonecrops because the leaves of the 

 creeping kinds are unmistakably flat, 

 while the mossy kinds have cylindrical 

 (or terete) leaves. 



TWO WHITE-FLOWERED STONECKOPS 



Sedum ternatum, pictured on page 257, is a 

 white-flowered American species which Brit- 

 ton calls "wild stonecrop" — a name that 



is not designative. 

 Neither is "ternate," 

 however, as several 

 others have the 

 leaves of the barren 

 shoots in threes. 

 But from the garden 

 point of view it is 

 very distinct and 

 pretty. One charm- 

 ing feature is the 

 anthers which are 

 red at first, then 

 black, and always 

 contrasting prettily 

 with the starry white 

 petals. It makes me 

 indignant that such 

 important and ob- 

 vious facts are never 

 mentioned by gar- 

 den writers, even in 

 books of reference. 

 For, if we cultivate 

 plants for their 

 beauty, why should 

 we not put on record 

 the most conspic- 

 u o u s and distin- 

 guishing beauty 

 that a plant possesses? I must correct 

 the blooming dates which I gave in the 

 "Cyclopedia" as July or August, for I 

 had specimens from three nurserymen and 

 all bloomed from the middle of May to 

 the middle of June. 



S. Nevii is native to our own mountains 

 of Virginia and Alabama, but it is easier 

 to import it from England than find 

 an American who offers it. Mr. Gillett 

 says it is hardy in Massachusetts. I 

 have never seen it and cannot say whether 

 it has any distinctive beauty. It is close 

 to ternatum, but the leaves of the barren 

 shoots are scattered — not in threes. 



Other white or whitish flowers are likely 

 to be varieties of the pinkish section. 



PINKISH VIOLET AND PURPLE STONECROPS 



The showiest flower of this group, 

 probably, is S. stoloniferum, which Rob- 

 inson calls the purple stonecrop. I had 

 it from six nurserymen, who generally 

 describe it as pinkish, but the brightest 

 form, perhaps, is the one they call S. 

 spurium, var. coccineum, as this has crim- 

 son flowers. The name spurium, however, 

 should be dropped, as it is a synonym. 

 A nurseryman in South Orange, N. J., 

 has sent out an evergreen plant with yel- 

 low flowers under the name of spurium 

 splendens which, of course, cannot possibly 

 be this species. 



Very close to stoloniferum is ,5. oppositi- 

 folium, for both have opposite leaves, but 

 the latter has brighter green leaves, which 

 present a neater appearance, because they 

 overlap one another more regularly in 

 decussate fashion. Also this is normally 

 a white, or at least whitish flower. 



The poplar-leaved stonecrop (S. populi- 

 folium) is interesting chiefly because the 

 flowers are said to have the fragrance of 



