232 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTUllF  A  \'D  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
March  17,  1904. 
Roses  Linder  Glass  and  Outdoors. 
To  have  a  su])ply  of  Ros^e  blooms  the  greater  part  of  tlie  year 
is  a  comparatively  easy  matter  if  one  has  a  Rdse  house,  or  even 
a  cool  greenhouse,  in  which  to  plant  such  free-flowering  sorts  as 
Niphetos,  Sunset,  Catherine  Mermet,  Marechal  Niel,  Gloire  de 
Ttijon,  and  others.  It  is  wise  at  all  times  to  prepare  a  border 
for  them  to  grow  in,  and  to  make  it  in  a  similar  way  that  one 
would  make  a  vinery  border,  although  on  a  very  much  .smaller 
.scale.  If  possible  get  turf  from  rich  alluvial  soil,  and  if  it  is  of 
a  firm  texture  it  will  suit  all  the  better.  Chop  it  down  with 
a  spade,  and  to  every  barrowload  mix  in  21b  ground  bones,  a 
shovelful  of  sheep  or  cow  manure,  the  same  of  bruised  charcoal, 
and  a  dash  of  clean  sand.  Allow  it  to  lie  a  few  weeks  in  a  heai> 
before  placing  into  the  border.  When  iiroperly  treated  they 
grow  very  quickly  into  good  specimens,  and  by  the  second  year 
dozens  of  newly-born  blooms  and  .scores  opening  may  be  had  in 
April,  their  delightful  odour  making  the  toiler  feel  a  joy  within 
him  that  words  cannot  well  express.  Some  of  the  best  crops 
of  Roses  of  the  leading  varietie.s  I  have  ever  seen  were  growing  in 
a.  deep,  black,  rich  loam,  resting  on  a  blue  fireclay  substratum. 
They  were  watered  regularly  in  the  growing  season  with  liquid 
manure  made  from  sheep  and  pigeon  manure,  scot,  and  a  little 
ammonia  added. 
Gloire  de  Dijon  is.  I  consider,  the  giant  of  the  family,  and 
i-  the  one  best  adapted  for  either  inside  or  outside  walls  or  .stan¬ 
dards.  However.  I  may  say  that  I  have  seen  many  of  the  strong 
growing  hybrids  do  extremely  well  trained  on  an  outside  wall,  of 
such  sorts  as  Duke  of  J’ldinburgh,  Clrich  Brunner.  Paul  Neyron, 
and  others.  No  one  who  has  a  wall  to  cover  need  be  afraid  to 
try  them,  and  they  will  very  soon  prove  they  are  vastly  superior 
to  many  of  the  delicate  Teas  for  a  show  of  bloom,  and  are  never 
injured  with  frost  in  that  position.  For  pot  culture  Teas  are 
the  be.st :  besides  being  useful  for  cutting  they  enliven  the  con- 
.servatory  in  springtime,  and  everyone  who  owns  a  greenhouse 
ought  to  grow  them,  more  or  less. 
When  repotting  these  Teas  use  a  soil  similar  to  that  already 
recommended,  thoroughly  firming  the  soil  with  a  rammer.  When 
making  their  growth  th.ey  are  high  livers,  and  luxuriate  in  being 
regularly  fed  with  liquid  manure,  which  assists  in  promoting  large 
blooms.  To  have  permanent  success  with  hybrids,  and  to  enjoy 
the  full  wealth  of  their  beauty  outside,  before  planting,  choose 
a  spot  where  they  will  get  shelter  from  the  prevailing  winds  of 
the  locality,  but  especially  from  cutting  east  winds. 
This  can  be  done  by  planting  a  lieclge  of  any  quick-growing 
plant.  As  regards  soil,  some  authorities  seem  to  think  that  a 
Ntiff.  clayey  soil  is  the  best  in  which  to  grow  Roses,  but  if  long 
life  is  aimed  at  I  very  much  question  the  soundness  of  this  theory. 
My  experience  is  that  they  are  apt  to  produce  very  soft  and  badly 
ripened  wood,  and  exceedingly  rank  in. wet  seasons — and  we  all 
know  the  evil  effects  of  that  after  a  .severe  frosty  winter.  When 
it  can  be  procured  I  decidedly  prefer  a  deep,  friable,  mellow  loam, 
about  2ft  deep  or  so  for  Roses,  neither  too  light  or  dry  or  too 
clayey,  but  a  good  holding  loam.  Certainly  it  is  an  advantage 
if  the  subsoil  is  of  a  good  clayey  nature,  and  that  it  is  well 
drained,  so  that  it  will  not  retain  water  to  sour  it. 
At  the  same  time,  fairly  good  Roses  can  be  grown  in  most 
soils  if.  when  planting,  they  get  some  good  turfy  loam  put  in 
along  with  them.  When  grown  in  a  deep,  loamy  soil,  the  wood 
is  generally  far  better  ripened,  and  they  come  through  the 
rigours  of  winter  uninjured.  Opinions  differ,  and  there  may  be 
I'xceptions.  but  I  venture  to  say  that  they  will  even  live  longer 
in  this  kind  of  soil  than  in  a  stiff,  clayey  soil,  and  this  rule  will 
generally  hold  good.  Another  thing  necessary  for  Roses  is  a 
good  mulching  of  cow  manure  in  autumn.  Besides  giving  them 
nourishment,  the  homely  jacket  helps,  to  a  great  extent,  to  keep 
John  Frost  at  bay. — J.  C.  D. 
— - - 
Hardy  Plant  Notes. 
Crocus  Tommasinianus. 
Thei'e  is  always  something  very  attractive  about  the  little 
Crocus  Tommasinianus,  a  bonnie  harbinger  of  the  spring,  which 
early  comes  to  brighten  the  rockwork  or  the  gra.ss  with  its 
small  flowei-s.  Compared  with  .some  of  the  giant  varieties  of 
Ci-ocus  vernus  it  is  puny  in  size,  although  not  so  tinv  as  such 
a  Crocus  as  C.  minimus,  but  it  has  a])out  its  blooms  a  colouring 
of  the  exterior  which  none  of  the  numerous  varietie.s  of  that 
well-known  species  can  approach.  This  i.s  described  by  Mr. 
George  Maw  as  “  sapphire-lavender,”  and  one  may  accept  his 
description  as  nearly  approaching  the  possible  in  colour  analys: ; 
as  may  be.  There  is  about  this  external  colouring  a  graining, 
however,  which  makes  such  a  statement  far  fiom  complete, 
and  even  the  plate  (xxv.)  in  Mr.  Maw’s  magnificent  mono¬ 
graph  does  not  do  justice  to  this. 
The  interior  is  of  a  deeper  .shade,  and  is  free  from  the  grain¬ 
ing  of  the  outside,  so  that  the  flowers  present  to  us  a  pale  grey 
tinged  sapphire  when  closed,  and  a  brighter  tone  when  open 
to  the  sun.  There  is  some  variation  in  the  colouring  of  the 
inside  of  the  flowers,  and  some  varieties  have  been  selected 
for  sale  under  a  varietal  name.  I  have  some  four  forms  or 
so  in  my  garden,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  look  at  these  and  say 
which  is  the  most  charming  of  the  .set.  When  fully  open  in 
the  scant  sun  of  late  February  or  the  moi'e  plentiful  sun.shine 
of  March  a  good-sized  clump  is  most  delightful.  Alany  a  time 
has  the  writer  .stood  over  one  of  the.'^e  clumps  to  admire  at 
leisure  the  bright  flowers,  with  their  orange  anthei-s  and 
stigmata,  open  to  the  warmth  of  the  sun,  with,  mayhap,  a 
number  of  bees  struggling  among  the  blos.soms  in  search  of 
the  hidden  stores  they  yield  to  the.se  industrious  insects. 
It  i.s  no  fault,  but  a  great  recommendation  of  this  sweet 
little  Crocus  that  it  is  a  good  grower,  and  increases  freely  both 
at  the  root  and  by  means  of  seeds.  It  produces  seeds  much  more 
freely  than  many  of  the  others,  and  here  and  there  some 
stiagglers  from  the  camp  have  come  up  awaj’  from  the  ma-^s 
so  as  to  form  the  nucleus  of  new  colonies.  Mr.  Maw  records  it 
as  flowering  rather  later  than  C.  vernus,  but  with  me  it  blooms 
in  advance  of  the  greater  number  of  the  varieties  of  that 
favourite  Crocus.  It  comes  from  the  east  of  the  Adriatic,  and 
is  found  in  Dalmatia,  Servia,  and  probably  in  Bosnia  also. — 
S.  Arxott. 
Dwarf  Potentillas, 
Potentilla  lanuginosa  is  of  shru'bby  or  sub-shrubby  habit,  and 
is  very  ornamental  at  all  seasons  except  in  winter,  when  it  loses 
its  pretty,  silky-looking,  neatly  formed  leaves.  It  is  of  sub¬ 
prostrate  habit,  and  while  its  branches  may  be  a  foot  or  so  long 
they  never  rise  to  more  than  Gin  or  .so  in  height.  The  flat 
flowers  are  bright  yellow  and  about  an  inch  across,  and  are 
produced  mainly  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  It  is  a  very 
distinct  Cinquefoil,  not  at  any  time  a  very  free  bloomer,  ariid 
seems  to  require  establishing  for  a  year  or  so  before  it  come.s 
into  flower.  A  native  of  the  Caucasus,  it  appears  to  like  a 
dry  and  sunny  position  in  sandy  peat. 
Potentilla  davuiuca,  classed  as  a  variety  of  P.  fruticosa — 
a  somewhat  tall-growing  plant  when  fully  developed — i.s  distinct 
enough  for  specific  rank,  as  has  been  allowed  by  some.  The 
habit  i.s  .shrubby,  and  forms  low,  rather  creeping  tufts  of  neat 
green  foliage.  Here,  after  being  grown  for  several  years,  it  has 
never  reached  a  foot  in  height,  ancl  makes  a  capital  rock-gard.^n 
plant.  The  flowers  are  lighter  in  colo>ir  than  those  of  P.  fruti¬ 
cosa,  and  it  forms,  taking  it  as  a  whole,  a  nio.st  desirable  plant 
for  the  rock-garden,  being  perfectly  hardy,  and  is  easily 
increased  by  means  of  division  or  by  cuttings.  Introduced 
from  Daurica  in  1821. 
Of  .somewhat  different  habit  from  some  of  the  other 
herbaceous  Cinquefoils  alreadv  named,  Potentilla  alba  is  .vet 
deserving  of  a  place  in  a  lai’ge  collection.  It  flowei-s  for  a  long 
time,  coming  in  in  moderate  seasons  al)out  IMarch,  and  lasting 
for  about  six  months  in  flower.  It  is  of  procumbent  habit  of 
gi'owth.  and  has  pretty  white  flowers,  brightened  by  an  orang,* 
ring  at  the  base,  and  nearly  an  inch  across.  The  leaves  are 
green  above  and  silky  beneath.  It  come.s  from  the  mountain.s 
of  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees,  and  has  been  in  cultivation  for  a 
considerable  number  of  years.  It  grows  in  ordinary  soil,  is 
increas;ed  by  seeds  or  divi.sion,  and  grows  to  about  Gin  high. 
Potentilla  alpestris. — Another  of  the  rather  numerous 
yellow  Potentillas,  and  is  a  neat  little  species  with  five  or  seven 
leaflets  on  each  leaf,  and  with  l)right  yellow  flowers  almost  an 
inch  across.  It  is  only  Gin  or  9in  high,  and  is  more  erect  than 
the  foregoing  plant.  It  is  very  easily  grown  in  either  the 
rockery  or  the  border,  and  makes  a  pretty  plant  when  in  bloom. 
It  flowers  generally  from  July  onwards.  It  is  a  native  species, 
and  occurs  also  on  the  mountains  of  other  parts  of  Europe. 
Potentilla  reptans.  a  native  wilding,'  is  so  aggressive  in 
its  ways  that  it  should  never  be  introduced  into  a  cultivated 
garden,  though  it  may  be  allowed  space  in  a  wild  one.  It  is 
mentioned  at  present  more  by  way  of  caution  than  of  recom¬ 
mendation,  pretty  as  are  its  bright  yellow  flowers.  It  runs 
about  so  freely  by  means  of  its  Sti'awberry-like  growths  that  it 
becomes  very  troublesome.  One  occasionally  finds  its  double 
form  offered  in  catalogues,  and  now  and  again  I  have  met  with 
it  in  gardens.  It  pos.se.sses  the  same  trouble.some  habit  as  the 
single  form,  and  is  not  a  plant  which  one  can  advise  anyone 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  in  the  garden. 
Although  Potentilla  formosa  has  rather  too  long  flower  stems 
to  come  well  within  the  de.scription  of  a  “dwarf”  Potentilla, 
these  are  of  semi-prostrate  habit,  and-when  left  alone  do  not  rise 
more  than  a  few  inches  in  height,  while  they  will  also  hang  over 
