14 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
A NEW RACE OF COSMOS 
r^i \'E of the flower novelties of 1916 which is being of- 
fered by the Stum])]) & Walter Company, New York 
City, is being introduced by them as an entirely new 
race of cosmos. The plants are said to be similar in 
habit to the early flowering cosmos and that a fair per- 
A DOUBLE-CROWNED AND CRESTED COSMOS. 
centage have double crowns which gives the flower a 
dainty appearance. The colors are pure white and a 
delightful shade of shell pink. Seeds sown in early 
August have produced blooms by the middle of ( )ctober. 
I 
HARDY FUCHSIAS 
T is not well known that there are a few species of 
Fuchsias much hardier than others, being capable of 
enduring a few degrees of frost uninjured, but such is 
the fact. Fuchsias came in the first place from South 
America (chiefly). Chili and Peru, also from Mexico. It 
seems understood that they were first known in England 
from a plant brought there by a sailor about the year 
1800. The hardiest ones are those brought from Chili, 
from which country other plants more or less hardy have 
been introduced. The original hardiest one is called 
Fuchsia macrostema, but this gave rise to a seedling 
called Fuchsia gracilis and another called F. Riccartoni, 
and these two seedlings are now known as the hardiest 
Fuchsias. I '.nt it is only when compared with ordinary 
Fuchsias that the term hardy may be applied to them, as 
they endure only about 5 degrees of freezing. If the 
mercury falls to, say, 2H degrees, the tops would be killed., 
therefore it is only in States almost frostless that they 
grow to be large bushes. But that they can be had to 
live through Winters of zero weather the writer has 
proved. All that is necessary is to protect them at the 
base, in >t minding tire tops at all. Place a good covering 
of forest leaves about their base or even pile up soil a 
few inches high, covering up snugly an inch or two of 
the stems, and all will be well. From the covered por- 
tions new shoots will form when Spring opens, which 
will flower profusely as growth proceeds, and this bloom- 
ing continues until frost closes the season. The flowers 
of these hardy sorts are of a deep red. They have a long. 
slender tube, of great beauty, their foliage, too, being 
quite small. When Spring comes the dead tops are cut 
away and the Winter covering cleared away. The only 
requisite in order to have this Fuchsia endure the Winter 
is that an inch or two of the shoots be well protected. 
It may not be known that ordinary greenhouse Fuch- 
sias may be carried through the Winter in much the same 
way, but it is a fact. If heavily covered at the base they 
have been known to live through very severe Winters, 
though they are not as hardy as the Chili ones. 
It is a good way, when planting Fuchsias, to set them 
deep enough so that the stems are slightly below the sur- 
face, as this helps to make more protection for an eye or 
two, so that should all above ground be destroyed by 
frost, there could still be fresh shoots starting from be- 
low the surface. Fuchsias are easily rooted from young 
shoots under glass at any season. — Joseph Mcehan in 
Florists' Exchange. 
REPOTTING THE ASPIDISTRA. 
A MONG the numerous plants grown in pots for in- 
door decoration, none equals the Aspidistra for 
dark corners, draughty passages and other positions un- 
favorable for plant growth in the house. 
Aspidistra lurida, to give our friend its full botanical 
name, is said to have been first introduced to this country 
from China in 1822. and two years later, in 1N24. 
Though of such inestimable value as a foliage plant, 
the flowers are insignificant, though very interesting to 
those who love the quaint and uncommon. The} - ap- 
pear generally in early Spring, nestling among the 
stalks of the leaves and quite close to the soil in the pot. 
Less than an inch across when fully expanded, the blooms 
are buff outside and rich purple inside. The Aspidistra gets 
the name of lurida from the poor quality of the flowers, 
the common name of the Dingy-flowered Aspidistra being 
also sometimes used. 
The best time to pot the plants is during March and 
April, those who are fortunate enough to possess a green- 
house doing such work in March, while April is soon 
enough for plants which, when potted, must be kept in a 
window or room. Aspidistras will grow in most soils, a 
suitable compost being a mixture of three parts loam, one 
part leaf mold and one part coarse sand. There is no 
necessity to put Aspidistras in large pots, though the 
roots must not be unduly crowded ; the plants will be 
found to thrive better when the quantity of soil in the pot 
is not excesive in comparison with the size of the plants. 
The question of when a plant requires repotting and 
how often may now be considered. As long as a plant 
remains healthy, the soil in the pot keeps sweet, and the 
leaves are not unduly crowded, there is no need for re- 
potting. For plants growing in a room it is most impor- 
tant to have ample drainage in the bottom of the pots 
to allow water to pass away freely. Place one large 
crock over the hole in the bottom of the pot, next 
several rather smaller pieces, and on these some still 
smaller, covering all with a little moss to prevent the soil 
trickling down and stopping the surplus water from pass- 
ing out at the bottom. Sometimes when repotting Aspi- 
distras the soil is in such bad condition that it is neces- 
sary to wash all the old soil away from the roots ; in 
others, when the soil is sweet, only the loose soil need be 
taken off. 
Aspidistras are such good-natured and hardy plants 
that repotting checks them little, if at all. While most of 
what has already been written applies to both the green- 
leaved and variegated-leaved Aspidistras, those with the 
(Continued on page 34.) 
