Mat 4, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



357 



1^ 



EARLY^FLOWERING HARDY 



PRIMULAS. 



The dainty blossoms of this beautiful 

 group of hardy plants are alway*^ appre- 

 ciated, esi>ecially the first-oomers. Ihey 

 are of' immense value in the rock garden, 

 where suitable plaices can be found to cul- 

 tivate most of them. P. denticulata is 

 usually the first to open it« flowers, which 

 are hiac in colour, and form a roundish 

 cluster on a stout stem. It requires a damp 

 position, and when planted in short grass 

 60 that the soil does not splash the foliage 

 and flowers, it is very atractive. The white 

 form (alba) is very pretty, having pure 

 white flowers, and Cashmeriana has pale 

 violet flowers with yellow centres. 



i\ farinosa, the pretty little Bird's-Eye 

 primrose, is a native species, forming close- 

 growing tufts of foliage, the undersi<les of 

 which are covered with white powder. The 

 numerous lilac blossoms form compact 

 umbels on stems about three inches high. 

 It delights in a moist, yet well-drained soil, 

 in a half-shady position. To pievent the 

 rain from splashing the soil over it^ the 

 ground should be carpeted with some close- 

 growing plant, such as Arenaria balearica. 

 In the event of this latter plant being uti- 

 lised for the purpose of carpeting, it must 

 not be allowed to overgrow the crowns 

 of the primulas. This charming little pri- 

 mula will also thrive well in very short 

 grass, in the shade of a large stone, but 

 when planted in such a place, a guard 

 should be used in the winter to prevent 

 the crowns from being trodden on. The 

 foliage dies down, and only a small crown, 

 covered with white powder, is visible dur- 

 ing the winter months. The white form iiS 

 rather rare at present, and a beautiful 

 variety. 



P. frondosa is similar to the preceding, 



and is very often substituted for it, but the 



petals are not cut in the centre, as are 



those of P. farinosa J neither are the flowers 



sterns so mealy as those of the latter species. 



The same treatment answers for both. 

 P. 



^niai-a is a loveiy species trom tne 

 Alps, with leathery foliage, which is heavily 

 margined with whitish powder. The flowers 

 are of a soft lavender colour, and are pro- 

 duced early in the sea^son. This species 

 must not be confused Avith Auricula mar- 

 ginata, the latter having yellow blossoms. 

 P. marginata deliglits in a crevice between 

 the rocks, with a half-shady aspect. A mix- 

 ture of sandy loam, leaf^oil, and old mor- 

 tar rubble will be found an excellent 

 meduim for the plants to grow 'Tn, and 

 the latter should be firmly wedged in posi- 

 tion with pieces of stones. 



The bright rose-coloured flowers of P. 

 rosea^ a lovely Himalayan species, provide 

 an effective bit of colour in the early part 

 ot the year. It is one of the most accom- 

 modating species of the whole primula 

 ramily^ for it reproduces itself very freelv 

 irom seeds, and plants appear and thrive 

 places where one would not think of 

 P?^^^J^g>hem. Being a moisture-loving 



iT' i! admirable plant for a 



^maii bog garden, and when once estab- 

 lished may be relied upon to mairrtain its 

 position. Many of the so-called hardy pri- 

 mulas are very uncertain in their habits, 



it V ^ V""* ^''^^^ ^^^^th P- ^^^^^^ 

 a sen ^,^^P^^^^1^1 <5n to appear even in 

 • reason when many species are conspicuous 

 looi % ^b'^ence. Self-sown plants left to 



more 



S.iLi'''^ vigorous than tho.^ 

 fostered in pots. 



ine "t.^.'IV''^ "^^^^^1^1" farinosa, hav- 



speo^s ^^"^^ treatment as the latter 

 visc'osa delights in half-shady crevices, 



which are 



and should be planted in a mixture of 

 sandy loam and peat in equal parts. The 

 crowns must be firmly wedged m with stones 

 when planting, and occasional top-dressings 

 will Ije required from time to time to hold 

 the plants in their iX)sitions. The leathery 

 foliage is produced in rosette form, and 

 the pale rose blossoms are borne on short 

 sturdy stems, rarely exceeding three inchas 

 in length. Mrs. G. F. Wilson is a form of 

 P. visoosa, and a grand acquisition ; the 

 flowers are purplish in colour, with cream- 

 coloured eye. It is extremely free in flower- 

 ing and vigorous in habit. P. nivalis is a 

 white form, of garden origin, a])parently 

 l>elonging to the viscosa sei'tion, and very 

 hardy. E. C. Pooley. 



Gnaton Gardens. 



CYPRIPEDIUM ROYAL 



SOVEREIGN. 



Just before last Christmas, on the occa- 

 sion when there was Jio exhibition at the 

 lioyal Horticultural Society's hall, but 

 when the Aarious committees met to con- 

 sider new plants submitted, there were 

 several remarkably fine cyprijjediums 

 l)rought before the Orchid Committee. One 

 of these, C. Royal Sovereign, exhibited by 

 Messrs. Sander and Sons, St. Albans^ se- 

 < ured a First Class Certificate. This hy- 

 brid is of extremely complex parentage. It 

 was derived f rom C. Hera robustum, and C. 

 I'rania var. Martin Cahuzac. C. Hera is 

 the result of crossing C. Boxalli with C. 



CYPRIPEDIUM EOYAL SOVEREIGN. 



Flowers white, brown, and purple. F.C.C., R.H.S., December 19, 1911 



and Sons, St, Albans. 



Messrs. Sander 



Plumba.g^O rosea. — For usefulness 

 and beautv this rosy-scarlet subject is unsur- 

 passed for winter flowering in the ])lant stove. 

 To fully realise its <'xti'eme beauty a good 

 batch should bi' <>rnwii. and, when in flower, 

 disposed en masse in a prominent position m 

 the fthow-house. This .-.pecies requires very 

 similar treatment to the foregoing. Pot up 

 the old plants, and place in heat to provide 

 cuttings; these latter will soon form on the 

 mature wood, and from the base. If a suf- 

 ficient number of cuttings can be procured 

 from the upper part of the plant the basal 

 growths may be left to form specimens. The 

 best examples we have grown were old stock 

 plants. When plenty of cuttings have been 

 rooted it is a good plan when potting up to 

 place two young plants in each pot, and 

 grow them as a single specimen. Avoid over- 

 potting and overwatering, esjiccially in the 

 early stages.— H. T. Martin. 



Ijeeanum. aiul every orchid lo\er knows 

 that C. liceaiiuni is' the result of crossing 

 C. iuvsigne with C. Sj)icerianum. On the 

 other side, C. rraiiia was obtaint^i from 

 C. lo crossed with C. C1iarleswoi-thi ; an<l 

 C. lo conies from C. Argus and C. Eaw- 

 renceanum. 



The dorsal .sepal of C. Royal Sovereign 

 is white, faintly blush tinte<lj and prettily 

 marked witli lines of bright purple sj>ots. 

 The base is bright green. The i)etals are 

 bright burnishe<:i brown, with a few <lark 

 spots^ reminivscent of C. Argus; the lip is 

 burnishes! brown of a rich slia<le. The 

 influence of C. Charlesworthi is most 

 noticeal>le in the form of the petals^ and 

 in the j)ale staminode. C. insigne ex- 

 presses itself in the lip, and C. Spicerianum 

 is evident in the dorsal sepal. 



