78 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
July  25*  1901. 
Crimson  Rambler:  Its  Discovery. 
Despite  the  many  and  varied  introductions  in  the  way  of  new  or 
curious  Roses  which  have  either  been  imported  or  raised  in  this 
country  within  recent  years,  the  Crimson  Rambler  may  be  said  to 
have  seized  and  retained  that  fickle  desideratum,  “public  fancy,” 
more  than  any  other  sort.  Vigorous  in  growth,  wealthy  in  flower  and 
foliage,  thriving  in  almost  any  situation,  there  is  little  wonder  that 
it  has  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  premier  Rose  for  pillar  use  or 
rambling.  Wandering  along  the  country  road  in  the  refreshing  cool 
of  the  evening,  we  find  it  in  a  roadside  cottage  garden  a  mass  of 
dazzling  flower,  which  against  the  lustrous  green  foliage  forms  a  sight 
worth  going  far  to  see. 
Again,  in  the  country  baron’s  handsomely  kept  pleasure  grounds, 
an  arbour  of  the  same  Rose  interspersed  with  other  varieties  of  ti  e 
multiflora  type,  arrests  our  attention,  and  the  effect,  even  at  a  distance, 
is  cbarmiDg.  With  the  exception  of  a  position  on  a  south  wall  in  a 
dry  soil,  where  it  never  succeeds,  no  Rose  can  be  adapted  to  a  variety 
of  purposes  with  better  results.  Some  years  ago,  when  employed  on 
a  country  estate,  it  occurred  to  me  to  thin  out  a  number  of  wild  Briers 
which  grew  along  the  drive  and  bud  with  Crimson  Rambler  at  heights 
varying  from  2  to  6  feet,  inserting  a  good  number  in  case  of  failures. 
The  following  spring  I  cut  all  over  in  tl  e  usual  way  and  gently  tied 
the  young  growths  down  in  pendulous  fashion.  They  are  now  fine 
specimens,  forming  what  might  be  appropriately  termed  “burning 
bushes.”  Visiting  a  well-known  horticulturist  lately,  our  conversation 
drifted  on  to  Roees,  and  from  him  I  learned  the  true  account  of  the 
introduction  of  this  valuable  acquisition,  he  having  been  at  the 
unpacking  of  the  original  specimens. 
Some  twenty  or  so  years  ago  a  certain  professor  engineer  found  it 
growing  in  Japan,  and  had  it  sent  to  the  late  Mr.  Jenner  at  Duddingston. 
From  Duddingston  some  were  given  to  Mr.  Gilbert,  a  nurseryman 
in  Lincolnshire,  who  grew  it  for  a  time  under  the  name  Engineer, 
after  the  discoverer.  Mr.  Turner  of  Slough,  visiting  Mr.  Gilbert’s 
nursery,  and  recognising  its  commercial  value,  purchased  the  entire 
stock,  and  after  exhibiting  it  and  gaining  several  medals,  &c.,  at  both 
home  and  continental  shows,  its  real  value  for  decorative  purposes  was 
fully  recognised.  Since  then  its  popularity  has  been  undiminished,  and 
although  propagated  by  tens  of  thousands  annually,  there  is  still  an 
unbounded  demand  for  it.  Budded  at  this  time  on  either  the  Brier 
or  Manetti  stock,  it  takes  readily,  and  will  make  shoots  10  to  12  feet 
in  length  by  the  end  of  the  following  season.  Cuttings  inserted  in  a 
sheltered  border  in  autumn  will  also  make  good  bushes,  although  it 
will  require  two  seasons  to  bring  them  to  the  same  size  as  those 
treated  in  the  former  manner. — W.  L.,  Edinburgh. 
Marechal  Niel  as  a  Standard. 
The  surest  way  of  getting  blooms  of  this  fine  yellow  Rose,  when 
wanted  for  exhibition,  is  to  grow  it  on  the  Brier  stem  in  an  open 
position.  When  once  established  the  growth  is  very  free,  and  this 
may  be  trained  loosely  to  stakes,  as  the  Rose  requires  but  little 
pruning.  In  an  ordinary  position  in  the  open  the  flowers  of  a  very 
early  Rose  become  retarded  somewhat;  and  the  plant,  too,  has  a  way  of 
not  producing  all  the  blooms  at  one  time.  It  is  the  later  ones  that 
ci  me  in  so  useful  for  show.  These,  in  some  cases,  are  almost  hidden 
among  the  leaves,  and,  as  they  naturally  hang  their  heads,  they  are 
protected  from  sun  and  rain.  No  other  Rose  can  take  the  place  of 
this  as  a  yellow  ;  every  exhibitor,  therefore,  should  try  to  obtain 
blooms  of  it  during  June  and  July  by  the  means  above  named.  Half 
a  dozen  plants  so  tieated,  and  doing  well,  will  be  most  profuse  in  the 
w  ay  of  blossom,  and  one  is  able  to  get  a  nice  flower  for  show  on  any 
given  day  for  a  period  of  some  weeks. — S. 
Rose  Le  Havre 
.s  an  old  Rose  of  the  Hybrid  Perpetual  class  that  seems  to  be  over¬ 
looked  as  a  show  flower.  It  is  not  very  large,  but  the  form  is  perfect. 
It  is  imbricated  in  shape,  and  the  colour  is  clear  red,  deep  and  rich. 
The  petals  are  remarkable  for  substance..  The  plant  grows  well 
generally,  and  its  blooms  come  good  on  cut-back  trees,  so  that  this 
Rose  is  truly  an  amateur’s  flower.  Where  A.  K.  Williams  does  not 
succeed  we  would  recommend  growing  the  above. — S. 
Rose  Papa  Gontier. 
If  I  were  compelled  to  grow  one  Rose  only  I  should  choose  this 
variety.  In  the  bud  state  it  is  a  charming  variety ;  the  bright  rosy 
crimson  colour  shows  to  great  advantage,  either  in  a  cut  state  or  when 
growing  in  a  mass.  As  the  blooms  develop  the  wonderful  substance 
of  the  petals  becomes  more  apparent.  Altogether  it  is  a  gorgeous  Rose  in 
the  garden,  and  one  that  might  well  be  increased.  The  habit  of  growth 
is  all  that  could  be  desired,  and  it  is  a  good  forcing  variety,  too,  which 
is  a  strong  point  in  its  favour. — E.  M. 
Rosa  sinlca  Anemone. 
Without  doubt  this  is  one  of  the  best  of  single  flowered  Roses. 
There  is  something  in  the  rich  tint  of  rose  colour  that  pervades  the 
silvery-pink  blossoms  that  enhances  its  beauty,  and  renders  this 
variety  so  unique  in  its  colouring,  coupled  with  its  dark  shining 
foliage,  which  emphasises,  as  it  were,  the  attraction  of  this  Rose.  ,1, To 
grow  this  variety  well  it  should  have  space  to  develop  freely, 
thoroughly  ripening  its  growth  in  the  autumn. — E.  M. 
Rose  Longwortb  Rambler. 
I  can  say  a  good  word  for  this  climbing  Rose.  When  making  an 
extensive  plantation  two  years  since,  a  friend  said  to  me,  “Put  in  a 
plant  of  Longworth  Rambler,  and  you  will  never  be  without  a  flower.” 
So  free  is  this  variety  in  flowering,  that  only  during  the  dead  of 
winter  are  there  no  flowers.  The  growth  is  free  ;  the  leaves  have  a 
glossy  appearance,  which  contrasts  well  with  the  deep  coloured 
blossoms.  I  cannot,  however,  say  it  is  nearly  such  an  evergreen 
variety  as  Aimee  Vibert ;  certainly  not  as  a  pergola  subject. — E.  M. 
- - 
Certificated  Plants. 
It  is  more  than  a  half  century  ago  that  the  fine  evergreen  Lapagerias 
were  imported  from  Patagonia,  and  a  few  years  after  came  the  white 
variety,  which  was  awarded  a  silver  Knightian  medal  in  1862  under 
the  name  of  rosea  albiflora.  Like  other  white  flowered  varieties  of  a 
type  it  has  been  found,  from  the  first  attempt  to  raise  seedlings  from 
the  white  form,  that  while  a  good  proporiion  will  come  true,  others 
will  come  of  the  normal  ro-y  scarlet  colour,  and  others  of  a  lighter 
tint.  The  Nash  Court  variety,  L.  rosea  superba ;  the  Knoll  variety, 
and  the  Warham  Court  variety,  have  all  received  awards  as  fine  red 
varieties,  though  probably  the  differences  between  the  three  are  not 
great.  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  Philesia  buxifolia,  at  one 
time  a  somewhat  popular  greenhouse  plant,  is  related  to  the  Lapageria 
family,  and  in  the  early  seventies  Mr.  Dominy  raised,  at  the 
establishment  of  Messrs.  Yeitch  &  Sons,  a  hybrid  between  the  Philesia 
and  Lapageria  rosea,  which  was  named  and  described  as  Philageria 
Yeitchi,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  have  come  into  general  cultivation. 
The  Genus  Lathyrus. 
No  flower  of  modern  times  has  undergone  greater  improvement 
than  the  Sweet  Pea,  Lathyrus  odoratus,  while  the  perennial  species 
have  received  valuable  additions.  Taking  the  latter  first,  it  may  be 
remarked  that,  as  far  back  as  1871,  the  veteran  William  Thompson  of 
Ipswich  received  a  certificate  of  merit  for  L.  Sibthorpi.  It  will  be 
noted  that  Mr.  George  Nicholson  does  not  include  this  in  his 
“Dictionary  of  Gardening,”  apparently  as  if  doubtful  whether  it  is 
a  true  species.  Mr.  William  Robinson,  in  his  “English  Flower 
Garden,”  claims  it  as  a  species,  and  terms  it  the  Early  Everlasting 
Pea,  and  as  being  at  its  best  in  May  and  June  ;  this  has  flowers  of  a 
purplish  red  colour,  and,  unlike  the  ordinary  run  of  Everlasting  Peas, 
it  does  not  exceed  2  to  3  feet  in  height.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
introduced  by  a  Mr.  Sibthorp.  What  is  known  as  L.  latifolius,  the 
common  Everlasting  Pea,  Mr.  G.  Nicholson  states  is  L,  sylvestris 
platyphyllus,  and  a  fine  form  of  this,  under  the  name  of  superbus, 
received  a  first-class  certificate  of  merit  in  1877.  In  1878  L.  Drum- 
mondi,  an  early  flowering  form  of  L.  rotundifolius,  obtained  a 
certificate  of  merit  ;  it  is  an  Everlasting  Pea  not  nearly  so  much 
grown  as  it  deserves  to  be,  and  it  is  wonderfully  free  of  carmine 
coloured  blossoms.  L.  latifolius  delicatus,  which  obtained  a  certificate 
of  merit  in  1884,  has  pale  ground  flowers  with  distinct  lines  of  pink. 
In  1898  Mr.  John  Green,  Norfolk  Nurseries,  Dereham,  exhibited  a 
very  fine  large  white  flowered  variety,  and  received  an  award  of  merit, 
under  the  name  of  grandiflorus  albus. 
There  is  a  peculiarity  about  these  improved  or  large-flowered  forms 
of  these  Everlasting  Peas  which  needs  explanation.  I  once  found  in 
an  old  farmhouse  garden  in  East  Kent  a  verv  large  and  brilliant 
coloured  red  variety  of  the  common  form,  but  when  a  plant  of  it  was 
grown  in  iddlesex  in  the  best  of  soil,  it  reverted  to  the  common 
small-flowered  type.  In  like  manner  I  have  seen  exhibited  in  the 
West  of  England  a  giant  white  form  equal  in  purity  and  size  to  any 
form  previously  seen,  but  when  a  plant  of  it  was  brought  to  a 
Middlesex  garden  reversion  to  a  small  type  followed.  Is  there 
some  peculiarity  of  the  soil  which  produces  this  giant  character  ?  Is 
what  is  met  with  under  the  name  of  L.  grandiflorus  really 
