Amt 13, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



S03 



.iven, aud some will cK*enr to vxcvy rcadrr. IVY^LEAVED PELARGONIUMS. 



However goo<l our intojitions nuxy be in tlu 

 matter ot thinning, and however Avell we 

 may earry them out, seedlings often suffer 

 irremediable injury through being too thick 

 in the seed-bed before they are big enough 



to thin out. 



Even the greediest of hardy perenniaKs 



suffer quite a^s much from being groAvn too 

 closely together, or, what is the same in 

 principle, from the shoots not being thinned 

 out in the spring (e.g., varieties of Heli- 

 anthus rigidus), especially if there is in- 

 sufficient rainfall during the summer. 

 Many which make such handsome specimen 

 plants or groups when given enough space 

 are not worth growing when starved by 

 u^:^.^ grown too closely together, or too 

 near other strong-growing plants, the 

 flowers being smali, their duration: short 

 (both as regards the individual hlossoms and 

 the whole display of the plant), and the ap- 

 l)earance of the plants after flowering more 

 rac^o-ed than thev would be if able to use 



thefr foliage for recuperation. 



Rudbeckia Golden Glow, for instance, 

 when well managed, will produce a succes- 

 sion of large double flowers, resembling 

 African marigolds, for a period of six weeks 

 or more, and after flowering is finished, and 

 the plant begins to become untidy, the stems 

 may be cut dvAvii to give full (levelopment 

 to the handsome basal leaves which follow. 

 When <-]-()wded and starved, the blossoms 

 are half the size, and do not last very long, 

 the whole plant suffering from drought, 

 and presenting a deplorahle appearance, the 

 new root leaves being thin and straggling. 

 We have all seen plants of many perennials 

 suffering no less from had cultivation, of 

 which insufficient spa<'0 i^s a prominent fea- 

 ture. If perennials are li'iven plenty of 

 space for their summer development the 

 intervening spaces can be used for spring 

 bulbs and .such early-flowering plants as 

 primroses, forget-me-nots, alyssums, silenes. 

 limnanthes, Leopard's bane, honesty, wall- 

 flowers, etc., all of which can he pulled up 

 later, eare heing taken that the youug 

 growths of the perennials are not too much 



shaded by them. 



Less obvious, hut none the less real, are 

 the evils of overcrowding in fruit trees, 

 ('arefnl .ins]H^ction. howin tM-, will show the 

 harm done to the trees, Avhi<'h is mainly in 

 the form of the poor development of what 

 should be fruit huds, owing to the insuffi- 

 cient nutriment supplied to them by their 

 leaves ; the amount of sunlight they receive 

 ^]oes not <Miablo them to elaborate enough 

 ^ap for their needs. This becomes patent 

 in the lessened amount of blossom on all 

 parts of the tree which suffer in this way. 

 whether it is on the inner branches of an 

 apple tree or a gooseberry bush, or even 

 on the outer branches if the trees are grow- 

 ing too- closely together. It may also be 

 ^'MMi in the failure of unfavourably placed 

 ^'1 .'->o]H to produce fruit, while in the course 

 a ft'w Y(\ii:s many frnit spurs and small 

 twigrry liraiielics with have been becoming 

 weaker and w^vaker owing to mal-nutntion 

 will (lie away altogether. Alger Petts. 



Rhododendron racemosum. 



1 his charnnng- little rhododendron cannot 

 now 1)0 htokfd upim as a novelty, and neat 

 little flow oiing jjlaiits may be purchased at 

 ^ comparatively eheap rate. This is to a 

 great extent owing to the faet that it can be 

 readily raised from seed. This was by a 

 long- way the first of what may he regarded 

 the recent introductions from China, yet 

 ui my o]>iuion at least it far surpasses any 

 that hav(^ been sent out since. Planted a« at 

 Kew, in breadths o^' masses, it is remarkably 

 t'ffectivo in the open ground, wdiile brought 

 On gently under glass it is an exceedingly 

 pleasing <thiee1 in tlic oit'ciihoiise. — ^^\ 



Sufficient use is not made of ivy-leaveil 

 pelargoniums for garden decoration in the 

 summertime, although there is a distinct 

 improvement in this direction. Isolated 

 pyramidal specimens are splendid on the 

 laAvn, while smaller examples in betls, with 

 ail undergrowth of dwarfer subjects, look 

 well. Foi* window boxes hardly any plant 

 is superior to the ivy-leaved pelargonium, 

 especially if the ])osition is a sunny one, 

 and such varieties as Madame Crousse, 

 ftaUlee, Souv. do Charles Turner, Achieve- 

 ment, and Rycroft Surprise are used; The 

 old pink Madame Crousse is by no means 



VARIETIES OF GRAPES. 



Xew varieties of grapes are but sparingly 

 introduced, and it take« a long time to 

 establish a new one in public favour, even 

 if it possesses merits above the ordinary. 

 For instance. Prince of Wales, a sport from 

 Mrs, Pince, was introduced many years ago, 

 but has not made much headway, although 

 in manv wavs desirable. 1 think, however, 

 that gardeners have tired of including so 

 many varieties, especially during the last 

 ten vears. Some twentv or thirtv vears 

 ago prizes were offered for ten or twelve 

 ^'arieties at s<une of the leading shows, and 

 exnerience Droved that manv of the dozen 



* ^ 



ivy-leavi:d pelargonium mdme. crousse, on a housi: i ijont at 



BEAT-M.\i;is. .\x(;i,i:sr.^ . 



to be despised, as probably tliorc is no 

 variety to surpass it for extreme tiee- 

 (loni of flowering. In the sli.'ltered parts 

 of the south-west of England and the 

 warm parts nf Wnles, this old variety is 

 sometimes found tilling a large wall space 

 on a house front, and providnig a most 

 elegant and effective display durnig a <>ng 

 .sea.son. An example of this method ot 

 employing Pelargonium 31adame C rous-se 

 is illustrated m the present issue. In 

 this instance an old plant occupies a 

 iiosition between the wuidow ami tH*^ 

 front door, and this site it has occu- 

 pied without removal or ]u-otection tor 

 many years. l?ut the house ami plant 

 are at Beaumaris. 



sorts wi re quite worthless, or inferior to 

 others of tlie same colour. In my own 

 case, I planted a <!ozeii .sorts over thirty 

 vears ago. The numlM-r is now uii<h'r 

 eiglit. aiul ]irolial)ly tliat leaves too many. 



"\t the ])reseiu lime there is a tendency 

 among garfleners to rai-e tlieir own vines 

 from eves in .lanuary, grow tlie ]dants 

 lapidlv'. and Jilaiit them in May or .lune. 

 Whetin r this is ii^al economy or not 1 do 

 not profess to say. hut T doubt it. My 

 (>x])erience ha-> In .mi the o|>posii(\ and thus 

 I advise ])lantiiig vear-old <atics 



Black Hamburgh was inii.oried dnrmg 

 Ihe earlv part of the .sevcntciith c<Mitury, 

 and still ranlss as the hne-t Idack grape 

 we have for all geiu'ral ])iirpos*-s. It will 



