ANDROSACE, 



339 



ANDROSACE. 

 Of all flowering plants for rock-gardens 

 this group is the most truly alpine. It 

 is confined to the bleak summits many 

 thousands of feet above the sea, beyond 

 the limits of tree or shrub, and rarely 

 creeps down even to the highest of the 

 scanty pastures, as do the Gentians and 

 other alpine flowers. Some miniature 

 kinds grow like tiny shrubs dotted upon 

 the open slopes, where the snow falls 

 early in autumn. Others are yet more 

 shy, clinging like tufts of moss to the 

 rocks, nestling in the clefts upon their 

 sunny and more sheltered surfaces, be- 

 side the alpine Primulas to which they 

 are nearly related. Their way of growth 

 is usually as tiny cushions of green, or 

 grey, or silver, often little more than an 

 inch high and set as closely beneath a 

 sheltering ledge or in a crevice as any 

 limpet on its rock. Deep buried in the 

 snowdrifts they rest unharmed the win- 

 ter through, and when the lengthening 

 days end their long night it is time to 

 hide themselves anew, in such a burst of 

 flower that one is fain to marvel at their 

 beauty. Owing to changed conditions 

 they bloom earlier in our rock-gardens, 

 and through a longer season than on the 

 mountains. 



A few kinds such as A. 



Culture. j . , 



lanuginosa and sarmentosa 

 dowell almost anywhere, if nottoo near 

 the smoke and dust of towns; but many 

 sorts, among the dwarf " mossy "kinds, 

 rarely thrive except in northern or hilly 

 districts, and under conditionsmorelike 

 those oftheir nativehaunts. To find such 

 conditions is difficult in many gardens, 

 and in this lies the care required by these 



alpine gems. Nor is it only the need of 

 rocky clefts and fissures, filled with good 

 soil, and secure from extremes of wet or 

 drought, but the very nature of the rock 

 — whether sand or limestone — is of im- 

 portance, as failure often results from 

 want of care upon this point. As with 

 the mountain Primulas, it is waste of 

 effort to try to grow the sand-loving 

 kinds in any other soil, and failure is just 

 as certain if those found upon limestone 

 soils aredeprived of it. Thenagain,when 

 out of flower it is easy to forget such tiny 

 tufts of verdure, so that they often suf- 

 fer neglect while making the summer 

 growth upon which their beauty de- 

 pends. A constant watch is needed for 

 aphis, slugs, and red-spider, somekinds, 

 such as A. Chamcejasme^ being often 

 killed or much weakened by this pest. 

 Towards autumn syringing them with 

 clear water does good, and a surface- 

 dressing of soil and stone-chips helps 

 before winter, and should, if need be, 

 be renewed in spring, when all planting 

 should also be done. When this top- 

 dressing is well done fresh roots are often 

 made from the under-side of the pro- 

 strate stems, and this is a great gain. The 

 woolly-haired kinds, which often fail 

 from damp in our winters, should be 

 planted in the crevices of upright rocks, 

 or under protecting ledges such as that 

 shown in our engraving ; where this is 

 not possible it is a great help to cover 

 them from October to March with a 

 tilted glass, to ward off rain and cold 

 dews, while allowing a free play of air. 

 The rocks among which they are plan ted 

 should be well sunk in the ground with 

 thin layers of good soil and broken stone 



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