668 tub gardening world. October 12, 1907. 
2266. Darwin Tulips. 
Would Darwin Tulips be sufficiently 
hardy to stand the winter out of doors in 
this quarter, as I should like to try them 
to make a succession to the common spring 
flowering Tulips. Should they be planted 
at the same time as the others to give a 
succession? I understand they grow taller. 
Do 'they require to be planted further apart ? 
(T. Mitchell, Fifeshire.) 
Darwin Tulips are as hardy as the early- 
flowering Tulips, their chief difference 
being their taller growth and later flower¬ 
ing. They may be planted at the same time 
as the others and the sooner the better. 
When the summer-flowering stuff has been 
removed from the beds, they should be pre¬ 
pared at once and planted, as nothing is 
gained by keeping the bulbs longer out of 
the soil. Tulips are fairly accommodating 
plants, as they only produce a certain num¬ 
ber of leaves, usually about five, so that 
they may be planted from 6 in. to 10 in. 
apart to completely cover the soil. On the 
other hand, you can plant them 15 in. apart 
each way, which would give you room for 
planting Arabis or Myosotis sylvatica as a 
covering to the ground. The mixture gives 
a very pleasing ertect. Instead of Arabis 
and Myosotis, you could even plant Prim¬ 
roses or Polyanthuses, all of which could 
be lifted du time for the ordinary summer 
bedding. 
2267. Companions to Spanish Iris. 
I intend planting a bed with Spanish 
Irises, but as they only last in bloom for 
some weeks I should be glad if you would 
give me the names of a few things that 
could be planted with them to keep up a 
display for some time longer. It must be 
something that will not smother the Irises, 
but show them up better. (A. T. D., 
Staffs.) 
There are several annuals which could 
be made to occupy the ground without being 
too much for the Irises, and amongst these 
we should name Nemophila insignis. Double 
Larkspurs, Phacelia campanularia, Linum 
grandiflorum rubrum, Iceland Poppies and 
Alyssum maritimum compactum. Only one 
of these kinds may be sown in one bed, 
unless you desire to have an edging of 
something, when you could sow the Alys¬ 
sum for that purpose. This has sweet- 
scented, white flowers and blooms most of 
the summer. The others are taller growing, 
especially the Double Larkspurs, which, if 
planted thickly, would completely occupy 
the bed, but by the time they get bulky 
the foliage of the Irises may be more or 
less ripened. The Nemophila and Pha¬ 
celia have blue flowers, and with Iceland 
Poppies would make the most suitable cover¬ 
ing for the ground without getting tall. 
They should be sown about the beginning 
of April, so that although they would come 
in bloom late they would not interfere with 
the growth and flowering of the Irises. 
2268. Grass Not Flowering. 
I sowed a number of ornamental grasses 
last spring and all have flowered well ex¬ 
cept one. This was Bromus brizaeformis, 
and it shows no signs of flowering. Can 
you explain this and say what I should do 
to make it flower ? I have been drying 
them, but Briza maxima has been falling to 
pieces. Can you say what is wrong with 
it? (E. A. Wainwright, Hants.) 
Bromus brizaeformis is a biennial and 
rarely, if ever, flowers the first year if 
sown in the open garden. It will bloom 
all right, however, next year, and what you 
should do is to thin out some of the plants 
so as to leave the others in little tufts with 
some inches of space between them. If you 
lift the others with a trowel you can plant 
them in another bed about 4 in. apart in 
the line and 9 in. from line to line. The 
reason why Briza falls to pieces is because 
you have gathered the flower stems after 
they have passed into seed. Grasses to dry 
well should, in most cases, be cut as soon 
a they are full in flower and therefore quite 
fresh. Of course, this leaves the ground 
bare at an early period of summer, but if 
you have plenty of them you can thin them 
out, leaving some of the stems to keep the 
ground occupied. 
2269. Winter Cherry Not Fruiting. 
I have a Bolanum or Winter Cherry which 
I bought last winter in fruit. I kept it in 
a room, but the cherries dropped in the 
early spring. I repotted it and cut it down, 
since when it has done well and freely 
blossomed, but the flowers all fall and 
form no cherries. I keep it outside on a 
garden stand facing south-west, and I keep 
it moderately damp. Would you kindly tell 
me what is the matter with it ? (Lover of 
Flowers, Middlesex.) 
We suspect that the plant when grown in 
pots is liable to get dry at times, but it is 
just possible also that the summer has been 
against it. Another year we should recom¬ 
mend you to prune back the plant some time 
in March, when it will begin to sprout 
again as the temperature rises in spring. 
During May you should harden it off by 
exposure during the day and plant it out 
in the garden in an open .situation well 
exposed to sunshine. Here it will make 
good growth during the summer and set 
its berries better than if kept in pots under 
the fluctuating temperature to which such 
are subjected. This is usually the plan 
adopted by gardeners and growers of the 
Winter Cherry. It should be well set with 
berries by the beginning of September, and 
about the middle of that month you could 
lift it and pot it rather firmly, put it in a 
shady situation for a few days until it takes 
to the soil and then put it in a greenhouse 
or a sunny window according to convenience. 
Here the berries should colour up and the 
plant prove useful during the winter 
months. 
TREES AND SHRUBS . 
2270. Ornamental Trees for a Garden. 
Having once received valuable advice 
from you, will you permit me again to ask 
some questions? Which trees would you 
recommend for the four corners of my gar- 
•den ? I want them for the purpose of orna¬ 
ment and thought standards the best. 
Forest trees will, perhaps, not be advis¬ 
able on account of their large roots. Would 
you recommend fruit trees, considering the 
situation of the garden? The fruit would, 
perhaps, drop in the neighbour’s garden, as 
the trees would be so near the fence. Or is 
there anything else in the way of orna¬ 
mental trees ? I am in ignorance on a 
variety of subjects. For instance, what to 
do with my Wallflowers which have bloomed 
off. Can I use the same again next year ? 
When and how can I plant bulbs, etc. ? 
Wahid The Gardening World Handbooks 
(iJ;d. post free) be of service to me, and do 
you issue others on other subjects than those 
named in the advertisement? (Ignoramus, 
Middlesex.) 
We should not plant forest trees, as a 
large proportion of London gardens are al¬ 
ready overdone with trees that destroy the 
garden and darken the windows of the 
houses. Such trees are, of course, unsuit¬ 
able for small gardens and confined spaces. 
Fruit trees in the situation you have marked 
would overhang your neighbour’s garden, 
and not only might they claim or take the 
fruits which fall on their side, but if your 
trees shaded anything in their garden they 
could make you lop the branches perpen¬ 
dicular with the fence. We do not say 
they would, but if they were inclined to be 
disagreeable they could make you lop the 
trees or do it themselves. Standards of 
Sweet Bay would be very handsome, but in 
a severe winter they might get killed or 
more or less injured. Golden Privet (Ligus- 
trum ovaliioilium aureum) may now be ob¬ 
tained in the form of standards, and as they 
keep their leaves till March, or nearly, 
they would answer .all the purpose of ever¬ 
greens. They also permit of being pruned 
into any neat shape you may desire, either 
globular or pyramidal. It is possible alsa 
to get standard Hollies, or they could 
readily be made into standards if you get 
fair-sized specimens. The stem might be 
as high as the 4 ft. fence and above that 
the head could be formed either dome¬ 
shaped, pyramidal or other neat form which 
you fancied. The side branches below the 
fence could, of course, all be cut away, 
leaving nothing for the tree to do but form 
the head above the fence. There are, how¬ 
ever, many ornamental deciduous trees of 
small size or bushes in the form of stan¬ 
dards which would answer the purpose. For 
instance, there are various Thorns, includ¬ 
ing the Double Scarlet, which would re¬ 
quire some pruning to prevent it getting 
too much over the fence. A much smaller- 
headed tree is Robinia Pseudacacia umbra- 
culifena, or the Umbrella-headed Acacia of 
the nurseries. It may be hard pruned back 
each winter, but it makes a*small globular 
head that would take some years to get too 
big. The white-flowered Japanese Snow¬ 
ball (Viburnum plicatum) may be obtained 
in‘the form of standards, buit we are not 
.quite certain about the length of the stems. 
You need not get all of the above, but four 
of one kind or all four different according 
to fancy. In the case of your Wallflowers, 
you must have got Early Parisian, or some 
strains raised from it. This is usually 
spoken of as the annual Wallflower, as it 
blooms the same year it is sown, usually 
after a few months. In the meantime you 
can cut off any seed pods from the plants, 
and if they have leafy growths, those should 
bloom again in spring. The seed pods 
should, of course, have been picked off as 
soon as the plants finished flowering. We 
should be very pleased to give you advice 
concerning bulbs if you tell us what bulbs 
you intend to plant. Gardening is too big 
a subject to answer in general terms. None 
of The Gardening World Handbooks deal 
with bulbs, and only three of them are of 
the small size you mention. The two larger 
books we issue are on Carnations and Chrys¬ 
anthemums. The publisher could, however, 
get a book on bulbs for you if you give u? 
some idea of what you desire. The small 
handbooks deal with Roses, annuals and 
biennials and Dahlias. We shall be very 
pleased to help you in any particular sub¬ 
ject if you state exactly what that is. 
2271. Pruning the White Jasmine. 
I should be very much obliged if you wil! 
tell me the right time for pruning the com¬ 
mon white Jasmine and whether the long 
growth made this summer should be cut 
back close. (G. J. W., Northumberland.) 
You can prune the white Jasmine any 
time after the leaves have fallen. Of 
course, you should select mild open weather 
for the operation. As it blooms upon the 
young wood you may safely cut back all 
of the shoots made this summer if you do 
not require them for filling up space. For 
instance, a plant could be kept very neat it 
you had a sufficient number of stems to cover 
the wall, and then prune back all the young 
ones to a bud or two at the base. You 
would then get a covering for the wall of 
young shoots' which should flower at the 
usual time. In case any of the old stems 
get weak and show signs of dying, it would 
