282 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 15, 1892. 
finish off the surface. Fairly good garden soil enriched with Mush¬ 
room manure answers this purpose well. 
After potting the best position for the plants is behind a north 
wall, where they should receive a good watering through a rose, 
and should the weather prove bright be syringed once a day till 
established. As soon as sharp frosts are anticipated as many plants 
as room can be found for should be placed in cold pits and the 
remainder plunged in ashes over the rim of the pots in the open 
air. By the time the bulk of the Chrysanthemums have done 
flowering there is generally a considerable amount of space avail¬ 
able in cool houses, so that the whole batch of Wallflowers may be 
given more or less favourable positions, where they will come into 
flower a few weeks earlier than plants in the open air. There 
are few subjects which give so great a return in beautiful and 
scented blossoms for the small amount of labour involved in their 
culture. 
Liberal watering with liquid manure or applications of the 
many good artificial manures advertised add greatly to the size of 
the flowers and give them a more vivid colour. The best varieties 
for the purpose are Yeitch’s Selected Yellow, Belvoir Castle, and 
Golden Tom Thumb.—H. Dunkin. 
DWARF PERENNIAL PHLOXES. 
Phloxes that need no stakes, that form compact bushes a foot 
or very little more in height, and that bear dense heads of flowers 
fully equalling in size, brilliancy, and diversity of colouring the 
varieties of the ordinary decussata type commend themselves to 
more than casual attention. Of such there are now many flowering 
profusely in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society at 
Chiswick. They have come from various quarters, but the majority 
are probably of French extraction, and Lemoine may be mentioned 
as prominent among those who have experimented with such 
gratifying results on a class of plants that are admittedly of great 
value. It would be well if the good points of the race could be 
indicated without throwing any disparagement upon those of the 
taller type, for these have done, and probably will continue to do, 
good service ; but the differing characteristics of the two classes 
can only be made clear by direct comparisons. Bold and beautiful 
as are the tall varieties, they possess a distinct disadvantage in the 
necessity they impose for free staking ere they can be considered 
safe from the effects of wind and storm, and a still greater one in 
their aptitude to become bare and unsightly at the base, necessi¬ 
tating their association with other plants of lower growth before a 
completely satisfactory effect can be said to have been achieved. 
Many will have admired the noble effect of large groups when they 
are seen lifting their huge clusters above dwarfer plants in mixed 
borders ; but when there are no such companions their beauty is 
frequently marred by an unsightly base. It is as though the effect 
of an irreproachable coat and a glossy hat were discounted by a 
pair of seamy and weather-worn boots. 
In a select gathering of such dwarf Phloxes as those at 
Chiswick there is not only perfect beauty of blossom but abundant 
leafage to the surface of the soil. The plants vie, in fact, with 
the nana compacta section of the annual Phloxes, of which a good 
strain is admittedly far superior to the old Drummondi type. They 
average a foot in diameter, and that or a little more in height. 
All are floriferous in a marked degree, although in some the 
inflorescence is scattered, while in others it is gathered in large 
heads. The flowers vary somewhat in size, but the majority are 
about as large as a florin, and their wide range of colouring leaves 
little to be desired. Some of the varieties are seifs, such as rose, 
carmine, and mauve ; others are oculated like Verbenas, or like the 
best varieties of the annual Phloxes, and these are certainly not 
the least beautiful. That they would form magnificent groups is 
well demonstrated at Chiswick, and moreover they would be quite 
capable of relying for effect on their own resources, not requiring 
the co-operation of companion plants to hide defects. No staking 
whatever is required for the dwarfest of them ; they no more need 
support than a Zmal Pelargonium ; and for the tallest, which run 
to lj foot in height, one slender stake is ample. 
The Phloxes at Chiswick are grown in a series of mixed beds— 
that is to say, tall and dwarf are associated together. This, though 
perhaps not so intended, affords the needed comparison between 
the habits of the plants, and the dwarf compact growers can be 
picked out readily in passing along the beds, their lowly stature 
being accentuated by the greater altitude of the “ big brothers ” 
beside them. Many of the latter are extremely beautiful as 
varieties, and their high merit is borne witness to by the three 
marks which many of them have earned ; but those to which brief 
reference are now made range only from 12 to 18 inches high, the 
majority being nearer the former than the latter figure. Faust 
(Lemoine) stands out conspicuously as one of the best and most 
beautiful of the collection. It does not exceed 1 foot in height, 
and is remarkably sturdy, carrying a profusion of oculated flowerp, 
these being white, with a faint rose centre, and of the largest size. 
Bournouf (Lemoine) is somewhat taller, approaching l£ foot, but is 
compact, and its flowers are of a most brilliant red hue. Croix de 
Sud (Forbes) is another extremely beautiful oculated variety, the 
flowers being white, with a bold and clearly defined eye of rich 
rosy crimson. They are large, and freely produced. The height 
is about 1 foot, and the habit bushy, decidedly one of the best. 
Eugene Danganvilliers (Forbes) is about 1 foot high, the flowers 
being pale mauve, and borne with great freedom. Roi des Rosiers 
(Forbes) somewhat belies its proud title, for the colour is mauve, 
with a rosy suffusion rather than pure rose, but it is an admirable 
variety all the same, for its height does not exceed 1 foot ; the 
flowers are numerous, and the colour is eminently pleasing. Bayard 
(Forbes) 1 foot, may be described as a bright rose, and is a good 
representative of this rich and effective hue. Le Soleil (Forbes) 
1 foot, rich rose, with white centre, is another most beautiful 
variety. Jeanne d’Arc (Forbes) is useful as a pure white, and the 
flowers, though small, are abundant. Hirondelle (Forbes) is 
distinct and beautiful, the colour being of the most brilliant rose, 
with a deeper eye. Pluton (Forbes) lj foot, is a deep glowing 
crimson, and very free. Felibvre (Dickson) 1 foot, is a rich 
carmine, and the flowers are abundantly produced. Henri Murger 
(Lemoine) 1 foot, is white, or rather white with a tendency to 
lemon, and has a rich crimson eye ; the flowers very large. Nain 
Be be (Forbes) 1 foot, is rich carmine. 
While it would be regretable if the utilisation of the tall 
section for positions to which they are specially adapted should 
become limited, there are undoubtedly others in which they might 
give way with advantage to the dwarfer sorts. It would be well if 
the latter could be collected into a group by themselves, and con¬ 
sidered as a distinct class of material. It is certain that beautiful 
effects could be secured by grouping them in beds, and their value 
would not be lessened by the fact of their beauty developing when 
that of the great majority of summer flowers is on the wane. The 
colours of many are so brilliant that few other arrangements could 
exceed them in richness, while any tendency to garishness could 
be toned down by a judicious contrast with the more refined hues 
of the oculated flowers. Small groups would be effective, too, in 
mixed borders. 
When autumn approaches perennial Phloxes are the glory of 
many suburban gardens, raising their huge clusters aloft in generous 
profusion ; but they often present their best aspect to the passer¬ 
by. Were their places taken by select dwarfer varieties, the loss 
of the outsider would be the gain of the grower.—W. P. Wright. 
CASSIA CORYMBOSA. 
Considering that this beautiful greenhouse plant has been in 
cultivation for nearly a hundred years it is surprising that it is not 
more often met with, for there are few plants more easily grown 
or which more richly reward the cultivator. Grown as standards 
in large pots or tubs they are truly magnificent objects for large 
conservatory decoration through August and September, a time 
when flowering plants are not too plentiful. 
September is a good time to root cuttings of this plant if in¬ 
tended to be grown into standards, as then by keeping them grow¬ 
ing through the winter months in a warm greenhouse, the stem 
will attain the required height, and with proper attention a good 
head can be formed that will flower the following August. The 
details of culture are few and simple, but they must be attended to, 
otherwise the cultivator will only secure strong flowerless shoots. 
This can be prevented by constantly pinching back the strongest 
growths until the head has become sufficiently dense and sym¬ 
metrical. If possible the last stopping should take place early in 
May, and when the shoots have again started freely into growth, 
which will be early in June, the plants should be stood out of 
doors in a sheltered place. This will induce a sturdy short-jointed 
growth that will be crowded with flower buds early in August, and 
this, combined with constantly stopping the young shoots until 
May, is really the only secret of inducing the plant to flower freely 
in pots. When the flowers begin to open the plant should be 
accorded a light place in the conservatory, where they will continue 
objects of beauty for at least two months. 
The flowers are of a bright cheerful yellow, and disposed in 
numerous corymbs aloDg the upper ends of the young shoots. 
The plants thrive in three parts fibry loam to one part each of 
leaf mould, old Mushroom bed refuse, and sand. 
After flowering they should be gradually dried off and be 
stored out of the way of frost in the same manner as Fuchsias. 
Before starting into growth in early spring, all the branches that 
form the head should be cut boldly in at from 4 inches to 8 inches 
