572 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



July 27, 1912. 



E8q. (gardener, Mr. Jamas Hudson, Y.M.H.), 

 Gunnersbury House, Acton. 



Formosa.— Tliis beautiful variety is deep 

 ro£e-pink, the back of the segments being 

 flushed with crimson ; stamens yellow. A.M., 

 R.H.S., July 16. Leopold de Rothschild, 

 Esq. 



ZYGOPETALUM BREWI. 



A pretty, low-growing hybrid derived from 

 Z Perrenondi and Z. rostratum. Tlie 



moderate size, and of intense blackish-purple 

 colouring, probably the darkest hue yet seen 

 in an odontoglossum ; each segment has a 

 fine edging of rose-purple. A.M., R.H.S., 

 July 16, Messrs. Charlesworth and Co., Hay- 

 ward's Heath. 



PEACH ROYAL CHARLOTTE. 



This may be briefly described as a highly 

 coloured Noblesse peach. It is an old, richly- 



R^AGLINTHUS LYALLI. 



A New Zealand shrub, producing white flowers fraely during the summer 



R.H.S., July 16. Messrs. Robert Veitch and Son, Exeter. 



F.C.O., 



flowers are of fair size, the sepals and petals 

 green, tinged with purple, and the large lip 

 cream-coloured, with a large rich rosy area 

 and a blui^sh crest. A.M., R.H.S., July 16. 

 Messrs. Charlesworth and Co., Hay ward's 

 Heath. 



ODONTOGLOSSUM EPICASTE. 



The parents of this hybrid are O. Clytie 

 and O. crispum, coni^squently the flowers bear 

 a close retsemblance to those of O. Thomp- 

 ecnianum. The flowers are rounded of 



flavoured, and useful variety that has borne 

 numerous titles. A.M., R.H.S., July 16. Sir 

 Trevor Lawrence, Bart, (gardener, Mr. W. 

 Bain), Burford Lodge, Dorking: 



"Carnations, PicoteeSj and Pinks" will 



tell you plainly how to grow these favourite 

 flowers to perfection. The w^ork ie freely illus- 

 trated with plates of loading varieties., and ex- 

 planatory diagrams. Price 2s. 6d. net by post, in 

 box, 2b. lOd., from W. H. and L. Collingridge, 

 148 and 149, Aldersgate Street, London, 



CAULIFLOWER DWARF 



MAMMOTR 



That there are many varieties of cauli- 

 flower goes without saying, but they are 

 all J at times, unsatisfactory. Seasons 

 are not always quit,:^ what these plants de- 

 light in^ and other reasons there may be for 

 them not prodiicing good heads of flower. 

 It is the practice with many gardeners io 

 sow in the autumn to have plants eome in 

 to follow the late broccoli. For my own 

 part I have never yet been able to see what 

 is gained by such procedure. It may be 

 that I have not been so successful with 

 autumn-sowa plants as w^ith spriiig-sown, 

 My objection to sowing in the autumn is 

 that the plants, more often, than otherwise, 

 become stunted in growth through frequent 

 checks^ and often, w'hen placed in their 

 open quarters, prematurely form '^heads'* 

 before they make sufficient growth. A 

 cauliflower, to be succulent and good, 

 should make a steady progress from the 

 time the young plants are formed until the 

 ''heads" are fit for cutting. Plants, 

 therefore^ from seed sown early in the year 

 have a much better chance of continuous 

 growth than do these from seed sow^ii in 

 the autumn. 



The advantages of sowing iseed early in 

 the year is fully demonstrated at Hack- 

 wood. I fancy some of the wiseacres 

 thought that with the arrival of a new 

 gardener onion growing might cease, but it 

 has not done so. Onions still flourish tliere, 

 as do other vegetables, notably cauliflowers. 



There is at the time of winting, several 

 fine quarters of the cauliflow^er under 

 notice. Mr. West informed me that the 

 see<l was sown the second week in Jaiiuary, 

 and he is now cutting heads " fit for any 

 exhibition table. The variety is correctly 

 described as dwarf, for there is practically 

 little stem. The stock of Carter's Dwarf 

 Mammoth is evidently a good one, and is 

 evidence of what selection and re-selection 

 will do in producing good strains of vege- 

 tables. Paul T. More. 



PLAGIANTHUS LYALLL 



There is amj)le reason why more use 

 should be made of this shrub for it is very 



showy, and blossoms during late June and 



number of 



early July after 



the greater 



A native of 



flowering shruflbs are over. 

 New Zealand, it is found wild in moun- 

 tainous districts at altitudes of 2,000 to 

 4,000ft., where it grows into a large bush, 

 sometimes 30ft. high. In this country if 

 forms a wide-spreading bush in the open, 

 6 or 8ft. high, although under very favour- 

 able conditions it will probably grow larger. 

 The ovate leaves are 4 to Sin. long, and the 

 white flowers are borne three to five to- 

 gether in axillary clusters, each flower mea- 

 suring from 1 to l^in. across. Its nearest 

 relative amongst hardy shrubs is the well- 

 known Hibiscus syriacus, and similar cul- 

 ture is required by both shrnbs. Rather 

 light, welWrained, loamy soil and a sunny 

 position offer suitable conditions, and 

 the warmer parts of the country open border 

 culture is quite satisfactory. In colder dis- 

 tricts, however, it is advisable to give it 

 a place against a wall. It wall pass 

 through ordinary winters without injury, 

 but a spell of severe frost may injure the 

 younger branches; a vigorous plant- how- 

 ever, is rarely killed outright. 

 of half-ripened wood inserted in sandy 

 in a close frame in July may be rooted, 

 although there are many easier shrubs to 

 propagate. W. Dai*limobe, 



Kew. 



Cuttijigs 



soil 



