^rss^ Choice Hardy Shrubs 



NOTE. — Shrubs will be shipped on receipt of orders, or as soon as they can be dug, unless instructed to the contrary, but no 

 orders can be accepted for delivery later than May 1st, and they can only be sent by Freight or Express, at purchaser's Expense. 

 They are too heavy and large to be sent by mail. No charge for boxes, packing ordelivery to express, freight or steamship hnes 

 in Philadelphia. 



Abelia Chinensis Gfandifloha 



THE PI.ANXING AND CARE OF SHRUBS 



SHRUBS are as much a part of the well balanced garden as the lawn or flower 

 Ijorders. Many of them are as decorative as any ornamental foliage plant, 

 while others are highly useful as cut flowers, and a well-arranged planting 

 presents an attractive appearance throughout the entire year. 



Shrubs have many uses, such as a dividing line between the flower and the vege- 

 table garden, or between the lawn and uncultivated land beyond; as a background to 

 a flower border; for hiding an unsightly building, fence or foundation, or they may 

 be planted in a mixed shrubbery border, in which case those of short, dense growth 

 should be planted along the front of the border, graduating to the tall- growing 

 kinds at the back. 



Thorough preparation of the soil by spading, and the addition of a liberal quantity 

 of sheep or stable manure or bone meal will be well repaid by strong, vigorous, healthy 

 growth. All the attention necessary to such a border would be occasional culti- 

 vation to keep down weeds, and a little top dressing of manure or bone meal in 

 the late fall to keep up the fertility of the border. In planting care 

 should be taken not to overcrowd, allowing sufficient room for future 

 development, and unless an immediate effect is wanted — in which case 

 they may be planted closer and some of them moved when necessary — 

 the majority of the dwarf growing kinds may be set about 3 feet apart, 

 the tall, strong growers, about 5 feet apart. 



Deciduous shrubs should be planted in spring as soon as frost is out 

 and the ground in workable condition. This gives them a chance to 

 make some root-growth before hot weather comes, and while it is quite 

 possible to plant up until the beginning of May, they will not do as 

 well as if planted earlier. 



The question of when and how to prune Shrubs is one that is fre- 

 quently asked, and as no hard and fast rule can be given, we can but 

 indicate in a general way what should be done. 



All Shrubs that blossom before midsummer, such as Deutzias, Forsythias, Lilacs, 

 Philadelphus, Weigelias, etc., produce their flowers on the growth of wood made 

 the previous year. To prune these in fall or spring would be to destroy most of 

 the flowers for that season. These, therefore, should have any necessary pruning 

 done immediately after flowering. Varieties which blossom after midsummer 

 produce their blooms on wood made the same season. This class includes such 



kinds as Altheas, Hydrangeas, Tamarix, etc., and these should be pruned in eaily spring. In 

 our judgment. Shrubs are, as a rule, pruned too much, all the pruning, or rather trimming, 

 that is necessary being just enough to keep the plant in nice symmetrical shape, care, of course, 

 being tnken to cut out all dead wood, and removing sufficient surplus growth, if any, to admit 

 a free circulation of air and sunshine to all parts of the plant. 



Abelia Chinensis Grandiflora. A choice small Shrub 

 of graceful habit, producing through the entire summer 

 and fall months white tinted lilac heather-like flowers in 

 such abundance as to completely cover the plant. 50 cts. 

 each. 

 Althea (Hose of Sharon). The Altheas are among the 

 most valuable of our tall, hardy Shrubs on account of 

 their late season of blooming, which is from August to 

 October, a period when but few Shrubs are in flower. 

 They are also extensively used as hedge plants, for which 

 they are admirably adapted. We offer the following 

 / choice sorts: 



\ — Alba plena. Double white, crimson centre 



— Duchesse de Brabant. Double dark red. 



— Foliis Variegatis. Leaves variegated green and 

 white. 



— Lady Stanley. Double blush white, with crimson centre. 



— Totus Albus. Fine, single, pure white. 

 60 cts. each. Set of 5 varieties, $2. 50. 



— William R. Smith. A splendid giant-flowering variety, natur- 

 ally forming symmetrical bushy specimens, while the glistening pure 

 white flowers are of giant size, fully 4 inches in diameter under 

 ordinary cultivation, open out flat or salver-shaped quite different 

 from the older types which only partially expand; these are pro- 

 duced in great profusion from early in July until late in September, 

 and are very conspicuous at a period when comparatively few Shrubs 

 are in bloom. Strong young pot-grown plants, 50 cts. each. 



Althea William R. Smith 



We will iupply all Shrubi priced at 60 cts. each for $6.00 per doz.; $40.00 per 100 



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