GARDENERS" ^MAGAZINE 



Snowdrops 



in S 



cvAwnpnPs are so far accommodating that they may be successfully 

 SSS2d JS aiv^se conditions without any special difficulty, as 

 strikSy exemplified in many gardens of the United Kingdom early in 

 the vear In some cases they may be found in irregular clumps along 

 th* muffin of borders devoted to hardy perennials, in others they 

 bespangle far K e areas of turf with << pendent flakes of vegetating snow," 

 ami occasionally they are employed .with .much success in carpeting 

 borders occupied by deciduous shrubs Under no conditions do they 

 appear to greater advantage than when springing from the turf of 

 orchards or pleasure grounds, as witness the charming effects annually 

 produced in the grounds of Dunrobin Castle, and those of many others 

 of our old country houses. But they do not invariably succeed when 

 planted in the grass ; and in many cases it is not easy to assign a cause 

 for their gradually dying out, when in other gardens, where similar con- 

 ditions appear to obtain, they grow vigorously, and produce an abund- 

 ance of fully-developed flowers. There are, of course, many instances 

 in which no difficulty is experienced in arriving at a correct conclusion 

 in the matter, as, for example, when they are planted in positions where 

 the mowing has to be commenced early in the year. In the case of 

 snowdrops, as in that of other bulbous plants, a rapid decline in vigour, 

 followed by death, is inevitable when the plants are deprived of their 

 leaves before they have had time to complete their allotted functions. 

 As so well understood by those who have a knowledge of plant physi- 

 ology, the leaves are as essential to bulbous as to other plants, and with- 

 out them the formation of the embryo buds and the storage of reserve 

 materials required by the plant when commencing to make new growth 

 are impossible, consequently, when planted in those parts of the lawn 

 which have to be kept closely shaven from early in the spring until the 



HYBRID PHAI 



The numerous species and hybrids of phaius 



combine the two attributes of beauty and statel 

 former have to a 1 * 



ieir stately appearancT^ << 

 Walhch. .mH in v KnaA 



,arge extern ^i^ZZ&Z^ 



two most beautiful species, if we regard exquisite sh^^L^ g f n >'- Tfe 

 the highest attributes of 



»tt. 



, £ Yt \ a , ut y' are th ose from MaT, ounn S* 

 P. tuberculosus and P. Humbloti, neither of them £•? gascar > 



easy to grow, rnese maice up m beauty what iw~i-"" 8 .H ar "culad 

 stateliness. The first named of the two has been 



s '% and 



MiutiMiv.ao. -*• *" Wfc w - i wu lias Deen PTP3t f . a - J 



hybridists, as will be seen by a reference to parental o &W e 

 HpIow. Phaius maculatus has been 



ui gdiucu puaius. " — 7— ixcc-iiowenng, and. if exhihW*^ r » 

 at some R.H.S. meeting it would not fail to attract attem ! nbnlk 

 good specimens of this widely-distributed species are annual!^ "* 

 in the cool orchid house at Kew. Those species of ph £ 2^7* 

 not hitherto yielded hybrids, or, at, least, no hybrids from them I * 

 been flowered or recorded, are the Cingalese P. bicolor • P nhiinn- ■* 

 from Mindanao and the Philippine Isands ; and the cimwSE? 

 and still rare, P. roseus, discovered by the Earl of ScaVboroiS 2 

 flowered in this country in 1892. Besides these there are several sJs 

 that are hardly ever seen in cultivation, but which might prove ofTi* 

 to hybridists. For the purposes of this article Phaius Blumei will f* 

 considered as a distinct species, though it would seem most correct tn 

 give it as a variety of P. grandifolius, but Phaius grandifolius var. Blumri 

 var. Sanderianus is too big a name for frequent repetition 



The h onour of first seriously considering the advisability of producing 



SNOWDROP (GALANTHUS , ELWESI) 



IN SHRUBBERVj AT 



KEW. 



autumn, they become so weakened by the removal of the leaves that they 

 die out in a comparatively short period. In the mixed border they some- 

 times fail to give satisfactory results, owing either to their disturbance or 

 to the soil being too rich to admit of the perfect maturation of the bulbs. 



There is one position in the garden in which snowdrops invariably 

 succeed, and that is the shrubbery border. Planted amongst deciduous 

 shrubs the snowdrops enjoy sufficient light to enable them to complete 

 their growth, and after the shrubs are clothed with leafage the roots 

 absorb the moisture in the soil at so rapid a rate as to keep the border 

 dry. Consequently the dryness of the soil checks the growth at a suffi- 

 ciently early period to ensure the bulbs having a long season of rest, and 

 by its continuance until the end of the summer it imposes a safeguard 

 against premature growth. As the result of their being able to make 

 their growth under conditions more favourable than in the mixed border 

 or in the grass, and then having a full season of rest, snowdrops become 

 thoroughly established in the shrubbery and give a wealth of flowers 

 annually. In the Royal Gardens, Kew, they are employed with singular 

 success in beautifying the shrubbery borders as so well shown in the 

 accompanying illustration of a shrubbery planted with Galanthus Elwesi. 

 At Kew they are planted rather thickly in borders devoted to phila- 

 delphus and other flowering shrubs, and the plants increase in number 

 and vigour, and annually produce a delightful effect The border illus- 

 trated is contiguous to the collection of British ferns, and each year 

 proves immensely attractive to visitors during the period when the surface 

 is carpeted with foliage and flowers. What has been accomplished at 

 Kew may be repeated with more or less success elsewhere, and with a 

 lull knowledge of this we advise the 'general - planting of the snowdrops 

 amongst deciduous shrubs. q ^ 



hybrids of phaius belongs to Norman C. Cookson, Esq., OakwooJ 

 Wylam-on-Tyne, and his first effort was made with a view to combmaj 

 the beauty of form and colour seen in P. tuberculosus, with the robustnai 

 of some more easily grown species, and P. Wallichi was chosen, 

 result was P. Cooksoni, named by Mr. R. A. Rolfe in honour «■ 

 raiser. It is now eleven years ago since Mr. Cookson CWJB»J» 

 ies of experiments that have been wonderfully successful, m 



series 



indiuiiiy ui nyuriu pnaius are a muuic lu ma 0 \n**L 



J. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea, and Messrs. F. Sander and Co., ^Jg 

 have also raised hybrid phaius of great value to h 0 ^ 10 """."! 1 ^* 

 following is a descriptive list of phaius hybrids up to date, m™*.^* 



descript 



which now constitute the deciduous section of the genus rnaiu* 



than* 

 .be* 



excluded. 



r. a ma i;i lis was first brought into notice on February hS* 

 its raisers, Messrs. J. Veitch and Sons, Chelsea. This is anyon ^ 

 P. grandifolius and P. tuberculosus. The flowers measure 



base 



column so as to form a tube which has a yeuwwwu towa rd$ 

 broad apex is rich purplish crimson with greenish veins 1 ^ 

 throat. The plant is intermediate between the two parents, 4 r ^ 



spikes about fifteen inches high. 



has gaineda F.C C. from the Royal Horticultural Society. 



Phaius Cooksoni is a mhust hvbrid between f. iuu 4 . #n h** 



Phaius Cooksoni is a robust hybr 



In growth the p* 



P. Wallichi, the latter being the seed parent. fte ^ 



fairly intermediate in character between the parents, wnue • ^ 

 the pattern parent has transmitted its leading features 



