I 



242 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



March 23, 1912. 



NOTES FROM KEW 



we 



Apart fioiii the numerous plants tliat 

 flower at this season a great number <»f 

 hardy subjects have been forced for 

 the embellishment of the greenhouse. 

 There is, of course, a wide choice of hardy 

 shrubs, especially among the azaleas and 

 rhododendrons, while others of this class 

 that may be especially mentioned are the 

 double-flowered cherries, Pyrus floribunda, 

 Spiriea arguta, Staphylea colchica, the 

 double-flowered form of Kerria japonica 

 like little golden Toses, and the uncom- 

 mon Xanthoceras sorbifolia, whose white 

 flowers have a distinct coppery centre Ot 

 forced bulbs the hyacinths, tulips, and 

 cissi contribute bold masses of colour at 



Kew. ^, 



Of greenhouse plants proper there is a 

 fine display, as apart from such well-known 

 subjects as Indian azaleas, camellias, car- 

 nations, primulas, cyclamen, and cinerarias 

 there are many others not so generally met 

 with. A bold group of Coleus thyrsoide.is 

 shows off its rich cobalt blue flowers to ad- 

 vantage, and an allied but uncommon 

 species, though less attractive, is decided y 

 ornamental. This is C. shirensis, which 

 like that just mentioned, is a native ot 

 central Africa. The finest begonias ]ust 

 now are Gloire de Sceaux, with bronzv 

 foliaf^e and rose-coloured flowers, and th^i 

 valuable hybrid raised many years ago by 

 "M Lemoine— Begonia semperflorens gigan 



tea rosea, ^hich is, and hasibeen for a long 

 time quite a mass of blossoms. An exceed- 

 ingly pleasing effect is produced by a irroup 

 of the Mexican Begonia manicata uifer- 

 spersed with some bright-coloured h'ppoas- 

 trums. 



Numerous hard-wooded subjects ccr. tri- 

 bute their share to the floral dioplay, not- 

 ably chorozemas, acacias, particularly a 

 very large specimen of A. pulcholla, 

 Boronia megastigma, Cytissus racemosus, 

 and others. Of the many still remaining 

 especial mention may fbe made of a finely- 

 berried group of Ardisia crenulata, and of 

 a flowering example of the curious Houtli 

 African Birds Head Flower— Strelitzia 

 Eeginse. 



Pinguicula Rosei. 



This Mexican Butterwort is now in flower 

 in the orchid range, the treatment gi\en 

 to many orchids 'being very suitable for 

 this and its near relative, the well known 

 Pinguicula caudata. To this last, P. Rosei 

 bea^ a great general resemblance, except 

 in the colour of the blossoms, whica ur the 

 newcomer are of a deep violet tint. C.osc 

 by is a flowering example of P. caudata, so 

 that the near relationship bet\veen the two, 

 except in colour, may be readily seen. 



Eranthemum albiflorum. 



This pretty acanthaceous plant is by no 

 means a novelty, yet, considering its 

 merits, one wonders that it is not more 

 generally grown. Like many other mem- 

 bers of the genus, it is of upright grovvth, 

 and the flowers, which are borne in ter- 

 minal spikes, are very suggestive ot a spray 

 of white lilac. Grown as in the 1 ^nge at 

 Kew in compriratively small pots with the 

 entire plant not much more than a toot 

 high, it is very pretty. This eranthemum 

 is a native of the ^Solomon Islands, and -is 

 a plant of easy propagation and culture. 



Impatiens. 



Several of the tro])ical balsams have 

 proved to be thorou^rhlv good decorative 

 plants, not the least of i\unr merits being 

 their alm^ost continual flowering qualities. 

 Summer and winter alike, the huge speci- 

 mens of Impatiens Olivieri, in the green- 



house, bear their large mauve-coloured 

 blossoms, and in the T range the bright 

 vermilion-tinted Impatiens Holsti supplies 

 a distinct and welcome s^hade of colour. 

 The old Impatiens Sultani is also of easy 

 culture, and very floriferous. 



Clivia miniata citrina. 



Though this pale yellow or stra^y-coloured 

 variety of Clivia miniata has been at 

 Kew for many years, it is still suffi- 

 ciently uncommon to at once arrest at- 

 tention when a good example is in bloom, 

 as happens at the present time in the cool 

 portion of the T range. While it is very 

 distinct, and on that account noticeable, 

 it is not so showy as some of the improved 

 forms of Cli\^a miniata, which in gardens 

 is more generally known by the generic 

 name of imantophyllum. 



Veltheimia viridif olia. 



The Dictionary of Gardening" gives 

 the month of August as the flowering period 

 of this South Afrioan bulbous plant, but 

 that it is not limited to that season of the 

 year is shown by the fact that a number 

 of plants are now in bloom in the 



tains of Costa Rica, from whence it was 

 introduced by M. Carlos Werckle, the dis- 

 coverer of Hidalgoa Wercklei. It is a plant 

 of a half-shrubby character, with ovate 

 leaves, thick in texture, while the blos- 

 soms of a somewhat curved tubular shape 

 are fb right orange-scarlet. Being in its 

 native state an epiphyte this grows well in 

 a mixture of leaf-mould, fibrous peat, 

 coarse sand^ and sphagnum moss. 



Pavonia Wioti. 



A generation ago this pavonia w^as more 

 generally met with than it is at the present 

 day. Still, as now flowering in the T range, 

 it is a very pretty warm house shrub, and, 

 what is more, quite distinct from the usual 



occfupants of that structure. 

 Wioti forms 



Pavonia 



comp 



The 



an upright-growing plant, 

 clothed somewhat sparingly with pointed 

 ovate leaves, about six inches in length. 

 The flowers, which are borne in a loose ter- 

 minal head, have a large outer calyx of a 

 bright reddish-pink colour, split up into 

 narrow segments. The petals are of a dull 

 purple tint, and the anthers, which are 

 crowded together at the mouth of the 

 corolla, are blue. It is a relative of the 

 abutilons, and is sometimes included in the 



Goethea. An allied 



genus 



Makoyana 

 Wioti 



speci 

 flowers than P. 

 while of some seedlings raised by 



has darker 



the 



broad, strap-shaped leaves, w^hich are about 

 a foot in length, are disposed in a very 

 regular manner, and from the centre of the 

 tuft the flower scapes are pushed up. These 

 reach a height of eighteen inches to two 

 feet, and are terminated by a raceme of 

 flowers, which are not particularly showy, 

 being of a yellowish-green and rose 

 colour, but they last in beauty a con- 

 siderable time, and the whole aspect 

 of the plant, leaves included, is decidedly 

 ornamental. This veltheimia is an old 

 plant in gardens, having been introduced 

 as lomz; au;o as 1768. 



Tillandsia splendens. 



This must be assigned a place as one of 

 the most showy of Bromeliaceous plants, 

 and it is also one of the best known. The 

 leaves, about three inches in width, are of 

 a pleasing green colour, and marked with 

 dark transverse stripes. The sword-shaped 

 scape bears a great numher of large, 

 closely-imbricated, bright red bracts, ar- 

 ranged opposite to each other. From these 

 'bracts the yellowish flowers are produced, 

 but they do not remain in beauty for any 



great length of time. The bracts, however, 



keep fresh and bright for a long while. 



Some specimens in the stove portion of the 



T range are so attractive as to suggest that 



this and other Bromeliads might with ad- 

 vantage he more often met witli in gardens 



than they are. This particular kind is also 



known as Tillandsia zebriua and Vriesia 



splendens. 



Whether known as Tyda>as or Isolomas, account of its bright "^^^P^^^^^j. the 



these fom> a very pretty class of gesnera- ^yitpTVfitinP-: it will also succeed u^ ^ 

 ceous plants, remarkable in some cases for 

 the distinct markings of their flowers and 

 ill all for their continuous blooming quali- 

 ties. A group in the T range now in flower 

 shows the plants in that stage somewhat) 

 earlier than they ai-e usually met with. It 

 is surprising that tydanas are not more 

 generallv giown in gardens, as they are of 

 easy culture, and flower over such a 

 lengthened period. 



Columnea g^labra. 



This is an exceedingly pr(4ty gesnera- 

 ceous plant of which there is a g(iod exam- 

 ple in flower in the intcrnuduite iK>rtK>n 

 of the T range. It benrs, u.^nerally speak- 



M. Lemoine, the best, as far as my know- 

 ledge extends, is Kermesina. 



The Alpine House. 



This is now one 

 features of the gardens, being filled with a 

 delightftd assortment of flowering subjects. 

 They are, for the most part, grouped three 

 or four of a. sort together, and the ettect 

 is most pleasing. Among the occupants ot 

 the structure may be noted bhortia nm- 

 flora, anemones in variety, especially A. 

 blanda atrocoertilea, and A. fulgens mus- 

 cari in variety, several narcissi incluamg 



tiny Narcissus minor, and iN . cycia- 

 mineus, Draba azoides, species of tulips, 

 chionodoxas, iScilla sibirica, and a particu- 

 larly fine white-flowered form Leucopm 

 vernum, Cyclamen Coum, and its ^hite 

 variety, hepaticas of sorts, ^a^'fr'^S^^'J 

 variety-especially S. Burseriana gi and^ 

 flora, S. Boydi, and S. Gne«bachi, cry 

 throAiums, and Adorns amurensis flo e 

 pleno. This list might be ^'"f 

 extended, but enough is g>y«" f ^Jer 

 attractive nature of the plants 

 The singular little Chinese 

 intricatum, with tiny Ulae-colow^ A^J^^^^ 

 i« also in full bloom in this f i'"^*";^;^ 

 notable feature of this i-hofclendron ^ 

 that it often produces a second crop or^ 

 soms in the autumn. 



ing 



a < 



•oii.siderahl 



n-xinhlance to an 



ieichyriantluus. but, unlike the members 

 of this genus (whi<-h are nearly all natives ot 

 Soutli-c^.stern Asia and the neighbouring 

 ii,les), this columnea oomes from the moun- 



Lselia mo 



.,at, on acc< 



interesting; n wm ai^y been 

 conditions suggested. " has a^-ayB ^^^^t 



difficult subject to deal with, ^^^X xempera- 

 difficulty has been to find a s^table temp^^^^ 

 tare and a suitable compost An j f^ ^ 

 that require fresh material shouia 

 given attention. They should P}J^ re- 

 the smallest pans ^possible, Imt js 

 sent being disturbed, tbey ^^^^^^f^,.^ to ^ 

 moved unless it is a;bsolutely ^^ece^^^^^ gort 

 BO. Use well-drained pans and tne^ 

 of compost as advised for <lend^°V""\ition 

 plants should be grown ^^^Sii^ied in 

 near the roof glass, and when ^^^['^"wed to 

 their receptacles should never ot ^^^^ 

 become drv. The greatest mistake wi^ 

 ^,>-<'alled difficult subjects is a Thes<> 

 ^v.t.M nflcr they have l>een di^turW^- 



light, when in J*^^! f ^^.^nably 

 sphere (but not unica^ ^.^^^^ 



moist), and a circulation of air a . 

 whenever possible.-J. T. Baeker, 

 Hill Gardens. 



orchids all delight, 

 a moist atmoj 



