122 
.flower (Brower 
December, 1918 
A Beautiful Spirea. A Neat Marking stake. 
(Reprinted from The Gardeners' Chronicle of America.) 
Of all the 
Spireas com- 
monly avail- 
able, the palm 
for beauty 
and utility 
should goto the 
Van Houttei 
variety. It is 
the most beau- 
tiful of the 
rather large 
family, and un- 
questionably 
the best for 
use on home 
grounds. I n 
habit it is ex- 
tremely grace- 
ful, reaching a 
height usually 
of six feet, its 
long branches 
droop i n g 
gracefully a t 
blooming time 
Flower umbels of Spirea with a wealth 
Van Houttei of bloom. 
This Spirea 
is also known as “Bridal Wreath,” a name 
which admirably describes it, for certainly 
no bridal wreath could be handsomer in beau- 
tiful simplicity than a spray from this 
beautiful shrub. Its flowering season is 
May-June, coming in as the greatly popu- 
lar Forsythia, or Golden Bells, one of the 
earliest flowering shrubs, is going out of 
bloom. The tiny white flowers are carried 
in umbels about two inches across, closely 
set from base to tip of the branches. The 
golden centers of the little flowers when 
newly opened add to their collective beauty. 
Not only for the beauty of its flowers does 
the Spirea Van Houttei take front rank 
among flowering shrubs. From the standpoint 
of utility it is also a leader. It is splendidly 
adapted to use as an informal hedge plant, 
is an admirable lawn subject, and is just as 
much to be desired in the shrub border. Be- 
sides its flowers, it is conspicuous through 
its handsome foliage, which retains its fine 
appearance throughout the summer, the 
color dark green above to pale bluish 
green beneath, reddening somewhat towards 
Fall. 
Spirea Van Houttei never runs riot, indeed, 
it is one of the most practicable of shrubs. 
It requires little pruning except to preserve 
form of growth or to confine it. The prun- 
ing season is just after flowering has passed. 
On no account should pruning be practiced 
in late Summer or Fall, because it flowers in 
Spring on the growths made in the previous 
season. When pruning it is advisable al- 
ways to cut out the old wood, however, as 
nothing is to be gained by keeping it. 
Few shrubs are more hardy in our country 
than this Spirea, hence the possibility of its 
wide use. It is important when purchasing 
stock to see that what is procured is true to 
name. There is another variety which 
somewhat closely resembles it, one known 
as Cantoniensis, or Reevesiana. It is not as 
handsome as Van Houttei, and is only half 
hardy in the North. Like the other shrub 
varieties of Spirea, Van Houttei is not very 
particular as to soil, doing well in any 
moderately moist location. 
Propagation is usually effected through 
hardwood cuttings. 
Gladiolus growers in the middle west 
report fine weather for digging where- 
as we understand that those in the east 
have had a cold and damp time of it. 
Anyway, hard freezing weather has 
held off pretty well, and practically all 
stock was out of the ground before 
November 1st. The quality is reported 
as exceptionally good. 
My only objection to growing Lilies, Gladi- 
oli and Dahlias, is that they usually need 
staking and I object to the conspicuous way 
in which the stakes show. Of course, I 
wouldn’t be without these grand flowers 
even if I had to put up with the objectionable 
stakes. In the past I have used the bam- 
boo stakes, that can be bought at most of 
the seed stores, and while they have some 
advantages over the usual rough stake, yet 
they failed to exactly suit. The past season 
I gave the subject some thought and finally 
devised a stake that seemed to answer my 
purpose, at least. The stakes of course, are 
of different lengths to suit the heights of the 
different flowers and the size of the stake 
will depend on the 
length. For a five-foot 
stake I found three- 
quarters of an inch 
square about right. At 
some near-by saw mill, 
waste material can 
usually be found that 
will answer the purpose 
first rate and may be 
had for very little money 
and sometimes for only 
the trouble of carrying 
them away. I next bore 
small holes beginning 
near the top and about 8 
or 10 inches apart, down 
to about the middle of 
the stake. After sharp- 
ening the bottom end so 
it may be driven into 
the ground easily, I 
next paint the entire 
stake green and lay 
away to dry. Instead 
of using string to tie the 
plants to the stake I 
use green raffia, being 
more inconspicuous than 
the former. I at one 
time used tacks or small nails to keep the 
raffia from slipping down but found them 
more or less in the way and they were con- 
tinually catching on different things. The 
holes have no bad points. If the stakes are 
stored under cover during winter and oc- 
casionally re-painted there is no reason why 
they won’t last for a good many seasons. — 
Walter J. Wait in The Garden Magazine. 
Here is one man’s impression of the 
Buffalo show of the American Gladi- 
olus Society last August : 
“ I spent most of my time steering 
people around and answering their 
inquiries as to where Mr. Groff’s ex- 
hibit was ; or John Lewis Childs’ or 
Mr. Kunderd’s; or where the flower 
was that took the prize ; and what was 
going to be done with the flowers after 
the show was over ; and what was the 
name of that pretty red one on the table 
over in the next room ; and did they 
mix if they were planted too close to- 
gether ; and how Jelle Roos pronounced 
his name, and was Buffalo going to 
have another show next year ; and 
what made Kunderd ask so much 
money for his bulbs ; and were they 
worth it ; and how should the word 
Gladiolus be pronounced ; or was it 
Gladiolis, and so on. 
The great loss of Gladiolus corms 
and other flowering bulbs by frost last 
winter should be remembered and care 
exercised when the coldest weather 
comes. Get a reliable thermometer. 
Spirea Van Houttei used as an ornamental in group planting. 
Spirea Van Houttei as a lawn shrub. 
