HICKS NURSERIES, WESTBURY, L. I. 



DECIDUOUS SHRUBS 



ARALIA 



Pentaphylla. This shrub is valuable for its foliage. It 

 has the color and texture of the CaUfornia Privet. Prob- 

 ably it is native from the same climate in southern Japan. 

 The habit of the bush is like SpircEa Van Houttei, archmg 

 gracefully. The white flowers are inconspicuous. 



AZALEA 



Flame. A, lutea; syn., A. calendtdacea. This grows in 

 the Alleghany Mountains. It has bright orange-red 

 flowers in May. Bartram, the early botanical explorer, 

 said the mountains looked as if afire, from the large 

 quantities of these flowers. It is one of the parents of 

 the Ghent hybrids and equals many of the varieties in size, 

 form and color of its flowers. 



Ghent. A . Pontica. These varieties are hybrids, chiefly 

 the result of crossing Azalea Pontica with Azalea lutea and 

 two other American species, Nudiflora and Viscosa. 

 They exhibit very wide variation of form and color; 

 single, double, and striped. Some are pure white with a 

 broad pink band, others have also a touch of salmon in 

 the center. Some are pure white, others deep red, and 

 many varieties have the orange and other yellows promi- 

 nent. They bloom in May just before the Rhododen- 

 drons, and are particularly appropriate in the flower 

 garden for part of the boundary. They can occupy beds 

 the same as Rose bushes. They are especially at home 

 in some shaded woodland or on the borders of damp 

 soil. They are not adapted for planting as a single speci- 

 men on the lawn because they do not maintain a dense 

 mass of foliage during the summer as is required in such 

 situations. In a large shrubbery planting, Azajeas may 

 be interspersed for their beauty of bloom, care being taken 

 not to allow more vigorous shrubs to crowd them out. 

 If they occupy solidly a section of the planting, they should 

 have a deep layer of leaf-mold added annually, and not 

 allowed to suffer for lack of moisture, otherwise the foliage 

 will look thin in the late summer. Ghent Azaleas are hardy. 

 They should rank with the Rose, Rhododendron, Phlox, 



AZALEA, continued 



Lily, Peony, Gladiolus, Dahlia, Sweet Pea or the Iris. 

 There is no reason why gardeners should not make a 

 specialty of Azaleas as of other classes. They bloom before 

 any of the others mentioned. 



Come to our nurseries in May, to see why we recom- 

 mend that you start an Azalea garden. It will be an in- 

 spiration to you, and you will realize, as never before, 

 the wondrous beauty of form and color of these magnif- 

 icent shrubs. 



Pinxter Flower. A. nudiflora. This is the wild pink 

 Azalea blossoming in the middle of May. It is found 

 wild on Long Island in several places, especially on the 

 sandy hills sloping to the north, with a spring at the 

 bottom. 



Swamp. A viscosa. This is common in the swamps on 

 Long Island, and bears white flowers in early July. It is 

 the latest of the Azaleas to bloom. 



Azalea arborescens. This species has flowers like the 

 Swamp Azalea, but blooms in June. It makes a round, 

 compact bush. 



Chinese. A . mollis. The orange and yellow flowers of 

 this are larger and more showy than the others, but they 

 are not so graceful in their outlines, being broad and 

 funnel-shaped. The dry, hot winds injure the plants_ in 

 summer. They bloom before the Ghent Azalea, starting 

 the last of April or the first week in May. 



Yodogama. Large, double flowers of pale lavender. 

 Very distinct from the other Azaleas. 



Southern. A .' Vaseyi. This we regard as the gem of 

 all the Azaleas. It has broad, waxy petals of most deli- 

 cate shades of shell-pink. It is so different from the 

 others, so wondrously beautiful, and [blooms so_ much 

 earlier, that it should be included in all collections of 

 Azaleas and Rhododendrons. 



For Azalea am(Bna, and A. amcena, var. Hinodegiri, 

 the two charming evergreen Azaleas which are objects of 

 beauty all the year round, and bloom with the earliest 

 shrubs; see Broad-leaved Evergreens, page 51. 



A dangerous corner for automobile accidents, eliminated by moving back the tall Privet hedge and planting low Japanese 

 ?y?^^^"^* many other low-growing plants suitable for planting in similar places, which will stay low, such as 



Mugho Pine, Dwarf Japanese Yew, Spreading Yew, Deutzia gracilis. Spiraea callosa alba, Boxwood, Laurel and others. 



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