314 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
be covered with good turfy loam and filled up with equal 
portions of leaf soil or peet and a liberal quantity of well 
rotted manure and sand thoroughly incorporated together. 
It vail be readily recognized that this mixture will natm- 
ally be porous so that an abundant supply of moisture should 
be given. 
Another essential to success is protection from prevailing 
cold, dr}dng winds. Exposure to the sun does not hurt them 
as the writer has seen them doing equally well with full 
southern exposirre. Also in positions where they were 
shaded at least a portion of the day. 
They differ from most plants cultivated in the mrrsery 
by objecting to cultivation to insure moisture. The reason 
for this is that they are very shallow rooted plants and can¬ 
not be grown in nursery rows where the harrow is depended 
upon to keep the soil loosened up in the dry weather to 
form a mulch. They are far better grown in beds where 
they can be hand cultivated and a mulch given in dry 
weather. If the conditions under which our native rhododen¬ 
dron maximum are found growing are studied, it will be 
readily seen what the essentials are. These conditions 
perhaps are rarely found in a commercial nursery so would, 
to a great extent, have to be artificially produced. 
Nearly everyone is familiar with the Rhododendron 
maximum, or Rose Bay, which flowers in July and August. 
These are being collected from the woods by the carload 
and in time will doubtless become very scarce unless some 
steps are taken to propagate and grow them in the nurseries. 
The Rhododendron Hybrids approach nearer to our native 
Rhododendron Catawbiense, which grows wild in the 
mountains of North Carolina and other portions of the south. 
It differs from the R. maximum in flowering in May. 
All the hybrids, however, are varieties of Rhododendron 
ponticiun but they have been so crossed and recrossed with 
other species and varieties that their original parentage has 
almost entirely been lost. Some varieties are much hardier 
than others. The following have been found to be the 
hardiest and best adapted to the American climate: 
Album elegans, white tinged pink in the bud; album 
grandiflorum, white, tinted blue; atrosanguineiun, rich 
blood red; Blandyanum, rosy crimson; B. W. Elliot, deep 
rose; Caractacus, crimson; Chas. Bagley, cherry red; Chas. 
Dickens, scarlet crimson; Delicatissimum, blush white; 
Everestianum, rosy lilac; General Grant, crimson; 
Giganteum, cherry red; Gloriosiun, white, tinted violet; 
John Walter, rich crimson; Lady Armstrong, red; Lady 
Clermont, rosy scarlet, spotted; Lady Gray Egerton, 
silvery white; Michael Waterer, bright scarlet; Mrs. J. 
Glutton, white spotted yellow; Mrs. Milner, rich crimson; 
Old Port, claret red; Parsons grandiflorum, dark red; 
Purpureum elegans, purple; Roseum elegans, light 
rose. 
Imported Rhododendrons when received from abroad 
invariably carry a very good ball of earth and are usually 
well budded. This ball should never be allowed to become 
very dry. It is a good plan when unpacked if they appear 
to be in a dry state to soak them in water before planting. 
As a rule nurserymen who import Rhododendrons do so 
with the object of selling them the same season rather than 
attempting to grow them on the nursery and if properly 
handled they will make a good showing the first spring 
independent of what they will do eventually, so one might 
say the buyer gets his money’s worth even if they eventually 
die. 
While perhaps this state of affairs suits the florist who 
forces them for decorative plants, it does not exactly fit in 
with the nurserymen’s object of selling plants, that is to 
grow and thrive after they have been planted. 
As a rule Rhododendrons, even when grown under the 
most favorable conditions will rarely produce a full crop 
of bloom each year. There is usually the year of plenty 
followed by one in which they have very few flowers so that 
the one following their importation is usually a barren one as 
the plants have little time to recover and form new buds. With 
this fact in mind it is well to give every encouragement to their 
growth, not allowing them to become really dry at any 
time or subject them to uncongenial conditions while they 
are waiting to be sold. 
The new shoots which will carry the buds for the suc¬ 
ceeding year are developed immediately beneath the flowers 
so that as soon as the flowers are faded they should be 
removed so as to encourage the plants to make all the growth 
possible early in the season, which will permit the leaves 
to become thoroughly hardened and so enabled to stand the 
rigors of winter. 
A NURSERY WITH AN IDEAL 
Along the electric car line, two hours run from Cleveland 
and just before entering Painesville, is the nursery of Martin 
Kohankie, not much more than ten years old but already 
known as a good place to buy hardy herbaceous perennials. 
While Mr. Kohankie grows a few of the woody shrubs, etc. 
his specialty is the hardy perennials. When a business 
devotes ^,11 its time and energy to one line it usually produces 
good stuff. 
Starting with about three acres the nurseries now number 
over 50, not all planted but steadily increasing. 
The 'lines Mr. Kohankie has laid down for himself are 
“Grow only good things and grow them well’’ and a view of 
his nursery shows he is succeeding admirably. Paeoneis, 
Iris, Phlox in few varieties but they of the best. According 
to Mr. Kohankie the futirre of the business depends largely 
upon bringing the best varieties out of the confusion in 
nomenclature, growing them in quantity so that the average 
buyer will have a chance to become acquainted with them. 
There is plenty of room for the fancier who delights in 
numerous varieties, but the big retail men want large quanti¬ 
ties of good things. 
Among the good things he is growing in quantity are 
Meehans’ Mallow Marvels, Salvia Pitcheri, Senecio pulcher, 
Iris pallida Dalmatica, Iris siherica Snow Queen, Phlox 
Von Lassburg, Paeonia Jules Elie and Paeonia Festiva 
Maxima. 
Wick Hathaway, Madison, Lake Co., Ohio, writes: “I am moving 
hundreds of bushels of Raspberries at fine prices. The Raspberry plant 
trade ought to begin to boom with such a demand for the fruit.” 
