422 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



but form dense spiny cushions of green. They flourish in any gritty 

 soil. 



Saxifraga is a very large and interesting genus ; the species are 

 mostly of easy cultivation. There are several distinct sections : the 

 Mossy, the Encrusted, the Umbrosa, the Large-leaf Siberian, and the 

 Saxifraga peltata group for the bog garden. The Mossy varieties are all 

 easy to grow ; any soil may serve, but the best is a good gritty loam, 

 with leaf-mould and mortar rubble. They increase very quickly by 

 division and soon cover up the bareness of the rockery, making 

 beautiful patches of soft mossy foliage, bearing masses of flowers in 

 the early spring. They will grow in almost any position, but should 

 be sheltered from the midday sun or in half shade, and planted near 

 the stones, as they prefer that to the cold, damp soil. Seed seldom comes 

 true. S. bathoniensis, S. ' Red Admiral,' S. sanguinea superba, and S. 

 ' Guildford Seedling ' are four of the best red ones. S. Stansfieldii , 

 S. caespitosa, and S. Wallacei are good whites ; the last is the best and 

 largest. S. muscoides Rhei, S. m. densa, and S. m. atropurpurea are 

 sim Lir and all good. The Encrusted section forms rosettes of foliage. 

 The leaves are of a rather leathery texture, toothed, and encrusted with 

 a silvery-white calcareous edging. The spikes rise from the rosettes 

 in handsome sprays. These Saxifrages should be planted with great 

 care in crevices of rock facing full sun, in a deep gritty compost with 

 a little mo-tar rubble or limestone. S. apiculata and S. Elizabethae 

 may be described as spiny cushions. They form little mounds of 

 hard, minute rosettes, from which spring the spikes of flowers early 

 in the spring. They must be so placed as to be sheltered at midday 

 from the sun, and protected from north-east winds. Plant them in 

 crevices of rockwork where no wet can lie about them. They bear 

 a mass of yellow flowers early in the spring. S. Burseriana Gloria 

 is by far the finest of all the Burseriana varieties. It produces flowers 

 of exquisite whiteness, measuring ij inches across. It should be 

 planted in a sheltered nook protected from the north-east winds 

 under the ledge of a rock, where it is protected from the heavy rains 

 in the spring, which soon destroy the beauty of the flowers. 

 S. Burseriana and S. Boydii require rather more care than the ordinary 

 Aizoon varieties, and should be planted between stones and in full 

 shade. Let them have a compost of good, gritty, fibrous loam (the 

 fine being sifted out), leaf-mould, rock stone, and mortar rubble. Plant 

 firmly and increase by cuttings or division. S. Griesbachii is a very 

 distinct introduction from Siberia, somewhat like S. media in the 

 leaves and habit, but with redder flowers and stems. The whole of 

 the centre of the rosette develops into a flower-spike which, like 

 the flowers, is bright crimson. The young growths appear later at the 

 base of the flowered crown. It is very important to plant this species 

 so that it does not suffer from damp. It is best grown on small cones 

 of stones or in horizontal crevices with a sunny aspect, in a good, 

 gritty compost ; it may be increased by seed. S. longifolia, from the 

 Pyrenees, and rightly termed the ' Queen of Saxifrages,' has large 



