THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
169 
VINES SUITABLE FOR THE SOUTH. 
A VERY able landscape gardener and artist, while 
traveling through the South, made the remark: 
“The South should plant more vines.” Those 
familiar with conditions can readily appreciate how good 
this advice is. We cannot get along without houses and 
buildings, and we cannot always have them as ornamen- 
jtal and artistic as we would like, but it is within the 
reach of every one to plant a vine, to sotten the lines of a 
building, or perhaps screen it out entirely, and it is up 
to the nurseryman to encourage the planting of them in 
every way possible. 
When planting vines it should be kept in mind just 
what is desired, and the selection made accordingly. 
Perhaps only a delicate tracery of foliage is required 
*to enhance the beauty of the pillars of the porch or maybe 
a dense screen of foliage to cut out an objectionable view; 
there are vines to suit all purposes. 
The pergola, garden arches and fences need not lack 
clothing, both fashionable and lovely. 
The following are a few suitable for the South, with a 
brief description suggesting what and where they are 
best fitted for: 
Bignonia capreolata, fine for covering arbors, trunks 
of trees and posts. It is evergreen and very strong, grow¬ 
ing hardy as far north as Washington. The trumpet¬ 
shaped flowers are produced in great profusion in April. 
Euonymus radicans. An evergreen vine for covering 
stone walls, gate posts, copings and training over the 
ground. Do not expect it to climb very high; about eight 
or ten feet is the average, although it will do better than 
this if the position suits it. 
English Ivy. Besides the common well-known one 
there are many beautiful forms that will grow equally 
well. Plant, as a rule, against the north wall or where 
the sun does not make it too hot for they ivy to cling. 
Ficus repens, or Climbing Fig. Hardy in the southern 
portion of the Gulf States. It is a rapid grower, and 
makes a dense green covering. At more northern points 
it is not so likely to thrive except in well-protected posi¬ 
tions. 
Rhynchospermum J asminoides, Malayan Jasmine. A 
beautiful, fragrant, evergreen, flowering vine. Hardy 
from North Carolina southward. A fine subject for the 
porch. 
The above are all evergreen. Among those that lose 
their leaves in the winter months, the roses come first. 
The South is justly famed for its roses; many kinds, 
such as the Marechal Niel, Cherokee, Climbing Teas and 
(Hybrid Teas will only grow in the North under glass, or 
( the most favored conditions, while in the South they revel 
in the sunshine and reach perfection. 
Clematis paniculata does well almost everywhere, and 
is a grand vine for the porch; it is clean, fragrant and a 
rapid grower. 
The large flowering clematis, that are so desirable, are 
a little uncertain and cannot be depended upon to cover 
up, but they are always worth trying. 
There are two vines that come to mind that are oc¬ 
casionally seen in conservatories in the North that should 
be well adapted to the Gulf States. Solanum Wendlandi 
and Clematis indivisa. 
The first-mentioned is a glorious thing when in bloom 
and is a strong grower. 
The Clematis indivisa is somewhat like the well-known 
paniculata, but is very distinct and charming, especially 
suitable for porches and columns. 
For positions wanting a heavy mass of foliage there 
are the sweet-smelling flowering grapes, Virginia 
Creeper and Wistarias, also the well-known Trumpet 
Vine. In addition to the common one, there is a beautiful 
golden form known as Bignonia radicans aurea, and Big¬ 
nonia grandiflora, a very large flowered one. 
The roots of vines are usually of the same character 
as the tops, long and stringy, so that it is a little difficult 
to transplant large plants without cutting the vines well 
back, to correspond with the loss of roots, sure to occur 
in digging them up. The nurseryman, who establishes 
his vines in pots so as to be able to ship his customers a 
plant that will give quick results is sure to hold his cus¬ 
tomers. 
While the plants are more expensive to handle than 
field grown plants and he must necessarily get more for 
them there is an added advantage of being able to ship for 
a much longer period. 
In Bulletin No. 396 issued by the New York Agricul¬ 
tural Experiment Station on the subject of “Effect of Var¬ 
ious Dressings on Pruning Wounds of Fruit Trees” by 
G. H. Howe. The following conclusions are given: 
Conclusions. 
When one comes to deal with practices going back sev¬ 
eral hundred years, as does the covering of pruning 
wounds with protective dressings, care must be exercised 
in drawing conclusions. But from the results of this 
experiment several deductions seem quite warranted. 
First, the dressings commonly applied to pruning wounds 
retard rather than accelerate the healing of the wounds. 
Second, the effects are the same whether the dressings are 
applied when the wounds are made or some weeks later 
when the cut surface has dried out. Third, the effects 
of the dressings used are so injurious to peach wood that 
wounds on peach trees should never be covered. Probably 
this statement holds true for other stone fruits as well. 
Fourth, these experiments suggest that the popular no¬ 
tion that wounds need to be covered with some dressing 
to prevent the entrance of fungi, in sprayed orchards at 
least, is usually exaggerated. It is doubtful it it is neces¬ 
sary to attempt to prevent decay by applications ol dress¬ 
ings of the kinds under discussion in wounds under tour 
or five inches in diameter. It remains to be proved 
whether they have any real value in covering large 
wounds. It may be suspected that the injury caused by 
the dressings when applied to the wounds, largely, it not 
wholly, offsets, or even overbalances, the protection 
offered, if there be such, against decay. 
