158 
The Garden Magazine, November, 1923 
cuttings of well-matured 
wood are made in the 
greenhouses during the 
winter months. A bed of 
cocoanut fiber with a bot¬ 
tom temperature of 8o° 
has been found best for 
rooting the cuttings, and 
until the young plants are 
well established they are 
protected from cold drafts 
—otherwise they would 
quickly wilt. Burlap is 
used to shield the bed from 
sun and drafts. The tem¬ 
perature of the house is 
held to 65°—70°, for if 
there is much variation the 
cuttings suffer. When 
rooted, the young plants 
are potted singly in 2j- 
inch pots, using a soil com¬ 
posted mostly of peat, and 
put into a sweat box until 
they are well established. 
They are then sufficiently 
sturdy to take their place 
in the open house. 
Only the old plants 
flower, and under the con¬ 
ditions found at Washing¬ 
ton they usually flower in 
December, after being 
brought inside. Each seed 
is sown separately in a 2- 
inch pot, using light soil, 
leaf-mold, and sand. About 
three months are required 
for germination. The method of subsequent handling is prac¬ 
tically the same as with the cuttings. None of the plants are 
large enough the first year to get a fair reading on their form or 
color; and indeed the 
deeper coloring comes only 
with age. 
Only when all danger of 
frost is past are the plants 
put outside and even then 
cold nights make the 
leaves drop. They can be 
set out in their pots, but 
this method usually is un¬ 
satisfactory as the plants 
are apt to dry. The best 
way is to plant directly in 
a fairly rich bed. Aside 
from frequent waterings 
Codiaeums require no 
more care out-of-doors 
than many other bedding 
plants. 
When digging up the 
plants in the autumn do 
not injure the roots but 
leave each plant with a 
ball of earth if possible. 
Injury to the roots will 
cause the leaves to drop. 
The summer’s growth of 
roots will necessitate a 
larger pot than the plants 
had previously; but nei¬ 
ther must they be over¬ 
potted, as with too large 
a pot water is apt to ac¬ 
cumulate and sour, thus 
causing the plants to fade 
and drop their leaves. A 
good compost for use when 
the plants are lifted from 
the beds is one part cow manure, one part fibrous loam, one part 
peat of leaf-mold, and one part sand, to which a little bone-meal 
may be added. 
CODIAEUMS MAKE THE GREENHOUSE GAY 
Sometimes, too, the Croton is an admirable foil for other plants on 
exhibition display. Variety Lady Zetland here shows another dis¬ 
tinct divergence of leaf (compare with types on preceding page) 
NEWCOMERS OF NOTE FOR THE HARDY 
MIDSEASON GARDEN 
STEPHEN F. HAMBLIN 
Director of the Cambridge Botanic Garden of Harvard University 
Some Good Things from the West and Elsewhere that Add Variety to the Summer Border 
Editors’ Note: Among flower novelties many may prove mediocre, and a few superlatively good. Much preliminary sifting has already been done for us by 
Mr. Hamblin so that only plants of merit come to notice here (see also G. M. September, August, July, and March of 1923 for earlier comments by Mr. Hamblin). 
Gardeners who are testing out new plants on their own account are urged to send in their findings, thus establishing a really valuable “clearing-house” of information 
that will widely increase the use of desirable new plants. 
gyms SOON as one group of plants gets fairly well known, 
along come some more species and make a lot more 
j/W||L comparison necessary. 1 thought 1 had all the Catch- 
fly (Silene) that are of real ornamental value: 
A. virginica, Fire Pink, that looks like a deep red Dianthus; 
S. pennsylvanica, Wild Pink, a sort of Phlox amoena in effect; 
A. maritima, Seaside Catchfly, a large-leaved Cerastium with 
bladdery calyx; 
S. Schafta, Autumn Catchfly, in effect a baby Sweet William 
in midsummer; 
S. acaulis, Cushion Pink, a tiny cushion with little Pink-like 
blossoms. 
It is a varied and remarkable group, looking like members of 
the Pink family. Some have sticky bands on the stem and some 
do not. We are most liable to mistake them for species of 
Lychnis; but, count the styles in the middle of the flower! Three 
for Silene and five for Lychnis, while Dianthus has two. 1 here 
seems to be no better general test. 
Several Western species (S. californica, S. Men^iesii, S. 
Hookeri, etc.) have not flowered yet. They are deep rooted 
and resent moving; the confinement of the long journey from 
California is bad for them. Seed is slow but sure. A painlessly 
easy species is S. orientalis deserving to be lifted from the supple¬ 
mentary list in Bailey’s “Cyclopedia” to the peerage of bold face 
type. A package of seed from Sutton gave thousands of plants, 
which looked the first year like big plants of the common Annual 
Catchfly (S. Armeria). It transplants well and is perfectly 
hardy in any soil. Until time of bloom it looked too much like 
