THE GARDENING WORLD 
649 
June 9, 1900. 
are rooted and have developed to a moderate size, 
the plants may be planted out in a sandy border and 
trained upward to pillars. 
Uprooting Bindweed.— B. W.: Just as you your¬ 
self have put it, " uprooting ” the plants by means 
of a fork, and persistence in hoeing afterwards (if 
hoeing is possible), is the only practical way of 
getting rid of this beautiful but notorious weed. 
Couch grass and Pest-Harrow are likewise very 
troublesome. 
Yitis discolor.— W. Ingram : Take young pieces of 
growth with a heel attached, and strike them in a 
propagating case. You see we have given it another 
name to the one you use, viz., Cissus discolor. It is 
a member of the Vine family. Heat, shade, mois¬ 
ture, freedom to grow, and cleanliness must be 
accorded it. 
Choisya ternata. — A. L .; The shrub with 
Orange-like blossoms which you describe, is Choisya 
ternata, a Mexican subject. The flowers are sweet- 
scented. The shrub succeeds very well in the 
southern half of England, when planted against a 
wall. It was introduced to this country in 1825. In 
northern parts of the country it does not flower out 
of doors; greenhouse culture is there recommendable. 
Any good garden soil will suit it. 
Narcissus from seeds. — Walker : Certainly 
Narcissi can be raised from seeds. See that the 
seeds in the capsules are thoroughly ripened before 
sowing, and sow as soon as ripe. 
Plants for shaded Window Box.— L. F .: You 
may buy plants such as Marguerites and Pelargoni¬ 
ums already in flower, and if these are used they 
will last a long time fresh and cheerful. Coreopsis 
also do fairly well; so does Myosotis alpestris, the 
Forget-me-Not, Chlorophytum elatum variegatum, 
Funkia albo-marginata, China Asters, Daisies, 
Doronicum caucasicum, Lobelia, Golden Feather, 
Musk, Calceolarias, and a number of dwarf 
annuals. 
Sowing Poppies.— Winston: The seeds should 
have been sown by this time, but if put in at once 
they will germinate very speedily. Sowings can be 
made on land whose surface has been stirred with a 
rake or hoe. The seed of Iceland and Shirley 
Poppies may be sown broadcast on ground beneath 
Apple trees, or on narrow patches of border in 
various parts of the garden. By sowing the larger 
Paeony-flowered and Mikado Poppies in the looser 
parts of the shrubbery and rockery, the effect later 
in the year is supremely fine. Foxgloves may either 
be sown or planted in the same kind of places. 
-•*•- 
GYMNOGRAMME SCHIZOPHYLLA 
PROLIFICA. 
The ordinary form of G. schizophylla bears a 
solitary plantlet at the apex of the frond, which 
stops short somewhat abruptly where the adventi¬ 
tious young plant is situated. The variety under 
notice is characterised by having numerous plantlets 
or young Ferns scattered along the frond at various 
points. The species belongs to the genus of Ferns 
that have their fronds more or less densely covered 
with a mealy white or grey powder iu some,and golden 
powder in others, and are known as silver and golden 
Ferns, respectively. G. schizophylla differs in being 
almost or entirely green. The young plantlets on the 
fronds of the variety under notice (G. s. proiifica) 
restore the powder and show that the species belongs 
to the silver Ferns. The silvery-wbite powder first 
makes its appearance on the tiny bulblet or rudi¬ 
mentary plant, and the anxious cultivator may at 
first think that he has got an unwelcome visitor in 
the shape of a mealy bug. Closer observation will 
dispel this view. As the bulblets develop into 
plants, the tiny fronds have their stipes more or less 
covered with this white powder, so that when there 
are several old fronds on the mother plant, the latter 
is rendered quite distinctive and pretty by the 
sprinkling of young plants here and there over the 
fronds. We noted it in the collection of Ferns 
grown by Messrs. W. & J. Birkenhead, Sale, near 
Manchester, and think it a pretty addition to any 
collection. 
RHODODENDRONS. 
The very mention of the name Rhododendron, stirs 
up a well of memories, mental scenes full of charm. 
For when the Rose Bay blooms, is the sky not blue ? 
Do not the hungry little blackbirds squeak, squeak, 
squeak in the Fern bank near by, while the cushat 
dove and squirrel dive or gambol in the greenwood 
dells where the clouds upon clouds of viridescent 
leaves rustle their frills, and sparklingly glisten at 
the touch of the golden streams of sunshine ? Some 
may say their beauty is too rudely glorious (there 
are such), that they are immodest queens, to be met 
with by restrained admiration. 
Ah well, the more resplendent the better, for dull 
days are rife, bright cheerfulness is scrimp. 
As a rule, the colours of the flowers are rosy, thus 
the name of Rose Bay. The generic name is derived 
from Greek words,rhodon, a rose, and dendron, a tree. 
Since selection and hybridisation has been in pro¬ 
gress, additional ranges of colours have been secured. 
There are now Rhododendrons almost marble-white, 
others are creamy, and the red elements range be¬ 
tween coagulated-blood-hue, and faintest blush, 
peach or pink. The blue factor is so far represented 
by those shades described as lilac, violet, and laven¬ 
der. But, of course, if we step into the botanist's 
domain, we will be required to include what previ¬ 
ously, as gardeners, we termed Azaleas with their 
indescribable tints. The characters have recently 
been carefully re-considered, with the result that the 
so-called distinctive characters were found to be in¬ 
constant, merging into one another so repeatedly that 
the Azaleas and Rhododennrons are now soldered 
into one genus. 
The hardy Rhododendrons form a large part of 
the composition of pleasure ground scenery, and to 
all who are about to model or re-arrange garden 
grounds I still advise further planting of these 
kings of the May and June flowering shrubs. 
The Azalea group (for they will always be kept 
somewhat separate) enjoy a sunny and rather dry 
site. On the other hand, the hardy Rhododendrons 
care more for a shady, cool-bottomed position, a 
special site being along the gently sloping sides of a 
dell or gully. They are partial to a peaty soil, deep 
and moist. Lirne to them is death. In situations 
where the roots are rather much exposed to the sun, 
a mulching of some such material as short grass, 
dung, or fibre, should be given to them. Rhododen¬ 
drons are propagated by seeds, layers, grafting or 
inarching. The following notes describe good early 
sorts, the Azalea types coming first:—R. trium- 
phans has rosy-pink flowers with a bright orange 
throat; R. flavum var. amoenum is not at all so 
pretty or showy, being a washed out pinky-white 
with rose flushing. R. sinensis var. Comte de 
Papadolpi is a gem, a gem of the first water. The 
flowers are comparatively large, borne in close 
trusses, and of a cheery orange-crimson colour. 
Large plants are very handsome. R. flavum is well 
known. It is one of the finest and hardiest species 
we possess. Its flowers become deep bronzy- 
yellow. 
Almost identical with R. sinensis Comte de 
Papadolpi is the variety Baron Edmund de Roths¬ 
child. The flowers are a trifle smaller, and probably 
a little brighter, having more of the salmon tint in 
them. It is one of the very best and brightest 
varieties now in flower. 
R. sinensis itself is a fine old shrub. R. flavum 
globosum, a nearly white variety, is also good and 
conspicuous when fully developed. 
R. aurantiacum frigidum, with small flowers in 
close clusters and suffused with distinct ochre and 
some crimson, is a specially fine and fragrant type. 
R. rhombicumis very early, but fragile as early. It 
is very distinct, being a pretty lavender-mauve. 
R. flavum macranthum is a splendid subject with 
fine-sized orange-yellow flowers. 
Hardy Rhododendrons proper. —R. Frances 
Thiselton-Dyer, deep rosy-pink, and having a darker 
throat, has larger flowers and trusses than Kew No. 
j. This latter has close-set, bouquet-like trusses, 
and the flowers are bright lilac-crimson. R. Smir- 
nowi, from the Caucasus, is a pretty, sinuously 
edged flower, of a deep peach colour in the centre, 
becoming pale magenta tinted at the edge. 
R. Luscombei is fairly well known. The corolla 
is bell-shaped, smooth and wide open, the tube being 
very short. The finely waved edge and the clear 
crimson-pink shade of the flowers makes this one of 
the most charming of early Rhododendrons. R. 
