772 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 5, 1893. 
THE FRANGIPANNI.; 
Reading about so many new plants every week in the 
Gardening World reminds me that the most 
beautiful flower I have ever seen is not yet in general 
cultivation and though doubtless familiar to botanists 
is quite unknown to the English public. 
The Frangipanni of the West Indies L Plumeria 
rubra.—E d.] is a flowering shrub of about the 
size of a large Rhododendron with smooth stems 
and thick, glossy, pointed leaves. The blossoms, 
which are waxy and of great substance, are 
produced in large clusters, or rather umbels, 
often as much as nine inches across at the end of 
every branch, and have a most delicious perfume 
The colours are blush, pink, carmine, cherry, 
salmon, crimson, &c., but the most beautiful, in my 
opinion, are the white with a yellow centre, especially 
as these seem to grow in the largest c'usters. The 
pure white variety is not so striking, having fewer 
blossoms on a stem, but still it is very lovely and 
would combine charmingly with orange blossom. 
I first saw the Frangipanni in Tobago, and as every¬ 
thing grows wild there no cultivation being attempted, 
I suppose it is indigenous. I shall never forget the 
keen delight with which I gazed upon this glorious 
flower which I had never even heard of before. I 
was taking an evening stroll, and seeing that I was 
a stranger, an old black woman standing in a garden 
plucked a blossoming bough from above her head 
and presented it to me with a smile by way of wel¬ 
coming me to the Island. I thought of Robert 
Fortune the great plant collector to whom we gar¬ 
deners owe so much, who tells us in one of his books 
that the happiest moment in his life was when he 
first saw the Lilium auratum growing wild on the 
hills of Japan I could understand then how he 
must have felt. 
And yet here was no new discovery, as his was, 
for the flower that was filling my heart with joy with 
its beautj- was to the residents of Tobago quite an 
everyday affair, not half so interesting in their eyes 
as a Buttercup or Daisy from England. When I 
questioned them as to the reason why this grand 
shrub was not in our greenhouses, I was told that it 
does not blossom till it attains the height of 8 ft., 
and would therefore be of little use ; and with this 
explanation, unsatisfactory as it was, I had to be 
content. 
But surely what is out of the question for amateurs 
with smail means and greenhouses to match, need not 
present any difficulty to nurserymen who do things on 
a large scale, and who have already got tall structures 
and plenty of hot-water pipes. And after all, per¬ 
haps, great heat would not be necessary, for many 
plants from hot countries thrive with us just as well 
in cool houses during agreat part of the year,as we all, 
know. I should think theFrangipanni would be about 
as hardy as the Oleander, for I used often to see them 
growing together; so probably, the same treatment 
would do for both, and they might be grown in tubs 
side by side. I may remark that the Tobago shrubs 
must be pretty robust to pull through the droughts, 
for no one there ever thinks of watering plants even, 
in the driest weather. The flowers we admire in the 
tropics are not neccessarily tropical, as I found in 
the case of the Lagerstromia (natural order Lyth- 
rieae) a tree I saw in Trinidad, covered with spikes 
a foot long, of exquisite mauve blossoms, for this was 
imported from Spain, where it is held in great re¬ 
quest. and called the flower of Paradise. 
By the way, the Oleander comes originally from 
Spain as well. I found that the blossoms of the 
Frangipanni retain their freshness for many hours in 
the hair and dress, setting most becomingly and 
keeping their place bravely, neither falling nor- 
flagging, while in water they last well for from four 
to five days, scenting the whole room with their 
fragrance. How nice it would be to have such 
flowers as these to wear at parties, while to have 
them in one's drawing-room would, indeed, add a 
charm to existence. 
I cannot help thinking that now that cut flowers, 
both for evening wear and house decoration, com¬ 
mand so good a price the Frangipanni might be well 
worth taking up. 
By way of bringing my praises of this magnificent 
shrub to a close, I may remark that it is as free- 
blooming as a wild Poppy, and lasts as long in 
flower as a scarlet Pelargonium. There would be no 
difficulty in procuring young plants from the West 
'This i« not the Frangipanni of the perfumers, which i? a 
email plant grown In the south of Europe. 
Indies, especially at this time of year, and in this I 
should be happy to assist.— G. L. 
[There would certainly be no difficulty in introduc¬ 
ing the plants, as our enthusiastic correspondent 
suggests, if it were worth while to do so ; but the fact 
is, the Plumerias resemble many other plants in 
being beautiful in the tropics but failures dn the 
garden here. Poinciana, Lagerstromias, Durantas, 
some Erythrinas and Antigonon leptopus are a few 
cases in point. Travellers blame us for not growing 
and flowering them as well as they have seen them in 
the tropics, but how it is to be done is another ques¬ 
tion. We learn from Mr. Watson that some half- 
dozen species of Plumeria are grown in the Palm 
house, and Succulent house (No. 5), at Kew, and 
P. rubra, P. acutifolia, anci P. alba have flowered 
this year, but they do not flower often, though all is 
done that is possible to make them. Mr. \\ atson 
adds They want the baking and'rest' of ahotdry 
season, to be followed by a hot wet season, with plenty 
of sunshine ahvays. These conditions they get in 
the tropics, where they thrive ; but here we are 
compelled to induce the plants to rest in the winter, 
when the conditions are least favourable to their 
thorough ripening."—E d.J 
-- 
ACHIM iNES AT READING 
When recently looking round Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons' at all times most interesting plant-growing 
establishment in London Road, Reading, we were 
greatly pleased to find an admirable collection of 
the best varieties of Achimenes under cultivation, 
and the best of cultivation, too. The Achimenes used 
to be favoured plants in our gardens, being exten¬ 
sively grown in pots, pans and baskets, and we used 
also to see them exceedingly well shown at local 
flower shows, where they were always a decided 
attraction when well done We would wish to see 
them again to the front enjoying another spell of „ 
popularity, and hope such firms as the Messrs. 
Sutton will continue to do what in them lays 
towards bringing about this much-to-be-desired 
result. 
The decline of the Achimenes in popular favour 
is in some measure attributed to the wonderful 
development of the erect-flowering type of the 
Gloxinia during recent years, and this may be so, as 
at the time we are writing of the Gloxinias then 
grown were of the old tubular, drooping flowered 
type, and the erect-flowering section was hardly 
known. But though both belong to what are 
usually considered as stove flowering plants, certain 
it is that the Achimenes dr not require so much heat 
as the Gloxinia, but rather a warm greenhouse 
temperature, and there are many who, not having 
the necessary convenience for cultivating the latter, 
could grow the former well, and who would, we are 
sure, derive pleasure from their cultivation. The 
Achimenes like a hght porous compost, made up of 
peat and leaf soil in about equal proportions, with 
the addition of silver-sand and a small quantity of 
well-decayed manure, and the drainage should be 
perfect. The plant does not like being shifted, so 
that all that is necessary is to start a few tubercles 
in warmth until they make about an inch of growth, 
and then transplant them according to size into 48- 
sized pots, five or six plants in eacn being sufficient 
to give a good head of bloom. Daring the growing 
period they like warmth and moisture, and some 
degree of shade, but when in bloom they may safely 
be transferred to a cool greenhouse. 
Atypical half dozen would consist of the following 
sorts :—Splendens, an early and dwarf growing 
variety, with the largest, flattist, and brightest 
scarlet blooms that has perhaps yet been raised ; 
Edmond Bossier, neat and compact in habit, with 
large flowers, white, veined with lilac, very fine ; 
longiflora var., a seedling raised at Reading some 
four or five years ago, and which in habit, size, and 
colour, blue, is a decided advance on the old longi¬ 
flora major; alba maxima, a pure white, and the 
best white of the longifljra type; Celestial, a real 
lavender coloured longiflora, very distinct and beau¬ 
tiful ; and The Queen, the new rose-coloured variety 
of the Gloxiniaeflora type, a fine broad flower, rose- 
pink in colour, with a white throat. Had we to 
select the two best out of the half dozen our choice 
would lay with the improved longiflora major and 
The Oueen. 
Other good varieties are Admiration, a well-known 
old reddish-purple flowered variety, with dark 
coloured foliage: Ambroise Verschaffelt, whitish 
lilac, veined and pencilled in the centre, a free 
growing and very floriferous bloomer ; Carl Volforth, 
a purplish flowered longiflora, as true to its original 
character as it was thirty years ago, and very fine ; 
MargareTae. a late white, or milky-white, with larger 
tubed blossoms than alba maxima ; Gloxiniaeflora, 
a variety of the A. tereta strain, with large foxglove 
like purple flowers, and light-coloured foliage; 
Harry Williams, orange or rather crimson magenta, 
with a yellow eye, and mauve spots on the lower 
part of the flowers, a late variety which for some 
years was a poor grower, but now appears to have a 
stronger constitution ; and Lady Lyttleton, orange- 
scarlet or cerise, with dark coloured foliage, a sturdy 
grower, but not a large flower. 
The varieties of Achimenes will, we understand, 
reproduce themselves true from seeds, but seeds 
which are the result of cross-fertilisation "come 
anyhow," and really good seedlings are very difficult 
to obtain. The late Mr. Anthony Parsons was the 
last gardener we remember as a persistent raiser of 
Achimenes ; the field may therefore be said to be quite 
open, and as these beautiful flowers will assuredly 
" come again ” the raiser of good novelties will meet 
with his reward. 
--4*- 
ANDROMEDA JAPONICA. 
This is properly a tree, not a shrub, for (says Garden 
and Forest) in the Temple Park of Nara, where it 
grows in profusion, there are specimens at least 
30 ft. in height, with stout, well-formed trunks, 6 ft 
or 8 ft. high. Andromeda campmuiata, another 
arborescent species, may be expected to become an 
ornament in our gardens of much interest and beauty, 
and as it grows as far north as the shores of Volcano 
Bay, in Yezo, and up to over 5,000 ft. in Central 
Hondo, it may flourish in the climate of New 
England. Andromeda campanulata is a slender, 
bushy tree, sometimes 30 ft. in height, with a smooth, 
light red trunk, occasionally a foot in diameter, and 
thick, smooth, rou id branchlets The leaves are 
deciduous, and in the autumn, before falling, turn 
clear light yellow. The flowers are pure white and 
are borne on slender stalks in many-flowered droop¬ 
ing racemose pmicles. By Japanese botanists it is 
spoken of as one of the most beautiful flowering trees 
in Japan, and we considered ourselves fortunate in 
securing a supply of ripe seed, for, so far as we know, 
this species is quite new to cultivation. There is 
but one other Japanese plant of this family which 
can pass as a tree. This is the handsome Clethra 
canescens, or, as it is more generally known, in Japan, 
at least, Clethra barbinervis, a more recent name 
It is a beautiful small tree, occasionally 25 ft or 
30 ft. in height, w ith a slender trunk. 
-- 4 -- 
DWARF BEDDING 
BEGONIAS, 
Some very dwarf tuberous Begonias, illustrating the 
same departure which was made many years ago 
with regard to Pelargoniums, when Little David, 
Tom Thum, and Robert Fish were produced, may 
be seen in the gardens of the Royal Horticultural 
Society at Chiswick. They are planted in oblong 
beds on that pirtof the garden running from Sutton 
Court Road towards the large vinery, and seem to 
have been derived from Begonia Drvisii A very 
fine one is Soleil d'Austerlitz with small, dark green 
leaves and red edges. The flowers are small, double, 
very numerous, neat, and carried well above the 
foliage. The two outer sepals are of an intense red, 
while the rest are brilliant scarlet. A strong con¬ 
trast to the above is offered by B. muhiflora 
M idame C mrtais The leaves are small and dark 
green, forming a dense tuft, from amongst which the 
flower stems arise. The flowers are slightly larger 
than those of the last-named, and creamy-white 
tinted with apricot in the centre. Very pretty also 
is B. m. rosea which throws its small flowers well 
above the tuft of foliage. The female flowers are 
single ; the males double, and the two outer sepals 
are deep rose, and the rest rosy-pink. The flowers 
of B. m. 1 ' Avenir are about the same small and neat 
size as those of Madame Courtais, but the sepals are 
ovate, acute, much longer, and of a scarlet-red. 
The fennle flow r ers of B. m. Madame Louise Urban 
are single or semi-double, while the male flowers are 
perfectly full. Tne outer sepals are red, and the rest 
deep rose. The colour of the outer ones may be due 
to a considerable extent to exposure in the open air, 
and would no doubt be modified to some extent 
