October 26, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
123 
The Amateurs’ Garden. 
Viburnum tinus. 
Quantities of this shrub are annually grown in pots and 
bloomed indoprs to supply the cut-flower basket in 
winter. In the southern counties it is all but hardy, 
and in mild seasons flowers in the open air during 
November, December, and January, earlier or later, 
according to the nature of the season. The bushes are 
sometimes very gay with red buds or white flowers 
more or less tinted with pink. When opened under 
glass they are pure white, and consequently much 
appreciated during the dull season. Although indi¬ 
vidually small, they are numerously produced in flat 
cymes or trusses, and are very suitable for mixing with 
cut flowers. Their leaves may also be used, and when 
taken from the open air they are leathery, of a rich 
dark green tint, and very durable. The plant is ad¬ 
mirably adapted for small conservatories, and especially 
where little or no fire-heat is employed. Flowering 
naturally in winter, it requires no forcing whatever, 
and may be grown in pieces of small and convenient 
size. Ordinary good fibrous loam, with a small 
quantity of sand, is all that is necessary in the way of 
soil, and useful plants may be grown for several seasons 
in 6-in. pots. 
A Useful Window Plant. 
A very useful plant for window decoration during the 
winter months is Cyperus alternifolius. The slender 
green stems, surmounted with a spiral tuft of linear 
deep green leaves, render the subject a useful one, 
either for mixing in groups of other subjects, or it may 
be used alone in the same way as Aspidistra lurida or 
the India Rubber (Ficus elastica). The chief points to 
be attended to are watering and keeping the leaves 
clean. With ordinary care they will only require to be 
sponged occasionally with soapy or clean water, or they 
may even be wiped with a wet sponge, being careful to 
rub them from the base to the tip with the sponge as 
they are held in the left hand. By this simple plan 
the breaking and bruising of the leaves are avoided. 
The plant is a native of Australia, and, therefore, 
accustomed to the influences of a dry atmosphere ; but 
it must never be neglected in the matter of watering, 
as like all others of its family it is a water-loving 
subject. 
The Herbaceous Border 
With the decay of vegetation generally, and the leaves 
of the trees dropping about, the garden wears anything 
but a gay aspect, unless we refer to the dying, autumnal 
tints of the leaves themselves. An air of tidiness may, 
however, be maintained with a little extra care in 
collecting the fallen leaves and decaying plants at short 
intervals. Many of the late-flowering perennial Asters 
are still gay and should be tied neatly to stakes 
in order to prevent their being driven about by 
the blustering winds. Prominent amongst them are 
some choice forms of A. Novi-Belgi, A. grandiflorus, 
A. Novte Anglice, with its rose, red, and purplish blue 
varieties ; A. acris, in several very showy forms ; A. 
Amellus, and others. The last-named is a native of 
Europe, bearing very large lilac-purple flowers, and 
although still gay, was amongst the first to come into 
bloom. More stately in their way are the Red-hot 
Pokers (Kniphofia), which always maintain a com¬ 
manding aspect from every point of view as far as they 
can be seen. Much more modest and pleasing in their 
way are the autumn-flowering Crocuses, Colchicums, 
and. Cyclamen neapolitanum. In order to guard these 
from the squally storms of wind and rain, a few neat 
evergreen branches or sprays of something might be 
stuck in the ground to shelter them, and so preserve 
their beauty intact as long as possible. 
Rose Planting. 
Now is the best time to plant hybrid perpetuals and all 
other tolerably hardy Roses. The soil still retains a 
certain amount of warmth, and the roots will become 
partly established before the advent of spring, at which 
season the plants will be ready to start away with 
vigour as the temperature rises. The first thing to be 
done at present is to get the ground in readiness by 
trenching it to a depth of 2 ft., incorporating with it a 
considerable quantity of good farmyard manure, or pre¬ 
ferably that obtained from the pig-stye, if it can be 
procured. Before trenching, it is essential to see that 
the ground is naturally well drained, otherwise a drain 
will be requisite to carry off the superfluous water. In 
choosing a situation, a heavy soil inclined to clay should 
be selected in preference to one that is light and sandy. 
This is all the more important if the Roses are budded, 
but not so necessary for those on their own roots. The 
distance apart between the plants very much depends 
upon the vigour of the varieties planted, and the size 
to which they are allowed to grow. From 2 ft. to 3 ft. 
may be allowed accordingly. 
Gardening 
ISCELLANY. 
—— 
Mutisia decurrens. 
The flower-heads of this species are not so dark as 
those of M. Clematis, but the ray florets spread to an 
equal if not a greater distance, and being of a bright 
orange, have a striking appearance, the more so on 
account of their curious form. The bracts surrounding 
the head are closely adpressed and glaucous, greatly 
resembling the calyx (the so-called pod) of a Carnation. 
The stems are slender, growing to a height of 6 ft. or 
thereabouts, and therefore require support. The linear- 
lanceolate leaves run down the stems, forming wings, 
as the specific name suggests, while at the apex they 
are attenuated into long, slender, twining tendrils, such 
as occur in Gloriosa superba. In a state of nature these 
leaves afford the necessary support to enable the plant 
to scramblejup amongst other vegetation, just as in M. 
Clematis. The leaves are, however, perfectly un¬ 
divided, and quite unlike those of the last named, 
which bear a remarkable resemblance to those of a 
member of the Pea family. M. decurrens is a native of 
the Chilian Andes, and proves tolerably hardy in the 
southern counties when grown against a wall. There 
is a flowering specimen against the front wall of 
Museum No. 1, at Kew. 
Ammobium a-latum. 
The flower-heads of this everlasting are much smaller 
than those of the more commonly-grown Helichrysum 
bracteatum, but larger than those of Antennaria mar- 
garitacea, now largely grown for drying and dyeing 
purposes. It might therefore be utilised in the same 
way, as the heads are not so lumpy as those of the 
Helichrysum named. In this country it is practically 
a biennial unless treated as a half-hardy annual, and is 
raised in heat so as to get it well forward by planting- 
out time. The species is a native of Australia, from 
whence it was introduced in 1822, and i3 nearly hardy 
in this country, inasmuch as it will outlive the winter 
in an open border if not very severe. "When raised 
under glass and then planted out, it will, however, 
flower freely the first summer, and generally keeps on 
till very late in autumn. Like other everlastings it is 
chiefly valued for the white bracts surrounding the 
head. The central disc is yellow, and the heads are 
best for cut-flower purposes when about half expanded, 
or, at least, not long after having opened for the first 
time, as they will close again, hiding the yellow disc. 
There is a variety in cultivation named A. a. grandi- 
florum, which has flower-heads about twice the size of 
the original type. 
A New Winter-flowering 1 Begonia. 
Although usually reckoned one of the tuberous- 
rooted Begonias, B. Froebelii has not until recently 
been successfully hybridised with B. boliviensis, B. 
Veitchii, B. ross flora, or their hybrids. Seedlings 
were, however, flowered last year in the nursery of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, and others of an 
improved character have flowered this year, amongst 
which is one named B. Prometheus. This is the result 
of fertilising B. Froebelii with pollen of one of the 
improved tuberous kinds in cultivation. The stems 
are very dwarf, and well furnished with large obliquely 
cordate, slightly hairy, deep green leaves. The flower 
scapes rise well above the foliage, bearing warm red 
flowers of good shape but moderate size compared with 
the fine tuberous kinds in cultivation. The chief value 
of the new hybrid depends on its late-flowering nature, 
a quality which it has derived from B. Froebelii, and 
secondly, on the dwarf and compact habit of the plant. 
If improvements continue to be made in this direction, 
a new race of plants will be obtained quite different in 
character from those derived from B. socotrana hybrid¬ 
ised with the summer-flowering tuberous kinds. 
Dressing Roses. 
I AM pleased to see that the subject of dressing Roses, 
as reported in your columns last week, is likely to 
meet with the treatment which it deserves. I think a 
little assistance in helping a bud to develop into a 
decent flower is allowable and fair, but to bend all or 
nearly all the petals back in the way I saw some 
treated at the Crystal Palace two years ago, whereby 
the only means of recognising the variety they were 
supposed to represent was the name card placed on the 
box, is a practice that should be strongly condemned. 
I must confess that I was greatly surprised to find that 
men who were supposed to be the best judges of Roses in 
England were carried away by these over dressed flowers, 
and awarded the prizes quite in opposition to what I 
had been in the habit of seeing at previous exhibitions 
of the National Rose Society. I quite agree with 
Mr. Girdlestone that it would be a great disappointment 
to those unversed in the form of Roses, and who might 
admire the shape of A. K. Williams, to find, after 
selecting from those stands of over-dressed flowers such 
sorts as A. Colomb and other globular kinds, that 
when they bloomed not one in a hundred came in the 
form they expected. I think it would be in the 
interest of those firms who make Roses a specialty to 
try and stamp out as much as possible this over¬ 
dressing, and to make all exhibitors adhere to the rule 
adopted by the National Rose Society, that the flowers 
shall be shown as cut from the tree, with the exception 
of sufficient support of stick or wire to keep the blooms 
erect in the stands. I am pleased to see that the 
Rev. H. IT. D’Ombrain made the sensible suggestion 
that in future the judges at the National Society’s 
exhibitions should pass by all over-dressed stands as if 
not staged. Of course, this would soon be the death¬ 
blow to the practice, and the sooner it dies a natural 
death the better, for few will mourn the loss of such an 
imposition as a flower out of character taking honours 
in preference to those in their natural beauty.— D. B. 
The Jerusalem Saga 
Old plants of Phlomis fruticosa usually flower about 
midsummer and pass into fruit ; but it seems that 
young and vigorously-growing plants are capable of 
prolonging the flowering season indefinitely, or at 
least till checked by frost. The flowers are yellow, 
individually of considerable size, and arranged in 
whorls at intervals along the flowering stems, which 
are rigid and erect. The leaves are ovate or oblong, 
deep green and wrinkled above, but clothed with a 
woolly white tomentum beneath, as are the branches 
and stems, which gives the plant a bold and uncommon 
appearance. Owing to the peculiar disposition of the 
flowers in rather massive clusters along the stems, they 
are not particularly suitable for cut-flower purposes, 
except in the case of large vases. The plant is, 
however, suitable for forming isolated clumps on 
grass, on banks, or elevated and prominent positions 
on the rockery, if large enough to accommodate it. It 
is shrubby in its nature, and forms a bush about 3 ft. 
or 4 ft. high, and as many through. Being a native 
of the lands lying around the Mediterranean region, it 
likes a drier climate than we can afford it in this 
country, and although liable to succumb in severe 
winters, yet it outlives most of them, and a few young 
plants may always be kept in the reserve frame. 
Cactus Dahlia, Juarezii. 
Thanks to the comparative absence of frost, the lowest 
being only 2°, my Dahlias are still blooming, the above 
variety among them, but continuous rains and winds 
have marred the brilliancy of this beautiful Cactus-like 
flower. Last season being so wet the plants grew 
apace, and were longer in arriving at the flowering 
stage than iu an ordinary summer, and then the 7° of 
frost on the night of October 1st fairly polished them 
off last year rather early, so that the amount of bloom 
procurable from this variety was small, as it seems 
naturally late-flowering. Mr. T. Bunyard, of Ashford, 
told me the best way he found to deal with Juarezii, 
was to get the plants well established in pots by 
planting-out time, if a good display had to be ensured. 
Last season when I lifted the Dahlias I left two in the 
ground, in a rather sheltered corner, Juarezii and Glare 
of the Garden, and though it was a damp situation 
they came up all right this year, and were the first in 
bloom ; so, from that, the idea occurs to me that 
Dahlias might be left out in the south without great 
loss, except during unusually severe winters. But 
where the plan is tried the border should be well- 
drained, naturally or artificially, as it would be unwise 
to leave them in stiff cold soil, where the water cannot 
freely percolate away, and the stools should be well 
covered with ashes or coco-nut fibre. Those that I 
lifted last year I wintered in a shed, from whence they 
were taken early in May, stood outdoors and covered 
with ashes, and when they were planted out early in 
June, they had a quantity of short stubby growths a 
few inches long. A large oval bed was their situation, 
the colours mixed, Cactus and singles, edged with a 
row of French Marigolds, and the whole has looked 
well during the past season. — Geo. Potts, Jun. 
Northiam, Sussex, Oct. 21st. 
