1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



107 



THE CLIANTHUS. 



This plant, known as the " Glory Pea" of 

 New Holland, though usually considered of 

 somewhat difficult culture, may be easily 

 grown if care is taken not to give too much 

 water when young. The seeds vegetate 

 freely, grow rapidly, then suddenly the 

 young plants wither. If the cause is sought, 

 it will be found that they have rotted, or 

 "damped off," as gardeners say, just at the 

 collar of the plant. If this can be pre- 

 vented, and there is no real difficulty, the 

 culture is very easy. The plant is a native 

 of dry, sandy plains, and never at any period 

 of its growth requires much surface water. 

 The roots are long and bare, and will strike 

 down and draw the necessary moisture from 

 below. 



Of the beauty of the plant no description 

 can give an idea, and even the highest 

 colored illustrations cannot 

 exaggerate its brilliancy. 

 The foliage is rather large, 

 compound and vetch-like, 

 well covering the plant, and 

 showy. The flowers are in 

 pendent clusters, each indi- 

 vidual being about three 

 inches long; they are pea- 

 shaped, and usually of a rich 

 scarlet color. 



The seeds should be sown 

 in rather sandy soil, in pots, 

 or in a frame, in April. If 

 in the latter, however, it 

 must be where the plants are 

 to bloom, as they cannot be 

 transplanted successfully; 

 or they may be sown in the 

 open border, after the groum 

 has become warm, about the 

 last of May. In border-cult- 

 ure, the essential point to be 

 observed is that, while the 

 plants require an abundance 

 of water during the growing 

 season, the utmost care is 

 necessary to keep the neck 

 of the stem entirely dry. 

 When the seedlings are very 

 small, pot each separately, 

 or, better still, plant but one 

 seed in each pot, and as the 

 plants grow shift into larger 

 pots. Never water over-head, 

 or wet the foliage, and if the 

 surface is watered put a 

 little sand round the collar 

 of the plant. We have been 

 most successful by not giving 

 any surface water ; but, instead, setting the 

 pots in a pan of water, and thus supplying 

 moisture to the root. As soon as the stem 

 of the plant becomes woody, which it quickly 

 does, no further care is needed. 



If one can get Clianthus safely through 

 the first few weeks of their growth, they are 

 as easily grown as any plant. Set the plants 

 out in a dry, warm, sunny spot in the gar- 

 den, about the first of June. They will 

 make bushes two to three feet in height, and 

 be covered with the splendid flowers until 

 killed by the frost. In the greenhouse they 

 do not thrive, as they are more subject to 

 the attacks of red spiders than any plant, 

 and do not like the syringing necessary to 

 destroy that pest. 



The oldest species is C. puniceus, which is 

 a very showy plant ; but the newer, C. Dam- 



pieri, far surpasses it, having larger flowers 

 of a richer scarlet, which have a large, 

 shining, intense black mark at the base of 

 the petals. Of this latter species there is a 

 variety with white flowers, somewhat varied 

 with pink, and with the same black mark- 

 ing, which is very pretty, although less showy. 



Let no one be deterred from planting 

 Clianthus because it is " hard to grow." The 

 only care is to avoid over-watering in the 

 early stages of growth ; otherwise the plant 

 is of as easy culture as any other of the Bean 

 family. R. S. E. 



PHLOX DEUMMONDII. 



We have no more desirable annual, so far 

 as brilliance of color, constancy of blooming, 

 and ease of cultivation is concerned, than 

 Phlox Drummondii. It does not do as well 

 in a very rich soil as it does in a moderately 



CLIANTHUS D 



rich one. At least, such has been my experi- 

 ence. If given a very rich soil, it is inclined 

 to grow very luxuriantly, and produces more 

 foliage and branches than flowers. It likes 

 a light soil, and any ordinary garden soil is 

 improved for Phlox-growing by adding sand. 

 It can be sowed in the beds early in the sea- 

 son, as it is not easily injured by frost. I 

 often find plants in last year's beds, the seeds 

 having stood the winter bravely. 



In six weeks from the time of sowing the 

 plants will begin to bloom, and from that 

 time until severe frosts in fall, the crop of 

 flowers will be steady and increasing, as the 

 plant increases in size, if care is taken to 

 keep the faded flowers cut off, thus prevent- 

 ing the formation of seed. No plant should 

 be expected to produce many flowers while 

 perfecting seed. 



The more you cut the Phlox the more 

 branches you will get, and as the new growth 

 always bears flowers you get an increase in 

 bloom in proportion to the increase of growth 

 in the plant. Keep down weeds until the 

 plant has grown large enough to cover the 

 ground, and then it will generally keep down 

 the weeds itself. 



A bed of mixed colors is very pretty, but I 

 prefer to keep the colors separate. A fav- 

 orite way of arranging Phlox is to sow it in 

 circular beds, in rings of white and rose 

 varieties. I prefer these colors to any other, 

 but the others are very fine. 



E. E. Rexford. 



WINTERING TEA-ROSES OUTDOORS. 



My Tea-Roses, left out-of-doors all winter 

 and cut back this spring, are sprouting finely. 



The only exceptions are some 

 Perle des Jardins, which 

 were planted last year, from 

 two-inch pots, in rather poor 

 soil, and did not make strong 

 enough wood to stand the 

 winter's wet. It is the wet, 

 by-the-by, not the frost, that 

 kills Teas. My garden is 

 well sheltered by a high 

 board fence, and I bent the 

 plants down, first cutting 

 them back slightly, secured 

 them with stakes, and gave 

 a covering of leaves — no- 

 thing more. Out of fifty treat- 

 ed that way, I lost nine — the 

 weak Perles. Per contra, out 

 of fifty more left to perish 

 miserably, three would not 

 die, and there they are, with 

 long sprouts, from a sound 

 six inches or so of stalk 

 saved. My florist friends told 

 me I couldn't keep Tea-Roses 

 out-of-doors in this latitude. 

 When I told them I intended 

 to keep a Lemon- Verbena al- 

 so in that way, they laughed. 

 There they are, however, 

 to-day, sprouting finely, to 

 the confusion of all doubting 

 Thomases. Fuchsias, and 

 many other, so called, tender 

 shrubs and woody plants, if 

 large specimens, maybe kept 

 in the same way, by cutting 

 back and loosely covering; 

 but the game is not worth 

 the candle. T. D. E. 



TRANSPLANTING PROM POTS. 



To transplant bedding-out plants from the 

 pots, turn them bottom side upward on your 

 left hand, and rap sharply with the rim of 

 the pot against a table or box, and the ball 

 of earth will fall out. Loosen the roots with 

 a gentle touch, and shake them out slightly. 

 Let the hole be ready prepared with water 

 at the bottom of it, before the plant is taken 

 from the pot, and set it into the soil a little 

 deeper than it was in the pot. If the roots 

 have formed a net-work inside the pot, pull 

 off a little of it, and if the ball is hard, crush 

 so as to partially loosen it. Press the earth 

 very firmly with your hands and the trowel 

 around the stem of the plant. Transplant on 

 a cloudy day, and you will not lose a plant. 



