604 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
July 11, 1903. 
for some weeks to come. The flowers are relatively large for 
the size of the plant, and of a deep roseu’ed with wedge-shaped 
petals, shallowly toothed at the outer end. 
Campanula excisa. 
The stems in this instance are only 3 in. to 6 in. high and 
finely fringed with narrowly linear leaves. The flowers are 
narrowly hell-shaped, almost cylindrical, blue., and furnished 
with a round notch between every two segments. This I take 
to be the meaning of the specific name, because the opening 
seems to> have been cut out intentionally. It is a native of 
the Alps of Europe, and in good friable soil spreads sufficiently 
to' keep up the necessary stock. 
Silene quadrifida. 
Of all the species of Catchfly suitable for planting on. the 
rockery few are prettier than the plant I have just named 
and S. alpestris, which may be considered a companion to' it. 
The flowers of the firsbnamed are white, with wedge-shaped 
petals', five toothed at the apex. The stems are 4 in. to 6 in. 
in height, forming branching cymes of flowers, and when a 
good patch of the plant is seen, it' is certainly one of the 
prettiest sights in the alpine' garden. The great number of 
flowers and the extreme neatness of all parts of the plant, 
rather than its size, combine to make this a. charming plant. 
The leaves are mostly confined to the base of the stem, forming 
a. carpet over the ground. 
Phyteuma Scheuchzeri. 
In general aspect this plant resembles P. orbiculare of our 
native chalk downs, but the leaves differ in being more 
elongated and narrower. The flowers are produced in dense 
globular heads, and are of a. deep' blue or blue-purple. The 
species is a native of the European Alps and of the easiest cul¬ 
tivation in any good friable loam. Many of the bell-flowers 
coming from similar situations as P. orbiculare are very 
amenable to cultivation without the aid of chalk or lime, and 
that applies to- the Phyt euma under notice. 
Saxifraga lingulata lantoscana. 
Like many of the other species of crustaeeous-leaved Rock- 
foils, this looks most natural when planted or grown amongst 
rocks, but it does not follow that it will always thrive best 
under those conditions. Liberal treatment will often make 
this and other allied species grow strongly and produce much 
finer flower-spikes than when the plant is maintaining itself in 
the diy crevices of a, rockery; indeed, this: species may be 
treated very much in the same way as S. Cotyledon pyra.midalis 
-—that is, it may be planted in pots and grown on with single 
crowns, in the same way as the popular garden variety just 
named. A well-grown, plant of the variety under notice will 
cover the top of a 32-sized pot with leaves, and develop a fine 
panicle of flowers, which may be staked or allowed to' assume 
an arching habit, much in the same way as its better-known 
congener. The natural habit, of this crustaeeous Saxifrage is 
to produce seeds after flowering, and the crowns doing so then, 
die awav. A stock can always be kept up, however, from the 
offsets that are freely produced. M. W. 
Curious Hybrid at Kcw Gardens. 
“ Visitors to Kew Gardens during the past few weeks,” says 
“ Knowledge,” “ may have noticed in the Succulent House some 
tall plants, having pinnatisect leaves, with long stiletto-shaped 
segments, and large terminal heads of bright pink flowers. 
This is a hybrid Kalanchoe, known as K. kewensis. In the 
‘ Annals of Botany ’ Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer has made it the 
■subject of one of his interesting 4 Morphological Notes.’ The 
hybrid originated at Kew, and besides being a beautiful plant 
of considerable horticultural value, it is remarkable in being a 
striking exception, to the rule that a hybrid exhibits characters 
intermediate between those of the parents. The species from 
which the new hybrid was derived are the South Arabian K. 
Bentii and K. flammea, from Somaliland ; the former has long 
entire stiletto-shaped leaves and white flowers, while in the 
latter the leaves are obovate or obovatemblong, and the flowers 
orange-red. In the hybrid the leaves are not intermediate, 
but they approach in shape two other species of Kalanchoe, 
and, as the author observes, £ the conclusion seems irresistible 
that we have a 'reversion to an ancestral character which exists 
elsewhere in the genus, but is latent in both parents.’ The 
deviation in the colour of the flowers is more easily accounted 
for. It is shown that in one parent the flowers have deep 
yellow chromoplasts in a pink cell-sap ; in the other both cliro- 
moplasts and cell-sap are colourless. The hybrid, it is be¬ 
lieved, has inherited the pink cell-sap of one parent and the 
colourless chromoplasts of the other.” 
The Dwarf Philadelphus. 
The Mock Oranges, or Syringas, as the various species of 
Philadelphus are often called, are extremely beautiful flower¬ 
ing shrubs, and are as useful as beautiful, for they flower after 
the glut of spring-flowering shrubs are over, and brighten up 
our shrubberies with flowers for several weeks in the middle 
of summer. The' tall-growing P. coronarius is probably the 
best-known species, and it is a, very freed!owering subject, and 
one deserving a place in every shrubbery of any size. The 
same may be said of other tall-growing species', but the most 
useful of all, probably, is that pretty dwarf hybrid P. 
Lemoinei, for it can be grown in almost every garden and in 
places where others would be too tall. 
The honour of raising this excellent, hybrid belongs to 
Messrs. Lemoine, of Nancy, and it has: now been, in general 
cultivation ten years or more. Its parents are the dwarf 
bushy, small-leaved and small-flowered species, P. microphyllus, 
from Colorado, and the well-known Asiatic P. coronarius, which 
is possibly the commonest species in cultivation. 
P. Lemoinei is like neither of its parents in appearance, 
though it combine® the good qualities of both. If left un¬ 
pruned it makes a dense, spreading bush 3| ft. or 4 ft. high. 
The branches are thin and pendant, and they are clothed with 
ovate leaves about 2 in., long. The upper half of the- leaf 
is serrated, and is narrowed off to an acuminate point. The 
flowers are pure white and very fragrant, and are borne in 
profusion. In size they are intermediate between those of both 
parents, being from § in. to 1 in. across. A variety is in cul¬ 
tivation known as P. L. var. erectus, which is of stiffer and 
more upright habit than the type, and, if anything, flowers 
more freely. Either of these two plants 1 makes an excellent sub¬ 
ject for beds: or for groups: in a shrubbery, for, in addition to 
their beauty during their time of flowering, they are attractive 
throughout winter by reason of their bright brown stems, 
which are: very effective, especially on a. sunny day. To grow 
this hybrid and have it at its best, attention must be given 
to pruning, for, if not properly pruned, it soon fails to flower 
as well as it ought to do. As soon as the flowers are over, all 
the old flowering wood should be cut out to where good 
strong shoots are appearing. In some instances it will be 
found possible to cut the old wood clean out to the ground, as 
a good number of strong young shoots usually appear from 
the stool. This thinning out of old wood allows the plant to 
throw all its energy into the young wood, and so shoots are 
made 24 ft. or 3 ft. long, which become thoroughlv well 
ripened and produce flowers from almost every bud the fol¬ 
lowing June or July. 
Two other dwarf varieties worth growing in places where 
more than one is required are P. Gerbe de Neige and P. Boule 
d’Argent. The former has larger leaves and flowers than P. 
Lemoinei, buf does not flower so: freely. The latter has semi- 
double flowers, and is of a cream colour. 
The cultivation of these dwarf Philadelphus is simnle. Thev 
all root readily from cuttings of half-ripe wood in July, and if 
planted in good soil they quickly make plants large enough to 
plant in permanent quarters'. 
When planting a bed of these things good rich loamy soil 
should be provided, as the great thing is to get them to make 
good strong shoots, and this can only be done bv giving rich 
soil. W. Dallimore. 
