August 17, 1912 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



637 



gold medal foi' a collection of orchids, com- 

 posed chiefly of cattleya and Iselio-cattleya 

 hybrids. 



'M.. Charles Dietrich, Anderghem, present-ed 

 a- handsome, if rather small, collection of 

 orchids, containing fine examples of Cattleya 

 Comet, C. Dupreana, Brasso-cattleya Ma- 

 roniae, L^lio-cattleya Lucida, L.c. calisto- 

 glosea, Miltonia Bleuana, and Cypripedium 

 Massaianiim. 



PALMS. 



Palms were superb. There is no other 

 word for it. On every hand there were spe- 

 cimens of all sizes, and of wondrous grace 

 and variety. For eight specimens the 

 Flandria Company and Messrs. Sander and 

 Sons had a close fight for first place, but the 

 latter won the premier award with gigantic 

 examples. They had far and away the finest 

 Latonia borbonica aurea we have ever seen, 

 some of its leaves six feet across, and of a 

 distinct yellow shade. The other kinds Avere 

 Phoenix Roebelini, the grey-green Gocos 

 Yatai, Phoenix canariensis, Kentia Forsteri- 

 ana, 2(>ft. high, Latania borbonica robusta, 

 Kentia Belmoreana, Corypha australis, and 

 Sabal Blackburniana. 



The llandria Company put up a great 

 corner group of twenty large palms, show- 

 ing kentias, phoenix, coryphas, and rhaphis 

 of a size and beauty rarely seen at home. 

 This first prize group and the one previously 

 noted, would have added very materially to 

 the effect of the show at Chelsea in May 

 last. Mons. H. C. Dumon, of Menten, is an 

 amateur, who has a great love for palms, 

 and grows them as a hobby, just as one 

 grows orchids, or carnations^ or sweet peas 

 at home. He has wonderful 'specimens, and 

 Avas awarded a special first prize for ten 

 splendid plants of Erahia Roylei, B. dulcis, 

 Latania borbonica, Kentia Forsteriana, K. 

 Belmoreana, Corypha australis, etc. He 'also 

 gained a special award for a splendid Phoenix 

 canariensis, of enormous size, and finelv 

 grown. It was said that this had been 

 grown from seed by M. Dumon, in whose 

 collection it had remained forty-four years, 

 and during the greater part of that time had 

 been grown out of doors. Eighteen rare 

 palms proved an interesting class, Messrs. 

 Sander and Sons leading with Ptvchoraphia 

 ^leberti, Ceroxylon andicola (the wax palm), 

 Linospadix Petrieanum, Pinanga Hencklei, 

 etc. M. E. Leys Simoens was unbeatable 

 for the fan-leaved latanias, palms that have 

 almost gone out of fashion in Great Britain. 



A palm that is daily growing in popularity 

 i.s the graceful Phoenix RoeMini, most beau- 

 tiful of all the date palms. As small plants 

 jt IS largely used for table' decoration at 

 home, but we scarcely know it as a large 

 specimen. At Bruges, however, there are 

 many fine plants, 4ft. to 6ft. high, and fur- 

 mtshed to the pot with elegant deep green 

 leafage. It is a somewhat slow grower, but 

 ■even so, it seems destined to quite displace 

 the pretty Cocos Wedd?lliana from the posi- 

 tion it has so long held. Tlie Flandria Com- 

 pany had the best twenty specimens, and 

 Mr. Story, Ghent, was a good second; the 

 oest single specimen, however, w^as a marvel 

 of high culture submitted by M. Alloncius, 

 (client. What makes Phoenix Roebelini so 

 I'seful is its hardiness when used continually 

 in dwelling rooms, restaurants, and hotels. 



Ihei Ijest E-hapis humilis was a giant about 

 l(>tt. high and 10ft. across near the top, 

 an? carrying scores of its erect leafy stems; 

 tnus, from M. G. Vincke, was p*reatly 

 admired. 



BAY TEEES. 



All around the Market Plac?, just inside 

 the wire fence, bay trees of all shapes and 

 fiizes were staged by the leading growers of 

 ^rnge^ and Ghent. Tliere were bay trees 

 dvvarf, 18in. high; bay trees tall, 2()ft. high; 

 columnar, pyramidal, bushy, standard, mop- 

 headed and three-tiered bay trees, all in 

 the pink of health, and thickly covered with 

 dense green fragrant foliage. One wonders 

 v.here in the world all these bay trees go to, 

 lor obviously they are not grown for the fun 

 ^1 the thing. Some of the giants mu^,t be 

 years old. They have a value for th? 



decoration of restaurants and winter gardens 

 and also for terrace gardens in kindly cli- 

 mates, but in Bruges and Ghent there are 

 literally millions of bay tr:»es, and we heard 

 of one firm putting in 2{),(m cuttings this 

 year. Them must have been nearly a thou- 

 sand bay trees at the exhibition. The finest 

 large examples were four columnar ones and 

 four pyramids from Messrs. Sander and Sous, 

 but for round-headed standa ids M . G . 

 ViDcke scored for size, and he had a grove 

 of huge specimens. Messrs. Sander and 

 Sons; the Flandria Company, Bruges; and 

 M. Vincke were the chief exhibitors of these 

 wonderfully attractive and finely-grown and 

 Leautifully-trained specimens. 



NEW OR EAEE PLANTS. 



In this section Messrs. Sander and Sons, 

 St. Albans and Bruges, scored almost all 

 along the line. The word recent " as ap- 

 plied to the introductions, was not, how^- 

 ever, taken too seriously by the competitors. 

 This firm gained the special award for a 

 dozen plants of recent introdluction, and 

 their set consisted of Maranta Sanderae, M. 

 Veitchi, Eriobotrya japonica variegata (the 

 variegated Loquat), Asparagus gracillima, a 

 very light form of A. pluniosus; Dieffen- 

 bachia Sanderae, green, mottled with cream, 

 and with the leaf-stalks of the very broad 

 oval leaves clasping the stem curiously; 

 Adiantum Siebertianum, that may be 

 likened to A. Lawsonianum, but with all 

 the pinnae undulated; Polypodium irioides 

 corynibiferum ; Alocasia Micholitzi ; Chamse- 

 dorea pumila, a dwarf palm; Heliconia in- 

 signis, with dark bronzy-green leaves; An- 

 thurium Sanderi; and trevesia Sanderi, an 

 extraordinary plant from Annam, with long, 

 stalked, palmate leaves of dark, purplish- 

 ^een colour, but with the lobes sculptured 

 out in quaint fashion, here and there, often 

 leaving several inches of the thick midrib 

 quite naked; the young leaves are pinkish, 

 and the tips of the lobes droop prettily ere 

 the leaf expands fully. 



The same firm scored for a dozen non- 

 flowering plants of recent introduction, and 

 here they showed Dracaena Deremensis 

 Warnecki, already seen s-everal times at 

 home; Eeea macropus, with broad leaflets; 

 the prettily creamy-marked Ficus australis 

 variegata; Dracaena perelegans, from the 

 Solomon Islands, with long, recurving, nar- 

 row leaves, coloured red, pink, and green; 

 Alocasia colossea, a noble plant, with large 

 heart-shaped, light green leaves, on pale 

 creamy-green stalks; and a much divided 

 form of Polypodium irioides named BarteLsi. 

 The best non-flowering plant not yet in com- 

 merce was considered to be the \ariegated 

 Loquat; and the best flowering plant not yet 

 in commerce was a yellowish form of the 

 now popular Marguerite Mrs. Sander; it 

 has full-centred flowers, the centre being 

 soft yellow, and the outer ring of ray florets 

 cream v-white. 



Begonia Sanderae gained the prize as the 

 best new flowering greenhouse plant; it is 

 after the character of B. semperflorens 

 gigantea, and has red-tinged leaves^ and 

 neat, bright crimson-scarlet flowers in 

 clusters. Soeratea Forgetiana was adjudged 

 to be the best palm of recent introduction; 

 it is very distinct, and has broadly-rounded, 

 rich green leaves, tJiat are quite entire in 

 the plant as shown. The best new seedling 

 dracaena was D. tricolor, somewhat aft'er the 

 character of D. Baptisti. All the foregoing 

 were from the St. Alban's firm, but Mr. 

 Vincke scored for a new seedling aroid with 

 Anthurium Mdme. Dumon de Menten ; this 

 has flatfish, rounded spathes of fair size, and 

 of a beautiful pink shade, and belongs to 

 the A. Andreanum section. 



VARIOUS PLANTS AND FLOWEES. 



The special gold medal and work of art 

 offered by the Royal Horticultural Society 

 of Bruges for the best collection of twenty- 

 five flowering and non-flowering plants was 

 worthily won by Messrs. Sander and Sons 

 with a splendid collection, in which were re- 

 marka^ble specimens of the rare Draca^n-i 

 Broomfieldi, Bilbergia Forgetiana, with 



broad creamy bands down its deep green 

 leaves; Fourcroya Watsoniana, with long- 

 leaves handsomely variegated ' with green 

 and white; Aphelandra undulaefolia, tinely 

 flowered; Adiantum Glory of Moordrecht, 

 Dendrobium Sanderae, a variegated form of 

 Vanilla plomlatris, Cocolobea pubescens, the- 

 showy Solanum Wendlandi, Alocasia argy- 

 i-ea, Sansievera Laurenti with golden bands 

 along margins of (its erect bronzy-green 

 leaves ; Disa grand;flora, Dracaena San- 

 oeriaiia. and Phynium variegatum. 



J*Jaiit^ suitable for cool houses were very 

 largely shown, and proved very interesting. 

 Phormium tenax variegata. Acacia verticu- 

 1^*^' oranges, myrtles, Clethra arborea, 

 Metrosideros floribunda, Agapanthus um- 

 bellatus carrying its spikes of rich blue 

 flowers, pomegranates, Eugenia australis, 

 variegatod euonymuses and oleas. eurya lati- 

 loha variegata, and oleanders full of bloom 

 were among the subjects staged in the Mar- 

 ket Place by Messrs. Sander and Sons and 

 other firms. 



In the matter of cordylines or cool-house 

 dracRMias the Flandria Company exhibifed 

 remarkably well, and si^t fin"e plants of 

 D. Doucetti, D. atro-^anguiiKM. D. Buyssei 

 something like D. Bruanti ; the yucca-like" 

 D. Prince Albert; the elegant D. lentigi- 

 nosa, and the yellow variegated D. Princess 

 Elizabeth. Tliese were handsome plants 

 Irom ;3ft. to Sft. high clothed to the pot or- 

 tub with fine leafag.\ 



In u small collection of conifers from M 

 C|amille de Coninck, Maldegen, we noticed 

 the white-tipped Sequoia sempervivum albo 

 spic^, the elegant Cupressus J^imbertiana 

 aurea, and Cedrus Deodara argentea-verticu- 

 lata, all distinctly coloured and effective. 



The range of colouring and form now to- 

 be found an Hydrangea Hortensia was very 

 evident in a <'ollection of neat swcimens ex- 

 hibited by AI. do C.ninck; especially good 

 were the pnik La Lorraine, the fringed 



Mdme. L. Mouillere, and tlic .nialh^r Mdme 

 Kenee "C^aillard. 



Mr. Charles Steiiunotz. St. Andre Bruges 

 put up the hv>t collcclioii ot pomegranates* 

 oranges. Eugenia au,stralis, Clethra alni-' 

 loha, C. arborea, myttles, euonymus and 

 other plants of like character. Mutable for 

 an orangery or for terrace dr.oiation, and 

 hLs collection was a very hue one. 



Cycads and bromeliads are not often seen 

 at home, outside botanic gardens, but 

 they are grown on the Continent stilL 

 Messi^. Sander and Sons had noble speci- 

 mens of Zamia Kirstcniana and a big doubie- 

 cmwned Eucephahirtos Alten.^ticni. M., 

 Jules Hye de Cock put forward a nice col- 

 lection of bromeliads that included quite 

 good examples of Vriesia hieroglyphica, 

 lenestralLs, Cryplanthus zonatus Bruarni,and 

 Bilbergia rhodocyanea superba. 



Feni.> Mere not much in evidence, but a 

 lovely group of Adiantum Farleyense Glory 

 of Moordrecht, >hown ]>y M<vssrs. Bier and 

 Ankersmit, Melle, iittiae^ed a great deal of 

 attention iby reason oi it:^ elegance and 

 beautiful light yellow-green colouring of tlie 

 fully-growu fronds^ and the reddisli-pink. 

 hue of tlie young half-expanded fronds. 



Begonias were (piite good, as shown by 

 several tirni- ; tiu largest double blooms 

 were those di>played by M. Louis van 

 Houtte. Ghent, and Fceniina, light pink, 

 frilled; Raphael, golden-buff, frilled; and. 

 Madagascar, a big double orange-scarlet 

 were outstandiaig varieties. 



Among the gladioli staged l)y M. Alphonse 

 Braeckman, ^Vette^en, were many of quite 

 distinct colouring that should look well if. 

 highly cultivated; Bellfroi, blue and cream; 

 Gastenbauinspector Fox, dark purple: Fan- 

 faron, violet and bhie ; Argyrite. white; a.nd 

 Aborigine, deep violet-purple, were a few 

 we made a note of. 



Some very good cactus dalilias wei^ staged 

 extensively by Mr. J. G. Hal lego. Leiden, 

 Holland, who displayed a large number of' 

 cactus and pompon varieties that are well 

 known at home, and ai>o f^et up a hirge de- 

 corative variety named Ilortulanus Fiet that 

 may be described xas a salmon Gustave- 

 Bouzou, 



