THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. march 9, 1912 



ANNUAL CANDYTUFTS. 



Candytufts are so easily grown that per- 

 haps it would ibo better for them if the 

 . seeds germinated indifferently, and the best 

 results could only he obtained by special 

 efforts on the part of the cultivator. We 

 are apt to think 'best of those things that 

 cost us most to produce or achieve. But 

 candytufts are cheap, they germinate freely, 

 and the plants thrive almost anywhere. 

 The great cause of comparative failure is 

 thick sowing, while allowing the seedlings 

 to stand thickly, instead of severely thin- 

 ning them out, is a cause thatalso generally 

 follows the initial mistake of thick sowing. 

 The splendid strains of large-flowered hold- 

 &pike<l candytuft.^ like Bobbie's White 

 Spiral need room to develop, and a square 

 foot is none too much room for the best 

 plants, tlK;ugh thinning need not be quite- 



ACACIA BAILEYANA. 



The illustration on page 131 gives a 

 capital impression of the grace and flori- 

 ferousness of this, as yet, uncommon spe- 

 cies, though, of course, it does not show 

 the rich golden colour of its flowers. Be- 

 sides this brighter colour, the smaller 

 leaves are a great recommendation, for 

 anyone who has used cut sprays of the well- 

 known Acacia dealbata cannot fail to have 

 regretted the unfortunate habit the latter 

 species has of half closing its leaves at an 

 early stage, and so giving the sprays a par- 

 tially withered appearance. Being natur- 

 ally a bush, the species under notice is ad- 

 mirably adapted for greenhouse culture, 

 and, even if it did not floAver so beauti- 

 fully, Acacia Baileyana would be well 

 worth growing as a foliage plant. The 



ture at the roots is absolutely essentiaK 

 A light rich soil, such as fibrous loam and 

 leaf-mould, with a good proportion of sharp 

 sand, is required, and, of course, ample 

 drainage must be provided. The best time 

 for pruning is after the flowers have faded, 

 and when the plants have made their 

 growth it is advantageous to place them 

 out of doors tmtil the late autumn, when 

 they should be housed in a greenhouse; 

 much artificial heat is not to be recom- 

 mended . 



As anyone with but a passing knowledge 

 of Australian plants knows, tliere are a 

 great number of species of acacia- 

 Nicholson's Dictionary of Gardening 

 says fully 400 — and probably, as is the case 

 with that other bewildering Antipodean 

 genus, Eucalyptus, no one knows how 

 many. Besides the two species already 

 named there are not more than a sccre or 



CANDYTUFT WHITE SPIRAL. 

 A fine selection made by Messrs. Dobbie and Co. of thi^ valuable white-flowered annual 



so severe as thi.s when a uiiisv of fl<>resct'nc<^ 

 desired. From white to a deep slia<l(* of 

 irose-red that is nearly crimson, there are 

 many shades of colour available in <'andy- 

 tufts, and it is surpri-sin;; what a capital 

 display can he produced in beds or borders 

 from seeds sown in the open in March. 

 Thin sowing and early thinning result in 

 large freely-branched plants that flower 

 over a cosiderable period, whereas thick 

 sowing and failure to thin early and 

 severely result in dender plants that 

 qu'ckly run their course. 



Seedling: Az^ilea mollis.— It is 



impossible to even hazard a guetss as to the 

 number of these that are ^^ent to this coun- 

 try every year from the Continent, and a 

 great proportion of which are employed for 

 forcing into bloom. At one time complaints 

 were made that the flowers of many of them 

 were poor in colour; but this fault does not 

 prevail to a great extent. — T. 



young Icjivcs are very silvery, and plants 

 with several branches would be useful for 

 grouping, and especially so in jardiniere 

 and other forms of house decoration. 



Besides already recorded instances of its 

 culture in Cornwall, this species finds a 

 place in the Channel Islands, and is, I be- 

 lieve, listed by Messrs. Robert Veitch 

 and Son, of Exeter. As it is not so strong 

 a grower as the Silver Wattle, I am afraid 

 A. Baileyana will not successfully compete 

 with the former as a popular cut flow^er, 

 though, of course, there are many pur- 

 chasers who would willingly give a higher 

 price for the more decorative species. 



Considering their great beauty, it is sur- 

 prising to find how rarely the acacias are 

 grown as greenhouse plants in this coun- 

 try. There are no difficulties attendant 

 upon their culture; the chief point to 

 remember is that, except during the flower- 

 ing period, and for a short time after the 

 plants have been pruned, abundant mois- 



varieties of Acacia longifolia well 



so in cultivation in this country, whd^ 



would be difficult to purchase more than j 



dozen different kinds. There are seve a 



wortii 



growing; A. longifolia^mucronata, which 

 is now in flower in the Temperate House ^ 

 Kew, bears numbers of bright yellow cvui 

 drical flowers, and is even more ornamenxa^ 

 than the variety magnifica. A. ^"^^^^^^ 

 is a desirable species, producing loii^ 

 spikes of globular flowers, well ^t on 

 neat, dark green, linear leaves. ^ 

 flowers of A. lineata are small, but ot ' 



As its name nn^ 



juniperima nas all the ^Pl^j^^^lj. 



very rich golden colour, 

 plies, A. innioerima has 



with very 



lied 



ance of a jiuiiper bush, 

 green leaves, but the illusion is dispe 

 when the golden cylindrical flowers ^VV^^^^ 

 Acacia armata and A. acinacea are ot 

 desirable species, as also is A. afnnis, ^^ 

 lias been described as an improve(t > ■ 



ha 



dealbata. 



Cecil ArBR^-V. 



