The flowers of Deutzia longifolia vividly recall the old time Wax-plant. Color dull 

 creamy white and rose 



"Chinese Large-flowering Deutzia" (D. Schneideriana laxiflora) which blooms about the 

 middle of May. Very floriferous 



Two Chinese Deutzias of Merit 



J. HORACE McFARLAND 



Author of "My Growing Garden," "Getting Acquainted with the Trees," etc 



VERYONE knows the Deutzias, of 



:! The 



tootsies, as an 



old 



E 1 

 blacksmith friend used to call them, 

 are in most door yards, along with 

 Spireas and Lilacs. The three or four familiar 

 members of the family are standard and 

 excellent shrubs, and tend to be overplanted 

 in consequence. The fine, compact and low- 

 growing D. gracilis; the old and tall-growing 

 "crenata flore-pleno" which we now class as 

 a variety of Deutzia scabra; and the much- 

 vaunted "Pride of Rochester" variety of the 

 last species — all these are familiar. 



Then there are the fine sorts made for us 

 by that prince of shrub hybridizers, Monsieur 

 Lemome, of Nancy, two of whose plant-loving 

 sons have been sacrificed to the European 

 Moloch in defense of France. D. Lemoinei 

 compacta is a delightful shrub, and the 

 variations of it called "Boule de Neige"— 

 really a ball of creamy snow! — and "Ava- 

 lanche," which has the effect of its name, are 

 the sort of shrubs which increase admiration 

 for this wonderful Frenchman. A half- 

 dozen other forms there are of his hybridizing, 

 every one worth while, and as distinct as are 

 the master's wonderful Philadelphus or 

 Mockoranges. — [The reader will find in The 

 Garden Magazine for May, 1917, a more 

 detailed account of these hybrids with 

 portraits of many. — Ed.] Most nurserymen 

 miss these hybrids in selecting their mother 

 shrubs for propagating, I am sorry to say. 

 They ought to be more widely known. 



But it is of two Deutzias brought from 

 West China by that plant benefactor, E. H. 



Wilson, the Arnold Arboretum's ornamental 

 plant scout, that I wish to write. Each is a 

 clearly distinct species, and very different 

 from the common types of Deutzias. Each is 

 good in itself, and presents in addition fine 

 opportunities to the hybridizer who might 

 care to emulate the patient, painstaking and 

 productive work of M. Lemoine. 



Indeed, before telling of these Deutzias, I 

 may well quote from Professor Sargent's 

 Arnold Arboretum Bulletin No. 25 of June 5, 

 1912. Writing of the Lemoine hybrid Deutzias, 

 he says: "The systematic crossing of shrubs 

 with the object of creating new forms, except 

 perhaps in the case of Roses, is a comparatively 

 new industry, but it has already produced 

 startling results in such genera as Magnolia, 

 Deutzia, Philadelphus, Ceanothus, Rhododen- 

 dron, and Diervilla; and with the great num- 

 ber of new shrubs discovered in recent years 

 in Eastern Asia and Eastern North America 

 at his disposal, the hybridizer will now have 

 new and abundant opportunity to show 

 his judgment and skill in producing new races 

 of plants." 



1 hus the two Wilson Deutzias illustrated 

 here may not only be of much value in them- 

 selves, but also as they contribute their quali- 

 ties to the "new races" which we may hope 

 to have some capable American hybridizer 

 produce. 



Deutzia longifolia is to reach six feet in 

 height eventually, according to Mr. Rehder's 

 account in Bailey's "Standard Cyclopedia of 

 Horticulture." My own specimens, planted in 

 1913 while yet the pre-name Wilson number 



CI 



of 4326 was its only designation, have had 

 hard luck, for they were set in an "Arboretum 

 bed" of new things, the growth-habit of none 

 of which I knew. In consequence, the 

 strong growers soon over-shadowed and rob- 

 bed the less upstanding shrubs, and D. 

 longifolia has been deprived of a fair chance 

 at sun and soil. About three feet high in 

 1916, with upright branches and interesting 

 foliage, it has bloomed freely in 1915, 1916, 

 and 1917. 



The flowers are strikingly distinct both in 

 form and color. My garden note of June 4, 

 1916, describes its flowers as "like those of 

 the old Wax-plant, Hoya carnosa," and I 

 cannot now think of a better description. But 

 as many readers of The Garden Magazine 

 may not be familiar with the old greenhouse 

 climber to which I have compared this 

 Chinese visitor, let me say that the flowers 

 open out rather widely, but preserving a vase 

 form. The petals shade to dull rose-colored 

 centre, and there is a certain waxiness about 

 the flowers which justifies the reference. 



"Many-flowered corymbs," reads the scien- 

 tific description of this fine "posy," and the 

 picture will prove it. More than three 

 quarters of an inch across, the individual 

 flowers are large, and the clusters or " corymb " 

 effect distinct and attractive. 



The Cyclopedia description says of D. 

 longifolia: "One of the handsomest Deutzias, 

 but has proved hardy only under protection 

 at the Arnold Arboretum." So much for the 

 cold east winds of Boston-town; but the 

 conditions in the valley of the Susquehanna 



