114 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



February 10, 1912. 



THE YELLOW-FLOWERED 



CHERRY* 



AMiough not equal in effectiveness when 



m 'b^oom to some of the Japanese clierries 



that now have a place 4n Biitkli gardens 

 the yellow-flowered variety of Prunns 

 pseudo-cerasus is so reoiiarkable for its dis- 

 tinctness and beauty that it is surprising 

 it should not have been di^tribu^red, and 

 owners of gardens Iliad an opportunity of 

 enjoying its charms iwith otiher hai'dy tiees 

 of value for their flowers. It will Jiot pro- 

 du/ce eo rich a colour effect as will the 

 variety known as J. H. Veitch when en- 

 WM-eatlhtd wdtili its largo ro«e-pink flowers; 

 nor, perhaps, is it quite equal to the typical 

 form of P. pseudo-cerasus, ;:nd tho-o who 

 have so limited a space for flowering trees 

 as to be compelled to confine their selection 



If tlhb be not the case we shall greatly ap- 

 preciate the kindness of those of our 

 readers who have seen trees elsewhere^ if 

 they will give us particulars of those they 

 have met with. The variety was first pre- 

 sented to public notice in this -country at 

 the meeting held by the Royal Horticul- 

 tural S&C'iety on April 7, 1896, when 

 Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons exhibited ispeci- 

 mens. In our report it was described as a 

 pretty unnr.med certasus, land in another 

 report we have before us the flowers are 

 described as \Vhitc, .shaded with green and 

 tinted with rose, a description which sug- 

 gests that the flowers shown had attained 

 to considerable age, and lost something of 

 their freshness. With reference to the 

 colour it must be remembered that the 

 light of the Drill Ball in which the R.H.S. 

 meetings and i^hows were then held was 

 usually such as to frequently render it 



meetings, held in 1896 by the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, it had an Award of Merit 

 made in its favour. In addition, the 

 variety J. H. Veitch had been introduced, 

 and its merits fully known to those instru- 

 mental in its introduction. Whatever may 

 have been the cause of the yelkw-flowered 

 dheirry not having made its w'ay into culti- 

 vation, the fact remains that it is a fine 

 tree and worthy of a place wherever the 

 charms of ornamental trees are fully appre- 

 ciated. The colour of the flowers, it should 

 be added, is rich cream coloiur, lightly 

 tinted buff, and ds closely approximate to 

 that of the sweet pea known as Clara 



Curtis, 



BOX HEDGES. 



Like the yew, the box is of slow growth, 

 with dense hahit, and therefore a valuable 



THE YELLOW-FLOWERED CHERRY (PRUNUS PSEUDO-CERASUS FLORE LUTEO PLENO) 



\ handsome 



iety with larg« deep crean> coloured flowers. 



of the forms of this cherry to two would do 

 well to plant the type and its variety ^ J. 

 H. Veitch. Happily, there are many thou- 

 sands of gardens within the British Isles 

 which place no such limit upon the plant<^r, 

 and in these the veUow-flowercd form would 

 contribute its full sihare to their attrac- 

 tions. It is quite distinct from all the other 

 double-flowered cherries whether native or 

 exotic, and its large blossoms, with their 

 soft colouring present a pleasing contrast 

 to the rich wanii hues of the flowers of 

 J. H. Veitch, and the pure cold whiteness 

 of thoise of the double form of the English 

 Bird Cherry (Prunus avium fl. pi.), which 

 also po? 



s merit of a high order. 

 8o far as we are aware, Prunus pj^cudo- 



flore luteo pleno, to give the yellow- 

 flowered foTm its scientific designation, has 

 no place in trade catalogues, and can only 

 he met with in the Royal Gardens, Kew. 



difficult to distinguish the colours. More- 

 ov^er, a few sprays of flo-wers or small plants 

 wholly fail in conveying an adequate idea 

 of the beauty of the tree. It Ifi only when 

 the tree has attained to a tconsiderable size, 

 as in the case of the Kew specimen here- 

 with illustrated, that it is possible to pro- 

 perH^ estimate its decomtive value. It is 

 now some years since this tree came under 

 cur notice, and year by year we have been 

 much surprised to find how greatly it has 

 increased in heauty in process of develop- 

 ment. 



As the yellfow-flowered cherry does not 

 appear to advantage in a small state it 

 made its appearance in this country at a 

 rather unfortunate time. At this period 

 increased attention was heing paid to thi^ 

 beautiful P. pseudo-cerasus, whk-h iliad 

 been long in cultivation, as indicated by 

 the fact that at the second of the April 



hedge plant. In some parts of the country 

 the evergreen box has developed into tree- 

 like proportions, and visitors to Hitchuj 

 will remember a number of large and old 

 examples, carefully preserved by the side 

 of the road near the main street and on 

 the way to the station. But very liirge 

 box hedge- are not so common as high ana 

 broad yew hedges ; nevertheless, some good 

 examples are to he found in various parts 

 of the country, and one of these figures m 

 the present issue. This is a roadside hedge 

 in Berkshire, and is a prominent and "^j^F'T 

 admired feature in a village through whicn 

 one passes to the Berkshire downs. 



It is not lUH-essary to enlarge here 

 upon the nsefnlne-s *^of Buxiis .scnipcr- 

 virens for licd^^-cs. as this matter 

 been dealt with so fullv in recent 

 by iMr. J. Day, chief of the Galk)way House 

 Gardens. 



