THE GARDENING WORLD. 
. April 17, 1897. 
520 
||ints for ||mateurs. 
THE DOG’S-TOOTH YIOLETS. 
The Erythroniums, or Dog’s tooth Yiolets, as they 
are commonly called are amongst the prettiest and 
most useful bulbous plants that we have. They are 
hardy and easily suited for soil and position, and 
take very little looking after ; indeed, they are ideal 
amateurs’ plants. The number of ways in which 
they may be made use of is many and diverse. For 
little nooks in the rockery they are distinctly a 
success, although E. Dens-canis and its varieties are 
inclined to hug the earth pretty closely, and thus 
heavy rains mud-wash and disfigure the flowers — 
but this is the fault of the weather primarily. 
Possibly those who are " gone ” on the naturalisa¬ 
tion questions would stoutly aver that if you want to 
see Erythroniums at their best you must plant them 
in the grass upon lawns and mossy banks, and let 
them alone. No one will deny that the plants do 
well under such conditions. Certain it is also that 
plants growing in the grass are not nearly so liable 
to become sullied with mud-splashes as their friends 
in the tilled ground. Moreover, it seems that 
bulbs growing in the grass throw longer scapes, and 
thus lift their flowers more out of danger and more 
into notice. 
Then again there is pot culture. It is a matter of 
congratulation that this so invariably turns out a 
success. Both rare and common forms do well in 
pots, and if grown on in an unheated frame will 
render a good account of themselves in spring in the 
conservatory and Alpine House. A potful or two of 
Erythroniums is a modest property that is within 
the reach of all interested in plant life, although it 
is, comparatively speaking, only the favoured few 
who are able to glory in lawns and banks be¬ 
sprinkled with the variously hued flowers and the 
handsomely-mottled foliage. 
Generally speaking, when growing out-of-doors, 
Erythroniums love a moderately light fairly rich 
soil. For pot-work a mixture of peat and loam will 
afford all that is required. 
The headquarters of the genus is North America, 
that is, if we reckon by the number of species that 
is indigenous to that part of the globe. The com¬ 
mon species E. Dens-canis is, however, distributed 
pretty plentifully throughout Europe and Asiatic 
Russia to Japan, so that the genus may be said to 
belt the world, passing right round the north tem¬ 
perate zone. The following forms are well worthy 
of cultivation. 
E. Bens-cania.—We will start with this because 
it is not only the commonest but the most useful 
form. It has varied under cultivation considerably, 
both in colour and size of flower. The “majus” 
section is certainly a showier form than, and thus an 
improvement upon the type The prettily mottled 
foliage to be seen throughout is certainly not the 
least conspicuous feature. There are purple-rose 
and white varieties of the type, and these find their 
counterparts in colour in the larger size in E. D.-c. 
purpureum majus, E. D.-c. roseum majus, and E. 
D. -c. album majus the varietal names of which are 
sufficient indication of the colour. E. D.-c. sibiri- 
cum must not be lost sight of. This is slightly taller 
and more vigorous than the other before mentioned, 
and has large deep rose-purple flowers with a rather 
conspicuous yellow eye. Messrs. Barr & Sons have 
a splendid stock of these varieties at their nurseries 
at Long Ditton 
E. americanum is taller than any of the foregoing, 
its usual height being from 4 in. to 6 in. The 
flowers are large bright yellow, and slightly dotted 
with brown at the base of the segments. This 
species loves to be planted in grass in a moist and 
partially shaded nook when the full glory of its 
flowers is developed. 
Erythronium grandiflorum.—There is a good 
deal of confusion as to what is the true E. grandi¬ 
florum. Occasionally we find E. giganteum under 
this name, and a variety of the type E. g. nuttallia- 
num is sometimes given the same honour. The 
true E. grandiflorum has bright yellow flowers 
about 2 in. in diameter. In strong bulbs two flowers 
will usually be borne upon the'one footstalk, but in 
the younger and smaller bulbs the flowers are 
solitary. The anthers are white, thus differing from 
E. g. nuttallianum in which they are deep purple. 
There are no mottlings on the foliage, which is of a 
lively green throughout. 
E. giganteum. —As the name signifies this is the 
giant of the genus. The plant is vigorous, and 
grows to a height of about 9 in. The flowers are 
large, and exhibit a light shade of straw-yellow. 
The foliage is very handsomely mottled. 
E. citrinum bears some resemblance to E. gigan¬ 
teum, but the flowers are scarcely so large, and the 
segments are rather narrower. Two flowers are 
borne on each footstalk or scape thrown up by the 
stronger bulbs as in the case of E. grandiflorum. 
The leaves are from 4 in. to 5 in. in length. 
E. Hartwegi is remarkable for the width of the 
leaves which are nearly elliptic in shape, and very 
nicely mottled as in the case of E. Dens-canis. 
These broad leaves look very conspicuous, for they 
are naturally spread flat upon the soil, the plant in 
common with the rest of its congenors being stem¬ 
less. The flowers are pale yellow-white with a 
deeper colour towards the base when they first 
expand, but after they have been open for a day or 
two a good deal of the yellow goes, and they become 
nearly white, especially towards the tips of the 
segments. 
E. reyolutum is not infrequently met with under 
the name of E. Smithii, which name is, however, 
erroneous. The plant is about 6 in. in height, and 
the flower, which is flesh-coloured upon first expand¬ 
ing turns to a bright rose as it developes. This like 
the rest with the exception of E. Dens-canis is of 
American extraction. 
E. Johnsonii. —This is a rare form of great beauty 
that was accorded a Floricultural Certificate of Merit 
at the spring show held in the gardens of the Royal 
Botanic Society at Regent’s Park on the 31st of 
March last. The flowers are borne singly on foot¬ 
stalks (scapes) from 4 in. to 5 in. in length. The 
flowers are of medium size, and bright rose in colour. 
The foliage is also nicely mottled so that it is attrac¬ 
tive all round. Once this plant is better known it 
will without doubt become very popular. Messrs. 
Barr & Sons showed it on the occasion of its being 
certificated.— Rex. 
CANNAS FOR BEDDING. 
Seeing that the bedding season will soon be here 
1 thought it would not be inopportune to draw the 
attention of your amateur readers to the value of 
Cannas as bedding plants. I did not put them to 
this purpose until last year, but I was so delighted 
with the result that I shall certainly have some more 
of them in my flower garden in this, and future 
seasons should I be spared to see them. The foliage 
has such a tropical look about it, is very handsome, 
and effective by contrast with other plants. This is 
particularly the case I think with the dark-leaved 
varieties. And then the flowers have to be thought 
about; how gorgeous they are ! I find that they 
like a deep rich soil and plenty of water. Last 
autumn, therefore, I decided upon the places which 
the Cannas were to have this year, manured them 
heavily and dug them deeply. A friend of mine who 
is a gardener came and showed me the way to divide 
the rootstocks (I believe that is the proper term) in 
March, and the plants are growing away nicely now. 
They are at present placed closely together in 
shallow boxes, but I must soon have them out of 
this. I intend potting them up into 6 in. pots, which 
will be large enough for them until they are planted 
out in the beds at the end of May or beginning of 
June.—T., Wilts. 
— -- 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone 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 of their letters. 
Shrubbery Border. —In my garden there is a large 
clump of the common Laurel. I had this cut back 
at the beginning of March in order to give me room 
to have a border 2 ft. wide all round it. This has 
been deeply dug and all the large roots and stumps 
taken out, but the soil seems rather poor. Will it 
be good enough for bedding plants without further 
preparation ? If it needs any manure will you 
kindly tell me what sort to use and the quantity — 
B. Mayer. 
Ordinary bedding plants do not require the soil to 
be very rich, for this conduces to rank growth, and 
the flowers are then not produced so freely ; but on 
the other hand the Laurels will have left the soil too 
poor to be of use without some addition. We do not 
advise, however, to dress with rank manure now, as 
in about another six weeks, bedding out will be in 
full swing. Decidedly the best plan will be to take 
out some of the old soil and fill in with some good 
mellow loam, mixing the old soil and the new well 
up together. 
Pond for Water Lilies.—This need not be an 
expensive arrangement, Aylesbury. You seem to 
imagine that Water Lilies require expensive tanks to 
grow them in. If you want a Lily pond on a small 
scale, get a large wooden barrel, saw it in half and 
sink the halves in the ground so that their tops are 
about level with the surface of the latter. You may 
then grow Lilies to ymur heart's content. For soil, 
nothing beats loam and cow manure. Three parts of 
the latter to one of the former will suffice. It does 
not at all matter about the cow manure being fresh, 
and it (the manure) is not rank as some other 
manures are. 
Disbudding Camellias.— A. Froud wishes to know 
whether any advantage is derived from disbudding 
Camellias. Says he, growers advise the disbudding 
of Carnations, Chrysanthemums, etc., but say never 
a word on this subject with regard to Camellias. 
This is not wonderful, for in removing some of the 
buds from Carnations and Chrysanthemums, the 
the flowers that remain are vastly increased in size, 
but in Camellias this advantage is not so apparent. 
Of course, the flowers left are a little larger, but the 
increase in size is not nearly so evident as in the 
case of Chrysanthemums, for instance. Again, the 
small side buds on Camellias make capital button¬ 
holes. Nature has not provided them with a stalk, it 
is true, but that is a matter quickly remedied by a 
skilful florist who will very soon set them up in this 
respect. 
Stocks for Conservatory Decoration —Stocks 
will answer quite well for pot culture, T. G. Your 
plants may be potted up at once, seeing that they 
are so forward, into large 6o-pots, and another shift 
given them into 32’s when they require it, or they 
may be put straight into the latter size. If you elect 
to do this, however, you must be extra careful with 
the watering. Keep the plants cool, and give them 
plenty of air. Coddling is not to be thought of or 
they will degenerate into weaklings. 
Erica hyemalis.— W. Soundy —The plant of which 
you speak is evidently quite dead. When Heaths 
begin to turn colour as yours did, there is very little 
hope for them ; for the foliage keeps green for some 
time after the actual death blow has been given, and 
thus when the effects of the mischief are observed, it 
is usually too late to do anything. You must not be 
discouraged, however, because you have failed with 
the plant, for there are many people that cannot 
grow Heaths properly. Try again ! 
Ornamental Yases. — By all means use the 
Fuchsias for these, 0 . T. 0 . We think you will be- 
satisfied with the result. The shallowness of the 
vases is certainly a disadvantage, but by feeding, 
pretty liberally you may make up for this. 
Frames.—We think you will find the ordinary 
type of garden frame suit you best, Wilhelm, that is- 
the one sloping downwards from back to front, and 
from which the lights pull off. The span-roofed 
frames have this to be said in their favour, that they 
will contain more tall plants; but they are also 
more expensive, and this is an item that will weigh' 
with not a few. The frame should certainly be : 
placed so that it slopes to the south. 
Asparagus plumosus nanus.— R. S. M. writes in 
sad plaint. He has an Asparagus, a pot plant by 
the way, that is full of mealy bug ; and he wishes to 
know how to clean it. He has tried syringing but 
that seems not to have had the slightest effect. It is 
not at all likely that syringing would perform the 
requisite cleansing as the fineness of the foliage pre¬ 
cludes the possibility of getting the water through 
properly. The same remarks would apply to insecti¬ 
cides of all kinds. We think the best remedy after 
all will be the knife. Cut out all the worst frondi 
