August 24, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
567 
but flower show schedules sometimes stipu¬ 
late whether they are to be shown with their 
own foliage, any other foliage, or with 
grasses. There is no rule in this matter, 
except it is plainly stipulated in the sche¬ 
dule, and this must be followed. You 
should, of course, cut them with long stalks, 
which will ■ facilitate their arrangement in 
glasses by enabling the flowers to stand 
out clear from one another. 
2124. Propagating Double Alyssum. 
I have a plant of double yellow Alyssum 
growing well, but would like to increase it. 
It flowered well, but produced no seeds, and 
I do not see how I am to increase it. Can 
you tell me the best way to do this, and 
the time? Any hints will be thankfully 
received. (W. Herdman, Surrey.) 
The double yellow Alyssum (Alyssum 
saxatile flore pleno) does not produce any 
seeds, so you must have recourse either to 
division or to cuttings. Spring would be 
the best time for division if your plants 
were large enough and will allow of it. 
Usually, however, the plant is increased by 
cuttings, which should be taken off in the 
form of little side shoots that have not 
flowered and inserted firmly in light sandy 
soil. Pots of moderate size are the most 
useful, say, 3L in. to 5 in. pots, because 
you can place the pots under a bell-glass 
or hand-light or frame, as the case may 
be, until the cuttings are ready, and you 
can then remove them elsewhere. A hand- 
light consisting of the sides only would 
be quite sufficient if you cover it up with 
a large pane or two of glass. A structure 
of this sort you can readilv get inside a 
cold frame of moderate height. The sooner 
you take the cuttings now the better. 
2125. Plante to Stand on a Balcony. 
I have a balcony leading from the front 
door to a flight of steps, and I would like 
the names of some plants that would be 
suitable for growing there during the sum¬ 
mer months. We had some Rhododendrons 
in pots in spring, but although they 
flowered well they did not look as if they 
would flower at all well next spring. 
Neither are they very ornamental at pre¬ 
sent. (L. M. V/., Durham.) 
Rhododendrons are sometimes employed 
in large pots and tubs in the way you state, 
but they are not well suited for such posi¬ 
tions during the summer months. They 
are too liable to get dry, or the roots may 
be affected by the heat of the sun, thereby 
preventing them from making proper 
growth for next year. Your best plan 
would have been to remove them to a bed 
of ashes in a sunny position along with 
greenhouse plants placed in the open air 
for summer. Here they would have been 
directly under your eye, and they would 
have got more attention and fared better 
than where they are. There are, however, 
many plants well suited for such situations, 
including old plants of zonal Pelargoniums, 
which flower well upon firm, old wood; 
Agapanthus umbellatus, Hydrangeas, single 
Petunias, Fuchsias, and Sedum spectabile 
may be used in the’ same way. All of them 
would require an abundance of water, ex¬ 
cept the Sedum and the Petunias, which can 
thrive even when fairly dry. A more un¬ 
common plant is Sedum maximum pur- 
P.urem, with bronzy-purple leaves. Fuch¬ 
sias, if in well-drained pots, would require 
large quantities of water to keep them in 
a thriving condition. Several shrubs can 
be employed to advantage, namely, Veronica 
traversii and Bay or Sweet Laurels, Golden 
Privet, Euonymus japonicus aureus, and 
•]. latifolius albus. Most of the plants 
we. mention are intended for the sake of 
their flowers, except in the case of the Sweet 
Laurel and the varieties of Euonymus. The 
Laurels may be had in the form of pyra- 
mi dal columns or as standards. 
2126. Name and Method of Raising 
Flower. 
Can you please tell me the name of the 
flower enclosed, and if I would have any 
difficulty in getting it or in growing it? 
I expect it is a foreigner, but you may be 
able to tell me. What is the best way to 
raise it, and will it grow in the garden 
here. (S. S. Mildmay, Berks.) 
The flowers upon which you have dropped 
were those of Statice sinuata, an old in¬ 
troduction, but which has been neglected 
again until recently. You can get seeds 
from most of the big seed houses, and either 
sow them in the open ground at the begin¬ 
ning of April or under glass during March. 
In the latter case they should, of course, 
be transplanted into boxes as soon as the 
seedlings are fit to handle and planted out 
in the open about the end of May. 
ROSES. 
2127. Varieties for Hedges. 
We have a lawn with a shady tree in the 
centre, and we should like to plant hedges 
of Roses all round it. Can you give me the 
names of a few suitable varieties, mention¬ 
ing the colours as a guide in selecting them ? 
How high are they likely to grow, and 
what method of pruning is best to get them 
to flower freely? (D. Hooper, Norfolk.) 
Roses that are suitable for hedges are 
not all of the same height, nor do they 
spread equally. The best plan, therefore, 
would be to use one variety for all the 
hedges or a different variety for each side 
of the square. The Common China is very 
suitable for the purpose, and has blush or 
pale pink flowers, and grows 2 ft. to 3 ft. 
high. Boule de Neige is a white Rose, and 
would make a hedge 4 ft. to 5 ft. high, 
requiring but little pruning. Armosa is a 
pink flowered, continuous blooming Rose, 
and would grow about 3 ft. or 4 ft. high. 
Flora Mclver has white flowers edged with 
rose, and would grow 4 ft. to 5 ft. high. 
Gruss an Teplitz is a scarlet Rose, grow- 
ing 5 ft. high, but is more upright in habit 
than those already mentioned. Lucida 
plena has very pretty, small, deep rose 
flowers, and would form a hedge about 2 ft. 
or 3 ft. high. We have given you six, so 
that you can select four, one being for each 
side of the lawn. The pruning chiefly 
necessary would be to regulate the bushes 
so as to form the outline of the hedge. 
2128. Rose Leaves Eaten. 
A number of the Rose trees in my gar¬ 
den have been eaten in a very curious 
manner. Some of the leaves have oval 
pieces cut out of the sides, and others have 
circular pieces cut clean out. Do you think 
this is the work of caterpillars? I have 
looked over the whole of my Rose trees, 
but cannot find any caterpillars. (M. Bent¬ 
ley, Kent.) 
From your description your Roses are be¬ 
ing cut and carried away by the Rose-leaf 
cutter bee. The bee does not eat them, but 
merely cuts out pieces of certain shapes, two 
in number, to build its cells in which to 
rear the young. The oval pieces are in¬ 
tended for a side of the cell, and the round 
pieces are intended to fill in the ends. You 
may, therefore, regard it as a case of tailor- 
work on the part of the bee, or, more properly, 
upholstering work. The name of the bee is 
Megachila centuncularis. The nest is made 
in hard ground usually in a lawn or in a 
pathway. If you can find a hole about the 
size of a worm hole, and open, you may 
conclude it is a nest of the Rose-leaf cutter 
bee. If you object to your Roses being dis¬ 
figured you should have the nest dug up 
and destroyed. To make sure it is a nest 
you can watch for a while to see whether 
any bees enter. 
TREES AND SHRUBS . 
2129. Climbers for Walls. 
I am having a country cottage built at 
Cold Norton, near Maldon, Essex. It 
stands in its own grounds (160 by 90 ft.). 
Will you kindly tell me what climbers, 
Roses, etc., would be most suitable for walls 
and front of verandah, which has four lat¬ 
tice supports I want to cover? Would 
Clematis do? It is heavy clay soil. Would 
a Vine be suitable for a south wall? 
(Novice, Essex.) 
You can employ Clematis Jackmanni to 
cover the verandah and a Vine may be 
planted for the south wall. In case the 
south wall may not be covered, we mention 
some things suitable for the various other 
aspects of your house. Besides the Vine you 
may plant such Roses as Francois Crousse, 
a bright crimson H.T. and Reve d’Or, a 
buff-yellow Noisette on the south wall. On 
the east wall you may plant such Roses as 
Longworth Rambler, light crimson H.T.; 
William Allen Richardson, an orange-yel¬ 
low Noisette; and Bouquet d’Or, a dark 
yellow Tea, and like an improved Gloire 
de Dijon. On the west wall you might 
plant such Roses as Gloire de Dijon, a 
salmon-yellow' Tea; Longworth Rambler 
and Mme. Alfred Garriere, white and yel¬ 
low Hybrid Noisette. Besides the Clematis 
above-mentioned, you may plant Ards Rover, 
a dark crimson H.P., and Felicite et Per- 
petue, an evergreen Rose with creamy-white 
flowers. The latter does well in exposed 
positions. In case you should not want to 
plant so many Roses, you could get some 
or other of the following :—Jasminum nudi- 
florum, or the new evergreen, J. primulinum; 
also the early or late Dutch Honeysuckle. 
Climbing plants that get covered with red 
berries in autumn and winter are Cotone- 
aster microphylla and Crataegus Pyracan- 
tha. 
2130. Propagating Passion Flower. 
I have what I consider a Passion Flower, 
but a friend of mine tells me I am mis¬ 
taken, so have enclosed a leaf, and would 
be obliged if you would let me know if it 
is wrong or not. Also how and when to 
take cuttings of the same. (W. Poynter, 
Kent.) 
Your friend is mistaken- this tigie, as the 
leaf you sent was that of the common Pas¬ 
sion Flower (Passiflora caerulea). The 
plant may be a young one, but in any case 
the shoot is growing very strongly from 
which you plucked the leaf, and it is ac¬ 
cordingly much larger than the average for 
the common Passion Flower. It is best 
propagated by taking cuttings in spring about 
6 in. long with a heel of the old wood. In 
other words, you should wait until the plant 
commences growing in spring, and then take 
off the side shoots when they have reached 
a length of 6 in. A piece of the old wood 
is necessary to prevent the cutting from 
damping until it has formed roots. Put the 
cuttings singly into thumb pots and plunge 
them in the fibre of a propagating case, or 
put them under a bell-glass. The tropical 
species require a good deal of heat, but if 
you can command a temperature of 60 degs. 
it will be sufficient to enable the cuttings of 
the common Passion Flower to root. The 
plant is also propagated by seeds, which 
ripen freely in a greenhouse, and sometimes 
out of doors in this country. 
2131. Shrub with Daisy-like Flowers. 
While on a visit to a seaside town in 
north Devon I noticed a shrub in one of the 
parks with small white flowers like a Dais}-. 
It was about 3 ft. high, and a mass of 
bloom. The leaves were small and dark 
green, but almost hidden bv the flowers. 
Could you tell me the name of it, and sav 
if it would be hardy in this district? Would 
I be able to get seeds of it, and if so, what 
