9 5 6 



THE GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



-UfiCEMBER 14, 1912. 



HARDY SHRUBS FOR 



FORCING. 



The use of some of the more beautiful and are especially free flowering. 



of the hardy flowering shrubs in the decora- 

 tion ot conservatories during the latter 

 part of the winter and early m the sprnig 

 will add much to their attractioiis. At that 

 Season of the year forced shrubs, with their 

 deliciousiy fragrant flowers, are of great 

 value in those gardens where the mainten- 

 ance of a continual disi)lay of flowers is a 

 necessity. There are so many kinds and 

 varieties suitable for forcing ttiat it is pos- 

 .sii)le to obtain most charming and varied 

 colour ettectSj which could not be secured 

 at such an early season irom any other 

 plants that are available. Witli the help of 

 flowering shrubs it is an easy mattt^r to keep 

 the conservatory and corridors gay with 

 cok>ur, until tbe plants commence to flower 

 [laturallv umi ot' doors. 



When the phuits arrive from the nursery 

 they should be potted up, and the pots 

 plunged to the rim in ashes in the open, for 

 after thev have been exposed to the ele- 

 ments for a short time tJiey start readily 

 into growth when subjected to artificial 



heat. Most shrubs enjoy a liberal amount 

 of root room, but w4ien they are required for 

 decorative purposes in the mansion it is 

 often necessary to place them in fairly small 

 pots for convenience of arrangement. It 

 is essential, however, to success that the 

 plants are well furnished with fibrous roots, 

 and freely set wath flower-buds. 



In order to have them in bloom in the 

 shortest possible time it is necessary to 

 plunge the pots in a hotbed with a bottom 

 heat of about 70 degrees, and to maintain 

 in the structure a temperature of (55 de- 

 grees. Spray them with tepid w^ater several 

 times daily, and do not allow them to be- 

 come dry at the roots. To have Azalea 

 nu)lli8 in flower at Christmas it is necessary 

 to start the plants in the maimer described 

 six or seven weeks before; but pre- 

 vious to the full expansion of the flowers it 

 is desirable to remove them to a cooler 

 house in which to open their flowers. They 

 will then continue longer in perfection. 



With the commencement of the New 

 Year shrubs can easily be brought into 

 bloom by stai-ting them in some of the early 

 fruit-houses. Several lilacs are of immense 

 value for forcing, and of these Charles X., 

 <a single blue i^ariety), Marie Legraye (a 

 large single white), and Aladanie Lemoine 

 (a great favourite, with large, compact 

 trusses of double white flowers), are some 

 of the best. Azalea mollis and its varieties 

 are always appreciated, one of the best of 

 these Ix'ing Anthony Koster, which has rich 

 bright yellow flowers. 



Of the cherries, the lovelv blossoms of 

 Cerasus pseudo-cerasus fl. pi., with large, 

 pale rose flowers, and C. pseudo-cerasus 

 J. H. Veitch, wnth brilliant rosy-pink 

 flowers, are two of the most beautiful, and 

 can be strongly recommended. 



Prunus triloba has large, semi-double, 

 rosy-pink flowers, and is very telling asso- 

 ciate<l with white lilacs. Deutzia gracilis, 

 and D. Lemoinei are both desirable. Pyriis 

 floribunda, with rose-shaded flowers, is very 

 popular; while P. Scheideckeri has semi- 

 double flowers freely prmlueed, and P. spec- 

 tnbilis, with large pink and white flowers, 

 Pr<^ especially suitable for forcing. There 

 are somo lovely varieties of philadelphus, 

 and of these P. Lemoinei and P. Bou[e<l'Ar- 

 gont are excellent forms, being neat in 

 growth and profuse in flowering. 



ScviM^al of the shrubby spirrons art* vcrv 

 nttractivi\ and the prettv S. confusa and 



. arunta ar(^ es])eciallv so, and are very 

 freiv flowf'ring. Staphylea colchica presents 

 a oharnun^i: appearance, whether grown as 

 a standard or dwarf bush, and its sweetlv- 

 st^ented, wax-like blossoms are always ad- 



Ma g- 



among dwarf subjects, as they 



m. 



mired. Some of the viburnums are worthy shingle spiinkled around the plants gave a 

 of a place, and of these V. plicatum and V. very natural appearance. About 30U 

 opulus sterile are two of the most useful, plants were used in furnishing the bed. 



. n . Agave Americana is an ideal plant for 



giving a high and bold, yet not stiff effect. 



A. Victoria Regina always appeals, and re- 

 minds one strongly of a variegated Globe 

 artichoke. Aloe at^borescens is useful 

 among the bolder section, and the par- 

 tridge-breasted form is well named, and 

 flowers freely. Sempervivums are indispen- 

 sable for giving boldness and character to 

 the group. S. arboreum and the varie- 

 gated form are grand plants^ as also is S. 

 cuneatum, which sometimes grows with 

 one huge rosette, others ibranching out in 

 quaint candelabra fashion. Echeverias in 

 variety ^are, perhaps, the most beautiful 

 of all from a foliage 'point of view. Some 

 of the best are : E . metallioa, E. 

 criiipa, E. grandiflora^ E. macrantha, a dis- 

 tinct type with green leaves, margined 

 with reddish-brown ; E. ceerulescens, and 

 E. pulverulenta, a compact-growinir 

 specie-s, with silvery foliage, that contrasts 

 finely with the lovely ibroiizy-red leaves of 

 metallica. E. Hoveyi is a beautiful plant, 

 with greyish-green leaves. E. Lenoides is 

 another silvery-grey plant^ which is very 

 effective, and one must not forget old E. 

 secunda and E. s. glauca. The echinocacti 

 are commonly known by names which 

 suggest fthem&elves. as the Hedgehog or 

 Pincushion cactus ; E. Grusoiii simply com- 

 pels attention, but keeps intruders at bay. 



Many of the cereus are very usefnl, 

 standing up like sentinels among their 

 fellows. C. marginatus, C. flagelliformis 

 cristata, C. columbrinus hirsuta, C. peru- 

 vianus, C. macrogonus, C. chilensis be^"is- 

 pinus, and C. atropurpurea are among the 



nolia conspiciia and M. stellata (both pure 

 white), and M. Soulangeana (with rosy- 

 l)urple-tinte<l blossoms), are most handsome, 

 but are not recommended for very early 

 forcing. AVistaria sinensis is seen to advan- 

 tage when grown in standard form, as its 

 heads of bloom project over the dwarfer 

 subjects in a very graceful and pleasing 

 manner. The white form should also be 

 grown. 



Standard specimens of Hydrangea pani- 

 culata grandillora, Laburnum Parkesi, and 

 L, Watereri, with unusually fine racemes 

 of blossom, are also highly effective when 

 arranged 



break the flatness of the arrangement. 



Xanthoc^ras sorbifolia is a beautiful shrub 



for the purpose, and produces its dense 



spikes of ci'eam-white flowers w^ith great 

 freedom. 



There are various other shrubs that can 

 be utilised for forcing, including rhodo- 

 dendrons, some of w^hich are very showy, 

 but those mentioned include many of the 

 best, and will be found sufficient to furnish 

 a supply of blossom during the early months 

 of tJie year, when they will be much appre- 

 ciated. J. Gardner. 



Batsford Park Gardens. 



SUCCULENT PLANTS FOR 

 GARDEN DECORATION, 



One occasionally comes across a more or 

 less rt'presentative collection of succulents 

 grownig in a greenhouse, but it is very 

 rarely that one finds them used for garden 

 decoration during summer. A collection 

 so used, however, always attracts much at- 

 tention, though possibly, if such use be- 

 came common— which is very unlikely— the 

 attraction of the uncommon^ and, in many 

 cases, weird and peculiar specimens would, 

 to a great extent, wear off. 



Very few kinds are hardy, but many 

 may be safely grown out of doors from early 

 in June to the end of September. The 

 change from always seeing them in a green- 

 house well repays the time and trouble in- 

 volved in their transference, and it is 

 possible to give them a far more decora- 

 tive effect outside than can be obtained 

 inside. Bearing in mind their dissimi- 

 larity to any other class of plants, the 

 object should be to find a place in the gar- 

 den in keeping with them; and further, 

 to get away from a stereotypeci style of 

 bed. A place suggestive of a rockery is 

 suitable. 



We have used a site where the bed can 

 be mounded up in the form of a cone, and 

 this was situatid at one end of a' sub- 



best of a large number. Euphorbia natal- 

 ensis is a very tall and striking plant. 

 Pilocereus senilis (Old Man cactus) is one 

 of the first to be noticed, and brought 

 forth the question from an observant 

 youngster of four years — Mamma, is tha 

 Father C%ristmas ? " TTie numerous 

 maniillarias are mostly quaint and interest- 

 ing. M. nivea, M. Nicholson!, M. centri- 

 circle, and M. rufocrocea are among the 

 best . Mesembryanthemum tigrinum is 

 quite distinct from the better-known trail- 

 ing varieties, and is very suggestive of 

 Tiger's Olaws, hence its name. 



A collection would not be complete with- 

 out a few gasterias, the leaves of which 



ped 



tropical garden, 

 answered admirably. 



Tliis seems to have 



In most cases the plants were turned 

 out of their pots, and we find they grow 

 faster thus treated. Others, with few 

 roots, are plunged in their pots below the 

 rims, great care being taken to prevent 

 them from becoming wet or sodden. Pre- 

 parations must be made by givincx ample 

 drainage when potting, and mixing some 

 old brick rubbish with the potting com- 

 post, which should consist of loam^ peat 

 and sand. A pie.e of glass arranged to 

 thr,>w <>ff oxcessive rains from rare speci- 

 m<^ns IS sometimes necessary. 



X<> attempt was made in our case to 

 completely cover the soil with carpeting 

 plants though Stxlum Sieboldi variegatum 

 Aresembryanthemum cordifolium variecra- 

 inm, M. mutabile, and Crassula manifolii 

 were freely use<l. A few stones were placed 

 here and there, an^l, in some instances. 



and G. nigra maculata are good. Stape- 

 lias, especially when in bloom, always at- 

 tract as curiosities, owing to a most <lis- 

 agreeable o-dour which they exhale, and 

 they are, as a consequence, known as the 

 C'arrion Flowers. Opuntias, usually recog- 

 nised by the abundance of spines, are in- 

 teresting, and when in flower very beau- 

 tiful. Phylloeactus are glorious when in 

 bloom. P. Ptersdorfi and P. phyllan- 

 thoides var. German Kmpress, are among 

 the best. Rochea falcata must on no ac- 

 count be left out, the lovely heads of scar- 

 let blooms lasting a quite long time. This 

 plant is worth irrowine: in quantity f^^' 



on. A few 



dasyli- 



would 



growing 



greenhouse or room decoration, 

 haworthias, kleinias, rhipsalis, 

 rions, pereskias, and ceropegias 

 complete a representative collection, whib 

 many of the yuccas may form a useful acWi- 

 tion, if necessary. * 

 Duffryn Gardens, Cardiff. 



A. COBK. 



There is no Better Present 



for a gardening friend than a practical 

 book on some branch of Horticulture, and 

 to aid in making a seleotio.i] we refer y<^]^ 

 to our publisher s announoement on pago v'l. 



catalogue 

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be posted, by 



