October 8, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
91 
Sedum spectabile. — The clear rosy purple 
umbellate flowers of this species have a very gay 
appearance at this season of the year, when the 
abundance of choice things at the gardener’s command 
are over, or are beginning to assume an untidy and 
straggling character. The stems seldom exceed 1 ft. 
in height, and are frequently under it ; while from the 
comparatively slow rate of increase of the plant in a 
lateral direction it never proves weedy, nor encroaches 
upon its neighbours wherever planted. In the gardens 
of the Royal Horticultural Society, Chiswick, it is 
planted out in various places in the borders, aud two 
beds are edged with it. The effect is greatly lightened 
in one case where the bed is occupied with Nicotiana 
affinis, the Night-flowering Tobacco, which is still 
finely in flower. The value of this Sedum is greatly 
enhanced from the fact of its being useful for con¬ 
servatory or greenhouse decoration, introducing a 
change amongst the occupants of these structures at 
this season of the year. When grown with a single 
stem large umbels are produced, which may also be 
greatly improved by liberal feeding during the growth 
of the plant in summer. The stems, if cut off just 
before or after the expansion of the flowers, may be 
inserted in the ground at the desired height, when 
they will flower magnificently, and lines or beds may 
be planted in this way with fine effect. Another thing 
in connection with the flowers of this Sedum is their 
popularity with butterflies. When the sun is warm 
and bright on an autumn day the flowers are visited 
by various butterflies in great numbers, but the “ Red 
Admiral ” is almost certain to be most numerously 
represented. 
Nicotiana affinis. —In reference to a note anent 
the hardiness of this plant in your last issue, I find, 
from our experience of it here, that it must be classed 
otherwise than as an annual. Some plants which were 
put out on a border here last season appeared again in 
quite strong clumps this spring, and, although rather 
later in blooming than young plants from spring-sown 
seed, have flowered equally well. These plants have 
the shelter of a wall, but, as a set-off to this, the border 
in which they are growing has very little sunshine 
during the winter, as they are shaded by trees and 
another higher wall at a right angle to it. Some of the 
plants put in front of a clump of Rhododendrons, 
and quite in the open, never made an appearance again ; 
but as the ground was pricked over with the fork, it 
may be that, judging the plant to be of annual 
duration, the roots were most probably thrown out. 
I have some this season mixed in beds of single Dahlias, 
which have flowered uncommonly well, and which 
have given me a quantity of seed; these I intend to 
look after, leaving them where they grow, in order to 
have a fuller test of their hardiness. — R. Stevens, 
Paston. 
Parsley in Pots. —We, here, in the south, can 
grow Parsley so easily, that it would be impossible to 
refuse sympathy with those who, like Mr. Whitton, of 
Wishaw, have to grow it in pots for the winter. It is 
true thac but a few years since Parsley was seriously 
affected by a fungus which swept it off wholesale, 
but that affection seems to be removed now. Still, 
growing Parsley outdoors all the year round has been 
a matter of little difficulty as a rule. The chief im¬ 
pediment is found in snowy weather, and then a bed 
protected by a light frame-work and a few lights or 
hurdles is invaluable. If, however, Parsley must really 
be grown in pots, certainly none can be better for the 
purpose than the Moss Curled, which is now a strong¬ 
growing strain, and a good head of foliage is really 
very handsome and decorative. It thrives well in our 
stiff soil, and just now from spring-sown seed is in fine 
form, being far more graceful than the best old Treble 
Curled.— A. D. 
Lilium auratum. —This season has given some 
hints as to the outdoor cultivation of Lilium auratum. 
When a few bulbs, or even a few dozen are grown, there 
may be chances of error ; but with hundreds, if the same 
results occur with most of them, I think the experiments 
may be trusted. We have L. auratum in all sorts of 
places, but only large quantities in three or four. One 
on a hill-side in light loam, the soil naturally moist, 
but moderately drained, a certain amount of shelter 
from wind being given by cut furze fences ; the second 
in a shady part of a wood, grown in a mixture of old 
vegetable soil and light loam, moderately moist. The 
third is in a very dry wood, the natural soil being 
hungry sand ; in this large holes between 4 ft. and 
5 ft. deep were dug out, and the holes filled up with 
good Lily soil. In No. 1, the Lilies bloomed well, but 
showed the effects of the long drought a little (I should 
mention we do not water); they have continued to look 
well, showing hardly any signs of spot after the cold 
damp weather. In No. 2, the early blooms were 
especially fine, some of them equal to any L. auratum 
macranthum ; but when the cold wet weather came, 
spot showed itself on many. On some parts of the beds 
almost every Lily in flower was affected, in other 
parts many were injured, in others fewer; and in 
one very sheltered part, quite out of the wind, hardly 
any were touched for some time, and have still escaped. 
In No. 3, during the drought the flowers were fine, but 
looked as if rain would have improved them. When 
the rain came the blooms became better, and have con¬ 
tinued very fine ; some of the stems are 9 ft. high. It 
would thus appear that quite apart from drip, cold wet 
weather and damp situation is the cause of spot, and 
would, perhaps, account for the difficulty of growing 
these Lilies in places where the climate is usually cold 
and moist. In these cases, the shelter of a Rhododen¬ 
dron bed would be especially valuable. —George F. Wilson, 
Heatherbank, IVeybridge Heath, 
The Japanese Toad Lily. —The baking to 
which Tricyrtis hirta has been subjected during the past 
trying summer, when most kinds of vegetation suffered 
more or less, has evidently acted beneficially on this 
plant, and hastened its flowering. In ordinary summers 
this generally takes place so late in the season that the 
stems are killed by frost before the flowers expand. A 
finely flowered specimen may be seen at present on the 
rockery in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, at Chiswick. The stems are about 15 ins. 
in height, with numerous short lateral branches, each 
bearing together with the apex of the stem some fully 
expanded flowers. These are white, finely spotted 
internally with small rosy purple spots. The rootstock 
consists of short fleshy rhizomes, to which the plant 
dies down annually, otherwise we should be unable to 
preserve it in winter without the protection of glass. 
When grown on a rockery, or out-of-doors, a compost 
of sandy loam and peat will be found very convenient 
and suitable to its well being. A little extra care in 
its cultivation will be rewarded when it flowers, as 
plants of this class are not common in British gardens. 
Nymphgea tuberosa flavescens.— The new 
yellow Water Lily now flowering at Kew in the Water 
Lily house is, indeed, an acquisition to the numerous 
Nympheeas which we already possess. In point of 
size it is greatly superior to N. flava, being well known 
as a yellow species that is pretty and much admired, 
but flowers rarely. Whether the variety under notice 
has any connection with N. flava may be questioned, 
but the leaves are more or less blotched with purple 
underneath, somewhat in a similar way to the markings 
of N. flava. The flowers are large and freely produced, 
while the petals are of a pale or sulphur-yellow, but 
decided enough to warrant their being described as 
yellow, and the stamens are of a deep golden yellow, 
adding much to the appearance of the flower, which 
appears to deepen in colour from the circumference 
towards the centre. The plant was sent to Kew under 
the name of N. Mariliacea chromatella, but agrees with 
N. tuberosa in all respects probably, except in colour. 
Nymphaaa Kewensis. —The seed-bearing parent 
of this garden hybrid was N. Lotus, a white species 
with large flowers, and thej^outer petals broad and 
blunt, while the pollen parent was N. Devoniensis, 
itself a hybrid with even larger, deep rose, and more 
pointed petals. The seedling from this parentage has 
bright rose flowers about 7 ins. in diameter, with broad 
petals. It was raised at Kew two years ago, and is now 
a large plant with broad, orbicular, beautifully scalloped 
leaves, and has proved itself the most persistent-flower¬ 
ing Lily in the house this season. The flowers may be 
distinguished from those of N. Devoniensis by their 
petals being rounded at the apex and somewhat hooded. 
The plant that has flowered and received this name 
may be noted in the Water Lily tank at Kew. 
Ne Plus Ultra Pea. —When recently looking 
over a collection of Peas, including many novelties of 
the present and last year, I could not help being struck 
with the resemblance many of them bore to the above 
variety. Now, it may interest some of the readers of 
The Gardening World to know that the name 
Ne Plus Ultra, though a very expressive and fitting 
one, is not the original title of this fine Pea. It was 
raised many years ago by a Mr. John Payne, The 
Manor House, Gayton, about four miles from North¬ 
ampton, who named it Payne’s Conqueror. The stock 
of it was bought from the raiser by Mr. Jeyes, then a 
seedsman in the Drapery, Northampton, and was 
advertised by him as Jeyes’ Conqueror. I think some 
London seedsmen got a fine selection from it, and sent 
it out as Ne Plus Ultra, by which name it is now most 
generally known; but there is a marked difference 
between some stocks of Ne Plus Ultra and Payne’s 
Conqueror. The former is represented by a type small 
in the pod, and the peas smaller when in a dry state. 
A fine stock of Conqueror or Ne Plus Ultra is one hard 
to beat, and I am not at all surprised it is so popular 
as a late variety. The finest crop of Ne Plus Ultra 
Peas I ever saw was grown in some well-manured 
Celery trenches of the previous year, and plenty of 
room being given to it, the growth was very robust and 
the pods wonderfully fine.— R. I). 
Chrysanthemum La Petite Marie.— It is 
rather to be regretted that there should be any difficulty 
with regard to the cultivation of this gem amongst 
summer or early-flowering Chrysanthemums. It proves 
to be somewhat difficult to keep in winter, and growers 
are liable to lose it if more special care is not bestowed 
upon it than is accorded the more vigorous-growing 
kinds. Not only is it a Pompon with regard to the 
size of the flowers, but with regard to its stature ; for 
as we observed it recently in the nurseries of Messrs. 
R. B. Laird & Sons, at Pinkhill, Murrayfield, Mid¬ 
lothian, it was flowering in a most floriferous way, 
while the plants themselves did uot exceed 9 ins. or 
10 ins. in height. There was a bed of it that had 
flowered all the summer, and in the second week of 
September was simply a mass of flowers, so much so 
that the upper foliage was perfectly hidden. It is 
equally suitable for pot work as for bedding out, and 
people who admire this class of plants could hardly 
fail to be delighted with it, as useful little plants could 
be used for indoor decoration ; or a bed on the lawn or 
the rockery might with great advantage be adorned 
with it. The flower heads are pure white ; but why the 
variety should only be classed as a semi-early seems 
di ffi cult to realise, unless the past dry and warm 
summer had brought it into flower unusually early. 
Alongside of this there is another bed of its companion 
plant, Yellow Petite Marie, similar in every respect 
except that the flower heads in this case are of a fine 
clear yellow instead of white. The plant is somewhat 
difficult to grow into a specimen from single cuttings, 
but if five are inserted in a thumb pot, and subsequently 
potted on without disturbing them, lovely little bushes 
in 48’s are readily obtained. 
Large Alocasia Thibautiana. — This is 
certainly one of the finest, if not the finest, of the 
Alocasias, and when grown to such fine dimensions as 
the plant at Gunnersbury Park, Acton, it is certainly 
a noble object, recommending itself to the attention of 
all who can afford the space necessary for its develop¬ 
ment, without which it can never be seen in its best 
form. The plant in question is grown in a large 
shallow pan, and plunged in a bed of Cocoa-nut fibre 
in a stove up to the rim. The house is kept at a high 
temperature and the atmosphere moist, under which 
conditions it has developed to its present dimensions, 
and is believed to be the finest plant in the country. 
There are twenty-three or twenty-four fully developed 
leaves, and these with their petioles have occupied the 
whole of the available head-room, which would be 
about 5 ft. or more. The dimensions of the laminae of 
the leaves are proportionate, and when the natural and 
proportionate width of the great shield-like leaves is 
considered an idea of their real size may be gleaned. 
Under the above favourable conditions great quantities 
of fine fleshy roots are produced, and the plant 
developes numerous short, fleshy rhizomes, which swell 
at the apex like a tuber covered with large scales, thus 
affording a ready means of propagation. According to 
the experience of some other cultivators this species is 
considered more difficult to grow than the other useful 
and favourite kinds. 
The Autumn Tints. — Nothing is more con¬ 
vincing of winter than the various tints which pervade 
the woods and shrubberies at this season of the year. 
Equally as much care should be taken in the planting 
of shrubberies as in the selection of fruit trees ; but, as 
a rule, what great neglect is shown ! An intermingled 
mass, and nothing more. "Whereas, if more thought 
had been given to the autumn garb of a good number 
of our choicest deciduous trees, many would be bound 
to admit it is not in spring or summer that their 
real beauty is seen. Particularly is this the case with 
the Cotton Tree (Gossypium), which with us is now a 
mass of crimson-scarlet foliage. The background being 
composed of Cedars and Yews, it is an object of much 
beauty, and is seen to the greatest advantage, especially 
so, as the pale yellow foliage of a Catalpa is adjacent. 
But in reality each add to the beauty of the other by 
the contrast presented.— Con, 
