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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
April  18,  1901 
The  Pruning  of  Hardy  Trees  and  Shrubs. 
( Continued  from  page  219.) 
Much  that  has  been  advised  for  the  former  section  holds  good  in 
this  also,  but  as  the  various  subjects  are  grown  for  flowers  rather  than 
timber,  the  heads  should  be  allowed  to  develop  much  earlier  in  life. 
In  the  majority  of  instances  it  is  advisable  to  have  at  least  4  or  5  feet 
of  clear  trunk  below  the  branches,  and  if  6  feet  can  be  given  finer 
specimens  may  often  be  obtained.  The  heads  should  always  be 
kept  well  thinned,  so  that  abundance  of  light  and  air  can  get  to  all 
parts  of  the  tree.  This  is  an  item  that  needs  careful  attention  with 
such  subjects  as  Crataegus,  Pyrus,  and  Prunus.  The  dwarf  species  of 
iEsculus  should  be  treated  in  this  manner,  but  the  common  Horse 
Chestnut  and  its  robust  red  variety  may  be  treated  in  a  similar 
manner  to  other  large-growing  trees.  The  stronger-growing  species  of 
Robinia  should  also  be  induced  to  form  large  trees  with  a  good  clean 
trunk,  rather  than  dwarf,  mop-headed  examples. 
The  Laburnum  should  receive  most  of  its  pruning  while  young, 
for  it  does  not  like  being  cut  about  much  when  mature.  When  large 
branches  are  sawn  off,  instead  of  the  wound  healing  over  a  portion  of 
the  stem  usually  dies.  In  instances  where  flowering  trees  make  a  lot 
of  wood  at  the  expense  of  flowers  root-pruning  will  sometimes  be 
found  necessary.  This  should  be  done  by  making  a  trench  a  few  feet 
from  the  tree  and  severing  cleanly  all  big  roots. 
Conifers. 
If  Conifers  are  planted  in  good  ground  suitable  for  their  require¬ 
ments  they  rarely  want  pruning  ;  a  good  single  lead  is  usually 
maintained  without  artificial  aid,  while  the  branches  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  trunk  rarely  attain  any  great  dimensions,  and  where  planted  for 
ornament  the  great  object  is  to  have  a  perfect  pyramid,  retaining  its 
branches  from  base  to  summit. 
In  cnses,  however,  where  climate  or  some  other  condition  is  not 
suitable  for  their  culture,  pruning  is  necessary;  also  when  tops  are 
broken  by  wind  or  other  accidents.  In  either  case  the  chief  thing  is 
to  obtain  a  lead,  and  the  best  method  is  to  cut  the  top  clean  off, 
shorten  surrounding  branches,  and  try  for  a  strong  break  from  the 
main  stem.  If  one  can  be  obtained  it  will  be  by  far  the  best.  If  a 
terminal  break  cannot  be  obtained  a  side  branch  will  have  to  be  tied 
upright;  this  sometimes  answers  satisfactorily,  but  more  often  not. 
With  young  Abies,  Piceas,  &c.,  that  have  been  grafted  from  side 
branches,  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  cut  the  young  plants  back  a  time 
or  two  until  a  good,  straight,  terminal  shoot  is  thrown  out.  As  in  other 
trees,  dead  wood  should  always  be  kept  cut  out.  Araucaria  imbricata  is 
one  of  the  few  trees  that  should  not  have  its  branches  cut  off  level 
with  the  trunk.  If  cut  off  half  an  inch  away  new  branches  may 
sometimes  be  induced  to  grow  from  the  bases. 
Systematic  Overhauling. 
At  Ivew  a  systematic  overhauling  of  the  arboretum  was  commenced 
nine  years  ago,  and  the  results  have  been  entirely  satisfactory,  having 
exce'  ded  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine. 
A  few  instances  will  serve  to  show  what  has  been  done.  A 
Turkey  Oak  about  twenty-five  years  of  age  had  six  leads,  the  centre 
one  being  the  shortest ;  the  five  outer  ones  were  reduced  and 
eventually  removed.  It  is  now  malting  a  fine  tree  with  a  good  clean 
trunk,  giving  very  little  evidence  of  the  severe  pruning  given.  This 
when  pruned  looked  one  of  the  most  naked  trees  imaginable.  An 
American  Oak  about  thirty  years  old  had  a  very  wide  flat  head,  the 
whole  tree  being  about  20  feet  high  without  a  lead.  It  was  reduced 
in  width  by  16  feet,  and  a  lead  formed.  It  has  added  10  feet  to  its 
height,  and  shows  quite  a  normal  development.  Another  Oak  became 
so  crooked  12  feet  from  the  ground,  that  the  head  had  to  be  taken  out. 
It  has  made  a  fine  new  lead  8  feet  high,  and  perfectly  upright.  A 
similar  operation  was  performed  on  an  Alder  about  twelve  years  old. 
That  has  added  12  feet  to  its  height  since.  These  are  but  a  few  of 
a  great  number  of  cases,  the  majority  of  which  have  turned  out  quite 
as  satisfactorily.  Mention  may  be  made  of  a  decayed  portion  of  a 
stem  of  a  Liquidambar.  It  was  thoroughly  cleaned,  tarred,  and  the 
hole  plugged  up;  this  has  now  healed  over. — W.  Dallimore. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
Culture  of  Oxalis  cernua. 
Ihe  very  beautiful  and  easily  grown  Oxalis,  named  0.  cemua  and 
O.  c.  fl.-pl.,  are  so  much  neglected  that  one  very  seldom  meets  with 
them  grown  to  anything  approaching  perfection.  The  cause  may 
possibly  lie  in  the  fact  that  other  plants  of  a  later  introduction  to  our 
gardens  are  considered  more  useful  than  these  Oxalis.  But  I  am  of 
opinion  that,  for  hanging  baskets  suspended  from  the  roof  of  the 
conservatory  or  any  cool  greenhouse,  they  can  hardly  be  superseded. 
Their  very  bright  lemon-yellow  flowers,  borne  on  long  stalks,  which 
hang  over  the  sides  of  the  baskets,  can  be  seen  to  the  best  advantage. 
One  peculiarity,  and  no  doubt  a  drawback  with  these  plants,  is  they 
close  their  flowers  as  soon  as  the  sun  has  lowered  in  the  horizon,  and 
on  sunless  days  they  never  open  at  all.  They  should  always  be 
started  into  growth  in  as  cool  a  position  as  possible,  and  they  will 
then  remain  in  flower  for  a  much  longer  period  than  they  would  if 
started  in  heat. 
The  compost  we  find  suiting  them  best  is  good  sandy  loam  two 
pa’  ts  to  one  of  half-decayed  leaves,  rubbed  through  a  coarse  sieve,  and 
a  sprinkling  of  sand.  It  is  well,  when  potting,  to  place  the  bulbs  in 
the  baskets  or  pots  in  which  they  are  to  flower,  for  they  dislike  being 
disturbed  at  the  roots.  If  it  becomes  necessary  when  growing  them 
in  pots  to  give  more  root  room,  the  operation  should  be  done  carefully, 
or  a  check  may  be  given  them,  and  failure  be  the  result.  They 
should  be  given  copious  supplies  of  water  during  the  growing  and 
flowering  season,  for  if  allowed  to  get  dry  they  soon  tall  a  prey  to  red 
spider  and  other  insect  pests,  which  brings  about  an  unsightly 
appearance  to  both  flowers  and  foliage.  When  the  plants  show  signs 
of  going  to  rest,  they  should  be  removed  to  a  cold  frame,  and  water 
sparingly  given,  till  the  bulbs  are  well  ripened,  when  it  may  be  withheld 
altogether. 
During  the  resting  season  they  may  be  placed  out  of  doors,  where 
they  will  simply  need  protection  from  heavy  rains.  January  is  a 
good  time  to  repot  the  bulbs,  which  should  be  treated  somewhat 
similar  to  Freesias,  keeping  the  large  bulbs  from  the  small  ones. 
The  double-flowering  variety,  0.  c.  fl.-pl.  is  not  quite  so  free-flowering 
as  the  single,  but  treated  in  the  same  way  they  both  give  splendid 
results. — Aspirant. 
Succulents  for  Bedding. 
The  gardener  is  anxiously  waiting  and  watching  for  drier  and 
warmer  weather,  so  that  he  might  attempt  to  harden  off  many  of  those 
plants  which,  in  a  week  or  two,  he  hopes  to  place  out  in  their  summer 
quarters.  Well,  the  succulent  plants  do  not  require  much  exposure  or 
hardening  before  they  can  be  set  in  the  beds  allocated  to  them  ;  keep 
them  dry  and  cool,  and  these  long-suffering  plants  will  remain 
unaltered,  defiant,  and  always  curious,  if  not  even  interesting. 
Personally,  we  think  Cacti  and  succulent  plants  are  of  exceeding  great 
value,  and  intensely  interesting ;  perhaps  not  so  much  the  Agaves, 
Crassulas,  or  Rocheas,  but  the  Opuntias  are  wonderful  structures, 
sufficient  to  cause  us  all  to  become  deep  and  abstruse  philosophers,  if 
we  cared  to  meditate  on  all  that  their  peculiar  organisms  convey. 
Mammillarias,  Stapelias,  Haworthias,  Pilocereus,  and  Sempervivums 
are  all  of  them  strange,  and  deserve  considerable  close  study. 
Within  recent  years  there  have  been  signs  of  activity  amongst,  and 
increase  to,  the  ranks  of  Caoti  growers  and  admirers  of  those  plants. 
For  bedding  rmrposes,  too,  we  see  signs  of  their  more  extended  use. 
And  really  they  are  splendid  plants  for  massing  in  large  beds.  The 
secret  of  the  successful  use  in  this  direction  is  to  employ  as  great  a 
variety  as  possible,  in  a  round  bed,  or  one  with  flowing  curvbd  lines. 
Suoh  a  bed,  moreover,  loses  a  great  quality  if  it  is  not  imposing.  It 
ought  to  give  rise  to  the  feeling  of  grandeur.  To  attain  the  desired 
effect  all  the  full-sized  Agaves,  and  kindred  plants,  ought  not  to  be 
massed  in  the  centre ;  they  ought  rather  to  be  spread  out,  one 
prominent  specimen  to  be  the  nucleus  around  which  smaller  members 
may  be  grouped.  Our  illustration  conveys  a  splendid  idea  of  a  well 
planted  succulent  bed  and  its  surroundings.  This  bed  was  arranged 
in  Abbey  Park,  Leicester,  by  Mr.  John  Burn,  who  has  wonderfully 
improved  the  park  during  his  superintendence  of  it.  The  bed  is  about 
20  feet  in  diameter. 
The  Agave  tribe  is  well  represented  by  some  good  specimens  of 
A.  americana,  A.  variegata,  and  A.  Celsiana.  Dotted  about  are  many 
of  the  Aloes,  of  which  A.  Noacki,  A.  Kellocki,  A.  linguifolia,  A.  ferox, 
several  really  good  plants  of  A.  Taylori,  A.  densa,  A.  densiflora, 
and  some  beautiful  little  plants  of  A.  verrucosa  form  a  conspicuous  part. 
Opuntias  are  very  numerous,  and  in  all  shapes  and  sizes. 
O.  cylindricum  stands  like  a  soldier  on  guard  over  a  poor  “  old  man.” 
who  is  drooping  his  head  rather  near  a  Prickly  Pear  (0.  Rafinesqui), 
which  has  many  fruits ;  one  bunch  has  grown  on  and  on  until  some 
eight  are  hanging  from  one  another.  Echeveria  is  another  genus  which 
is  in  quantity ;  several  E.  undulata  are  flowering,  as  also  E.  seounda 
glauca,  E.  Peacocki,  and  agavoides.  These  deserve  special  mention,  as 
do  some  very  fine  E.  metallica. 
As  we  near  the  border  the  smaller  kinds  are  used,  suoh  as 
Mesembryanthemum,  including  the  pretty  and  curious  M.  tigrinum. 
Melonocacti  seem  quite  at  home,  and  several  have  flowered  during 
the  summer.  Some  good  tufts  of  Crassula,  including  C.  lycopodioides 
and  that  strange  “  buttons-on-a-string”  species,  C.  perfoliata.  A 
number  of  Rochea  falcata  are  distributed  at  intervals  all  round  the 
margin.  On  the  north  side  (i.e.,  the  back  of  the  bed)  there  are  several 
umbels  of  its  gorgeous  scarlet  blooms,  and  occasionally  we  come  across 
a  fine  specimen  of  creeping  Cereus.  The  centre  is  beautifully  carpeted 
with  various  small  growing  Saxifrages. 
