AUGUST 24, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



647 



AUTUM NAL-FLO WERI N G 



CROCUSES. 



It is somewhat singular that these very 

 lovely flowers have not in the past received 

 much notice. Even at the present time 

 not nearly so many are cultivated in our 

 gardens as might he. They have so many 

 points in their favour at a season when 

 out-of-door flowers are not, as a rule, any 

 too plentiful. The eolours, varying from 

 dark to light-blue and white, are niost 

 distinct and attractive at a season when 

 flowers of these shades are decidedly scarce. 



Positions. 



No provision need be made in beds or 

 borders for their culture, as it is better to 

 plant them upon odd corners of grass. 

 Here they will flower freely, but in order 

 to secure a continuance for a few years 

 afterwards a fair amount of sunshine is de- 

 sirable. I 



whe 



prefer a warm, sunny slope, 

 re, after planting, the grass can be 



growuig lawn grass. 



'J liis, if iloju 



line moi-tar rubble with the soil. In most 

 cases it is possible to leave the grass un- 

 niown, but at tbe depth of three inr-hes 

 one mowing afterwards will not <lo anv 

 harm, if done within a week or ten <hiy.s. 

 It is also well to tread the ground over 

 firmly after planting. 



After Manag^ement. 



Should the ground be bare of grass, I 

 find it a good plan to sow some sied of a 

 quick- 



at once 



sufficiently advanced to support the slemler 

 stems of the flowers. These autumnal <-ro- 

 cuses all have somewliat elongated stems 

 which easily bend over with the weiglit of 

 the flowers after a heavy rain, there being 

 no foliage of their own to g:ve sup])oit to 

 them. This foliage does not appear until 

 early in the spring. With the object of 

 preserving the foliage intact until it fades, 

 it is most essential to leave it undisturbed [ 

 hence the grass must not be mown until 

 the leaves turn yellow. 



wiil start mto growth an<l b* 



])iantetl at the same time. C. nudiflorus, 

 witb ilowej's of a clear pur2:)le, can be 

 jstrongly roeoiumendiHl . At one time it 

 was iiatiiralised in tbe Midland counties. 

 C. cancellatus all)us, with flowers of a 

 satiny white, and a touch of purple at the 

 base, is another somewhat showy-flowering 

 and excellent variety. C. Saun<lersianus, 

 a form of C. adriaticus. is anotber ju-etty 

 .species, wliite in cobHir, witb violet at tli'e 

 base, and a yellow tbi<tat. It is not too 

 l:it<' now to plant tlH\s<. < rn( iise.s, 



Jas. Hudson, V.M.H. 

 Ciunnersbury House. Acton, W. 



CLETHRA ARBOREA. 



This 



widelv 



is, in general appearame, 

 removed from the hardy North American 

 members of the genus, which are all de- 

 ciduous. Clethra arborea is, however, 

 strictly an evergreen, and of quite tree- 

 like habit, and bears a certain amount of 

 resemblance to an arbutus. The white, 



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CROCUS SPECIOSUS. 



flowered 



at Gunnersbury House, Acton, W. 



It 



to 



left undisturbed, or not even mown. 

 IS possible also to grow them close up 

 the boles of trees. We have grown them 

 thus for several years, both under tall 

 cedars and elms. The drought in sue 

 positions does not militate against their 



h 



well-being. 



Planting: 



it 



a 



With resi^ect to the time of planting, 

 IS better to secure the corms during 

 August, before any indication of growth 

 commences, and plant them without delay. 

 Should the growth have started more care 

 is required in planting. We usually try, 

 as far as possible, to avoid any semblance 



formality in their arrangement. It is r 

 very good plan to drop the bulbs indiscrimi 

 nately, and plant them where they fall. 

 In planting a small dibber is the best tool ; 

 }vith this holes vshould be made, about three 

 inches deep, into which the corm shoidd be 

 placed, and some finelv-sifted soil then be 

 spreafi over the surface and worked in with 

 a broom. Before using incorporate some 



Species and Varieties. 



Two species, I find, stand out promi- 

 nently above all others for general utility 

 and reliability, viz. : Crocus speciosus, a 

 bright blue, handsome, and <listinctly 

 showy spec'ies. It is excellent for the pur- 

 pose I have indicate<l, i.e., for natnialising 

 in grass. The illustration giveii with this 

 article was from a group grown under these 

 conditions, it being the fourth year of 

 flowering after planting. As many as five 

 flowers to a corm, and sometimes six, were 

 to be counted. C. speciosus is usually at 

 its best during the first half of October. 

 Of this species there is a finer form, some- 

 what more vigorous in growth — C. sp. 

 Aitchisoni- -which can be strono;lv ret om- 

 mended. C. zonatus is the other species 

 that I can specially recommend with con- 

 fidence to be grown. It is of a pale-blue or 

 lilac shade, with a distinct orange zou)* at 

 titr li.ise of the flower, moist distim t :nul 

 eft'cctive. Its period of flowering is at Iciist 

 a week earlier than C. speciosus, if both be 



drooping, bell-shaped flowers are borne in 

 spikes^ as a rule, during the latter part of 

 the summer. 



There are apparently three forms of this 

 clethra, firstly, the type; next, one that 

 flowers more freely in a small state than 

 the other ; and, tliixdly, a variety 

 with variegated leaves, but with mark- 

 ings not sufficiently clear to make it effec- 

 tive as a decorative plant. Clethra arborea 

 itself is very suitable for growing in large 

 tubs and standing outside during the sum- 

 mer months, when its lily-of-the-valley-like 

 spikes of flowers are much appreciated, 

 while the dwarfer varietv (if variety it is) 

 may be flowered well in pots six inches to 

 eifrht inches in diameter. Durinu: the winter 

 it needs to be kept t-ntv from trost. Thir» 

 evergreen clethra is a native of ^[adeira. 

 from whence it was intro<luced as long 

 ap:o as 1784. hut. strange to sny. it was 

 iiiven an Award of Merit hv tlie Roval Hor. 

 ticultural Society as rtx-ently as Julv 30 



of this year. S. W. 



