September 7, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
587 
Chrysanthemums, 
Work for September. 
The present season has so far been a 
omewhat trying one for Chrysanthemum 
rrowers, and the growths are in many 
’ases rather soft, an indication that great 
are must be taken not to overdo the 
>lants with stimulants now that the buds 
rave been taken. 
Many of the new exhibition varieties 
ent out in 1906 look very promising, al- 
hough there is a remarkable difference in 
leight and habit of growth, Sidney Pen- 
ord. for instance, running up to nine feet 
a height, while President Loubet is barely 
wo feet. The last-named is one of the 
arieties that require very little manur- 
Qg, as is likewise W. Wells, another pro- 
aising variety of model growth. 
Preparations must now be made for get- 
ing the plants indoors, as, unless the 
,-eather improves very much, housing will 
ave to be taken in hand earlier than 
;sual. In any case, it is advisable to 
ave everything ready by the last week 
f this month. Both glass and paint-work 
f the interiors should be washed down 
ath soapy water, and well swilled so as 
0 admit the maximum of light; and those 
ho use washes for the prevention of rust 
nd mildew will do well to wash their 
■lants before housing them. But where 
ungicides are used in powder form these 
an, of course, be applied at any time, in- 
ide or out. 
The process of housing should be car- 
ied out by degrees, taking in about half 
he plants one day, and allowing them to 
et somewhat accustomed to their new 
uarters before placing them closer., to- 
ether to admit of the remainder being 
■rought in and arranged. 
Full air must be left on the houses night 
nd day for the first week or so, after 
■ hich it may be gradually reduced to suit 
he weather conditions. 
Less frequent waterings will be required 
ior the first week or two wdien the plants 
re indoors, and-clear water only should 
>e used until the roots are seen to be run- 
ung on the surface of the soil, after which 
ery w-eak liquid manures should be given 
mtil the flowers are nearly perfect. 
Where decorative kinds have been 
danted out, now is the time to take up 
nd pot the number that will be required 
or indoors later on. When first potted 
he plants should be stood in a sheltered 
dace for a week or so, and well syringed 
bn dry days. Growers who have not tried 
his system will be surprised how- little 
he worse the plants look for the shift 
vhen this is quickly and carefully done, 
iome varieties are, of course, more suit-- 
ible for this kind of culture than others, 
ind this can readily be ascertained by a 
rial of the different kinds usually grown. 
It appears that many growers, while 
ufficiently enterprising as regards new 
exhibition varieties, are content to stick 
0 old worn-out kinds, and in some cases 
broken down show varieties, for decora¬ 
tive purposes, and as this class of Chry¬ 
santhemum has been much improved of 
late years, if growers would—while stick¬ 
ing to such indispensable old favourites 
as Niveus and a few others—introduce a 
few of the best of the modern decorative 
kinds, they would reap the reward in hav¬ 
ing a pleasing show- of good lasting flowers 
with bright colour- on good upright-grow- 
ing plants. 
R. Barnes. 
-- 
— A Rare — 
Rock Plant. 
Cl 
E— (Onosma albo=roseum.) 
The genus Onosma is best known in 
gardens by O. . echioides, the Golden 
Drop, but the plant under notice has 
flowers of an entirely different colour. 
When they first expand they are white, 
but gradually change to a carmine-rose, 
and when fading they even have a shade 
of blue, as in many other plants belong¬ 
ing to the same family. The plant is a 
native of Asia Minor, and was first intro¬ 
duced to cultivation in 1890. The coun¬ 
try from which it comes has a dry, warm 
climate, by comparison with ours, so that 
the plant prefers a dry situation on the 
rockery with shelter from the north and 
east. 
If planted on a sloping ledge of the 
rockery, water will not become stagnant 
there during winter, and the plant seems 
perfectly hardy under those conditions. 
At all events, it has lived for the last four 
years on the rockery at Kew, and blooms 
in April and May. The leafy stems are 
of trailing habit, and the flower stems be¬ 
ing short, are simply supported in a nod¬ 
ding or drooping position at the end of a 
leafy stem. All parts of the plant are 
covered with hairs, giving the foliage a 
grey appearance, indicative of a dry clim¬ 
ate. We should therefore study its lik¬ 
ings in this respect if we are to succeed 
with it in our dripping and misty climate, 
especially in v-inter. 
-- 
White Heather Fashionable. 
White Heather, says a daily contempor¬ 
ary, is going to be the flower for autumn 
wear in London. Never have so many 
people been seen wearing this badge of 
good fortune. It is difficult to account 
for its sudden popularity, just as it is 
difficult to account for the popularity of 
any flower, season by season. Covcnt 
Garden is getting a regular supply from 
Scotland. 
English Gardens. 
“ English Gardens,” says a writer in 
the “Bystander,” “are the most beautiful 
in the world. Italian gardens, pictured 
by d'Annunzio, savour ever of that deca¬ 
dent quality w-hich shines through his 
w-riting. German gardens! I know 
them well! They are composed, as a 
rule, chiefly of brilliant, many-coloured 
Asters, and about them romance is for¬ 
bidden sternly to linger. French gar¬ 
dens have about them so often the artifi¬ 
ciality, the precision, of a Watteau, a 
Fragonard; they are very sweet, but they 
are never so sweet as in England. But 
cnlv English gardens have my love.” 
Onosma albo-roseum. \Maclaren and Sons. 
