706 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Gardens at Wisley it commences blooming early in June, and continues 

 until the middle of September. The flowers are quite two inches across, 

 of a deep purplish-rose, produced in large clusters, and standing well 

 above the large vine-like foliage. It always attracts a good deal of admira- 

 tion. However, one of the great advantages of this handsome plant is 

 the admirable way it will grow under the shade of trees. Such plants are 

 by no means common, and this is one of the best, if not the best of all, 

 as it grows famously and flowers profusely under deciduous trees. A 

 Fellow of the Society who lived many years out in Canada said that 

 many of the forests tkere had a thick undergrowth of this Rubus. It is 

 also known as the Purple-flowering Raspberry, and the fruit is very 

 similar to a brilliant red Raspberry, but almost flavourless. 



The plant being perfectly hardy, and growing freely almost anywhere, 

 it should be given plenty of room, as it sends out suckers, like the 

 Raspberry, and for that reason is most adapted for the wild or semi-wild 

 garden, where it will attain a height of four to five feet. 



Very similar in habit and growth is Rubus nutkanus, which bears 

 pure white flowers, but not quite so freely as B. odoratus. In " The 

 Dictionary of Gardening " B. natkanus is said to attain a height of 

 ten feet ; at Wisley it is about four feet, and seems to thrive equally well 

 in sun or shade. In the autumn the foliage turns a lovely shade of 

 golden-yellow, heavily suffused with bright dark crimson, and would be 

 most useful for dishing up fruit for the dessert table. This Bubus also is 

 a native of Canada and North America. 



Bamboos. 



No class of plants has more rapidly come into public favour of recent 

 years than the various Bamboos. It is only quite recently that it has 

 been recognised that Bamboos are many of them quite hardy, though all 

 who have eyes to see beauty of growth and foliage have for years been 

 longing that Bamboos would grow in England. At last it has been 

 established that many of them will grow well, at all events in the West 

 and in the South. One point, however, in their cultivation still gives 

 trouble and anxiety and disappointment. A plant has grown into a really 

 fine specimen and comes into bloom. An inexperienced grower will 

 possibly rejoice that his plants are so flourishing and healthy as to have 

 attained to blossoming ; but he will soon learn by experience to dread the 

 blooming of his plants, for often, very often, the blossoming of Bamboos is 

 but the immediate prelude of decay, and the winter of death succeeds to 

 the summer of blossom. It is very seldom that a Bamboo which blooms 

 survives ; even if it does so for a time it is but a wreck and ruin of 

 what it previously was, and it will take more years to rehabilitate itself 

 than if an entirely new plant were planted. At present we hardly know 

 What to advise, but if the blossoming twigs (or the whole cane) could be 

 cut out before the flowers expanded one would expect to preserve the 

 plant entirely ; and if the intention of the plant to blossom should have 

 been unnoticed until the blossoms were actually expanded, one would at 

 least hope to save the plant's life by cutting off all the bloom at once 

 before any seed is formed, though sad experience proves that even if the 



