Jane 16, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
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Llnnean Society at 8 p.m. 
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2nd Sunday after Trinity. 
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J cbIlt e Day. Leeds Show (four days). 
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HARDY AZALEAS. 
MERICAN gardens were at one time favourite 
adjuncts to the ordinary flower garden, a 
number of beds being specially devoted to 
selections of the numerous beautiful shrubs 
and plants with which North America has 
enriched European establishments. In some 
gardens that were planned fifty or sixty years 
years ago such departments are still main¬ 
tained, and in modern gardens they are also occasionally 
seen, Rhododendrons, Ledums, Kalmias, but especially 
the hardy deciduous Azaleas forming the chief feature of 
such beds, and when the situation is well chosen, the soil 
suitable, and taste is exercised in the general design and 
planting, the American garden can be rendered a delight¬ 
ful retreat during’the early summer months. 
The value of Rhododendrons is familiar to all, but it 
seems thatt the merits of hardy Azaleas are not fully recog¬ 
nised by hose engaged in the formation or planting of new 
gardens. They yield their flowers in the greatest profusion, 
the colo urs are much varied and rich, and a large propor¬ 
tion of the varieties possess a peculiarly agreeable powerful 
fragrance. Many of those that flower before the leaves 
are fully out become masses of the richest yellow, orange, 
red, and rose-shaded flowers, the brilliant effect of which 
can scarcely be realised by those who have not seen a 
number of plants together. A capital example of the 
beauty and utility of these plants is supplied by the 
American department in the Royal Gardens, Kew, and 
though this is situated in the arboretum quite out of the 
track of the ordinary visitors, it yet attracts numbers of 
persons every year, who are enthusiastic in their admira¬ 
tion. An extensive open space partially sui'rounded by 
trees is occupied with a number of curved or irregular 
beds cut in the turf, and these are filled with some 
hundreds of large old bushes, that at the present time 
are covered with flowers, filling the air with a fragrance 
perceptible at a distance of some hundreds of yards when 
there is a moderate breeze. Somewhat sheltered positions 
such as this suit these Azaleas, chiefly because their flowers 
are soon damaged by wind in exposed places. Similarly 
they do not thrive in very dry soils, for most of them 
are derived from the swamp-frequenting North American 
species, and even those that are not found in such wet locali¬ 
ties are chiefly confined to woods where they enjoy consider¬ 
able moisture and protection. The soil must be well 
drained, and though a compost of peat and loam is gene¬ 
rally employed the former is not essential, as turfy loam 
not too heavy with a good proportion of leaf soil will 
make excellent beds for them. 
The hardy Azaleas cultivated in English gardens have 
originated from the Mediterranean Azalea pontica, the 
No. 364. —Vol. XIV Third Series. 
North American Azalea calendulacea, nudiflora, viscosa, 
occidentalis and speciosa, and the Chinese or Japanese 
Azalea sinensis or mollis. These have been much inter¬ 
crossed, and the respective types are now connected by so 
many intermediate forms that it is not easy to classify 
them under their respective species. In the older forms 
the parentage can be more readily detected. All these 
species are extremely variable, frequently sporting, and 
by natural cross-fertilisation they had yielded a number 
of varieties before they were taken in hand by hybridisers 
here. 
They were first popularly known as American Azaleas, 
and subsequently, after they had received much attention 
in Belgium, and the number of forms had been artificially 
increased very largely, they became known as Ghent 
Azaleas, while now the progeny of A. mollis are com¬ 
monly termed Japanese Azaleas, and a collective term for 
them is hardy hybrid Azaleas. 
The European A. pontica, which is found in Turkey 
and the Levant, is a deciduous shrub with ovate ciliated 
leaves and yellow open shallow corollas, not unlike 
Rhododendron ponticum, but readily distinguished by 
the characters named. It does not appear to have been 
introduced to England so early as some of the American 
species, but it has produced a number of varieties ranging 
in colour from pure white to dark coppery orange, and it 
has been useful in crossing with the other species. 
Of the American Azaleas, one of the first brought to 
this country was A. nudiflora, which, according to the 
elder Aiton, was introduced by Mr. Peter Collinson in 
1734, and before the close of the century several varieties 
of it had been added to collections. The flowers vary 
in tint from white to blush, pink, rose, red, and scarlet; they 
are tubular in shape, and suggestive both in shape and 
fragrance of the Honeysuckle, under which name, with 
the prefix Wild or Upright, it is known in the United 
States. It is frequent in swampy districts in several 
States, and Gray remarks that the varieties are number¬ 
less. This is a charming type, owing to the rich colours 
prevailing in the flowers, their .powerful fragrance and 
the freedom with which they are produced before the 
leaves are fully expanded. It is also known as the May¬ 
flower in America, in allusion to the time at which it 
blooms. About fifty varieties have received botanical 
names and been admitted into authoritative works, and the 
characters of the respective species are w r ell preserved 
throughout. 
As the White Honeysuckle, another American species, 
Azalea viscosa, is familiarly known in its native home, 
where it is chiefly found in swamps near the coast in the 
northern and eastern States. This materially differs from the 
preceding (introduced at the same time) in producing its 
flowers when the leaves are fully expanded; and though the 
plant is beautiful it does not present such a mass of colour¬ 
ing as A. nudiflora. The shades, too, have not so wide a 
range, being confined to white or yellow with a rosy tinge, 
but the flowers are borne in large trusses, and are very 
fragrant. 
The flame-coloured Azalea, A. calendulacea, is of 
similar habit to A. nudiflora, but has larger, more open 
flowers, and of yellow, orange, or reddish hues. It is a 
native of w r oods and mountains in Pennsylvania, and from. 
it has been obtained a large number of handsome varieties. 
A. speciosa and A. occidentalis, allied species, have also 
been concerned in the production of hardy varieties, but 
the foregoing are the principal types. 
With regard to A. Sinensis or A. mollis, for these are 
No. 2020.—Voi. LXXYI., Old Series. 
