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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  13,  1901. 
Clematises. 
Sweet  Peas  in  Pots. 
It  is^forty  years  ago  since  Mr.  Geo.  Jackman  of  Woking  first 
employed  his  attention  to  hybridise  Clematises.  At  that  time  these 
handsome  and  beautiful  garden  plants  were  seldom  grown.  The 
species  from  which  the  showy  present-day  varieties  have  come  were 
all  attractive  enough, but  gardening  had  not  then  developed  sufficiently, 
and,  as  pointed  out,  no  one  had  hitherto  become  an  apostle  on  their 
behalf.  The  rise  to  popularity  of  nearly  all  of  the  best  liked  garden 
fl  iwering  subjects  now  so  much  sought  after,  owe  their  popularity  to 
the  oast  efforts  of  certain  enterprising  commercial  cultivators. 
Our  illustration  of  a  group  of  Clematis  Jackmanni  varieties 
represents  the  exhibit  furnished  by  Messrs.  Richard  Smith  &  Co.  of 
Worcester,  at  the  recent  Temple  Show,  and  toward  the  right  hand 
some  of  Messrs.  Frank  Cant  &  Co.’s  beautiful  Roses  are  visible.  The 
Worcester  firm  always  exhibit  magnificently  grown  and  splendidly 
The  great  popularity,  of  these  showy  and  fragrant  annuals  is 
undoubtedly  still  increasing,  and  now  that  we  have  a  National  Sweet 
Pea  Society  we  may  look  for  wonderful  developments  in  the  future. 
Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  to  the  contrary,  no  one  can 
foresee  what  improvements  may  yet  be  made  in  this  “queen  of 
annuals,”  which,  like  the  Rose,  is  the  flower  of  all.  One  noticeable  fact 
m  connection  wiih  the  popularity  of  the  S.veet  Pea  is,  that  each  year 
they  are  more  largely  grown  in  pots  for  supplying  cut  flowers  daring 
April  and  May.  The  finest  pot-grown  examples  I  have  seen  came 
under  my  notice  recently  when  visiting  the  gardens  at  Ivineton  House, 
the  residence  of  Lord  Willoughby  de  Broka.  The  plants  were  from 
5  to  7  feet  in  height,  many  of  them  having  stems  as  thick  as  ordinary 
lead  pencils.  The  foliage  was  large,  aod  of  a  beautiful  deep  green 
colour,  and  the  flowers  of  the  finest  quality.  Mr.  Ba'l,  the  heal 
trained  Clematises  at  the  Temple  Show,  and  at  their  nurseries  there 
is  a  numerous  selection  of  this  genus  of  plants  in  all  sizes  and  stages 
of  growth,  including  the  best  of  both  old  and  new  varieties.  Ou  the 
occasion  when  this  group  was  photographed,  they  staged  such 
delightful  sorts  as  the  delicately  pink  tinted  Marcel  Moser  and  Marie 
Lefebvre,  with  about  thirty  gieat  flowers  on  a  balloon  shaped  plant. 
The  specimens  were  all  about  3  feet  high  and  as  much  in  breadth. 
La  France  was  one  of  the  richest  and  most  magnificent,  being  furnished 
with  blooms  of  a  rich  purple  colour;  Sensation  is  lilac-coloured; 
Fairy  Queen,  while  and  beautiful  as  sun-illuminated  marble  ; 
Excelsior  is  more  deeply  tinted  than  Sensation  ;  Marie  Yan  Houtte 
affords  another  grand  white  Clematis,  with  petals  possessed  of  much 
substance;  Lidy  Caroline  Neville  of  a  pale  distinct  shade  of  lavender, 
and  Mrs.  Geo.  Jackman,  white  ;  besides  the  handsome  Glory  ot 
Worcester,  and  Gloire  de  St.  Julien,  were  eich  handsome  and 
pleasing  varieties  of  the  singles  and  semi-doubles.  The  grouo  also 
contained  flowers  of  true  double  character.  The  rise  and  early 
8uccesses  in  hybridising  this  section  of  the  genus  was  interestingly 
•'corded  by  our  correspondent  Mr.  Richard  Dean,  V.M.H.,  on  page  190, 
March  7th  this  year. 
gardener,  informed  me  that  the  seeds  were  sown  early  in  January,  but 
he  prefers  autumn  sowing.  When  the  plants  were  well  rooted  in 
small  pots,  three  potfuls  were  placed  in  a  10-in :h  pot,  the  soil 
employed  being  rich  and  open,  having  a  little  bonemeal  mixed  with  it. 
When  well  established  in  their  flowering  pots,  the  plants  were 
grown  in  perfectly  cool  structures,  and  by  the  time  the  first  flowers 
appeared  the  soil  was  packed  with  roots,  and  frequently  required 
watering  two  or  three  times  daily.  Liquid  manure  and  soot  water 
have  been  freely  used ;  indeed,  Mr.  Hall  considers  that  high  feeding, 
abundance  of  water,  and  a  light  syringing  daily  during  bright  weather 
are  important  factors  in  securing  success. 
The  flowers  have  been  so  highly  prized  that  all  expanded  blooms 
have  been  regularly  picked  daily,  and  that  practice  has  undoubtedly 
helped  to  prolong  the  flowering  period,  as  well  a3  to  add  vigour  to  the 
haulms.  Mr.  Hall  had  just  finished  picking  wl-.en  I  arrived,  and  the 
large  bowl  of  delicately  tinted  flowers  which  met  my  gaze  would,  I 
think,  have  gladdened  the  eyes  of  the  most  critical  of  critics.  A  few 
of  the  varieties  I  noted  down  are  the  following : — Countess  Powis, 
Gorgeous,  Venus,  Triumph,  Mars,  Sadie  Burpee,  Prima  Donn9,  Lady 
Nina  Balfour,  and  Salopian. — H.  D. 
TRAINED  CLEMATISES  AND  POT  ROSES. 
