648 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
June 11, 1898. 
INTS FOR MMATEURS. 
A NEW BREAK OF CLEMATISES. 
Amongst the many interesting and handsome plants 
which were forthcoming at the late Temple Show 
none were more worthy oi note than the new type 
of Clematises shown by Messrs. Jackman & Sons, of 
Woking. In the genus Clematis we have a number 
of exceedingly beautiful plants, which cover a con¬ 
siderable range of variation, both in size of the 
flower, the period of flowering, and the habit of 
growth. With the exception of C. indivisa lobata, 
which needs the protection of a greenhouse, they 
are all hardy in our climate. The whole of this 
wealth of material is, therefore, at the disposal of the 
gardener for covering bare walls,ornamenting fences of 
all descriptions, or clothing all sorts of arbours and 
fancy arches. Quick to grow, and free to bloom, 
both large and small-flowered forms are, indeed, 
ideal climbing plants. 
Not satisfied with all the beautiful forms hitherto 
in cultivation, the Messrs. Jackman & Sons have 
set to work to produce an entirely new break, and, 
judging from the plants exhibited by them at the 
Temple, they have abundantly succeeded. By 
crossing such varieties of the "patens” type as 
Rubella, Fair Rosamond, and Mrs. George Jackman, 
with the pollen of C. coccinea, really a variety of C. 
Viorna, and a native of Texas, an intermediate form 
has been obtained that bids fair to become of great 
service ultimately. Curiously enough the reverse 
cross, that is, when a variety of the " patens " type 
was employed as the pollen or male parent, yielded 
no results. Perhaps this difficulty may be sur¬ 
mounted in the near future, and if it is we may look 
for a considerable widening of the range of character 
exhibited by the break. 
For the sake of distinction and easy reference the 
progeny has been labelled "hybrids from C. 
coccinea.” Already there are several very fine and 
distinct varieties, and these will doubtless be added 
to in the near future. These we will speak of in 
detail presently. 
The general characteristics of habit are the same 
throughout, and do not show much variation. The 
members of the " patens ” section of Clematis are 
spring bloomers, the flowers .being borne upon the 
ripened wood of the previous year, that is to say, 
upon year-old wood. In the new hybrids we have 
plants that flower upon the young growing wood of 
the same year as in the "Jackmanui ” and “ Viticella ” 
type. The period of flowering, too, is late, as this 
difference in habit will prepare my readers to be 
lieve, for under ordinary conditions the flowers are 
produced in great profusion throughout the months 
of July, August, and September. The flowers 
themselves are quite distinct in appearance from any 
other of the Clematises. They are small, and bell¬ 
shaped, the narrow and acutely pointed segments 
being folded back (revolute) at the tips for about 
half their length. They are produced from the axil 
of each leaf all along the stem, as in C. coccinea, 
and are not borne in masses as in C. Flammula, but 
are solitary on rather long and fairly stiff stalks. 
This renders them eminently suitable for the filling 
of vases for dinner table and other decorations. 
Moreover, they last well in water, so that for cut 
flower supplies alone they are worih the attention of 
the amateur. 
Reverting once more to the matter of growth, they 
will frequently make shoo s exceeding 12 ft. in 
length, and thus, if a flower is reckoned to the axil of 
every leaf on such a shoot some idea may be gained 
of the great floriferousness. After flowering the 
plants may be cut hard back in the usual way in 
which Clematises flowering on the young wood are 
treated. There is no fear of spoiling next year’s 
crop by a free use of the knife. The plants throw 
up strongly from the bottom, and thus there is little 
danger of their suffering even in very severe 
winters. 
Propagation, too, is remarkably easy, for cuttings 
inserted early in spring root quickly, and soon grow 
into plants that will bloom the same year, so that it 
will be seen that this new race of plants has much 
to recommend it to the favourable notice of the 
amateur. When shown by Messrs. Jackman & Sons 
at the Temple they were all in pots, and trained in 
the shape of balloons, but this was only done for 
purposes of exhibition, since it is obviously impos¬ 
sible to show flowering plants of Clematis in any¬ 
thing like a natural way. The balloons, however, 
though stiff and ugly in themselves, showed off to 
advantage the free-floweriag character of the race, 
and this in itself was no unimportant achieve¬ 
ment. 
The following are some of the best varieties. They 
are all well worth growing :— 
Grace Darling.—The female parent of this was 
the handsome variety Fair Rosamond. The flowers 
are rather small, but the delicacy of the rosy-pink 
hue they manifest fully atones for this. 
Duchess of York exhibits rather a paler shade, 
which may best be described as a flesh-pink. Tbe 
female parent in this case was the large, satiny-white 
Mrs. George Jackman, with its delicate creamy 
bar. 
Countess of Onslow is remarkable for the fact 
that its flowers usually have six petals, four and five 
being common numbers in the other forms, although 
even here examples of the smaller numbers are 
occasionally to be observed. The colour is a rich 
rosy-carmine, which looks exceedingly bright 
beneath any light, whether natural or artificial. 
Sir Trevor Lawrence has deep carmine flowers, 
and is one of the richest hued varieties of the whole 
race. The flower stems are of exceptional length 
and strength. 
Duchess of Albany is noteworthy by reason of the 
fact that it is the strongest grower amongst any or 
all of the allied forms. The leaves are not only 
larger and the stems stouter, but growth is more 
rapid, and the whole plant more vigorous than the 
rest. The flowers, too, are rather more open than 
those of the others, that is to say, the tube is shorter, 
and the segments turn back for a grea'er part of 
their length. In this case it is a distinct advantage, 
for the bright rose stripe which runs down the 
middle of each segment to the base is thereby 
rendered more apparent. The remainder of the 
flower is shell-pink. 
Admiration, which is the darkest flowered form 
of any, yet owns the creamy-white and splendidly 
formed C. Hearyi as its mother. The influence of 
this variety is to be seen in the whiteness of the 
exterior of the flower. The interior is of a rich 
magenta purple, the contrast between tbe exterior 
and the interior being both striking and effective. It 
is difficult, indeed, to see this variety and withhold 
from bestowing upon it the admiration which it 
deserves, and which has been foreshadowed, as it 
were, in its varietal name. — Rex. 
— 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“ Amateurs' Page ” on the top oi their letters. 
Mildew in Vinery .— Anglo-Sax.n-. The mildew has 
probably been caused by the exceedingly cold and 
dreary weather that it has fallen to our lot to 
experience of late. Even healthy Vines will become 
affected at such times, and we do not think you need 
trouble yourself to worry about the state of the roots 
of yours, unless, of course, you are certain that they 
are in a bad condition. You may dust the spots 
with flowers of sulphur, and a little of thi sulphur 
may bi sprinkled on the hot water pipes I he house 
may be kept rather closer and warme. than usual, 
and you should be particularly cautious in avoiding 
draughts. If these precautions are taken, the mil¬ 
dew ought soon to dtsa’ppsar, and will not injure the 
crop to any appreciable extent. 
Mulching with Cocoanut Fibre— E. A. T.: You 
may, if you choose, give the tuberous Begooias a 
mulching with the fibre, if the weather alter planting 
out proves warm and dry, otherwise the mulching 
will do very little if any good, and we should prefer 
not to put it on yet. The value of such applications 
is that during dry weather they tend to chsck rapid 
evaporation of water from the soil. 
Gymnogramme schizophylla gloriosa. — Neb. : 
You will never succeed witb this beautiful but rather 
delicate Fern in a cool house. You must give it 
plenty of heat, and look after it carefully for water, 
or it is no use attempting to grow it. To show it off 
properly, the pot should be suspended above the 
stage, and the drooping habit of the finely cut fronds 
will then be more evident than if the plant were 
stood on the shelf or staged amongst others. 
Arenaria balearica is the name of the little 
white flowered plant that is creeping over the stones 
in your friend’s garden, T. G., and of which you sent 
a small specimen. It is perfectly hardy, and there 
is nothing prettier for covering the stones than this. 
Azaleas after Blooming.— P. T. O. : After ihe 
bloom has dropped from the plants go over the 
latter and pick off all the seed vessels, which, if 
allowed to remain, will weaken them to no purpose. 
A removal to a close house or pit will be 
advantageous to the plants, for a gentle heat and 
copious and regular syringings will do much to 
foster the new growth, which should just be making 
its appearance. By the middle or end of July the 
buds will be formed and tbe growths sufficiently 
firm to admit of a further shift to the open air. The 
plants will then be able to mature their wood 
properly. This proper ripening of the wood is an 
important matter, more especially where early 
forcing is to be carried on. 
Azalea Deutsche Perle.— C. Godden For a white 
variety you cannot beat Deutsche Perle. It forces 
very easily, and is of good habit and constitution. 
Astilbe (Spiraea) japonica,— C. James-. After the 
flowers have all gone off you should seek an early 
opportunity of putting the plants out in the open. 
The old stems that have flowered will gradually die 
away, and new growths will be thrown up from the 
bottom, if the plants are properly looked after. 
Unfortunately they are often treated rather badly at 
this stage of their existence. They are very free 
rooting things, and when potting them up in the 
autumn they are pushed into as small pots as 
possible, for the obvious reason that big pots would 
take up too much room. When in full growth there¬ 
fore they naturally take a great deal of water in hot 
weather, two or three applications a day being often¬ 
times scarcely sufficient to keep them from flagging. 
When planted out of doors all this labour of water¬ 
ing is avoided and the plants have a better chance. 
They should be left out of doors until next autumn 
twelvemonths, as Spiraeas will not force successfully 
for two years in succession. 
Greenhouse Stage.— Amateur -. If you want to do 
the thing well you cannot do better than make the 
floor of the stage of rough slates laid upon an iron 
or wooden framework and cemented together, a few 
holes being left for drainage. Cover the whole with 
at least an inch of screened shingle, crushed shells, 
or finely broken coke or cinders, either of which will 
make capital stuff for standing the plants upon. 
Morello Cherries — T. Renshaw : It is a pity that all 
the bloom should have dropped from your Morellos 
without any fruit setting, but are you not somewhat 
previous in assuming that such is tbe case ? We have 
been having such cold weather lately that the young 
fruits have been quite at a standstill, but warmer 
weather will soon settle the question whether you are 
to have any fruit or not. At any rate, tbe cause of 
the loss, if loss there be, will not be because of the 
aspect of the wall, for a northern or eastern wall 
suits Morellos admirably, and they are usually 
grown on one of these aspects. If the fruit turns out 
to be a loss, send us particulars of what the trees are 
like, when planted, soil, weather at the time of 
blooming, etc., and we will try to help you to a rea¬ 
son for the calamity. 
Erythina Crista-galli — A. Erie : If you look after 
the plant for water there is nothing that need pre¬ 
vent you from plunging it in the centre of the bed as 
you suggest. The twelve-inch pot will be large 
enough for it, for the plants do not seem to flower 
•freely unless they are somewhat pot-bound. Liquid 
manure may be given twice or thrice a week in warm 
weather. 
Rain Washing the Paths.— Querist : The recent 
rains have certainly been heavy, but not sufficiently 
as to cause so much washing of the gravel as you 
complain of. Perhaps you have neglected to cut 
channels in the grass, say about four feet in length, 
and running from the path. If you have not done 
