594 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 7, 1907. 
Many people have had a difficulty in 
flowering Cosmos in our climate, as it comes 
into bloom too late and gets cut down by 
frost. The only remedy is to sow in heat 
from the middle of February to the middle 
of March, transplanting the seedlings once 
or twice while they are being grown. Of 
course, when they have made plants an inch 
or so high, they can be placed in a cold 
frame and given more air so as to bring 
them along slowly without drawing them. 
Another assistance would be to use a good 
proportion of sand in the soil in which you 
plant them, both while in the boxes and in 
the open ground. Potash would also has¬ 
ten the blooming period and might be given 
in the form of wood ashes at planting time, 
or as a light dressing of kainit. We are 
afraid you will be unable'to flower it now 
unless you can erect a glass frame over it, 
even if temporarily, in order to hasten the 
flowers. We think that the chief difficulty 
with the flowering of Cosmos is due to the 
fact that C. sulphureus, or some of the 
hybrids now in cultivation, are sown and 
attempted to be grown, instead of standing 
by the old C. bipinnatus, which is more easy 
to flower and blooms well in our season. It 
is sometimes- named early-flowering Cosmos 
in seed catalogues. Some of the hybrids 
were raised in America, where the climate 
is warmer, and the plants have, therefore, a 
better chance of flowering before the ap¬ 
proach of winter. You should, therefore, 
either try to get €. bipinnatus or sow early 
as above recommended under glass. We be¬ 
lieve the late ones can be lifted, potted and 
flowered in a greenhouse. 
2163. Carnation Layers. 
Should Carnation layers when lifted be 
kept in pots for the winter? (Doibtiul, 
Herts.) 
It very largely depends upon the nature of 
your soil as to whether they should be 
planted in the open or placed under the pro¬ 
tection of a frame. Besides the difficulty 
with heavy soils and the liability of the 
Carnations to get destroyed in winter 
through stagnant moisture, there is another 
drawback in the neighbourhood of smoky 
towns owing to the filthy deposit from the 
atmosphere upon the fob age. We presume 
your soil is of a heavy character, and in that 
case it might be worth your while, especi¬ 
ally with valuable varieties, to pot the 
layers in 3 in. or 35 in. pots and keep them 
in" a cold frame till some time in March. 
It will mean a great deal of extra care, be¬ 
cause even in winter Carnations require ven¬ 
tilation at all times when the weather is in 
any way favourable. The only time when 
they may be left closed is when the soil 
and leaves are actually frozen. This is 
also the safest way to deal with valuable 
varieties wh-ich are in any way scarce, and 
the results are highly satisfactory. 
21 64-. Plants with White Foliage. 
In a recent issue of The Gardening 
World you spoke of a white rockery, but 
this, I understand, related to the limestone 
of which the rockery was made. I would 
like to build a rockery and plant it with 
hardy dwarf-growing subjects with . white 
foliage, and should be very pleased if you 
would give me the names of a number of 
plants that -would have white foliage and so 
produce an effect quite unique in its way. 
(P. Timbs, Glam.) 
Plants with white foliage or grey foliage 
are fairly numerous, but while those which 
we shall select are quite hardy in your dis¬ 
trict, it ds necessary to grow them in rather 
dry, than rich, moist, situations. They pro¬ 
duce the finest effects when the leaves, grow 
slowly and are of moderate size, owing to 
the dryness of the situation, and more par¬ 
ticularly to full exposure to sunshine. They 
are naturally plants which live in dry situ¬ 
ations, and while you may grow them fairly 
strong, they must be fully exposed to sun¬ 
light and not overfed in order to procure 
the best results in the way of white foliage. 
The plants we should name are Ceras-tium 
tomentosum (Snow in Summer), C. Bieber- 
steinii, Veronica .incana, Antennaria dioica 
tomentosa, A. d. hyperborea, Achillea 
ageratifolia, A. tomentosa, A. umbellata, A. 
Clavennae, Tanacetum argenteum, often sold 
as Achillea argentea, and Santoldna Chamae- 
cyparissus incana (Lavender Cotton). The 
last named is the tallest-growing one we 
have mentioned, so that in order to keep it 
dwarf i-t would be necessary to shorten the 
stems during summer, so as to encourage the 
development of short side shoots and give 
the best effects of the fol-.iage. All the 
others are dwarf-growing, and you may -im¬ 
prove them, so far as the foliage is con¬ 
cerned, by removing the flower stems when 
they make their appearance. A whiter 
plant than either of the above is Centaurea 
ragusina candidissima, but we are afraid 
you would require to keep it in a green¬ 
house during winter and plant it out in 
spring. 
2165. Time to Plant Carnations. 
I have a bed of Carnations which I have 
just finished layering. When is the -best 
time to plant -them out, or would you advise 
me to pot them up and keep them in frames 
fill spring? The soil -is- rather heavy and 
wet in winter. The varieties are Mrs. 
Nicholson, Raby Castle, Duchess of Fife, 
Mrs. Muir, Mrs. Eric Ilambro, and Trojan. 
(T. Watson, Lancs.) 
Evidently in your smoky district the 'best 
plan would be to pot up the layers in 3 in. 
pots as soon as they are rooted, and stand 
them in a cold frame for the winter. Dur¬ 
ing fine weather the sash may be left off 
altogether, but during the prevalence of 
heavy rain the sashes should be kept on and 
tilted up at the back, so as to keep -the plants 
sturdy and hardy. Other particulars you 
will find under “Carnation Layers.” 
2166. Yellow Flowers in Spring. 
We often hear of a blue border in spring, 
but, to my mind, yellow would be a much 
more telling colour. For instance, what 
could be more showy and effective in spring 
than a border of yellow Wallflowers and the 
double yellow Alyssum? Perhaps you could 
mention several things that would bloom 
even earlier in the year and give variety. 
During the dusk of the evening after the 
sun has set you can see yellow flowers long 
after the blue ones are indistinguishable 
from the soil or grass. (F. C. Haines, 
Glos.) 
It is quite -true that yellow is more effec¬ 
tive or conspicuous for a longer -period of 
the day than blue or purple flowers. There 
are earlier-flowering subjects than those you 
mention, but they stand some risk of flower¬ 
ing well or badly according to the prevalent 
conditions of the weather during the time 
they are in bloom. If the weather was 
fairly genial, without either hard frost or 
heavy rain, several of the yellow Crocuses 
are very showy indeed. Some of the ear¬ 
lier-flowering species are Crocus susianus, 
C. chrysanthus and C. aureus-. The large- 
flowering Dutch yellow varieties would give 
a succession to the above, and be even more 
effective on account of the large size of 
their flowers. They are, of course, garden- 
raised varieties of C. aureus-. Following 
these 3 r ou have a whole host of Daffodils, 
amongst which we should mention N. ob- 
vallaris, N. maximus, N. telamonius plenus, 
Henry Irving, Golden Spur, Emperor, Sir 
Watkin, Campernelle, and Jonquils. These 
will give a fairly long succession of yellow 
flowers, but there are numerous others with 
more or less 'bright yellow flowers. By this 
time Wallflowers, of yellow, golden-yellow 
and primrose colours, will be flowerin 
freely. The Alyssum saxa-tile you mentioi 
should not 'be overlooked. Tulips supply ; 
number of very handsome yellow varieties 
including Tul-ipa retroflexa, T. gesnerian. 
lutea, T. flava, Tulip Mrs. Moon, am 
various others which flower during th 
month of May. Some of the early-flowei 
ing Tulips would produce a display i 
April, and for a succession of flowers the 
could hardly be overlooked. Some of thes 
are Buttercup, Boule d’Or, Canary Eire 
Chrysolora, Due van Thol (yellow), Golde 
Queen, Goldfinch, and Ophir d’Or, etc 
Other subjeots to. prolong the season c 
yellow flowers would be Doronicum plan 
tagineum excelsum, various species of Tro! 
lius, Allium Moly, and yellow varieties c 
Spanish Iris. These latter would not bloor 
before June, so that they need not be plante 
if they would interfere with your designs. 
HEDGES. 
2167. Flowering Plants for Hedges. 
I have a small garden behind the hous 
with a lawn in the centre, and I would lik 
to surround -it with low hedges to gro 
loosely and give plenty of flowers. Woul 
you name four different things that wcul 
give plenty of flowers and not require nme 
pruning ox thinning ? Would Hydrange 
be suitable for this kind of work ? (Re: 
mond. Glam.) 
Hydrangeas would flower well in }-ou 
district and stand out during winter withoi 
protection. In growing them in the fori 
- of a hedge, you will have to let them gro’ 
freely, otherwise if you shorten the mai 
stems you will not get flowers during tb 
following season from such stems. If yo 
require the hedge to be relatively narrow, : 
would be necessary to stake the stems on th 
outside of the bushes to prevent them fal 
ing down, or to shorten back those that fa” 
over too much. Other suitable plants fc 
hedges are Fuchsia Riocartoni, the ol 
Monthly Rose, and Spiraea japonica Wate: 
eri. The above could be varied if you lik 
it better by using Hydrangeas, Fuchsi 
macrostemma^ otherwise known as F. gr; 
cilis, Philadelphus Lemoinei erecta wit 
white flowers, and Rosa rugosa Blanck 
Double de Cou'bert. The last-named grov 
to a large size in course of time, but ma 
be trimmed into shape during the winte: 
and if not severely cut back will flows 
during the greater part of the summer, as 
is practically perpetual while the fine we; 
ther lasts. 
ROSES . 
2168. Roses for Towns. 
Do you think I could, with any succes 
attempt the cultivation of a few 'Rose lbush< 
in a small garden, as per sketch enclosed 
If so, could you kindly name a few vari 
ties suitable for town gardens which I coul 
plant in the circular bed shown ,in tl 
sketch. I am not particular as to class ( 
colour, but I should like, if possibl- 
scented kinds, and if they would be suitab 
for buttonhole Roses, so much the bette 
Also, would you kindly name a climbin 
Rose or two that would do for the side wal 
as shown on the plan? The wall at tl 
bottom is under -the drip of the tree_ shov 
in the corner, and would not, I think, 1 
suitable for Rose trees. I should like, 
possible, to fill the circular bed entire 
with Roses, if you think they -would be su 
cessful. I do not care about having, ar 
do not want, exhibition Roses. They a 
just for garden decoration and cutting, 
should like, if possible, to have, some kir. 
of edge for the bed, evergreen, if possibl 
