July 15, 1905. 
. THE GARDENING WORLD 
571 
THE 
CO/A/AON & 
LAUREL 
ITS 
VARIETIES, 
Of late years the common Laurel has fallen 
into disrepute among gardeners, and is often 
spoken of in disparaging terms. This has 
happened since so many hardy trees and 
shrubs have been popularised, which although 
in cultivation were seldom met with until 
ten years ago. Previous to these shrubs 
being brought into general cultivation the 
common Laurel was perhaps the commonest 
shrub found in gardens, for, being a good- 
tempered plant and adapting itself readily to 
almost any condition, it was planted here, 
there, and everywhere, without considering 
whether it was in keeping with the surround¬ 
ings or mot. More often than not, too, it was 
met with, not as a fine free growing bush, with 
space for development, but huddled up with 
a few other things where it had very little 
room, and had to be cut hard back every year 
or two. Now, where a green bank pure and 
simple is wanted of shrubs, the common Laurel 
is a most useful subject, for it stands the 
use of the knife well, and it is also a useful 
evergreen for covering quickly an unsightly 
wall where Ivy would not do; but to be seen, 
at its best it must be grown as am isolated 
specimen where it will have lots of room, then 
it will make a noble bush and as fine a speci¬ 
men plant as can be wished fox-. 
The common Laurel, Prunus Laui’ocerasus, 
was introduced to this country in 1629. It is 
a native of Eastern Europe and the Orient, 
and is fairly widely distributed. It is so well 
known 1 that the leaves need no description, 
but the flowers are not so well known, as 
pruned, or rather cropped, plants rai’ely 
flower. On free-growing specimens blossoms 
are borne freely. They ai'e white in colour, 
and ai'e produced in axillaiy racemes 4 to 6 
inches long during April and May. In habit, 
different plants may vary considerably, some 
being of close upright growth, while others 
have a free and loose character. Some make 
long prostrate branches, others, with a little 
pruning, a trunk and head of tree-like pro¬ 
portions. In height different specimens may 
be anything from 4 or 5 feet up to 15 feet or 
so. In diameter a bush may be anything up 
to 35 feet, or even moi’e. As might be ex¬ 
pected, in a plant so widely cultivated numer¬ 
ous varieties have from time to time been 
noted, and a number of the best or most dis¬ 
tinct of these are well worth encouraging. 
Some of these vaiieties are very distinct, but 
others are not well enough fixed to attain any 
great amount of popularity. 
The cultivation of the Laurel is of the sim¬ 
plest, for given fairly good soil or even that of 
a sandy nature it grows quickly, and gives 
very little trouble. Propagation may be 
effected by means of seeds or cuttings, the 
latter rooting readily in a bed of sandy soil in 
a cold frame. When planting Laurels care 
should be taken not to place them very close 
to any choice shrub, for they are great rob¬ 
bers, their roots running about for a consider¬ 
able distance. 
A number of the most distinct of the varie¬ 
ties are P. L. augustifolia, with narrow leaves, 
not a very large growing variety. P. L. 
camelliaefolia is a curioxis looking plant, with 
narrow reflexed leaves. P. L. caucasica. is a 
form found in the Caucasus, which is credited 
with being able to withstand more cold than 
the type. P. L. colchica makes a free-grow¬ 
ing, handsome bush, and is largely grown. 
P. L. foliis variegatis is a form with white or 
silvery variegation, but the colour is not well 
fixed, and it is not of much value. P. I;, 
latifolia has large, broadly ovate leaves. P. L. 
Otini is one of the newer forms, and one of the 
most distinct. The leaves are very large and of 
a deep green hue, making it easily recognised 
among other varieties. Some of the leaves 
are 8 to 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. P. 
L. pyramidalis is a variety of pyramidal out¬ 
line. P. L. rotundifolia has broadly ovate or 
rounded leaves, and makes a handsome bush. 
P. L. magnoliaefolia is a strong grower with 
very large and handsome leaves. It makes 
a large and strikingly handsome bush, and 
readily lends itself to pruning into a tree-like 
shape. P. L. schipkaensis is a variety with 
smaller leaves than the type, and is also a 
dwarfer grower. W. Dallimore. 
H. P. ROSE 
CAPTAIN HAYWARD. 
Last week we gave an illustration of a fully- 
expanded bloom of this beautiful hybrid per¬ 
petual Rose. On this occasion we show a 
less expanded, bloom just passing out of the 
bud state. The bright crimson-carmine 
liowei’s are sweetly scented and open well. 
The illustration was prepai'ed from an eai’ly 
bloom sent us by Mr. Hugh Dickson. 
H. P. Rosi? Captain Hayward. 
A Monster Rose Tree. —Anyone who may 
be including Baden in his holiday tour this 
summer should cei’tainly visit Fi’ibourg, says 
“ T.P.’s Weekly,” for there is to be found 
what is believed to be the biggest rose tree 
in Europe, and a vei’y notable sight it must 
be, especially at the present time, for it is 
now covered with some 10,000 blooms. In 1881 
a gardener named Wehrie grafted a “ Cliroma- 
tella ” Tea Rose upon the stem of a wild 
Rose tree. By 1897 they had increased to 
6,200, while the branches covered a super¬ 
ficies of 83 square metres. At the present 
time the stem is some 4 ft. in height and 
about 10 in. in circumference, while the 
bi-anches, supported on an iron trellis 100 ft. 
in length, cover a superficial area of some 90 
square metres. Can England show anything 
to equal this ? 
PLANTS IN BLOOM 
IN THE HERBACEOUS BORDER. 
Lychnis chalcedonica. 
Eew plants have a brighter effect in the 
herbaceous border than this old-fashioned 
garden plant, of which there are now several 
forms. Tlie original has bright scarlet 
flowers in flat clusters on the top of sterns 
about 2g ft. high. There is also a, double 
variety, the flowers of which last longer in 
good condition either on the plant or in the 
cut state. L. c. alba is a variety with white 
flowers, chiefly valuable for the sake of con¬ 
trast with the scarlet ones. The same may be 
said of the double white variety L. c. alba 
plena. This plant and its varieties are all 
of the easiest cultivation in any good garden 
soil. 
The Orange Lily (Lilium croceum). 
Few of the Lilies are of more easy cultiva¬ 
tion than the old Orange Lily, which may be 
pi'actically grown in the open border amongst 
herbaceous plants proper or in mixed borders 
alongside of the paths in villa gardens. The 
flowers are produced in trusses varying from 
one to a dozen or more, and are of a bright 
oi-ange, with black specks. The flowers are 
bell-shaped and erect, with their faces to 
the sky. 
Sidalcea Listen". 
The flowers of this recently-introduced 
garden foi-m are of a light pink and fringed 
round the edges of the petals. It may be com¬ 
pared to S. malvaeflora, but has much larger 
flowers that ai’e remarkable for the deep 
fringe to the petals. The individual flowers 
have also longer stalks and produced in a 
more elongated raceme. The stems grow 
2 ft. or 3 ft. high, and are clothed with deep 
green leaves, having five to nine finger-like 
segments. The cultivation is of the easiest 
in any good garden soil, and sufficient increase 
may be obtained by dividing the clumps about 
the end of September or in October. 
Spiraea palmata. 
Few of the species of Meadow Sweet are 
more distinct and handsome than the subject 
of this note. The leaves are five-lobed, and 
spread out like a hand. The trusses of 
sweetly-scented flowei’s vary from a light to a 
very intense rose, and make their appearance 
during June and July. 
Orchis foliosa. 
Many people make an attempt at cultivat¬ 
ing hardy terrestrial Orchids and fail. This 
is very often due to the plants being dug up 
in the wild state and more or less injured in 
the operation. This being an exotic, a native, 
in fact, of Madeira, it is only obtainable 
as a cultivated plant, and stock is most 
usually kept in pots. The leaves ai’e of large 
size, and so numerous as to give the plant 
quite a leafy appearance. The stems vary 
from lg ft. to 2 ft. in height, according to the 
vigour of the plant. The roots delight in a 
damp situation, so that those who wish to add 
a beautiful hai’dy Orchid to their collection 
should use a considerable amount of peat in 
the soil unless they prepare a bed specially 
for this and similar plants requiring plenty 
of moisture for their successful cultivation. 
Those who have command of a bog bed will 
find this species admirably adapted for the 
purpose. Peat is not absolutely necessary 
provided moisture can be ensured during the 
heat of summer, but in order to do this peat 
is a very valuable adjunct to the gardener’s 
means of cultivating various subjects, as it 
serves to preserve the moisture better than 
heavy clay or even the ordinary soil of the 
garden, 
