March 23, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
4 n 
Sweet Peas in Pots. 
Sweet Peas are universal favourites, not only on 
account of the brilliancy of colours in many of the 
varieties, but also for the delicious fragrance of the 
flowers. Unfortunately, being climbing plants, and 
requiring sticks to support them, they present a rather 
unsightly appearance for a long time, and therefore are 
not often used in beds or borders near the house, but 
chiefly at a distance or in the kitchen garden, to supply 
cut flowers. They do very well if sown in 10-in. or 
12-in. pots, in light rich soil with a good drainage, the 
soil being 1 in. or 2 ins. from the rim of the pot, so as 
to enable a slight top-dressing to be administered before 
sticking ; and if plunged in a bed of ashes the roots are 
kept cool until the flowering time, when they can be 
moved into positions near the house, where the plants, 
if well done, cannot fail to be admired and appreciated. 
—Alfred Gaut. 
Corokia Cotoneaster. 
This New Zealand shrub is a member of the Dock 
family, but is altogether very distinct from any repre¬ 
sentative of the order in this country. It is by no 
means plentiful here, even in greenhouses, and is, per¬ 
haps, best comparable to a Miihlenbeckia, several 
species of which are grown in this country, the most 
plentiful being M. complexa. The latter is grown for 
the beauty of its slender wiry stems, and small, 
orbicular, dark green leaves. The Miihlenbeckias are, 
however, slender and climbing, twining or trailing, 
whereas Corokia Cotoneaster is a stiffish erect shrub, 
with very much branched stems, and curiously zigzag 
slender branches, well clothed with small orbicular 
leaves, borne in tufts on short lateral shoots. They are 
deep green above and snow-white beneath. The star- 
like five-parted flowers are bright yellow, and scattered 
singly over the bush, giving the whole a curious but 
pretty and interesting appearance. 
Cobsea scandens variegata. 
The value of this plant as a decorative subject is 
becoming more and more recognised. Those having 
tall and cool conservatories would find it a most useful 
subject for draping the roof. It runs up to an 
enormous height if required, and appears to very fine 
effect when grown along under the ridge of span-roofed 
houses close to the ventilators, where it seems to enjoy 
a free play of air. When allowed to attain some height 
it flowers freely, but although the flowers are large, 
they are not particularly showy owing to their dull 
colours. The variegation occupies a large portion of 
the leaf, and till the foliage attains some age, is of a 
pale yellow colour, but afterwards it tone3 down 
almost to white. It may also be utilised for decorative 
purposes when grown in a small state, as we saw a fine 
batch of plants from 3 ft. to 5 ft. high grown in 48-size 
pots, in the nursery of Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper 
Holloway. 
Asplenium caudatum. 
This strong-growing species is very suitable for 
planting on rockwork. At first sight the long narrow 
fronds and their elongated pinnie bear some resemblance 
to those of A. furcatum, but the fronds attain a much 
greater length, those we saw at the Victoria and 
Paradise Nurseries, Upper Holloway, measuring from 
3 ft. to 4 ft. in length. They assume a spreading or 
pendulous habit, so that they are more adapted for 
planting out than for arranging on the stages. They 
are twice divided, and of a leathery evergreen character, 
and their drooping habit in a state of nature would 
seem to favour the rooting of the young plant developed 
at the apex, in the same way as Woodwardia radicans. 
Pultensea daphnoides. 
New Holland plants, as those from Australia are 
generally termed, are extremely numerous, and were 
formerly more extensively cultivated throughout the 
country than they are at present. There are some 
seventy-five species of Pultensea, all natives of 
Australia ; but of these only a very few are now in 
cultivation, including the species under notice. It 
has been compared to a Daphne, on account of the 
habit of the bush, and the shape of the leathery 
evergreen leaves. The Pea-shaped flowers are borne in 
terminal, dense, umbel-like racemes, or they may 
appear as dense sessile heads. They are bright yellow, 
with a red calyx and a brownish black keel, and are 
large enough to constitute the plant a very ornamental 
subject for conservatory decoration. They are in 
season during the early spring months. 
Aotua gracillima. 
The flowers of this Leguminous plant are borne in long 
terminal leafy racemes, and from their great abundance 
constitute no mean ornament of the greenhouse or 
conservatory at this season of the year. After flowering 
the shoots should be cut back ; and young shoots are 
again produced from 2 ft. to 3 ft. in length. From 
8 ins. to 12 ins., or even more of the upper portion of 
these are occupied with the yellow pea flowers, which 
are greatly enlivened by the keel and the base of the 
wings being of a dark brownish red. The wiry slender¬ 
ness of the shoots well entitles the plant to the specific 
name gracillima, for they are really very graceful, yet 
require no staking or tying of any kind. 
Tillandsia tessellata. 
Fortunately for gardening purposes, flowers are 
seldom produced by this species, so that it attains 
to a large size after several years’ growth. Most 
of the species soon reach their full size, and send up 
an inflorescence from the central axis of the rosette, 
after which the plant is ruined for ornamental pur¬ 
poses as far as the foliage is concerned, because more 
of the energy is directed into the inflorescence, and the 
foliage generally loses its pristine freshness. T. tessel¬ 
lata continues, however, to increase in size, and each 
succeeding tier of leaves grows longer than the last. 
They are of a beautiful light sub-glaucous green, 
beautifully tessellated with light yellow. We noted a 
plant the other day in the Victoria and Paradise 
Nurseries, Upper Holloway, which had a diameter of 
3J ft. to 4 ft. 
Boronia heterophylla. 
The recent introduction of this West Australian shrub 
to our greenhouses is a great acquirement. In general 
appearance it is similar to the older B. elata, but differs 
in the leaves having only three leaflets, which, like all 
other members of the Orange family, are closely beset 
with glands charged with a fragrant oil. The flowers 
are of a charming shade of rose, especially when grown 
under favourable conditions with regard to air and 
light ; they are produced in axillary clusters of two or 
three together along a considerable part of the length 
of the annual shoots, and have a charming appearance 
when in full bloom. Their fragrance, if not so 
powerful as that of B. megastigma, is nevertheless 
equally agreeable, and have the additional recommen¬ 
dation of showiness, which the flowers of B. megastigma 
have not. The plant is therefore worthy of a place 
in every establishment where early spring flowers are 
required for the embellishment of the conservatory. 
German Iris. 
In my garden I have many clumps of the common blue 
Iris. In 1886 they flowered abundantly, forming quite 
a feature in it; but they failed to bloom at all the 
succeeding year. I then placed a little soil over the 
rhizomes that were bare, and sprinkled Clay’s Fertiliser 
over that, expecting to see a full bloom in 1888, but 
was again disappointed. I had only two flower-stalks 
where I should have had a couple of hundred. Can 
any reader suggest why I have failed to secure flowers ? 
— J. C., Leeds. 
Prunus Pissardii. 
Your correspondent “Pi. D.,” in describing the above 
on p. 423 in The Gardening World for March 2nd, 
states that he is not sure whether it has set fruit in 
this country. In the autumn of 1887 I saw some fine 
specimens about 12 ft. in height, bearing a heavy crop 
of well-ripened fruit, in the nursery of Mr. J. J. Foster, 
at Stanmore, Middlesex. The fruit was about the size 
of a small Plum, of perfect shape, not at all unpleasant 
to eat, and of the same colour as the foliage. I saw the 
same trees last year, but they were then only carrying 
a few fruits. With us it seems perfectly hardy and of 
a robust constitution, having planted it in very exposed 
positions two years since. I quite agree with “ R. D.” 
that it should find a place in all gardens, as it is un¬ 
doubtedly one of the finest foliage trees we have.— 
Edwin Beckett, Elstree. 
Tetratheca Hugelli. 
The flowers of this species are about twice the size of 
those of T. hirsute, but of the same lilac colour, with 
brownish black anthers. They are produced in the 
axils of linear hairy leaves, and droop on slender foot¬ 
stalks. Like the rest of the species, it is a native of 
Australia, and best known in gardens under the name 
of Tremandra. It may be had at various times, 
according to the treatment. 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
Cattleya TRIANzE. 
In the Cattleya house of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, 
Chelsea, this Cattleya and its various forms now reign 
supreme. There are, it is true, a few other species in 
flower, but of C. Trianae there are about 500 in bloom. 
The individual specimens show a great range of variety 
with regard to colouring, a trait for which this Cattleya 
is remarkable. The season of flowering and the long 
tube are characters by which it may readily be 
recognised, notwithstanding the variations of colour. 
Betv'een the typical C. T. delicata and C. T. Schroeder- 
iana there are so many gradations that make it 
difficult sometimes to distinguish the two. The latter 
is, however, characterised by an open tube, while the 
petals and the lip are large and finely crisped at the 
margins. The whole flower is of an uniform blush, 
suffused with white ; while the disk of the lip is fur¬ 
nished with a large, pale orange-yellow blotch. C. T. 
delicata has a long closed tube, its sepals and petals 
flushed with pale amethyst-purple, and the limb of the 
lip of a deeper hue. Both are, however, very choice 
when obtained true. C. Triame Horsmani has a very 
large, richly-coloured lip. 
Oncidium maculatum. 
So distinct is this from most other species of the genus 
that Lindley originally gave it a different generic 
appellation—namely, Cyrtochilum maculatum. The 
characters, however, were so slight that he found it 
difficult to retain as distinct from Oncidium, the short 
column of which it possesses. The lip, however, is 
structurally different from that of a typical Oncidium, 
and approaches that of an Odontoglossum. It is a 
beautiful species, with a fragrance resembling that of 
Lily of the Valley. It is variable both with regard to 
the structure of the lip, and several forms have received 
varietal names. A plant which has just flowered at 
Devonhurst, Chiswick, where it was received directly 
from its native country, Mexico, has its sepals and 
petals heavily blotched with brownish purple on a 
yellow ground. The lip is white, with a few purple 
lines on the crest, and is halbert-shaped—that is, flat 
with two side lobes, the terminal one of which tapers 
to a point, as in Odontoglossum. 
Orchids on Cork. 
It has often been a subject of inquiry among 
gardeners as to how Orchids generally thrive on cork. 
I have often seen cork used, both for potting purposes 
and as blocks suspended from roofs of glass structures. 
So far as root action is concerned, cork acts admirably 
for many species, but we have not seen anything like 
such finely developed flowers or substance of foliage on 
cork as is generally seen with the use of fibry peat. 
A few years ago we had a consignment of Cattlevas sent, 
and a few dozens were potted in the usual way, 
while others were fastened to cork and suspended. 
The latter far out-distanced the former in formation of 
roots, and in most cases development of foliage. The 
root growth of these was in the course of a few months 
advanced from 12 ins. to 18 ins. long, but they have 
never flowered so freely, neither are the flowers so 
large. On the cork, and suspended as they are, more 
labour is required by dipping to keep them healthy, 
than those potted in peat; but on the cork they have 
a very picturesque appearance. More information on 
this subject will be thankfully received.— Kent. 
A Freak of Ccelogyne cristata. 
We noted a very curious occurrence the other day at 
Devonhurst, Chiswick, in a flower of the popular 
Ccelogyne cristata, and which might be justly termed a 
reversion. What seemed to some extent to determine 
the cause was that a bract had remained attached along 
one side of the ovary, preventing the latter from assum¬ 
ing its normal position, so that one of the petals was 
behind the flower, in fact in the position of the dorsal 
sepal, except that it still evidently belonged to the 
inner of the two perianth whorls. The other petal was 
adnate to the side of the lip. One sepal was reduced 
to a pigmy, while the other was enlarged, resembling a 
second lip with half of the fringes seen on that organ. 
The column was even more abnormal and was separated 
into three distinct stamens and three perfectly distinct 
stigmas. The latter were erect and viscid on their 
inner face, but the deep stigmatic cavity, from which 
the generic name is derived, was wholly absent. The 
three stamens were attached by their sides, but only 
the two lateral ones, which belonged to the ideal outer 
whorl of three, bore anthers ; only one of them boi e 
polliuia, two masses instead of four, but seemingly 
perfect ; the middle one of the three was perfectly 
barren. The column was twisted, so that the anthers 
were not in the exact position where we should have 
expected them. 
