568 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 8, 1897. 
||ints for ||mateurs. 
The Trilliums.—The genus Trillium contains about 
a dozen species of plants, and has its headquarters 
in North America, although some of the plants are 
found in parts of sub-tropical Asia, from the 
Himalayas to Japan. " American Wood Lily," 
"Indian Shamrock," "Three leaved Nightshade," 
and "Trinity Flower," are some of the popular 
names that have been bestowed upon them from 
time to time. The last epithet has doubtless been 
given on account of the number three being so con¬ 
spicuous in the arrangement of the leaves and parts 
of the flower. 
Trilliums are very handsome subjects for planting 
in shady nooks of the rockery, and at the present 
time they are rendering a good account of them¬ 
selves. They love a deep well drained soil, largely 
composed, if possible, of peat. During the growing 
and flowering period an abundance of water will be 
required. Given these little attentions there should 
be no difficulty experienced in dealing with them. 
The leaves will be large and healthy, and the 
flowers correspondingly fine and showy. 
Trillium grandiflorum. —This is probably the 
most useful of all, and it is certainly the one most 
commonly to be seen in gardens. In ordinarily 
strong plants the stems run to about a foot in 
heigh', although occasionally vigorous specimens 
will be seen that exceed this. The whorl of three 
deep green shining leaves is borne near the top of 
the stem, and from among these the peduncle or 
flower stalk rises. This is about two inches in 
length and bears a single white flower. In the later 
stages, however, a suffusion of rose is apparent in 
much the same way as may be observed with white 
Chrysanthemums when age begins to tell upon them. 
Trillium grandiflorum has yet another popular 
name besides those mentioned above, for it is some¬ 
times called " Wake Robin." It has likewise been 
figured in the Botanical Magazine under the name of 
T. erythrocarpum. 
T. sessile californicum. — This is a very handsome 
form with large, creamy-white flowers, and hand¬ 
somely mottled foliage. It grows to a height of 2 ft. 
if favourably situated, and is the tallest of all the 
Trilliums. It is much more vigorous than the type, 
T. sessile, which has purple flowers. T sessile cali¬ 
fornicum has been awarded a First-class Certificate 
by the Royal Horticultural Society, so that its merits 
have not been without recognition. 
T. erectum, variously spoken of as Beth-root, 
Birrh-root, and Lamb's Quarters is the best of the 
purple-flowered varieties. The flowers are large and 
rich deep purple in hue, but they possess a very 
evil odour, and owing to this the plant is sometimes 
known as T. foetidum. T. rhomboideum, and T. 
pendulum are other names that have been given it, 
so that it cannot be claimed that the plant has not 
been well equipped in this respect. There is a 
white form of this species, but it is not often met 
with. 
T. stylosum has rosy flowers, and is worth grow¬ 
ing for the sake of variety. 
Yeronica repens compacta is a most charming 
rock plant which creeps over the stones, and covers 
them as with a carpet, the large lilac-hued flowers 
staring boldly up to the sun conscious of their beauty. 
The type, V. repens is of rather more straggling 
growth. The flowers, moreover, are scarcely so 
large, and light blue in colour. For growing on dry 
banks, rock work, or other places where a dwarf 
close growth is required both these Veronicas should 
be reckoned with. The large Alpine garden recently 
constructed by Messrs. Barr & Sons at Long 
Ditton is, at the time of writing, bearing witness to 
their usefulness ; indeed, a prettier sight than the 
stones clothed o'er with the bright green of the 
foliage, and the delicate hues of the flowers could 
not well be imagined. 
Trollius Orange Globe. — The Globe Flowers or 
Trolliuses are very showy border plants, but we 
very rarely see them at their best, because they are 
usually allotted the same quarters as the rest of the 
herbaceous element, and this is far too dry for them. 
Give them a rich moist piece of ground and they are 
perfectly happy. The word Trollius is supposed to 
be derived from an old German word Trol or Trolhen, 
meaning round, doubtless referring to the shape of 
the flowers, which are nearly or quite globular. The 
variety under notice, Orange Globe, is one of the 
best of them. The height of the plant is about two 
feet, and when in good health the large deep green 
and finely divided leaves are handsome in themselves. 
The flowers, which are very large, exhibit a rich 
golden yellow colour. Messrs. Barr & Sons have 
some plants of it growing beside a stream running 
through their grounds at Long Ditton, and there is 
no gainsaying their beauty. 
Hutchinsia alpina. —Plants of dwarf and compact 
habit that possess free flowering qualities can be 
turned to account in a variety of ways. Not only 
are they a great success in the Alpine garden in 
small clumps or masses, but they are handy for 
forming edgings to flower beds. The Hutchinsia 
under notice is a most valuable plant for either of 
these purposes. It likes a dry and sunny posiiion on 
rockwork or in beds or borders where filled with spring 
flowering plants. In height it runs from 2 in to 3 in. 
The flo wers are white and produced in corymbs of 
about 1 in. in diameter, and bear a close resemblance 
to those of an Iberis, for which indeed it may 
easily be mistaken. Throughout April and the early 
part of May the snow-white flowers are very con¬ 
spicuous, and the plants may thus be utilised in con¬ 
junction with Wallflowers, Tulips and other spring 
flowering subjects as edging. We noticed some fine 
clumps of it in the rock garden at the Long Ditton 
Nurseries, for it is a great favourite with the Messrs. 
Barr. 
Violets In Frames—At this time of the 3 ear 
when there are so many bedding plants to be 
hardened off preparatory to their planting in flower¬ 
ing quarters out of doors, cold frames of all kinds 
are at a premium, and every inch of frame space is of 
value. Violets which were planted in frames last 
September will now do very well without such a 
protection, as the bulk of their flowers are over for 
the season. Accordingly the frames and lights may 
be lifted off and carried to another position to be 
made use of in the manner suggested above. Leave 
the Violet beds intact for the time being, however, 
and see that the plants are not allowed to suffer for 
lack of water. The division of the roots and the 
preparing of the sets may follow at an early date. 
Dahlias. —Where the roots were divided at the 
commencement of the spring and the divisions 
potted up, some care will now be necessary in 
watching them. The young growths lengthen with 
great rapidity, and their tops soon get up close to 
the glass, where they are in a twofold danger. First 
of all they are liable to be bent and otherwise in¬ 
jured by pressure against the glass; secondly, if a 
few degrees of frost come along, they are almost 
sure to be crippled, for Dahlias are but tender 
plants, as most of our readers are a .vare. The lights 
of the frame, therefore, must be raised by blocking 
them up in order to secure the necessary room, 
unless more commodious quarters can be found 
elsewhere. 
Seedlings. —Such plants as Stocks, Asters, 
Pyrethrum, Golden Feather, &c., which were pricked 
out from the seed pans into other pans or boxes about 
the middle of April, and were then returned to a 
warm house to recover themselves, will now be 
strong enough to be put into cold frames. Here they 
will be close to the glass, and will thus not be so 
likely to get drawn as they would in the loftier 
houses. Keep the frames close for a few days, then 
admit air a little at a time and gradually increase it. 
The weather, too, will be getting warmer, and thus 
by the middle of May the lights may be pulled off 
the plants entirely. As long as the seedlings are 
under glass they will require to be shaded during 
bright weather, but once they are hardy enough to 
be fully exposed to the elements all need for the 
shade vanishes. 
Iresines —The larger plants from which cuttings 
have been taken usually look rather ragged-looking 
and bare about this time, the growths having been 
taken off as fast as they were made to serve as 
cuttings. Still, these old plants may be turned to 
good account if they are treated well. A capital 
plan is to make up a bed of soil in a pit or frame and 
put the plants in it. Keep the frame close, and ply 
the syringe pretty freely so as to keep away fly, 
which is almost sure to make its appearance during 
the warmth of May. The growth made by the 
plants under the above conditions will be short- 
jointed and sturdy, and by the time it is safe to con¬ 
sign them to the beds in the flower garden they will 
be as fit as possible. Plants of this kind come in 
finely for filling up the centres of beds, the smaller 
ones obtained from the cuttings struck this spring 
being planted in the outside ranks.— Rex. 
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Correspondence. 
Questions ashed 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 of their letters. 
Nitrate of Soda.—You are quite right, Artus ; nitrate 
of soda is a capital manure for plants, but you must 
be careful in using it. For a very large plant, half a 
teaspoonful would be enough to give at once ; for a 
pot 8 in. in diameter, a piece about the size of a 
hazel Dut broken up and spread evenly over the 
surface would suffice. Every week or ten days will 
be often enough to apply the nitrate. 
Roses. —Amateur has had some ill-luck-with his 
young Vines and Tea Roses, and sends us a sample 
of the leaves of each, together with details of the 
treatment given them. This appears to be all right, 
but there is evidently a screw loose somewhere. The 
Tea Roses are badly attacked with mildew (Sphae- 
rotheca pannosa) a common enemy of Roses. As 
these are in pots it would be well to take them out of 
the house before the fungus spreads to other plants. 
For a remedy dust the plants well with flowers of 
sulphur, or syringe them twice a week with a fairly 
strong solution of soft soap. As a preventive of 
mildew there is nothing to beat the plan of dissolving 
a little soft soap in the water used for syringing the 
plants. Green fly is also present. This must begot 
rid of by fumigation. 
Yines .— Amateur : The leaves of these present 
every appearance of having been scalded. The 
tissue has been totally destroyed in the brown areas. 
Any leaves that are as badly affected as those sent 
must be crippled, and will be of very little further 
use to the plants carrying them. The fact that the 
injury made itself manifest in so short a time of 
itself points to this. The burning or scalding is due 
to the leaves being covered wish moisture in the 
morning, and the hot sun striking them, concurrently 
with insufficient ventilation. Air should be given 
earlier in the morning, and what is as important, the 
temperature must be kept up at night. When a 
house is shut up in the afternoon at a high tempera¬ 
ture, the atmosphere contains a lot of moisture. 
This, if the temperature is allowed to fall very low, 
is deposited like dew upon the leaves of the plants. 
The hot sun next morning will then work results as 
in this case, unless air is given soon enough. The 
Vines must have received a severe check, but by 
careful handling may yet pull through. Under the 
circumstances it would be better not to overcrop 
them with fruit this year. 
Narcissi in Beds—I have two beds of Narcissus 
Empress in my flower garden. The flowers are over 
but the foliage is still green and. looks likely to 
continue so. Shall I be able to lift the bulbs in time 
to get the summer plants in at the beginning of J une ? 
A', y. 
The foliage will not be ripened off sufficiently to 
warrant lifting the bulbs and keeping them out of 
the ground, but you may carefully lift them at the 
time specified and lay them in a bed of ashes to 
finish off. Of course you must leave them where 
they are for as long as possible. 
Chionodoxa Seed. — R. L. : Sow the seed as soon 
as it is ripe. There is no reason why it should not 
be good. The seedlings will make good flowering 
bulbs in about three years time. 
Iris laevigata — I have a stream running along 
the bottom of my garden. I should like to plant 
Iris laevigata along by the side of it. Do you think 
they would do ? There is a tall hedge on the 
northern side of the stream which shelters it from 
cold winds, but the aspect is an open one on the 
south, west, and east.— P. Kellerman. 
