BORDER CARNATIONS. 
43 
BORDER CARNATIONS. 
By J. Douglas, F.R.H.S. 
[Read June 19, 1917 ; Sir J. T. D. Llewelyn, Bart., V.M.H., in the Chair.] 
Many people fail to appreciate the capabilities of the true Hardy 
Border Carnation, because of imperfect knowledge of its cultivation, 
or on account of confusion of mind resulting from reading articles in 
praise or dispraise of the Perpetual Flowering Carnation as a border 
flower. 
The two types are very far apart, and I do not propose to make 
comparisons between them, but simply state that I cannot recommend 
the Perpetual-Flowering Carnation as a border plant for an amateur 
grower, though I believe there are some who are able to do so. I leave 
the comparison to the beginner to ascertain by experience. My own 
experience is that the ordinary American Tree Carnation cannot stand 
against our damp cold winters. It is with the Border Carnation 
proper that I propose to deal in this paper. 
It always seems to me that many people give themselves a vast 
amount of trouble layering Carnations and wintering them in cold 
frames, when far better results can be obtained by allowing the plants 
to remain undisturbed for a few years. The Hardy Border Carnation 
is a true perennial, and should be grown as such. When the object 
is a display of floors, then by all means allow the plants to stay in the 
same place for at least three years, mulching them every summer with 
horse manure. This treatment keeps the roots cool and moist in dry 
weather, and at the same time acts as a valuable stimulant. It is a 
fact, however, that the largest and most suitable blooms for exhibition 
are obtained from one-year-old layers ; but the display they produce 
is not to be compared with that of the two- or three -year-old 
plants. I have often seen as many as 400 blooms on one of these 
three-year-old plants, which frequently measure three feet across. A 
few years ago it was considered the right thing to layer every plant in 
the garden, starting the following season with young rooted layers 
transplanted and arranged, sometimes in nice symmetrical rows, accord- 
ing to a well-thought-out colour scheme carefully planned beforehand. 
I am not ashamed to say that I learnt wisdom from one of our garden 
labourers, to whom I had given a few surplus plants to adorn his cottage 
garden. These were planted in a small patch of ground in the front 
of his house and left there for five years undisturbed. At the end of 
three years they had become huge healthy clumps, bearing from 350 
to 400 flowers. Another very good way of assuring an abundant 
supply of bloom is to peg down, or rather layer, the side growths around 
the old plant, allowing them to bloom and remain undisturbed and 
