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Pris lOCRATS OF
THE GARDEN
wy BY
ERNEST H! WILSON, M.A., V.M.H.
AUTHOR OF “‘A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA”
ILLUSTRATED
GARDEN CIty New York
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1917
Copyright, 1916, 1917, by
DouBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
All rights reserved, including that of
translation into foreign languages,
including the Scandinavian
MAR 2! 1917
©Oc1a457528
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CONTENTS
ra The Story of the Modern Rose.
II. ‘Consider the Lilies”
III. Midseason Flowering Trees aa eee
IV. The Best of the Hardy Climbing Shrubs
V. Ornamental Fruited Trees and Shrubs
‘VI. The Glory of the Autumn
VII. The Best Hardy Conifers ;
VIII. Broad-Leaved oe for Northern
Gardens .
~IX. New Chinese Trees a Shrubs toe th
Pacific Slope and Other Favored
Regions . Si
nm. - Harly Spring Flowering Tetes and
Shrubs . ;
XI. Japanese Cherries oa Asiatic Cun:
apples
mt. In“ Lilacdom”™
XIII. New Herbaceous Plants AP China
XIV. ‘Hardy’ Rhododendrons
XV. The Story of the Davidia
Epilogue
Index .
138
153
175
195
213
230
244
279
296
301
-
ona
a
e
eA
So oe
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The American Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is one of the most
meritorious of all flowering shrubs . . . . Frontispiece “
FACING PAGE
The Sargent Rose, shell pink, raised at the Arnold Arboretum
by Jackson Dawson
Lilium Sargentiae has pure white aiswees
Among the later flowering trees the native Andean Gordania
altamaha is one of great interest ‘
Clematis montana, var. rubens is an attractive vine with
rose colored flowers
The Snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosus) is deservedly
popular . ;
The barks of many trees have highly deceive rales
As a lawn tree and for ornamental planting eat the con-
color Fir is the most beautiful of conifers é
The flowers of Yucca flaccida make this a valuable pins
for most gardens :
As a practical substitute for ivy the breed: hae clirabins
Evonymus (E. radicans, var. acme is an excellent ever-
green vine
The Chinese Pistach Tree ‘dines in ne regions
The Magnolias are pe the most notable DERE flowering
trees and shrubs :
Why are Crabapples so lt tle gro ee They are hardy, most
floriferous, and grow on almost any soil
The common Lilac is known in a great number of varieties
Senecio clivorum has Aster-like flowers three to five inches in
diameter Aes
Primula pulverulenta fas ower: scapes fully a jb tall
Rhododendron caucasicum is hardy and produces in Breit
sion its flowers of rose-red, white within . }
Davidia involucrata, appepeas called the Dove ee is
indeed remarkable . Ne
vi
244 '
275 ©
ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
The Sargent Rose, shell pink semi-double flowers, raised at the
Arnold Arboretum by Jackson Dawson, combines the qualities
of Crimson Rambler and Baroness Rothschild H. P.
ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
CHAPTER I
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE
THIS UNIVERSAL FAVORITE COMING OUT OF THE EAST
IS THE PRODUCT OF BUT A FEW SPECIES—LATENT
POSSIBILITIES YET BEFORE THE ROSE LOVER
HE establishing of a trading factory at Canton,
in southern China, by the English East India
Company toward the close of the seventeenth
century, would appear to have very little—if, indeed,
anything—to do with the development of modern
horticulture in general and the Rose in particular.
But as a matter of fact it has had a great deal todo
with both, and garden lovers generally (though they
may not know it) owe a big debt to the directors and
officers of that grand old Company. The Company
met with great opposition from the Chinese and
others and it was a century before it fully established
itself in China. Nevertheless, in the earliest days
of its career there, an officer of the Company sent to
England some dried plants, among them two Roses,
3
4 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
known nowadays botanically as Rosa multiflora var.
cathayensis and R. laevigata, and these were mentioned
by Plukenet in his Almagestum in 1696. Toward the
end of the eighteenth century, despite the Napoleonic
wars and the fact that each vessel was armed and often
had to do battle against foes, the captains of the East-
Indiamen, as the Company’s ships were called, used
to carry home plants which they, or the factory
officials at Canton, found growing in the gardens of
the Chinese.
These plants found their way into the gardens of
the Company’s directors and their friends and from
hence into the Royal Gardens, Kew, and elsewhere.
To these agencies we owe our earliest varieties of
Chrysanthemums, Camellias, Moutan Peonies, China
Primrose, China Azaleas, and, what here concerns
us chiefly, the first plants of the China Monthly, Tea,
and Rambler Roses—parents of the modern Rose.
Early in the eighteenth century India received
through the same source many plants including these
and other Roses. It is important to remember this
since one of these, the China Monthly Rose (Rosa
chinensis), was afterward erroneously considered to
be native of India and became generally known as
the Bengal Rose. This Rose and its var. semper-
florens were introduced by the French into the Isle of
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 5
Bourbon, doubtless from India, during the eighteenth
century.
The Bengal Rose was known to Gronovius in 1704,
and came into cultivation in Haarlem in 1781, having
probably been introduced by Dutch East-Indiamen.
But, preoccupied with their Tulips and other bulbous
plants the Dutch have done little toward developing
the modern Rose. In 1789, Sir Joseph Banks intro-
duced it into England and, chronologically, our story
here begins.
In 1789, the Crimson China Monthly (Rosa chin-
ensis, var. semperflorens), through the captain of an Eng-
lish East-Indiaman, came into the possession of Gilbert
Slater, Esq. In 1804, Thomas Evans sent from China
to England through the same agency the first Rambler
Rose (Rosa multiflora, var. carnea). In 1809, Sir
Abraham Hume received from China through a
similar agency the first Tea-scented Rose, which
had double pink flowers and was christened Rosa
odorata. And, to complete the independent activities
of the English East India Company, between 1815
and 1817 Charles Francis Greville, Esq., received
from China a Rambler Rose (Rosa multiflora, var.
platyphylla) which enjoyed lasting popularity under the
name of Seven Sisters and by which name it will
be remembered by many readers of these pages.
6 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Meanwhile, in 1792, Lord Macartney brought back
with him from China a Rose (R. bracteata) which was
styled the Macartney Rose and which is now natural-
ized in some of our warmer states.
Another Chinese Rose—the Cherokee Rose—the
date of whose introduction into this country is un-
known, is also naturalized widely in the warmer states
and received its earliest name (R. laevigata) in 1803,
from Michaux who firmly believed it to be native of
this country.
In 1796, Rosa rugosa, native of Japan, Korea, and
extreme northeastern Asia, was introduced into Eng-
land by Messrs. Lee and Kennedy.
These new and amazing plants from China quickly
attracted the attention of patrons of horticulture in
England and men were despatched to China ex-
pressly to send home all the novelties they could find;
and, intermittently, from the commencement of the
nineteenth century down to the present day, ardent
collectors have been busily employed, but this won-
derfully rich country is not yet exhausted of its floral
treasures! One of the first of these collectors—Wil-
liam Kerr—sent home in 1807 the double white-
flowered Banksian Rose (Rosa Banksiae). In 1824,
John Damper Parks sent home the double yellow-
flowered Banksian Rose (R. Banksiae, var. lutea) and
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 7
a semi-double yellowish Tea Rose (R. odorata, var.
ochroleuca). In 1825, the Small-leaved Rose (R. Rox-
burghii, better known as R. microphylla) with double
reddish flowers blossomed for the first time in Messrs.
Colville’s Nursery in London.
We have already mentioned that China Roses
were introduced into India in the eighteenth century
and that some of them toward the end of that century
were introduced into the French Isle of Bourbon, south
of the equator, where we learn they thrived amazingly
and produced new forms.
From Mauritius in 1810, Sweet introduced into
England the Fairy Rose (R. chinensis, var. minima);
this I consider to be merely a variant of var. semper-
florens, the Crimson Monthly Rose. About 1819,
from the Isle of Bourbon, the Rose Edward reached
France, and, crossed with the French Rose (R. gallica),
gave rise to the Hybrid Bourbon Roses. This Rose
Edward is of much interest; long ago it was cultivated
in Calcutta and it is obviously a Hybrid China.
The specimen I have seen strongly suggests R. chinen-
sis X R. centifolia as its parentage.
The China Monthly Rose (R. chinensis) crossed
with the French Rose (R. gallica) gave rise to the
Hybrid China Roses. The Hybrid China and the
Hybrid Bourbon crossed with the Damask Rose (R.
8 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
damascena) gave rise to the Hybrid Perpetual or
Remontant Roses. The Hybrid Perpetual crossed
with the Tea Rose (R. odorata) gave rise to the Hybrid
Tea Roses which to-day are the dominant class of Roses.
Lastly, Rosa chinensis crossed with the Musk Rose
(R. moschata) gave rise to the Noisette Roses, a
beautiful class which, unfortunately, has gone out
of favor.
But to return to the collectors: In 1846, Robert
Fortune sent from China to England the yellow-buff
Fortune Rose (R. odorata, var. pseudoindica), a Tea-
scented Rose rather similar to the var. ochroleuca and
widely known under the name “Beauty of Glazen-
wood.” In 1850, he sent home from China a Rose
with relatively large double white flowers supposed
to be a cross between the Banksian and Cherokee
Roses and which was named Rosa Fortuneana. In
1886, the Wichuraiana Rose (R. Luciae) was intro-
duced into Brussels from Japan. In 1878, Prof. R.
Smith sent from Japan to a Mr. Jenner in England a
Rose which the recipient named The Engineer in
compliment to the profession of its donor. In course
of time this Rose came into possession of a nursery-
man named Gilbert who exhibited some cut flowers
of it under the above name in 1890, and received an
Award of Merit from the Royal Horticultural Soci-
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 9
ety. Soon afterward Messrs. Chas. Turner, of Slough,
purchased the stock and changed the name to
Crimson Rambler. This Rose is generally as-
sumed to be a hybrid between Rosa multiflora and
some China Monthly Rose, but to me this view
is untenable. I do not think it has any China
Monthly blood in it at all. It has long been cul-
tivated in China and I consider that, like the Seven
Sisters Rose, it is a sport from the common, wild
pink-flowered China Rambler (R. multiflora, var.
cathayensis). ‘These various Chinese Roses were
introduced from Chinese gardens where they have
been cultivated from time immemorial and their
wild prototypes were not discovered, much less intro-
duced, until comparatively recently.
The true Rambler Rose (R. multiflora) is a native
of Japan and has single white flowers in large panicles.
This was sent to Lyons, France, from Japan in 1862,
by Monsieur Coignet, anengineer. The pink-flowered
Chinese variety has only just been dignified by a
distinctive name. In 1888, General Collett dis-
covered, in the Shan Hills of Upper Burmah, a Rose
with white, pale yellow, or buff flowers six inches
across and this was named Rosa gigantea. He intro-
duced it into Europe and it thrives wonderfully on the
Riviera but in England it flowers sparingly. This
10 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Rose is common in Yunnan, southwest China, and
has given rise to a race of double-flowered Roses
which are cultivated for ornament by the Chinese
in that region. This Giant Rose is very fragrant and
I believe it to be the prototype and parent of the Tea-
scented Roses so long cultivated by the Chinese. The
prototype of the China Monthly Rose (Rosa chin-
ensis, var. spontanea) was first found growing wild
in 1885, by A. Henry, in the province of Hupeh, central
China, and in this same region the wild form of the
Banksian Rose with single white flowers is extraor-
dinarily abundant; so also is the Cherokee Rose;
and further west, in Szechuan, the prototype of the
Small-leaved Rose (R. Roxburghii) is one of the most
common wayside shrubs.
The genus Rosa is confined to the Northern Hemi-
sphere and its members are found scattered over the
cool and warm temperate and the sub-tropic regions
of Asia, Europe, and North America. Some of them
are found in northern Africa but no species is endemic
there. It is an exceedingly difficult genus to classify
and botanists differ greatly in the estimate of the
number of species. One botanist asserts that all may
be included under three species; in the Index
Kewensis more than five hundred species are enum-
erated. Inthe Arnold Arboretum Herbarium twenty-
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 11
six species are recognized as indigenous in North
America; and of these virtually only one (R. seti-
gera), the Prairie Rose, has been utilized by the
hybridist to date, and this but sparingly. However,
it is well to mention that a double-flowered form of
Rosa virginiana, the Rose d’Amour, has been known
since 1768, and quite recently Rosa humilis has been
crossed with Rosa rugosa.
Except in gardens devoted to forming collections
of plants, species of Rose, with a few exceptions, are
rarely cultivated and it is trite to say that Roses as
ordinarily understood are ‘‘made,” not discovered
wild. In other words, they are the product of the
gardeners’ skill. I would I could take the readers
of this work to the mountain fastnesses of central and
western China, and to certain remote parts of Japan
and there introduce him to the wild types—the raw
material—from which have been evolved our ‘‘Kil-
larneys,” “‘American Beauty,” “Mrs. Chas. Russell,”
“Lady Hillingdon,” “Caroline Testout,” ‘Mrs.
George Shawyer’’; our ‘‘Rambler” and ‘“ Wichur-
aiana” hybrids and innumerable others, and _ his
or her astonishment would be profound. Truly it
hardly seems credible that the Roses of to-day had
such lowly origins.
The French Rose (R. gallica), Provence Rose
12 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
(R. provincialis), and Cabbage Rose (R. centifolia) are
said to be the only Roses known to Pliny, and it must
be confessed that the distinctions between these so-
called species are not obvious. From earliest times
in the Occident, down to the end of the eighteenth
century, the Roses so much extolled by ancient writers
and by our ancestors were either wild species native
of Persia, Asia Minor, and Europe, or garden forms
derived therefrom. These would include, in addi-
tion to those aforementioned, the White Rose (R.
alba), the Musk Rose (R. moschata), the Damask
Rose (R. damascena), the Cinnamon Rose (R. cin-
namomea), the Moss Rose (R. centifolia, var. muscosa),
Sweet Briar (R. eglanteria), Sulphur Rose (R. hemis-
phaerica), Austrian Briar (R. foetida), and the Aus-
trian Copper (R. foetida, var. bicolor).
About the end of the eighteenth century the
Ayrshire Roses were originated from R. arvensis, and
early in the nineteenth century the Boursault Roses
were developed, through crossing the Alpine Rose
(R. pendulina) with R. chinensis, and the Scotch
Briars from R. spinosissima. Virtually all have dis-
appeared from general cultivation in the gardens of
Europe and North America. And all the species of
Rose indigenous in North America, Europe, and Asia
Minor have fallen into disfavor and are no longer used
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 13
by the Rose hybridist with the exception of those
which have yellow flowers.
In Bulgaria and other parts of the Balkan Penin-
sula, and on a small scale in parts of India, the French,
Cabbage, and Damask Roses are extensively culti-
vated for the preparation of Attar of Roses. But as
garden Roses the old have given place to the new,
and the gardens of to-day are resplendent with the
products of the China, Tea, Rambler, and Wichurai-
ana Roses, natives of China and Japan.
New garden Roses are originated by the hybridiz-
ing of different species, varieties, and forms, and as
sports from existing forms as in the case of ‘‘ White
3
Killarney’? and many others. They are raised by
means of seeds, cuttings, layering, budding, and
grafting, but it is no part of my purpose to enter into
these details. The object here is to tell of what has
been, to show the source of what is, and to hint of
what may yet be evolved.
Of the vast array of Rose species not more than
two dozen have in the past history of the Rose been
employed in the breeding of garden Roses. Thus,
leaving completely aside the innate tendency to
variation on the part of Roses of to-day, it is obvious
that Rose breeders and specialists have still a wide
untrodden field in which to experiment. It cannot
14 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
be expected that every species will be found useful in
the advancement of the Rose, yet at the same time
only experiment, long continued, can decide which are
useful or useless. Be it remembered that our pres-
ent-day Roses owe their principal origin to forms
cultivated, we know not how long, by the flower-
loving Chinese. The prototypes of the China and
Tea Roses have single flowers, and blossom but once
a year. When these forms gave rise to “monthly
blooming”’ Roses, or how the latter originated is un-
known. Possibly, it was some erratic sport or maybe
it was due to a radical change in environment caused
by the removal of the parent plants to a region where
the seasons were less fixed or winter unknown. How-
ever, be this as it may, a Rose with a decided ten-
dency toward perpetual blooming was the most
marked advance in the genus, from a garden view-
point, that had occurred up to that time. How mod-
ern hybridists have taken advantage of this variation
needs no comment.
All Rose breeders have their ideals, but in striving
after size, form, color, freedom of blossom and of
habit, after good foliage, hardiness, constitution,
keeping qualities of the flowers and the like, fragrance
should not be lost sight of. We want Roses good in
all points. We want fragrant Roses in increasing
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE 15
quantities. We want a Rambler Rose with pure-
white flowers as large and as freely produced as in the
Crimson Rambler. Also we want yellow Ramblers,
yellow Hybrid Perpetuals, more yellow Hybrid Teas
and Tea Roses.
Where can we look for these yellow Roses? Now,
of wild Roses with clear yellow flowers there are only
known six species: the Simple-leaved Rose (R.
persica), Austrian Briar (R. foetida), Sulphur Rose
(R. hemisphaerica), Mrs. Aitchison’s Rose (R. Ecae)
—all natives of Asia Minor and Persia to central
Asia (Austrian Briar is also found in the Crimea)—
Father Hugh’s Rose (R. Hugonis), and Lindley’s Rose
(R. xanthina) natives of northern China. The latter,
though named in 1820 from a Chinese drawing and
long cultivated in Peking where double and single-
flowered forms occur, was only introduced to cultiva-
tion in April, 1908, by F. N. Meyer of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture. Father Hugh’s Rose was
raised at Kew in 1899. The others have been
known for a long period and some have been and still
are being used by Rose breeders. The Double Sul-
phur or Yellow Provence Rose has been known since
the seventeenth century. The Yellow Persian was
brought from Persia in 1838, by Sir Henry Wil-
lock, and is presumably a form of R. foetida. The
16 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Harison Rose is either a form of this or more prob-
ably a hybrid between it and R. spinosissima. All
these Roses will doubtless play an important part
in the future, but, personally, I am of the opinion
that the yellow and buff-colored forms of Rosa odorata,
var. gigantea are the Roses that will be found of greatest
value in the evolution of the yellow Roses of the
future. The rampant growth and sparseness of blos-
som may be urged against them, but who can say how
much these characters may be modified under culti- ~
vation and by the hybridist? Forms of the Scotch
Rose (R. spinosissima) have nearly yellow flowers,
but the only other really yellow Roses known are
R. Banksiae, var. lutea and the single-flowered R.
Banksiae, var. lutescens, neither yet known in a wild
state.
Wild Roses are pretty and charming plants, yet it
cannot be claimed that their beauty transcends that of
other groups of wild flowers. Nevertheless, the Rose
holds a unique place in the thought and estimation of
civilized man. In poetry and prose its beauty has
been extolled far and wide in many tongues. The old
Persian poet, Omar Khayyam, in the eleventh cen-
tury, sang its praises and a Damask Rose now grows
on his grave and also on that of his first English
translator, Edward Fitzgerald.
THE STORY OF THE MODERN ROSE Ly
The Rose is the one flower whose name is common
to the polyglot people of this land. In English,
French, German, Danish, and Norwegian its name is
Rose; in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and
Latin it is Rosa; in Swedish it is Ros, in Dutch Roos,
in Bohemian Ruze, in Hungarian Rozsa and in Greek
Rhodon. Isnot this both remarkable and significant?
It is the national flower of one great race, but it is
loved by all and is the monopoly of no one race nor
creed. In one internecine war it was used as an
emblem by opposing factions. In this country’s
Civil War the Cherokee Rose was often planted as a
memorial on the graves of fallen heroes by their
surviving comrades. And to-day, the sight of the
white flowers of this Rose wells up from the heart
of many a veteran scenes of carnage and strife and
brings back memories of comrades laid to rest be-
neath its shade.
In this and other lands the Rose has societies de-
voted to encouraging its advancement, and rightly
so. But in some ways the Rose of al flowers least
needs the help of special societies. It is the one
flower which for some inscrutable reason has never
lost its popularity and by this same token never will.
The story of the Modern Rose is a story of progress
and as such holds a peculiar fascination over all.
18 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
The Near East gave the first fruits to the West; the
Far East in due course added its bounty. Europe
began the improvement, and soon this country took
up ashare. The peoples of Asia, Europe, and North
America have evolved the Modern Rose. With the
rapid advance in the science of hybridizing and the
introduction of species and forms from far and near
new races will be evolved and new eras in the develop-
ment of the Rose will arise. The story here briefly
sketched is but the prelude to the full story of the
Rose which the future will gradually unfold.
Lilium Sargentiae has pure white flowers and is quite hardy in
Northern gardens
CHAPTER II
“CONSIDER THE LILIES”
COMMON ERRORS OF BELIEF IN THE REQUIREMENTS OF
THESE SUPERB FLOWERS—A DOZEN SPECIES THAT ARE
REALLY HARDY
N A recipe for jugged hare some one once made
the sage remark “First catch your hare!’’ This
aphorism is sound, and apropos of growing
Lilies it may be altered to “‘ First secure healthy bulbs.”
In the matter of the hare every epicure cannot go
forth with dog and gun and hunt his game; neither
can every lover of the Lily journey forth to distant
regions and dig a stock of bulbs. Both, perforce,
must resort to the dealer and depend upon his knowl-
edge and honesty, or on their own judgment.
As one who has hunted the Lily on cliff and dale,
on mountain-slope and alpine moorland, and through
woodland and swamp in many remote parts of China
and the Thibetan borderland, and from the extreme
south of Japan northward through that pretty
country to Saghalien and the lonely shores of the
Okhotsk Sea, I propose here to consider, cursorily,
how Lilies grow. No class of herbs is more widely
19
20 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
known or more highly appreciated; on no class of
plants is more money annually spent (I had almost
written wasted); and with no class of flowers do
amateurs succeed less. The Lily growers who have
achieved outstanding success can be counted on one’s
fingers, and nurserymen have failed as completely as
have amateurs. _
Some species, like the Tiger Lily (L. figrinum,)
succeed almost everywhere and often under the most
unfavorable conditions. Others, like the Madonna
Lily (L. candidum), thrive amazingly in unexpected
places where they receive no thought or attention.
The Madonna Lily is the glory and pride of many a
cottager’s garden in the south of England yet often
on the “‘squire’s estate”’ near by neither skill nor care
can induce it to happily make itself at home. David
Harum opined that “‘a reasonable amount of fleas
is good for a dog—they keep him from brooding on
being a dog.” How far the Lily enthusiast can apply
this philosophy to his own particular troubles depends
upon the individual and is very much a moot point.
However, a good many of these troubles are directly
or indirectly of his own seeking although he may be
quite unconscious of the fact. It would be absurdly
fallacious to contend that with knowledge and care
every Lily-lover can successfully cultivate any kind
CONSIDER THE LILIES 21
of Lily that pleased his fancy, but knowledge and
care will teach what particular kinds can successfully
be grown and in time convince the enthusiast that he
must be content with a limited number. Such
knowledge may be of slow growth and painfully
acquired but such we value most.
Now, in passing, let us devote a few moments to
considering the noblest of all the Lilies—Z. auratum,
the “‘Golden-rayed Lily of Japan.” How many
millions of bulbs of this Lily have been imported;
how many thousands of purchasers have been disap-
pointed; how many letters protesting, or seeking
advice, have been penned? This wonderful Lily
flowered first in this country in 1862, in the garden
of Francis Parkman, the historian, at Jamaica Plain,
Mass., having been received from Japan through Mr.
F.Gordon Dexter. In July, 1862, it flowered in Eng-
land, for the first time in Europe, with Messrs. Veitch,
from bulbs sent from Japan by their collector, John
Gould Veitch.
The Japanese eat the bulbs of Lilium auratum and
several other species, but for its beauty they do not
esteem it or any other true Lily—they never did.
But in due time, after intercourse was established
between Japan and western nations, largely through
the vigorous action in 1853-54, of Commodore Perry
22 _ ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
of the U. S. Navy, the Japanese discovered that Lily
bulbs could be sold for much money, so they began
ransacking their country in quest of these bulbs.
In those early days we are told the Yama-juri, or
Mountain Lily (LZ. auratum), grew abundantly in
the volcanic ash and detritus which form the slopes
of sacred and sublime Mount Fuji. To-day it still
grows there but in decreasing numbers; yet it is even
now the most common wild Lily in Japan. In the
volcanic deposits throughout the province of Idzu
it is abundant and near by on the small island of
Oshima, whose central part is an ever active vol-
cano, grows in quantity the broad-leaved auratum
(L. auratum, var. platyphyllum).
For western markets the dealers demand Lily
bulbs of certain sizes. After a few years the Japanese
discovered that the supply of wild bulbs meeting the
necessary requirements was virtually exhausted, but
they quickly found that in rich, moist farm land, in one
or at most two years, they could grow the small bulbs
culled from the mountain slopes and moorlands into
large saleable bulbs and, incidentally, that the larger
the bulb the higher its market value. Then began
in Japan the growing of Lily bulbs for the western
markets and here commenced the troubles of would-be
cultivators in the Occident of Lilium auratum. In
CONSIDER THE LILIES 23
books on Lilies one reads “Lilium auratum grows
in porous, open soil largely composed of volcanic
detritus overlaid by a deep carpet of woodland soil.”
The first part of this statement is true but the “deep
carpet of woodland soil” is pure fiction.
In Japan there is much poor and hungry soil but
none more so than the slopes of august Fuji and the
volcanic deposits of the Idzu province. Around
Matsushima, a beauty spot in northern Japan, I saw
this Lily wild in quantity growing among coarse
grass and shrubs on low hills and hillocks of pure,
gray sandstone. In western Japan, in the province of
Uzen, I also met with it growing wild on gravelly
banks and hillsides among small shrubs and coarse
grasses. It is the open, porous soil, and not the rich
humus, that this Lily luxuriates in. Leafsoil it loves
in common with all Lilies, but it wants no unaérated
acid peat and it loathes raw nitrogenous manures.
True, bulbs transferred from their natural haunts to
fields and cultivated like potatoes increase rapidly in
size but the constitution of the plant is undermined
and it becomes a prey to fungoid diseases.
There is a minimum size to every kind of Lily
bulb below which it cannot produce strong, flowering
stems. This size varies according to the particular
species, but in every case a firm, solid bulb of moderate
24 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
size will be found more healthy and will give results
more satisfactory than a large, loose, and flabby bulb.
Purchasers who make mere size their standard of
value often defeat the object they have most closely
in view. I examined some bulbs of the wild L.
auratum and found them only about a couple of
inches in diameter though they bore heads of from
three to six flowers and, also, were absolutely free of
any sign of disease. Later, I asked one of the largest
and perhaps the best-informed Japanese grower of
Lilies why he did not dig and sell these wild bulbs
since they were so healthy and vigorous. With a
smile he answered: “‘My dear sir, I tried it once and
found that neither in Europe nor America could a
purchaser be found for bulbs so small!”’
Of the genus Lilium, to which all true Lilies belong,
about eighty species are known. All are confined to
the waste places of the Northern Hemisphere and more
than half of them are indigenous in China and Japan.
The genus ranges through the temperate and sub-
tropic regions from eastern North America to Cali-
fornia and through eastern Asia, the Himalayas, and
Siberia to the extreme limits of western Europe. It
is absent from the plains of the middle west of North
America and from central Asia, and there are other
considerable gaps in the field of distribution. Two
CONSIDER THE LILIES 25
species are found within and confined to the tropics,
viz., L. philippinense in the Philippine Islands, and L.
neilgherrense on the Neilgherry Hills in southern
India. In this wide domain species of Lilium are
found under diverse conditions and a moment’s reflec-
tion should convince us of the futility of attempting to
cultivate in any one garden all the species obtainable.
Botanists, chiefly on the shape of the flowers,
divide Lilies into five groups, viz.—
I. Flowers strongly recurved and suggestive of a
Turk’s cap, a familiar example being the Tiger Lily
(L. tigrinum).
II. Flowers large and funnel-shaped as in the
common Easter Lily (L. longiflorum).
III. Flowers like a saucer or shallow basin as in the
Golden-rayed Lily of Japan (L. auratum).
IV. Flowers erect as in the Umbellate Lily (L.
umbellatum).
__ V. Leaves broad and heart-shaped as in the Giant
Lily (L. giganteum).
For horticultural purposes a much more simple
classification may be invoked. For gardens in cool
temperate regions Lilies may be divided into two
broad groups:
| (A.) Hardy Lilies of which L. tigrinum, L. regale, and
L. Henryi may serve as examples.
26 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
(B.) Not Hardy, of which may be cited L. longi-
florum, L. sulphureum, and L. nepalense.
Again, they may be divided into Swamp Lilies
which would include nearly all the American species,
and Dry-land Lilies which would include most of the
species of China and Japan. With almost equal
propriety these groups might be styled humus-loving
and loam-loving respectively.
Also, we might divide Lilies into shade-loving
kinds, as for example, L. giganfeum, and sun-loving
such as L. regale. But, not to waste time it may
be laid down as a law that in the average garden
situated in the temperate parts of North America,
only such species of Lily as are perfectly hardy
withstand sun, and, call for moderately dry land, have
any chance of becoming successful denizens. For
such gardens swamp Lilies, woodland Lilies, and
alpine Lilies, with a few exceptions, may be ruled out
entirely.
Most species of Lilies detest lime; to many it is a
deadly poison; to none, so far as we know, is lime
essential; but some, like L. candidum, L. martagon, and
L. testaceum, are apparently indifferent to its presence
in the soil.
All Lilies demand good drainage. When one thinks
of swamp Lilies this statement may sound un-
CONSIDER THE LILIES 27
scientific. But dig up a few of these Lilies and note
carefully the exact conditions under which they grow.
It will be found that the bulb rests on a stone or a
piece of rock, or in a tuft of firm sod, or nestles in
gritty sand. The roots are in wef mud or may even
hang free in the water; but the bulb is so placed that
water cannot stagnate immediately under and around
it, and in winter it is fairly dry.
A few swamp Lilies like the native L. superbum and
the Panther Lily (L. pardalinum) of California may
be grown without difficulty among Rhododendrons; but
for those requiring more moisture, if their culture be
attempted, it is a good plan to invert a flower-pot at
the requisite depth, place the bulb on the upturned
base and surround it with silver- or gritty river-sand.
Sun-loving Lilies, although the upper part of their
stems are fully exposed and their blossoms flaunt in
the sun, really require a certain amount of protection
from the direct rays in the early stages of their growth.
Lilies are not desert plants, and the most sun-loving
among them are never found in areas where no other
plant grows. True, some of them are denizens of
semi-arid regions but they are ever associated with
grasses or twiggy shrubs, among and through which
their young shoots are upthrust and which break the
sun’s direct rays. Some species like the Regal Lily
28 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
(L. regale, better known under the erroneous name of
L. myriophyllum), can withstand much desiccation
but these in a natural state have their foil of herbs and
scrub.
Journey in thought with me, for a moment or two,
westward until “west” becomes “‘east”’ although we still
chase the setting sun. Across this continent, across
that broad ocean misnamed “Pacific,” to Shanghai, —
the gate of Far Cathay; onward and westward up the
mighty Yangtsze River for eighteen hundred miles,
then northward, up its tributary the Min, some two
hundred and fifty miles to the confines of mysterious
Thibet; to that little-known hinterland which sep-
arates China proper from the hierarchy of Lhassa; to a
wild and mountainous country peopled mainly by
strange tribesfolk of unknown origin; to a land where
Lamaism, Buddhism, and Phallism strive for mastery
of men’s souls; to a region where mighty empires meet.
There in narrow, semi-arid valleys down which thunder
torrents, and encompassed by mountains composed of
mudshales and granites whose peaks are clothed with
snow eternal, the Regal Lily has its home. In sum-
mer the heat is terrific, in winter the cold is intense,
and at all seasons these valleys are subject to sudden
and violent windstorms against which neither man
nor beast can make headway. There, in June, by the
CONSIDER THE LILIES 29
wayside, in rock-crevices by the torrent’s edge, and
high up on the mountainside and precipice this Lily
in full bloom greets the weary wayfarer. Not in
twos and threes; but in hundreds, in thousands, aye,
in tens of thousands. Its slender stems, each two to
four feet tall, flexible and tense as steel, overtopping
the coarse grass and scrub and crowned with one to
several large, funnel-shaped flowers more or less wine-
colored without, pure white and lustrous on the face,
clear canary-yellow within the tube and each stamen
tipped with a golden anther. The air in the cool of
the morning and in the evening is laden with soft,
delicious perfume exhaled from each bloom. For a
brief season this lonely, semi-desert region is trans-
formed by this Lily into a veritable fairyland.
Since we have, figuratively, traveled so far to see
one Lily in its home surroundings, let us in the same
manner journey a hundred miles or so farther and to
the southwest, and there, in valleys clothed with
coarse grasses and low shrubs and under conditions
but little less severe than the preceding and in equal
abundance, we find Mrs. Charles S. Sargent’s Lily (L.
Sargentiae) reigning supreme. Westward some few
miles and on the margin of shrubberies at eight thou-
sand feet above sea level and on the very edge of the
Thibetan grasslands grows Mrs. Bayard Thayer’s Lily
30 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
(L. Thayerae). ‘There are other Lilies which we have
not time to consider but on our homeward journey
let us pause for a moment in the geographical
heart of China, in the region of the famous Yang-
tsze Gorges, and visit the haunt of the Orange-
flowered Speciosum (L. Henryi). Inland a few miles
from the riverine city of Ichang, on formations of
conglomerate and hard carboniferous limestones, at
the edge of woods and among tall shrubs we find here
a few and there many of Henry’s charming Lily.
From these distant regions came the bulbs of these
Lilies, and I count it a privilege to have been the for-
tunate discoverer of two, the introducer of three, and
the medium through which the fourth (L. Henryi)
first became common in cultivation. I could tell of
others equally beautiful were any good purpose to be
served and I mention these four not for personal
reasons but to direct attention to the conditions under
which they grow wild and to emphasize that, though
sun-loving and capable of withstanding much desicca-
tion both from the action of sun and frost, they grow
naturally among protective herbs and shrubs. These
herbs and shrubs afford protection in two ways: in
spring they screen from the sun’s direct rays the young
flower-stem of the Lily after it emerges from mother
earth; in the autumn the fallen leaves of the shrubs
CONSIDER THE LILIES 3l
and the dying culms of the herbs form a protective
mulch which as it decays becomes a nourishing food.
This brief sketch of the conditions under which
certain Lilies grow wild enables us to deduce certain
facts of cultural importance. In the first place, Lilies
should be planted among Ferns, or dwarf shrubs such,
for example, as Lavender, wild Roses, Deutzias, Indi-
goferas, Lespedezas, Comptonia, Vacciniums, Ericas,
Calluna, native Azaleas, Rhododendrons and, where
climate admits, shrubby Veronicas and Olearias.
Planting Lilies among shrubs is no new idea;
twenty-five years or more ago it came into vogue.
Some one achieved great success through planting
Lilies among Rhododendrons and the cry went forth
that this was the solution of the Lily grower’s
troubles—plant Lilies among Rhododendrons! It
is quite true that a number of species like L. pardali-
num, L. superbum, L. speciosum, L. Hansonit (and
I have also seen L. auratum) do well under such con-
ditions. Also it is true that Rhododendrons require
peat and here is the rub. All Lilies love leafsoil but a
great many detest peat. I have seen L. Henryi grow
ten feet tall in loam and leafsoil and continue to
thrive for many years. I have seen this Lily disap-
pear completely in two seasons when planted in pure
peat. Plant Lilies among shrubs, but let the class of
on ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
shrubs depend upon whether the particular species of
Lily loves loam or humus. For my own part I would
keep away from peat except for swamp Lilies and use
fibrous loam, sand, and leafsoil, the latter in increas-
ing proportion as to species that grow naturally in
fairly open country, thickets, or woods.
Another and very obvious deduction is the im-
portance of mulching. In every garden much ground ©
is bare of vegetation and fully exposed to the sun and
elements. In spring, as the frost disappears, an in-
spection will show that this ground is fissured and
furrowed in many directions and any kind of bulb
which had been planted in such bare soil is often more
or less exposed. This may be avoided and much
benefit bestowed on all bulbs by covering them in
autumn with a mulch of rotted leaves or exhausted
manure.
Strictly speaking, a bulb is a bud just as much so as
the winter-bud of a Hickory or Horsechestnut, but
with this difference: its scales are fleshy storehouses of
starch and other food reserves instead of merely dry
and chaffy protective scales, and roots are emitted
from the base. These basal roots anchor the bulb
and supply it with water and certain food salts. If
we examine Lilies like L. Henryi, L. auratum, and
L. regale we find that the underground part of the
CONSIDER THE LILIES oo
flowering stem bears masses of roots. These help to
feed the growing stem and prevent undue exhaustion
of the bulb. After flowering this root system assists
in the rehabilitation of the bulb. Roots emitted
from the stem above the ground quickly perish. An
appreciation of these facts shows the necessity of deep
planting. The bulbs of all stem-rooting Lilies (and
the majority are such) should be planted twice their
own depth down. That is to say, a bulb three inches
high should have six inches of soil covering it and so
on in proportion. The importance of deep planting
is not sufficiently understood, but go and dig up a few
Lily bulbs from their native haunts and it will be
found they are usually deeper down than twice their
height.
The majority of Lilies are at rest, or nearly so, dur-
ing the winter months but all kinds benefit from plant-
ing as early in the fall as is possible.
The Madonna Lily (L. candidum) is an exception in
several ways. In the first place, it resents moving.
When this has to be done it should be undertaken not
later than six weeks after flowering as the resting
period of this Lily is unusually short. Again, it
should be noted that this Lily has a mass of broad
basal leaves independent of the flowering stem and it
is these leaves with the assistance of the roots that
34 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
build up the bulb. This Lily should have the top of
its bulb only just covered with soil. It prefers rather
stiff loam in a situation fully exposed to the sun but it
will grow in dry and hungry limestone soils. Bulbs
grown in the south of England are the best though the
majority of dealers still insist that French-grown
bulbs are superior.
From this cursory consideration of the conditions in
which Lilies grow wild in various parts of the world a
few facts of cardinal importance to the Lily lover may
be deduced. In the first place, since Lilies inhabit the
waste places of the Northern Hemisphere it is obvious
that they are unaccustomed to rich food. For this
reason even stable manure should not be used in their
culture and artificial fertilizers are absolutely inimical.
All Lilies grow naturally in places where each autumn
they receive a mulch of fallen leaves. Leafsoil and
not manure is the requisite essential. Nearly all
grow in well-drained situations and good drainage
is absolutely necessary to ensure success. Lilies of
the swamp, woodland, and alpine meadow are with
rare exceptions difficult to cultivate. Those which
grow among shrubs and herbs more or less exposed to
the sun are less exacting and in this class is found the
majority of the sorts amenable to cultivation in
ordinary gardens.
CONSIDER THE LILIES 30
It is not possible to lay down any hard and fast
rules, but good, sound bulbs and a common-sense at-
tention to a few elementary details are the essentials.
Several kinds of Lilies present no more difficulties
under cultivation than do Narcissi and Tulips; never-
theless in most gardens to maintain Lilies in good
health new soil or removal to a new site is necessary
every few years.
The following species will be found to thrive and
give satisfaction in any and every garden in tem-
perate climes with the sine qua non that sound
bulbs only be planted: L. tigrinum, L. umbellatum,
L. Hansonii, L. pardalinum, L. superbum, L. candidum,
“L. croceum, L. Henryi, L. regale, L. Sargentiae L.
auratum, L. speciosum, L. testaceum, and L. Thayerae.
CHAPTER III
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND
SHRUBS
LITTLE REALIZED OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLOWERS IN
THE SUMMER TIME—WHAT OUR PARKS AND GARDENS
MIGHT EASILY DISPLAY
HE geographical area of the United States of
America is so immense and the climate is
so diversified that there is ample room in
which to accommodate out of doors all the kinds of
woody plants known from the Northern and Southern
hemispheres outside of the tropics. In California
the trees and shrubs of the temperate regions of the
Southern Hemisphere thrive amazingly, and it is
probable that in this state alone a greater variety of
woody plants can be successfully grown in the open
ground than in any similar area in the world. I
mentioned the Southern Hemisphere, but it should
be added that the trees and shrubs of China, Japan,
the Himalayas, southern Europe, the Caucasus, and
the Mediterranean region of northern Africa are
equally at home in California.
In contrast it may be stated that in the Arnold
36
Among the later flowering trees the native American Gordonia
altamaha is one of great interest. The white flowers appear
in August and September
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 37
Arboretum, Boston, Mass., it has not been found
possible to cultivate successfully any tree or shrub
native of the Southern Hemisphere. Many of the
trees native of Europe thrive indifferently here and
virtually no exotic broad-leaved evergreen will with-
stand the vagaries of this austere New England cli-
“mate.
The United States of America is a land of extremes
but the horticultural possibilities are well-nigh illimit-
able. Theday will dawn when throughout the length
and breadth of this land there will be country homes
and their attendant gardens. Much pioneer work
has been done and progress is being made but the
consummation of these efforts is with the future.
Though paradoxical, it is none the less true,
that the very size of this country and the diversity
of its climate simplify in general, and at the same
time complicate in detail, the efforts of those who
treat of horticultural matters. Statements of a
general nature may be absolutely true yet utterly
misleading unless duly qualified. For example, I
might assert that several species of Eucalyptus and
Acacia are perfectly hardy and quick-growing trees
in the United States of America and recommend their
being extensively planted in parks and gardens. To
the people of California such a statement would be
38 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
accepted as demonstrably true. To the people of
Massachusetts it would seem ridiculous nonsense!
Therefore, in writing on horticultural matters,
and especially on those which are strongly influenced
by climate, it is necessary that one specify to what
particular part of a country his statements are in-
tended to apply. It is unfortunate that one’s efforts
must be circumscribed, but the controlling factors are
beyond human restraint. In the case of these pages it
must be remembered that they have definite reference
mainly to gardens in the temperate parts of eastern
North America. The scope is broad, but details are
necessary; and it is climate that controls these details
since the plants I write of are recommended for the
embellishment of parks and outdoor gardens.
Eastern North America is singularly rich in native
species of ornamental flowering trees and shrubs,
and in spring and early summer the waysides and
woodlands are everywhere gay with conspicuous
flowers. About midsummer this wealth of blossom
ceases in so far as woody plants are concerned, and tall-
growing herbs in meadow and swamp, in thicket and
forest-glade, proudly flaunt their multicolored flowers.
Even in cold New England, Nature so economizes
that there are very few weeks in the whole year when
absolutely no flowers are to be found out of doors.
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 39
Taking a lesson from Dame Nature every well-ordered
garden should be so stocked that a succession of
flowers be maintained.
At summer resorts the gardeners’ efforts are largely
directed toward the growing of plants which blossom
from the beginning of July to mid-September. Her-
baceous perennials, tender herbaceous exotics, and
certain bulbous plants, together with a few shrubs
such as Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus), the Hardy
Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), and the Tender
Hydrangea or Hortensia (H. opuloides, commonly
known as H. hortensis), and H. opuloides, var. otaksa
are utilized to produce the necessary display of
flowers. Without being critical it may be said that
there is a sameness in the floral displays of most sum-
mer gardens which is varied only by design and quan-
tity. There is no particular reason for being dissat-
isfied, but, among woody plants which flower during
this season a much greater variety could advantage-
ously be grown and much beauty and charm added
thereby. The number though relatively small is
much greater than many suppose. Some of these
plants are natives of eastern North America, a good
many are indigenous in China and Japan, whilst others
hail from various parts of Europe and temperate Asia.
Some of these I now propose to discuss in brief detail.
40 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
During the early part of July the Lindens (Tilia),
the largest genus of summer-flowering trees, put
forth their fragrant, honey-laden, pendent blossoms.
The native Sweet Bay (Magnolia glauca) with cup-
shaped white flowers is also in blossom, and in wet
seasons a second crop of flowers appears on Magnolia
cordata. ‘This medium-sized native tree has beauti-
ful cup-shaped yellow flowers and its history is more
than ordinarily interesting. It was originally dis-
covered by the elder Michaux in the neighborhood of
Augusta, Georgia, some time between 1787 and 1796,
and by him (or his son) introduced into France. The
trees now in cultivation are derived from these original
introductions of Michaux. All efforts to rediscover
this Magnolia failed until about two years ago when
Mr. Louis A. Berckmans accidentally ‘‘happened”
upon it in a dry wood some eighteen miles south of
Augusta. Michaux describes it as a tree from forty
to fifty feet tall, but the recent discoveries are bushes
from four to six feet tall.
From the middle to the end of July the Sourwood
or Sorrel Tree (Oxydendrum arboreum), another Amer-
ican tree, is in flower. A native of the Appalachian
Mountains where it grows thirty feet and more tall,
this member of the Heath family is quite hardy in
Massachusetts where it commences to blossom when
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 41
only a few feet high. The white, urn-shaped flowers
are produced in great profusion in terminal, spreading
and slightly drooping compound clusters and last for
alongtime. The bright green leaves have a pleasant
acidulous taste and turn in the autumn bright scar-
let. The Sourwood is apparently free of disease and
is not subject to insect pests; it is perfectly hardy and
well deserves a place in every garden.
Of the several hardy exotic trees which flower in
July and August at least three merit wider recogni-
nition, viz.—the Varnish Tree (K6elreuteria paniculata),
the Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica), and the Acan-
thopanax (Kalopanaxz ricinifolium).
The Koelreuteria is native of northern China and
was introduced into Petrograd from the neighborhood
of Peking some time between 1740 and 1756. It was
introduced in 1763, into England by Lord Coventry,
presumably from Petrograd. Though known in cul-
tivation for more than a century and a half it is far
from being as generally planted as its beauty warrants.
It is a small tree from twenty to thirty feet tall with
spreading branches, large, shining green, pinnately,
divided leaves, and erect much-branched panicles, a
foot and more high, of numerous bright yellow flowers
which are followed by bladder-like top-shaped fruits.
In the color of its flowers K6elreuteria is unique among
42 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
midseason flowering trees. It is much cultivated in
Peking gardens and will withstand heat and drought
as well as cold. In the semi-arid valleys of western
China another and closely allied species (K. apiculata)
is common and is now in cultivation in western
gardens.
The Sophora is allied to the Locust tree but, for-
tunately unlike the latter, it is not subject to attacks
of boring insects. Its specific name notwithstanding,
Sophora japonica is indigenous in China and is only
known as a cultivated tree in Japan, having been in-
troduced by Buddhist priests perhaps a thousand
years ago. In China this tree is widely dispersed and
in the extreme west is very common in rocky and
sandy semi-arid valleys. It is a very hardy tree,
from sixty toeighty feet tall, and has a dense wide-
spreading oval or flattened crown, and toward the
end of July and in August every branchlet termi-
nates in an erect branching cluster of creamy-white
flowers which are followed by slender, curiously con-
stricted saponaceous pod-like fruits.
This Sophora flowered first under cultivation near
Paris in 1779, having been raised from seeds sent from
Peking by Father d’Incarville, a Jesuit priest, about
1747. On sandy soil in the Royal Gardens, Kew,
where it was received from Paris through J. Gordon in
-MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 43
1753, this tree thrives remarkably and some magnifi-
cent specimens may be seen there. Here in Boston,
Mass., there are growing several fine old trees. In
the park in which stands the Temple of Heaven at
Peking there is a grand old avenue of this tree. The
individuals are large, with deeply furrowed dark gray
bark and in winter they are singularly Oak-like in
general appearance. In temple grounds in Japan
fine specimen trees are occasionally met with. In
China the flowers of the Sophora are used in prepar-
ing a yellow dye for silk.
The Kalopanax is a member of the Ivy family and
is one of the noblest trees of the cool temperate regions.
It occurs wild, scattered through the moist forests
from the extreme south to the limits of northern
Japan. It is most abundant in Hokkaido, in Korea,
and also in central and western China where it is a
valuable timber tree. This tree grows to a large size
and in Japan specimens eighty feet tall with a trunk
from fifteen to twenty feet in girth are not rare. In
old trees the bark is gray and deeply furrowed, the
branches thick and spreading to form a flattened or
rounded crown. In young trees the branches are
erect-spreading and both they and the trunk are
armed with scattered, short, stout spines. The
dark green leaves on long stalks are very like those
44 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
of the Castor-oil plant (Ricinus) and to this re-
semblance the tree owes its specific name. In late
July and in August each branchlet bears a broad, flat
compound cluster of white flowers which are rapidly
followed by shinng black Elderberry-like fruits.
The large and handsome palmate leaves give this
tree a tropical appearance yet it is perfectly hardy and
quick-growing. In the Arnold Arboretum may be
seen two trees each thirty-five feet tall, raised from
seeds collected in Japan by Professor Sargent in 1892.
These trees flower and fruit each year and have done
so for several years past. This Kalopanax thrives in
ordinary garden soil but prefers a moist situation. As
far as is known it is not attacked by any insect or
disease. As a lawn tree or as a specimen tree by side
of water it is unsurpassed and also it ought to be used
for street planting. In Hokkaido this tree is known
as the “Sen,” and the wood, which is white with a
fine grain, is exported to China for railway ties and to
Europe for making shop-fittings, panels, and office
furniture. Another Japanese tree, Stewartia pseudo-
camellia, a member of the Camellia family, also
blossoms about the end of July and is much too rare
in gardens. In the moist forests of the Nikko region
this tree is abundant and is easily recognized by its
perfectly smooth gray-brown bark; the branches are
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 4)
ascending and form a narrow head. The flowers are
saucer-shaped, white with a mass of yellow stamens;
they are very freely produced and the tree is strikingly
ornamental. Its eastern North American relative (S.
pentagyna) which is native of the southern Appalachian
region, is a tall shrub with larger, more cup-shaped
flowers which appear about mid-July. Both these
Stewartias are hardy as far north as Boston. A near
and equally hardy relative of these is Gordonia al-
tamaha, one of the most beautiful and most interesting
of late-flowering American plants. It isa shrub from
fifteen to twenty feet high with obovate-oblong leaves
and pure white cup or saucer-shaped flowers with con-
spicuous yellow stamens which are produced from
August to late September. It was discovered in the
region of the Altamaha River, in Georgia, by John
Bartram, in 1765, and introduced by his son William
into England in 1774, but all plants now in cultivation
are from his second collection in 1778. No one has
seen this plant wild since 1790.
Other late-flowering trees worthy of a place in
gardens are Rhus javanica (better known as R.
Osbeckii or R. semialata), Clerodendron trichotomum,
and C. trichotomum, var. Fargesii, all three native of
China and Japan. Unfortunately the two Cleroden-
drons are not hardy as far north-as Boston, Mass.
46 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Of shrubs there is quite a variety which blossom
during the midseason. By the middle of July the
last of the Buckeyes (Aesculus parviflora) is in flower.
This native of the southeastern states is a broad,
round-topped, much-branched shrub from six to ten
feet high, and every branchlet terminates in long,
narrow, erect spikes of small white flowers in which
the stamens are long exserted. ‘This shrub requires
good soil and a moist situation, and is well suited
for planting in large masses or as a single speci-
men.
The Pepperbush (Clethra), of which three species
are hardy in the Arnold Arboretum, is perhaps the
most beautiful group of native shrubs which flower
from mid-July. The most common is Clethra alni-
folia, a denizen of swamp borders and moist places in
the neighborhood of the coast from Maine to Florida.
As usually seen it is a bush from four to six feet tall, with
white, fragrant flowers borne in erect, terminal com-
pound clusters. Unfortunately the leaves are often
disfigured by attacks of red spider. A second species
(C. tomentosa) is native of Florida and flowers two
or three weeks later than the preceding from which
it differs chiefly in the covering of white hairs on the
lower surface of the leaves. The third (C. acuminata)
is an inhabitant of the forests of the southern Ap-
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 47
palachian Mountains and is a less desirable garden
plant. A fourth species (C. canescens), hardy in the
vicinity of Boston, hails from Japan and exceeds
in beauty any of the American kinds, but unfortu-
nately it does not readily make itself at home with
us. The inflorescence is larger than in the American
species and the plant grows to a greater size. As I
write I have in mind a fine specimen fully fourteen
feet high, which is growing on a windswept corner in
a garden at Winchester, Mass. Every year each
branchlet of this bush terminates in large clusters
of fragrant white flowers. In Japan this Pepper-
bush is widely distributed and in moist forests is
often a tree forty feet tall with a smooth gray-brown
trunk five feet and more in girth.
At midseason the Spireas are all past but their
place is well taken by the closely allied genus Sorbaria
which is distinguished by its pinnate leaves and ter-
minal compound panicles of flowers. Five species
are hardy in the Arnold Arboretum and thrive in
ordinary garden soil. The best results are obtained
by planting them in rich loam in a moist place, and
by the side of a pond or stream their grace and beauty
are seen to best advantage. ‘They are excellent sub-
jects for the wild garden and to develop their full
beauty they must have plenty of room. One of the
48 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
finest of these Sorbarias is S. arborea, a very common
shrub in central and western China whence I intro-
duced it into the Arnold Arboretum and elsewhere. On
the Chino-Thibetan borderland this plant is very abun-
dant and grows from fifteen to twenty feet high and as
much through, and bears in profusion much-branched
arching panicles often two feet long of pure-white
flowers. From the extreme northwestern Himalayas
came S. Aitchisonii, with smooth shoots and pale
green leaves and even larger masses of flowers than
the preceding which it resembles in size and habit.
In Hokkaido and Saghalien the well-known S. sorbifolia
is a Shrub from three to five feet tall with erect shoots
which terminate in rigidly upright wide-branched
panicles eighteen inches high. I retain a vivid recol-
lection of the picture this shrub presented during August
in Saghalien. There, on the margins of grassy
swamps and swampy woodlands and by the side of
streams and ponds, this plant luxuriates in great
abundance; its pyramids of white flowers with their
prominent stamens, reared on rigid stems three to
five feet tall and subtended by numerous large deep
green leaves, presented a never-to-be-forgotten spec-
tacle in that lonely, silent land. |
The other two species (S. assurgens from western
China and S. stellipila from northern Japan) are also
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 49
well worth growing. A sixth species (8. Lindleyana)
from the Himalayas is not hardy with us.
Three species of Adam’s Needle (Yucca flaccida,
native of the southern Appalachians, Y. filamentosa
from Stone Mountain, Georgia, and Y. glauca, native
of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains) are
hardy in the Arnold Arboretum. With their spear-
like leaves these plants are interesting at all seasons
and when in flower there are few if any subjects more
beautiful. The tall, branching inflorescence and nod-
ding white flowers, in the daytime more or less
top-shaped, expand on moonlight nights when they
attract the moths which effect the fertilization of the
flowers.
Of shrubs with yellow flowers there are several,
all native of southern Europe, the Caucasus, and Asia
Minor, which blossom in July. Most interesting
among these are Cyfisus nigricans, C. capitatus, and
Genista tinctoria, var. elata, all three good garden
plants unfortunately too rarely seen in American
gardens. The Bladder Sennas (Colutea arborescens
and C. cilicica) flower in July, and C. orientalis, which
flowers earlier is covered with large, thin-walled in-
flated pods which are tinged with pink and are very
ornamental.
The yellow shrubby Cinquefoil (Pofentilla fruti-
50 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
cosa), its variety parvifolia and the white-flowered
variety Veitchii, blossom in early and late summer
and do well in sunny situations. A St. John’s Wort
(Hypericum patulum, var. Henryi), a newcomer from
western China which grows from two to three feet tall
and bears large deep yellow flowers, is also worthy of
note. With blue or bluish flowers two shrubby species
of Clematis (C. heracleaefolia from northern China,
C. stans from Japan) bloom during this midseason.
Of each there are several varieties and the flowers
are more or less tubular in shape. These plants grow
about three feet tall and behave much as do herbace-
ous perennials. Another beautiful little plant with
blue flowers unfortunately not hardy around Boston
is Caryopteris incana (better known as C. Mastacan-
thus), a native of Japan and China.
The largest group of midseason shrubs has flowers
of pink, red, and purple. Belonging to the Pea fam-
ily the most beautiful are Indigofera and Lespedeza.
Of the first named J. Kirilowii, with bright rose-pink
flowers, hails from Korea and northern China, and
I. decora, with white flowers, from Japan and northern
China. Both are low, sub-shrubby plants with twiggy
shoots and bright green pinnate leaves and large,
lovely flowers on long, erect racemes. They com-
mence to blossom in late June and continue to do so
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS 51
fora couple of months. Another species, I. Gerardi-
ana from the Himalayas, has rose-colored flowers but
it is a less valuable plant for northern gardens. A
fourth and new introduction from central China is
I.amblyantha. Thisisan erect, little-branching shrub
from five to six feet tall with erect racemes of pink
or rose-red colored flowers. It isa pleasing plant and
remarkable inasmuch as the racemes continue to
elongate and produce blossoms from late June until
the frosts appear.
Of Lespedeza the hardiest are L. bicolor, L. for-
mosa, and L. crytobotrya, all three twiggy, floriferous
shrubs.
A very charming subject much too infrequently
met with in gardens is Callicarpa japonica. ‘This
plant has opposite leaves and from the axil of each
and every one arise short-stalked flattened clusters
of pinkish flowers. These are quickly followed by
- masses of small, round, rose-purple fruits which last
until the frosts come and which, as the generic name
indicates, are very beautiful.
A comparatively new and highly desirable plant is
Elsholtzia Stauntonit, introduced in 1905, into the Ar-
nold Arboretum by Mr. J. G. Jack from near the Great
Wall of China north of Peking. This is almost a
herbaceous plant and may be treated as such. It
52 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
has terminal and lateral, more or less erect racemes
of rose-purple flowers with long, exserted stamens and
is most attractive.
As a group with lilac, rose, and vinous-purple flow-
ers the most valuable recent addition to midseason
shrubs is unquestionably Buddleia Davidii (more gen-
erally known as B. variabilis) and its varieties, and
these are fast winning well-deserved popularity in
this country under the name of Summer Lilac. They
are inhabitants of central and western China where
they are essentially fluviatile plants though here and
there they ascend moist herb or shrub-clad slopes.
They are scarcely hardy as far north as Boston, Mass.,
but cuttings of half-ripe wood inserted under glass in
autumn root readily and these if planted out early
in June will make large bushes and flower profusely
in August and September. A rich, loamy soil, full
sunshine, and an abundant water supply are the
essentials. Grown in this manner I have measured
the tail-like inflorescence over thirty inches long.
In the Garden Magazine, April, 1916, appeared an
illustrated article on these plants so there is no need
even for the introducer to enter into further details
concerning them. But as an expression of opinion
perhaps I may be allowed to say that my own favorite
is the var. magnifica which is distinguished by its
MIDSEASON FLOWERING TREES AND SHRUBS’ 53
relatively large, intense violet-purple flowers with the
edge of the petals crinkled and slightly recurved.
And, further, I do vigorously protest against the ab-
surd name of “Butterfly Bush” which some dealers
would fain foist upon us as a popular name for these
shrubs.
As finality is impossible I must omit details
on some of the more generally known midseason
flowering shrubs such as Veronica augustifolia, its
varieties and hybrids, Ceanothus hybridus and others,
Abelia grandiflora, Amorpha canescens and certain
other plants, yet I must have a word or two on those
favorite low-growing shrubs, the Ling and Hardy
Heaths. People other than those of Scotch descent
have a warm affection for these charming little
shrubs and there is no valid reason why this fondness
should not be indulged. Ling and Heaths are sun-
loving plants and their successful culture demands
that they be planted in open situations fully exposed
to the sun. ay} oe AYA
CHAPTER XI
JAPANESE CHERRIES AND ASIATIC CRAB-
APPLES
MANY OF THESE ARE ALREADY WELL KNOWN AND YET
RARELY PLANTED IN OUR GARDENS—THE NOMENCLA=
TURE IS HERE SET RIGHT AND THEIR IDENTIFICATION
IS MADE EASY
HE group of plants now to be considered
is not exceeded in beauty and _hardi-
ness by any other, and yet its members are
comparatively rarely seen in American gardens. A
few are fairly well known to older garden lovers and
here and there in city parks, like those of Rochester,
N. Y., several may be seen in all their beauty. But
truly there should be no garden, even a suburban
garden, without its Flowering Cherry and its Crab-
apple tree.
When I think of the popularity certain plants of
much less lasting value have attained I cannot help
thinking that it is want of knowledge and not want of
appreciation that has kept in the background the
extremely ornamental plants with which this chapter
deals. If any reader will visit the Arnold Arboretum
195
196 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
in late April and May, and see the collection of these
plants in blossom, he will depart hungry for them
and will not rest content until one or more be growing
in his own garden.
In the cooler parts of the temperate regions of
western lands there is no more beautiful sight than
the Apple orchards in full blossom in the spring unless
it be the same orchards in autumn laden with ruddy
fruit. But the utilitarian is apt to stifle the esthetic
spirit in so far as this and other familiar sights are
concerned. The common Plum and the common
Cherry suffer in the same way, yet the winsome beauty
of their flowers is undeniable. Again, an orchard of
Peach trees in bloom is wondrously pretty though the
trees have not the picturesque appearance of aged
Apple trees.
However, if familiarity has dulled spontaneous
enthusiasm for the floral charms of these indispens-
able fruit trees none, when taxed with the question,
will attempt to deny their effective beauty. Itis with
the near relatives—the brothers, sisters, and _first-
cousins—of these familiar fruit trees that I am about to
treat here, and since the fruits they produce have no
comestible value we can drink in their charms un-
influenced by the pernicious alloy of utilitarianism.
But do not misunderstand me: I am not denying the
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 197
|
indispensable value of our fruit trees as such nor their
extensive and extended culture. Quite the contrary.
But the creed of the true horticulturist is founded on
that old Biblical truism—‘“‘man cannot live by bread
alone.”
Any attempt to portray in words that marvelous
floral spectacle known in Japan as the Cherry Festival
fails lamentably. It must be seen to be ap-
preciated, but no language can exaggerate the beauty
of the Japanese Cherries. Readers who have visited
Japan and have basked in the loveliness of the Cherry
blossoms must have yearned deeply to possess some
of the trees. Such feeling is natural. We should
have these Japanese Cherries in our gardens and there
is no valid reason why here in eastern North America
we should not have our own Cherry festival, for the
trees are perfectly hardy and thrive here. In the
Arnold Arboretum the few large examples we have pro-
duce a wealth of flowers each and every season.
THE CHERRIES
Of flowering Cherries the Japanese recognize a
‘hundred or more varieties with white, yellow, pure
pink to rose-colored blossoms. Some are small shrubs,
others large trees with wide-spreading crowns;
some have pendent and others quite erect branches.
198 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
All are entrancingly beautiful. Cherry trees grow
wild in the woods and thickets throughout the length
and breadth of Japan and they are everywhere
planted in vast numbers—in temple and castle
grounds, in park and garden, in the streets of the
cities and alongside the highways, by pond and by
river-side. At Koganei, a village some ten miles from
Tokyo, there is a three-mile avenue of Cherry trees,
planted in 1735 by command of the Shogun Yoshi-
mune. Many of the trees are from sixty to seventy-
five feet tall, with trunks from ten to twelve feet in
girth, and crowns from fifty to sixty feet through, and
when in full flower the scene presented is a never-to-
be-forgotten one. .
As one result of its recent expedition to Japan the
Arnold Arboretum has now growing a collection of
more than seventy varieties of these Cherries and in a
few years the American public will have an opportun-
ity of appreciating the attractive charms of these
plants. Meanwhile, the following kinds of proven
merit should be grown by all who love a hardy plant.
The first of these Cherries to open its blossoms is
Prunus subhirtella, the Higan-sakura or Spring Cherry
of the Japanese. This is a low bushy tree, rarely
more than from eighteen to twenty feet tall, with thin,
ascending-spreading branches and a dense mass of
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 199
twiggy branchlets, the whole forming a flattened or flat-
tened-oval crown from twenty to thirty feet through.
The flowers are silvery pink and are produced in such
profusion as to hide completely the twigs and
branches. This Cherry was introduced to cultiva-
tion by the Arnold Arboretum in 1894.
The Weeping Cherry (P. subhirtella, var. pendula)
has flowers similar to the foregoing to which it is
very closely related, but it isa much larger tree, growing
from sixty to seventy feet tall with a trunk from ten
to twelve feet in girth, and massive spreading limbs
dividing into branches which curve downward and
into slender whip-like pendent shoots. It was intro-
duced into cultivation by Philip Franz von Siebold who
secured plants for his nursery at Leiden, Holland,
from Japan about 1863. It is a long-lived tree but
I have never seen a good example in the Occident.
In Japan, and especially in the temple grounds, mag-
nificent specimens are common and there is no more
graceful or beautiful tree than this Weeping Cherry.
The Japanese called it Shidare (Hanging) or Ito-
zakura (Thread Cherry) on account of its very slender,
whip-like pendent branchlets.
The Cherry so abundantly grown in and around
the city of Tokyo and whose season of blossoming is
made the occasion of a national holiday is the Yosh-
200 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
ino-sakura (P. yedoensis). This is a large, quick-
growing tree which at its best is from forty-five to fifty
feet tall with a trunk from six to eight feet in girth
and massive spreading branches forming a rounded
crown from sixty to seventy-five feet through. The
fragrant flowers are larger than those of the preceding
two Cherries, and vary in color from pure pink to
white. If crowded together the trees grow taller,
but the crowns are narrow and much less shapely.
It was introduced into the Arnold Arboretum in 1902,
from Tokyo, and the seedlings have grown very
rapidly.
The most beautiful of all the wild species of Asiatic
Cherries is P. serrulata, var. sachalinensis, better
known as P. Sargentii. This is a native of the
northern and colder parts of Japan and has large,
pink to rose-colored flowers and the young unfolding
leaves are a ruddy brown. It is a large and long-
lived tree and the avenue at Koganei mentioned pre-
viously is of this species and its varieties. Dr.
William Sturgis Bigelow sent seeds from Japan to the
Arnold Arboretum in 1889, and trees raised from these
seeds are now twenty-five feet tall with trunks four
feet in girth and crowns thirty feet through. Nearly
all the Japanese Cherries with double rose-colored
flowers are forms of this species, and it is the stock
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 201
on which all of that class should be grafted or budded
in order to make them long-lived trees in this climate.
One of the loveliest of these rose-colored Cherries
with double flowers is known in western nurseries
as “James H. Veitch.” The Japanese name for it
is Fugenzo and there is also a white counterpart
(albo-rosea) which is styled Shirofugen. These two
are distinguished from all others of this class in hav-
ing two tiny green and folded leaves in the centre of
the majority of their flowers as is the case in the
double-flowered form of the European P. Cerasus.
Two other Japanese Cherries are P. Sieboldii and
P. Lannesiana. The first named has _rose-pink,
double or semi-double flowers and its leaves are
clothed with soft hairs. In nurseries it is sold as
*“Watereri” and as “‘Naden.’’ The other species has
many aliases and in its different forms is sold as
P. pseudo-cerasus and as P. serrulata, names, however,
to which it has no proper right, and which have proved
a great bugbear and hindrance to our proper appre-
ciation of the garden varieties of Japanese Cherries
generally. In typical P. Lannesiana the flowers are
pinkish but its wild form has pure white blossoms.
All the numerous forms of this Cherry have fragrant
flowers and they are mostly white or pale pink. One
sort (Grandiflora or Ukon) has clear yellow flowers
202 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
and in another (Gioiko) the color is yellow witha green
band down each petal. In both the flowers are
double. Prunus Sieboldii and P. Lannesiana together
with their forms are trees from twenty to thirty feet
tall, with wide-branching heads, and in Japan they
grow rapidly but are not long lived.
In the Occident we have not been very successful
in cultivating the double-flowered forms of these
Japanese Cherries and from information gained dur-
ing my recent visit to Japan I am convinced that our
want of success heretofore has been due to the fact
that for our climate they have always been grafted
on the wrong stock.
All the single-flowered sorts of these Japanese
Cherries fruit freely with us and should be increased
by seeds, for seedling trees of these Cherries grow
more freely and more satisfactorily than those raised
by other means. All the double or semi-double
flowered kinds should be grafted or budded on P.
serrulata, var. sachalinensis. If this be followed I
make bold to say that these Cherries will thrive as
well, grow as freely, and live as long as they do in
Japan.
One other species of Japanese Cherry deserves
mention and that is P. incisa, which is abundant
on the lower slopes of Fuji-san and the immediate
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 203
vicinity, but is confined to those regions. It is a
bush or small tree from five to thirty feet tall with
ascending and spreading thin branches and twiggy
branchlets and pale pink to pure white flowers.
This Cherry blossoms profusely in a small state and
is the only kind the Japanese dwarf and grow in pots,
and on this account they designate it the Mame-
zakura (Dwarf Cherry).
All the Japanese Cherries make excellent specimens
on lawns where they are seen to good advantage.
The smaller growing kinds may be massed together
for telling effect whilst for avenue trees P. serrulata,
var. sachalinensis and P. yedoensis cannot be sur-
passed. They thrive best in a light loamy soil but
like all their kin they are subject to attacks of scale
insects. These pests may easily be kept down and
the trees maintained in good health by spraying in
late winter with lime-sulphur (one gallon to eight
gallons of water) or with miscible oil (one gallon to
fourteen gallons of water).
THE CRABAPPLES
In horticultural and botanical literature the Crab-
apples are often referred to as “Pyrus (something)”’
but nowadays it is customary to speak of them under
the generic title of Malus and to restrict that of Pyrus
204 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
to the Pears, and this is followed here. My inten-
tion is to tell here of the Crabapples of eastern Asia,
but there are also several very beautiful species of
Crabapple native of this country—as for example,
M. angustifolia, M. fusca, M. glaucescens, M. cor-
onaria, M. ioensis and its form, known as the Bechtel
Crab, which has large and fragrant double pink flow-
ers that look like Roses and excite the interest and ad-
miration of all beholders. The American Crab-
apples blossom later than their Asiatic relatives and
both groups deserve the widest recognition.
The Siberian (Malus baccata) is the oldest known but
one of the Asiatic Crabapples, having been introduced
into Europe in 1784. It is a tree from thirty to forty
feet tall, with stout, spreading branches and slender
branchlets which form a broad rounded or more or
less oval crown. The flowers are pure white and
delightfully fragrant and are profusely borne in
clusters; the fruits are small, yellowish, or yellow-
brown. This tree is widely dispersed in the cold nor-
thern parts of eastern Siberia and extends southward
into Mongolia, Mandshuria, and extreme northern
China. It is the most northern of its class and the
hardiest of all species of Malus and for this reason
ought to be used in the colder parts of this country as
a stock for the common Apple. In the littoral regions
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 205
of northeastern Siberia, in Korea, and in northern
Japan, this species is represented by its variety
mandschurica which differs in certain technical points
and has scarlet fruit. In Korea there is a form
(Jackii) which has handsome, relatively large dark
red fruit. Under cultivation numerous hybrids be-
tween Malus baccata and the common Apple and
other species have arisen and all are ornamental in
flower and exceedingly beautiful in fruit. They are
known collectively as Siberian Crabapples but many
of the varieties have received distinctive names.
The oldest known of the Crabapples is the Chinese
M. spectabilis which was introduced from Canton into
England in 1780. It is cultivated in the Imperial gar-
dens at Peking and elsewhere in China, but has not yet
been reported in a wild state. It is a small tree from
twenty to thirty feet tall with a vase-shaped crown
made up of numerous rigid ascending branches and
short branchlets. The flowers are pale pink, more
or less semi-double and fragrant, and the fruits are
yellow, nearly globose, and about three quarters of
an inch in diameter. The habit is rather stiff, but
this old denizen of gardens with its wealth of clustered
blossoms is strikingly beautiful.
A lovely Crabapple bearing in season its pale pink
flowers in the utmost profusion is M. Scheideckeri.
206 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
This is also a small tree, loosely pyramidal in habit
and of hybrid origin and one of its parents is assumed
to be M. spectabilis.
The next species to make its début in this country
is the celebrated Parkman Crab (M. Halliana) which
was sent from Japan to the United States by Dr.
George R. Hall in 1861, and first cultivated by Francis
Parkman, the historian, in his garden on the shores of
Jamaica Pond, Boston, Mass. This is a tree-like
shrub with a broad, bushy crown and twiggy branch-
lets and rather thick, dark green leaves deeply tinged
with bronze color where they unfold. The flowers,
each on a long slender stalk, are borne in clusters and
are bright rose color, and these are followed by pea-
like dark greenish red fruit which ripen very late in
the fall.
In a family so beautiful as the Crabapple there is
room for divergence of opinion as to which is the
finest, but many (of which I am one) consider the
Parkman Crab the most winsome of all the Asiatic
species. The type has flowers single or nearly so,
but there is a form (Parkmanii) which has double
or semi-double flowers. This lovely plant has long
been a favorite in the gardens of the flower-loving
Japanese who call it the ‘“Kaido,” but like many
plants cultivated in Japan it is of Chinese origin.
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 207
In 1904, I had the pleasure of discovering it growing
wild in thickets on the frontier of western China and
Thibet and collected seeds from which plants have
been successfully raised.
A very desirable plant is M. afrosanguinea which
is a hybrid presumably between M. Halliana and
M. Sieboldii. It is a broad shrub growing ten feet
or more high with thin spreading and arching branches
and rose-pink flowers.
Perhaps the best known of the Asiatic Crabapples
is M. floribunda, which was introduced about 1853,
by von Siebold, into Leiden in Holland, yet its native
country remains unknown to this day. Present-
day Japanese botanists seem unacquainted with this
plant and both they and Japanese nurserymen con-
fuse it with the Parkman Crab, and during my trip
in Japan I never met with it. However, since our
gardens are in fortunate possession of it we can waive
the more academic question of its habitat. It
is a broad, round-topped, tree-like shrub sometimes
twenty-five feet tall, and as much in diameter, with
slender arching and pendent branchlets. The clus-
tered flowers are pure white when expanded and
bright rose color in bud, and as they open in succes-
sion the contrast is singularly beautiful. The fruit
is about the size of a pea, yellowish or yellow-brown
208 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
and long persistent but not attractive except to birds
which appear especially fond of it.
In gardens all the species of Malus hybridize freely
and the group offers a field of immense interest to
those who will breed and select the offspring. Some
years ago there appeared in the Arnold Arboretum
among a batch of presumed seedlings of M. flori-
bunda a very distinct plant which has been named
M. Arnoldiana. It is probably a hybrid between M.
floribunda and M. baccata, but whatever its origin
it is certainly one of the most lovely of all Crabapples.
The habit is similar to that of M. floribunda but the
flowers though of the same color are one half larger
and the fruit, too, is much bigger. A friend of mine
who lives at Winchester, Mass., has a fine specimen
of this hybrid growing under the lee of his house
and no one has yet been able to persuade him that
there is any other kind of Crabapple which approxi-
mates to this in beauty.
At the same time as von Siebold introduced the gem
M. floribunda he also introduced another Crabapple
(M. Sieboldii, better known as M. toringo). This isa
low dense shrub of sprawling habit with lobed leaves,
small flowers, white tinged with rose in color, and
small yellow fruit. It is really a scrubby form of a
species widely distributed in Japan and horticultur-
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 209
ally inferior to its real type, now known as var.
arborescens, which is a small tree with ascending and
spreading branches, twiggy branchlets, and fruit
yellow or red on different individuals. Another
variety (calocarpa), raised from seeds sent in 1890
to the Arnold Arboretum from Japan by Dr. William
Sturgis Bigelow, has handsome bright red fruits
half an inch in diameter and is in fruit the most
strikingly beautiful of all Crabapples.
Differing from the tree form of M. Sieboldii only
in certain technical matters is M. zumi which was
introduced to cultivation by Professor Sargent who
collected seeds in Japan in 1892. This, too, is a
very desirable small tree with fragrant white flowers
and small yellow or red fruits. It is common on the
slopes of Mt. Fuji and on the shores of Lake Chuzenji
in the Nikko region.
Most of the orchard fruits grown in the countries
of the Far East have been obtained by long cultiva-
tion from species indigenous in China and have not
common origin with the same kinds of fruits culti-
vated in this country and in Europe. The Apple of
that region is an example. It is only very recently
that science has become acquainted with the source
of the Apple of China and Japan although under
various names it has been in cultivation in the Occi-
210 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
dent for some sixty years. This Apple (M. pruni-
folia, var. rinki) grows wild in the mountainous parts
of central China where I was fortunate enough to dis-
cover it in the spring of 1901, and later secured seeds
which resulted in its successful introduction to our
gardens. Previous to this discovery it was known
only from plants cultivated in Japan, and by most
botanists was considered a very doubtful plant.
From Japan it was introduced to Europe about 1854,
and distributed by von Siebold as Malus ringo. In
habit this species resembles the common Apple but
its leaves are rather different, the flower stalks are
much longer, and the fruit is not impressed at the
summit. As a fruit tree the Chinese Apple is culti-
vated in central and western China, from river level,
where the climate is very warm, to altitudes of 9,500
feet in the more mountainous parts, where a severe
climate obtains. In northern China and Korea
it is cultivated sparingly over a wide area. The
fruit is small, seldom more than one and one fourth
inch in diameter and slightly longer than broad, of
a pleasant bitter-sweet flavor and varies in color
from greenish to greenish yellow and is rosy on one
side. Occasionally it is nearly all red. Formerly
this Chinese Apple was cultivated in Japan for its
fruit, but since the introduction of varieties of the
CHERRIES AND CRABAPPLES 211
European Apple its cultivation as a fruit tree has
been discontinued.
There are other species, too, of much merit and
beauty and several new ones whose value we do not
fully know, but there is one so distinct in habit and
with a field of usefulness so peculiarly its own that it
must not be omitted even in this incomplete enumera-
tion, and that is M. Sargentii. This species is of
dwarf stature with the branches rigid and spreading,
and the lower ones flat on the ground, and is emi-
nently suitable for covering slopes and banks. The
flowers in umbellate clusters are saucer-shaped, round,
and of the purest white and these are followed by
masses of wine-colored fruit which is covered with a
slight bloom. In its habit, its flowers, and in its fruit
it is very distinct from all other species. We owe this
valuable addition to Professor Sargent, who dis-
covered it in fruit and sent seeds in 1892, from near
Mororan in Hokkaido, Japan.
In this group of Asiatic Crabapples there are trees
for the avenue, park, or garden, shrubs for the lawn
or border and others suitable for slopes and banks—
all absolutely hardy in the coldest parts of New Eng-
land and each and all may be depended upon to pro-
duce every spring season a wealth of blossoms in
veritable cascades. The plants grow quickly in
212 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
good loamy soil and many of them begin to flower
and produce fruit when only a few years old. They
will thrive wherever the common Apple will grow
if attention be paid to keeping them free from the
scale insects which are destructive to all plants
of the Apple tribe. This may be accomplished
readily by spraying with the same antidotes as recom-
mended in the case of the Japanese Cherries,
The common Lilac is known in a great number of varieties,
with flowers ranging from white to dark purple. Given
sufficient space they are clothed with their fragrant flowers,
The variety shown here is Congo
CHAPTER XII
IN “LILACDOM”
THE MOST ADAPTABLE GROUP OF FLOWERING SHRUBS
FOR FLORAL USE
ILACS are among the few hardy shrubs that
have truly entered into their kingdom in
the gardens of eastern North America. , They
need no introduction to readers and well they merit
their popularity. For regions where cold winters are
followed by hot, dry summers they are ideal shrubs.
The Common Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is the most ac-
commodating of plants and thrives in all sorts of
queer places and under all sorts of adverse conditions,
but its progeny and its congeners are more exacting,
and if good results are expected the plants must be
treated liberally. |
Now, the Common Lilac is native of the moun-
tains of Bulgaria and was sent from Constantinople
to Vienna about 1560. From there it soon reached
western Europe and both purple and white kinds
were cultivated in London in 1597, by Gerard. It is
not known with certainty when, or by whem, this
213
214 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Lilac was introduced to North America, but Wash-
ington wrote about it in his diary and planted it at
Mt. Vernon where his plants or their descendants
are growing to this day. But although so long culti-
vated in gardens it is only recently that its native
habitat has become known. In the Arnold Arbor-
etum may be seen growing specimens raised from
seeds gathered from wild plants. They have narrow
clusters of dull-purplish flowers and are by no means
attractive garden shrubs.
During the last fifty years horticulturists, espe-
cially those of France and in a lesser degree those of
Germany, have paid great attention to the Common
Lilac and the result has been a plethora of beautiful
shrubs. In fact, virtually all the plants known in a
general way as Lilacs have been derived from S.
vulgaris. I shall recur to this point later, but it may
be stated here that the possibilities of improving upon
the present-day forms of the Common Lilac appear
to be few but there are other members of the kingdom
possessing vast potential values.
The Lilacs, of which some twenty-five species are
known, are all native of the Old World and some are
shrubs and others small trees. The Common Lilac
(S. vulgaris) and its Hungarian confrére (S. Josikaea)
are native of southeastern Europe; the Persian Lilac
IN ‘“‘LILACDOM’”’ 215
grows wild in southwestern Asia from the Caucasus to
Afghanistan, and in the western Himalayas S. emodi
is found. All other known species are natives of
eastern Asia and no fewer than seventeen species
are indigeneous in China proper. Only one species
(S. japonica), and that a Tree Lilac, is found in Japan.
In the gardens of Peking and of other places in north-
ern China the white-flowered S. affinis has been cul-
tivated from time immemorial.
All Lilacs are very hardy plants, and, notwithstand-
ing, the fact that none is native of this country every
species so far brought into cultivation has proved
hardy in the Arnold Arboretum. When their wide
range of distribution is duly considered this is remark-
able. In very severe winters the Himalayan S.
emodi suffers somewhat and the flowers of the Chinese
S. oblata are occasionally injured by late spring frosts
but no other sort is hurt. And not only are Lilacs
quite hardy in the colder parts of New England and
elsewhere but they thrive better there than they do
across the water in Great Britain.
As mentioned already the ordinary colored and
white forms of the Common Lilac will withstand
considerable hardship and abuse but their progeny
to give the best results demand a good soil and this is
true for all the other species. A well-drained, good,
216 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
rich loamy soil suits them best and if the soil contains
a certain amount of lime so much the better, for
Lilacs generally are fond of lime. Full exposure to
the sun and air is necessary and their beauty is dis-.
played to best advantage when the plants are allowed
a sufficiency of space in which to develop freely.
They are essentially plants for northern New Eng-
land and regions with a similar climate; in southern
New England and southward the leaves in summer are
often temporarily disfigured by mildew.
A decade or a little more ago it was customary to
propagate Lilacs by grafting them on Privet (Ligus-
trum) stock, but this pernicious practice has met with
the opprobrium it merits and to-day any dealer selling
plants so propagated deserves to be ostracized. Itis
the nature of most Lilacs, and of the Common Lilac
in particular, to sucker freely and this alone demon-
strates the necessity for their being on their own roots.
If the plants get unshapely or too large, own-root
Lilacs may be cut almost to the ground with advan-
tage for they will spring up and soon make shapely
bushes again. Cuttings three to four inches long
of green wood taken in early June, or of thin but firm,
half-ripened wood taken from mid-July to early
August, and inserted in prepared soil or sand on a
spent hotbed, or in pure sand in a frame and kept close,
IN “LILACDOM”’ 217
will root in about six weeks, and in three years make
nice plants. Also they may be budded or grafted on
seedling stock of the Common Lilac and by this
method, although it is not to be recommended, sala-
ble plants are produced in two years. When pot-
ting the stocks carefully remove all adventitious
buds; suckers should not be used as stock since it is
impossible in these to control the development of
adventitious buds. But, after all, there is no valid
reason for propagating Lilacs other than by cuttings
for by this means the particular variety is on its own
roots and the advantage to the garden lover is obvious
and lasting. |
In the Arnold Arboretum about one hundred
and twenty named varieties of the Common Lilac
are cultivated and in addition some twenty species
and several hybrids, and the season of flowering lasts
from about the first of May to the first week of July.
In Highland Park, Rochester, N. Y., where great
attention has been given to these plants, there is the
most complete collection of the varieties of the Com-
mon Lilac to be found anywhere on this continent.
In all, this park has two hundred and ninety-seven
kinds of Lilacs and on May 22, 1915—“‘ Lilac Sunday”
—between the hours of six A. M. and eight Pp. M. some
fifty to sixty thousand people visited this collection.
218 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Such collections are of great interest and of much
educational value; but private gardens cannot ac-
commodate such numbers.
If the best only be desired no such quantity is
necessary, for within the limits of a dozen the best
and most desirable kinds of the Common Lilac may
be had. In recent years many of the seedlings raised
and named and sold by nurserymen show no improve-
ment on the older varieties. The beauty limit ap-
pears to have been reached and it is evident that no
great additional improvement can now be expected
from seedlings of the Common Lilac. But granted
that a dozen will include all that is best in these plants
the selection is onerous and difficult since individual
taste is all important. Some people do not like the
double-flowered sorts and others have preferences
for certain shades of color. I am without prejudice
or bias in these matters and of the sorts of the Com-
mon Lilac of proven merit in the Arnold Arboretum
I would select the following dozen: Marie Legraye,
Princess Alexandre (single white); Madame Lemoine,
Miss Ellen Willmott (double white); Gloire de Moul-
ins, Macrostachya (pink); Charles X (rosy lilac);
Volcan, Congo, Philemon, Ludwig Spath (dark red-
purple); Justi (blue). Be it understood all these are
forms of the Common Lilac and it is not supposed that
IN “‘LILACDOM’”’ 219
this selection in its entirety would satisfy every en-
thusiast.
But the Common Lilac and its very numerous
descendants do not exhaust Lilacdom. Far from it
—very far fromit. There are other species and there
are hybrids of singular beauty and charm which
deserve wide recognition. Some blossom earlier
than the Common Lilac and its forms, and others
later; together they extend very considerably the
Lilac season. Further, it is in the hybridizing of
these species that advance in this useful and pleasing
class of plants must be looked for in the future. As
we shall see later a beginning has been made and our
gardens enriched thereby.
Each succeeding year in the Arnold Arboretum
there is a close race between two Chinese species
(S. affinis and S. oblata), to be the first Lilac to blos-
som and usually the first-named wins. This has
white flowers and is very abundantly cultivated in
the gardens of Peking, and from there was introduced
into the Arnold Arboretum by Mr. S. T. Williams
in April, 1904. It is a tall bush of loose, irregular
habit and has thin branches and sweetly fragrant
flowers. The wild prototype of this Lilac was re-
cently discovered in northern China and named var.
Giraldii, after Pére G. Girald, an Italian priest of the
220 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Roman Catholic Church, and reached us through V.
Lemoine et Fils in 1906. This has mauve-colored
flowers which open about the same time as the type.
The other species (S. oblata) is a sturdy and broad
shrub of good habit and has handsome leaves, thick
and leathery in texture, which in the autumn turn
to a deep, bronze-red or wine color. The flowers
are large, pale lilac, and very fragrant but unfortu-
nately they are often injured by late frosts. It was
introduced into England by Robert Fortune from
Shanghai about 1854. In Peking gardens it is much
cultivated and Dr. E. Bretschneider sent seeds from
Peking to the Botanical Garden, Petrograd, where
plants from this source flowered in 1888.
The next Lilac to open is S. pubescens, also native
of northern China, and was introduced in 1882 by
Dr. E. Bretschneider who sent seeds to the Arnold
Arboretum, where it flowered for the first time in
1886. This is a free-growing and free-flowering
shrub with erect and rather slender stems, small
hairy leaves, and large clusters of pale lilac, fragrant,
long-tubed, and rather small flowers with dark violet
anthers and is among the most beautiful of all Lilacs.
These three Chinese species are the heralds of Lilac-
dom. In rapid succession follow the Commen Lilac
with its numerous progeny and several other species.
‘6
IN ‘‘LILACDOM’”’ 221
After the Common Lilac has finished flowering,
or nearly so, the Persian Lilac (S. persica), with its
huge clusters of small fragrant flowers which weigh
down the slender branches, assumes the throne.
This lovely Lilac was cultivated in England as early
as the middle of the seventeenth century but it is
now all too seldom seen in gardens. In cultivation
it is a broad and shapely bush of medium height
with small leaves and is extraordinarily floriferous.
The type has pale rosy purple flowers, and so, too, has
the form Jlaciniata with deeply incised leaves, but
there is also a white-flowered variety (alba).
Closely related to the Persian Lilac is S. pinnatifolia,
a new-comer which I had the pleasure of discovering
on the borders of China and Thibet and of introducing
to cultivation in 1904. This species is remarkable
in having pinnately divided leaves and in this char-
acter is distinct from all others. It has small pale
mauve-colored flowers which are borne in broad
pyramidate clusters; but thus far, under cultivation,
it has not flowered freely and unless it improves with
age it will have to be considered more in the light of a
curiosity than anything else.
The most distinct of all Lilacs is the new S. reflexa
with narrow, cylindrical flower clusters from nine to
twelve inches long which arch downward from near
222 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
the base and thus hang somewhat like the inflores-
cence of the Wistaria. The expanding flower-buds
are bright red and the open flowers are pale rose color.
It will thus be seen that this is a plant of singular
and most distinctive beauty and in the hands of the
hybridist may be the forerunner of a race totally
different in aspect when in flower from present-day
Lilacs. A strong-growing shrub from eight to twelve
feet high, with erect stems and oblong lance-shaped
leaves, its season of flowering is mid-June. It is na-
tive of the margins of woods and thickets on the
mountains of western Hupeh, in central China, where
I had the good fortune to discover it in 1901, and of
introducing it, together with another new species
(S. Julianae), in 1902. The latter is a broad shrub
scarcely exceeding five feet in height but is twice that
much in diameter, and has thin and twiggy branches
and small, softly hairy leaves. Its rather small clus-
ters are very freely produced and the flowers are small
and fragrant and have violet-colored anthers. It
differs from all other Lilacs in having the stalks of
the inflorescence and of the individual flowers and
also the outer surface of the corolla-tube a deep
purple color. The inner surface of the corolla is
white so that as the flowers open the inflorescencé
is purple and white and the contrast is most pleasing
IN ‘‘LILACDOM” 223
and is heightened by the dark violet anthers. It
flowers toward the end of June.
A late-flowering species which under cultivation
has yet to show its qualities in perfection is S.
tomentella. I saw this plant in flower for the first
time on July 9, 1908, on the frontiers of eastern
Thibet at an altitude of nine thousand feet, and I
thought then that I had never before seen such a
handsome species of Lilac. It had foot-high, broad
panicles of pink to rosy lilac colored flowers and on
other bushes they were white. The plants were
from eight to fifteen feet high, much-branched yet
compact in habit, and the wealth of flower clusters
made it conspicuous from afar. The leaves are
elliptic-lance-shaped or rather broader, from four to six
inches long and more or less hairy on the underside.
In 1903, I had collected in the same locality seeds
of this Lilac and successfully introduced it to culti-
vation. Being rather variable in certain characters
it has received several names (8. Wilsonii, S. Rehderi-
ana, S. alborosea), but it must be known by its
oldest name of S. tomentella. Under cultivation it
has flowered several times and I am patiently wait-
ing for it to show its real character.
Of the late-flowering Lilacs the best known in this
country and perhaps the hardiest of all is S. villosa,
224 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
a native of northern China; and from near Peking, in-
troduced by Dr. E. Bretschneider into the Arnold Arbor-
etum in 1882. It is a large shrub of excellent habit
with erect fairly stout branches and oblong-lance-
shaped, rather pale green leaves. The flowers are
rose-colored, pink, or nearly white, but they have an
unpleasant odor. It is, however, a first-rate garden
shrub, exceedingly floriferous, and very valuable for
its hardiness and for its late flowers. Very similar in
habit to the above but with bluish purple flowers is
the Hungarian Lilac (S. Josikaea) and though much
inferior to its Chinese relative as a garden shrub it
has proved valuable as a parent as we shall see when
we come to the hybrids.
Of all late-flowering Lilacs the most strikingly
handsome is S. Wolfii, native of Mandshuria and in-
troduced into cultivation at Petrograd by Russian
botanists. From there it was sent to the Arnold
Arboretum in 1906, before it had received a name.
In foliage and habit it resembles S. villosa but it is
much more vigorous and a taller plant. The flowers
are small, dark blue-purple to rose-purple and are
borne in erect, branched clusters often two feet
high and a foot broad and are produced in great pro-
fusion. Unfortunately the flowers lack the fragrance
of the Common Lilac and of several of the Chinese
IN “‘LILACDOM”’ 225
species but in spectacular beauty it transcends them
all.
The Himalayan Lilac (S. emodi) is among the last
of the true Lilacs to flower and is less hardy than-
any other. It is a large bush, or bushy tree, occasion-
ally eighteen feet tall, with oblong, pointed leaves,
light yellow-green above, silvery gray, and hairy be-
low, and bears long, narrow clusters of small white
fragrant flowers. In its pale foliage it is distinct
from other Lilacs and it is one of the very few species
which thrive better in Great Britain than in New
England.
In 1915, the last of the true Lilacs to flower in the
Arnold Arboretum was S. Sweginzowii, a new-comer
from northwestern China. This is a shrub of com-
pact habit with rather slender dark red branches and
twiggy branchlets with dark dull green sharp-pointed
leaves and long narrow clusters of delicately fragrant
blossoms. The flowers are flesh-colored in bud and
nearly white when fully open and the corolla-tube is
slender and about half an inch long.
-Of true Lilacs some half-dozen other species are
in cultivation in the Arnold Arboretum and promise
to have their own peculiar sphere of usefulness in
gardens. But at present we do not know enough
about their garden value, and, since they are scarcely
226 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
obtainable, further mention of them may be omit-
ted.
The Tree Lilacs, of which there are three species
all native of northeastern Asia, differ from the true
Lilacs in having a short corolla-tube and protruded
stamens. They are large shrubs or small trees with
large, broad, much-branched clusters of white flowers
of unpleasant odor. They blossom when the flowers
of the latest of the true Lilacs are fading. The first
of these Tree Lilacs to bloom is S. amurensis, from
the Amur region of northeastern Asia. This is a
small bushy tree with dark green leaves and flat-
spreading and slightly drooping clusters of ivory-
white flowers. The next to open its flowers is S.
pekinensis, native as its name suggests of northern
China, and is a large bush or bushy tree from twenty-
five to thirty feet high and as much through the
crown. The branches are more or less pendent at
the ends and are clothed with lustrous reddish brown
bark which separates into thin layers like that of
certain Birch trees. The pointed leaves are long and
narrow and hang gracefully and are surmounted by
half-drooping flower clusters which are flat and un-
symmetrical and smaller than those of the other two
species of this group. It was introduced into cultiva-
tion by Dr. E. Bretschneider who in 1882 sent seeds
IN ‘“‘LILACDOM”’ 220
to the Arnold Arboretum, where it flowered for the
first time in 1889.
The last to flower is S. japonica and this is the
best known of the Tree Lilacs. It is common in the
moist woods and forests of central Japan and in-
creasingly so northward and throughout Hokkaido,
whence it was introduced into cultivation by Mr. Wil-
liam S. Clark who sent seeds to the Arnold Arboretum
in 1876. At its best it is a round-topped tree from
thirty to forty feet tall with a clean, stout trunk cov-
ered with smooth, lustrous bark like that of a Cherry
tree. The leaves are large, thick, and dark green and
the flowers are borne in large, erect symmetrical clus-
ters. The wood is very durable in the ground and
for this reason is esteemed above that of all other trees
by the Ainu people of Hokkaido for making their
inaos or wooden wands used for religious and cere-
monial purposes. These inaos are looked upon. as
continual guardians against harm from Nature, dis-
ease, and evil spirits.
Apart from the very numerous seedling varieties
of the Common Lilac there are a number of very
beautiful Lilacs of hybrid origin and in the years to
come a great development of this favorite shrub may
be looked for along these lines. Hybrids are usually
more vigorous in growth than species and often
228 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
vastly more useful as garden plants. Plant-breeding
is full of surprises and it is often the case that parents
of indifferent or relatively little garden beauty by
judicious mating yield offspring of inestimable value.
Already this has happened in Lilacdom. The Hun-
garian S. Josikaea is perhaps the least beautiful of all
known Lilacs but crossed with the Chinese S. villosa
it has given rise to a handsome new race known col-
lectively as S. Henryi after the originator, Monsieur
L. Henry, a gardener at one time attached to the
Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The best known and
most beautiful of these hybrids is Lutéce, which is a
compact, fast-growing, large shrub with foliage re-
sembling that of S. villosa, and large, erect clusters of
rose-purple flowers and it is one of the latest of all
Lilacs to blossom.
The oldest of Hybrid Lilacs and one of the bright-
est jewels in the crown of Lilacdom is the Rouen Lilac
which appeared in the Botanic Garden at Rouen in
1795. It is a hybrid between the Common Lilac
(S. vulgaris) and the Persian (S. persica) but through
an error as to its origin it was christened S. chinensis
—a name at once unfortunate and utterly misleading.
In gardens it is also known as S. rothomagensis. It
is one of the most floriferous of all Lilacs and in its
slender branches and narrow leaves and its small
IN “‘LILACDOM’”” 229
flowers borne in enormous clusters it resembles its
Persian parent while the color of the flowers shows the
influence ofthe Common Lilac. Inaddition to thetype
there is a form (alba) with nearly white flowers.
Another interesting hybrid, also raised in France, is
S. hyacinthiflora which is a cross between the Common
Lilac (S. vulgaris) and the Chinese S. oblata. Itisa
large and vigorous and shapely plant with good foli-
age and small clusters of small, semi-double, bluish
purple, very fragrant flowers. It is less ornamental
than many other Lilacs and as a garden plant it is
chiefly valuable on account of its earliness to blossom,
a character which it inherits from its Chinese parent.
There are other hybrids of value though less well
known, but enough has been written here to prove,
if it be necessary, that even if the Lilac has entered
into its kingdom the frontiers of its dominion have
not yet been approached.
CHAPTER XIII
‘NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS FROM CHINA
SOME NOVELTIES FOR THE HARDY PERENNIAL GAR-
DEN THAT PROMISE WELL
MONG the wealth of new material which
recent plant exploration work in central
and western China has added to the gardens
of North America and Europe there are not lacking
herbs of more than usual interest and value. My own
specialty is woody plants, but actuated by an ardent
love for flowers of all sorts opportunity to send home
material of herbaceous plants was never missed.
Moreover, the principal object of my second jour-
ney to China (1903-05) was to try to introduce a
yellow-flowered Poppywort (Meconopsis integrifolia)
which was known to grow in the alpine regions of
the Chino-Thibetan borderland. Complete success
attended the quest but the plant has not taken very
kindly to cultivation in Great Britain and it cannot
be recommended as a suitable plant for American
gardens.
This Poppywort is a biennial and grows from
one and a half to three feet tall and has rather
230
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IY], “SIaMO|J UOSWILID YL JO s[IOYA U9] JNOGR SuLvaq — SI}] “epeYys MOTJEA Uapjos YS e JO ‘JoJOWeIP UL SeysUT
‘Tye pred v Ay[Ny sadeds JaMOY sey eJUa[NJVA[Nd eNUILI IAL, O} IaIY} “SIAMOLJ 9y¥I]-JOISY SeY WNIOAT[D O1D9UaSG
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 231
globular, clear yellow flowers each from six to eight
inches in diameter. It is probably the most gor-
geously beautiful of all alpine plants, and what joy it
would give me could I recommend it to the garden
lovers of this country in general. This cannot be
done, yet it is probable that in parts of Maine, like
Bar Harbor, in Oregon, British Columbia, and other
districts enjoying a cool summer climate and an
abundant snowfall in winter, this remarkable plant
would thrive. I do not know that it has been given
a trial in the regions mentioned. But if this Poppy-
wort is not for the ordinary garden there are other
handsome and useful herbs from central and western
China which are easily cultivated and are deserv-
ing-of the widest recognition. In this chapter I pro-
pose to mention in cursory detail what I consider to
be the best of the herbs it has been my good
fortune and privilege to introduce to the gardens of
western lands. The great majority are vigorous-
growing and very hardy herbaceous perennials and
in this connection a few remarks of a general charac-
ter may be in order.
Hardy herbaceous plants do not at present en-
joy the same favor in this country as in Great Brit-
ain but each succeeding year appreciation of them
increases. Like trees and shrubs, perennial herbs
pa ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
give permanence to garden beauty and are essen-
tials in the order and fitness of things. In every
garden, large or small, there is place for them,
and in this class of herbs there is a great variety
of plants of perfect hardiness and of easy culture
which will embellish and beautify any and every
site, be it the woodland, waterside, open border, or
the immediate precincts of the home. In a natural
state a majority of these showy and vigorous herbs
grow on the margins of woods and thickets, in moist
meadows, or by the sides of streams and lakes. In
such places the roots are kept cool and abundantly
supplied with moisture and in the autumn the
crowns are covered with quantities of fallen leaves.
These facts are significant and their appreciation of
fundamental importance in the successful cultivation
of these plants. If one is desirous of growing good
vegetables the soil must be rich and must be kept so
by frequent dressings of farm-yard manure or some
equivalent fertilizer, and this is true in the matter of
herbaceous perennials. In addition to a rich soil,
ample water supply at the root, and an autumn mulch
of leaves and well-rotted manure, frequent division
of the root-stock and transplanting are essential to
ensure full results in border cultivation of most hardy
perennial herbs. Lastly, it may be pointed out that
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 233
this class of plants will withstand low winter tem-
peratures with immunity but summer drought is
fatal. They revel in regions where in summer hot,
sunny days are followed by cool nights and where
precipitation is even and ample.
For the waterside and woodland the Senecio tribe
is full of good things. The genus is one of the largest
in the vegetable kingdom. It has a world-wide dis-
tribution and in China alone is represented by more
than a hundred distinct species. The majority of
these are weeds pure and simple and of no ornamental
value whatsoever. On the contrary, others such as
S. clivorum, S. Veitchianus, and S. Wilsonianus are of
striking beauty. These three species agree in having
bold, reniform-cordate dark green leaves each a foot
or more across, on long and stout stalks, but are
otherwise quite dissimilar. The first named has a
much-branched flattened inflorescence, from one and a
half to two feet across and raised well above the
luxuriant foliage and bearing masses of Aster-like
flowers, each from three to five inches in diameter and
of a peculiarly rich golden yellow color in shade un-
like that of any other plant in cultivation. Senecio
Veitchianus and S. Wilsonianus have erect spikes of
flowers from five tosixfeetor more tall. In the first the
spike is simple and tapering and the flowers are clear
234 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
yellow in color. In S. Wilsonianus the spike is
cylindrical, like an enormously elongated thyrse,
and branching at the base, and the flowers are deep
_yellow. In both of these plants the actual length of
the spike clothed with flowers is from two to three feet.
Strong clumps of these three Senecios produce in
August and September a dozen or more flowering
spikes bearing many hundreds of flowers and are
extremely attractive.
Quite different from the above but equally charming
is S. tanguticus which grows from four to five feet tall
and has finely cut foliage and pyramidate panicles from
eight inches to a foot high of clear yellow flowers. The
individual flowers are small and the whole plant sug-
gests a glorified Golden-rod (Solidago). These Sen-
ecios may be easily raised from the seeds which are
freely produced and the seedlings grow rapidly and .
soon make strong flowering plants. Senecio tangu-
ticus is apt to make itself too much at home and must
be watched or it will usurp the whole waterside or
border.
Closely allied to the above-mentioned plants but
totally different in appearance is Artemisia lactiflora.
This new Wormwood has finely divided, Chrysan-
themum-like, aromatic leaves and large feathery
panicles of milk-white, fragrant flowers borne on
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 2355
stems from three to four feet tall. In central China
this plant is a weed of cultivation and when sending
it home I little thought that it would so quickly
develop into such a charming and useful garden plant.
It may be increased easily from seeds or by division
of the rootstock.
Few subjects are more popular for pot-forcing
for winter work than Asfilbe japonica and A. astil-
boides, both old but indispensable plants. Their
recently discovered relatives, A. Davidii and A.
grandis, are not useful for this purpose; but for the
moist border and the waterside they possess much
higher claims than our old friends. David’s Astilbe
was the first of the two known and caused quite a
sensation when exhibited. The flowers are of a
peculiar shade of red, known before only in the
Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria), and the anthers are
blue. The flowering stems are six feet tall with the
flowers densely crowded on much-branched panicles
having ascending lateral branches and from two to two
and a half feet long. Partial shade is best for this
plant since in strong sun the flowers bleach. Asfilbe
grandis is similar in habit and vigor of growth but
has pure white flowers larger than those of any other
Astilbe, and the lateral branches of the flower pan-
icle spread horizontally. The leaves of both species
236 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
resemble those of A. japonica but are much larger
and of greater substance. Hybridists in France and
Germany have employed these and other species in
the breeding of a new and beautiful race of hybrid
Astilbes of which A. Arendsii is the type, and there
are many named varieties on the market. These
Astilbes are easily propagated by division of the root-
stock and the species may be raised from seeds with-
out difficulty.
Well fitted for planting alongside Astilbes, or on
wet humus-clad rocks are Rodgersia aesculifolia, R.
pinnata, var. alba, and R. sambucifolia. ‘These are
strong-growing plants with broad thyrsoid panicles,
each from a foot to eighteen inches long, of fragrant
flowers borne well above the foliage on spikes from three
to five feet tall. In R. sambucifolia the leaves are
truly pinnate but in the others they resemble in form
and texture those of the Buckeye (Aesculus). The
flowers are of the purest white. Rodgersias are easily
raised from seeds but they grow slowly; the rootstock
is a stout rhizome and it is best to commence with
strong established roots.
The Rhubarbs are well known and their bold foli-
age and tall flower spikes make them noble ob-
jects yet they can scarcely be classed as choice
herbs. Very unlike an ordinary Rhubarb, however,
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 237
is the new Rheum Alexandrae. This remarkable plant
has neat, ovate-cordate, shining dark green leaves,
each a foot or more long, and an erect tower-like
inflorescence a yard or more tall, the showy part of
which consists of broad, rounded, decurved cowslip-
yellow bracts overlapping one another like tiles on a
house and beneath which, secure from rain, nestle
clusters of inconspicuous flowers. This Rhubarb
is native of the alpine meadows and moorlands of
the Chino-Thibetan borderland where its peculiar
and rich-colored inflorescence makes it conspicuous
from afar. The plant grows well in any good, rich,
moist garden soil and is fond of partial shade and of
cow dung. It is easily raised from seeds but requires
several years to develop strong-flowering crowns.
The Aconites or Monkshoods are old-fashioned
flowers and count among their numbers many good
garden plants. One of these is Aconitum Wilsonii
which is related to the old A. napellus and is a strong-
growing species with stems from six to eight feet tall
and flowers in September. The leaves are leathery,
dull green, and deeply incised; the flowers iarge and
deep blue in color. After the main spike is past
axillary branches continue to bear flowers until the
advent of sharp frosts. The rootstock is tuberous
and the plants require a rich soil and to get estab-
238 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
lished before the best results are obtained. Another
good and very distinct Monkshood is A. Hemsley-
anum. ‘This is a twining plant growing from eight to
twelve feet high, and in a wild state frequents thickets
where it rambles over shrubs and festoons them with
a wealth of large blossoms in August and September.
The flowers vary considerably in color and although
most people like the deep blue best others declare
the pale blue forms equally beautiful. The rootstock
is tuberous and the twining stems, if made into cut-
tings in late July, root readily. Aconitum Wilsonii
is easily raised from seeds but the opposite is true of
A. Hemsleyanum.
The Meadow-rues (Thalictrum), although they have
beautiful leaves, are not regarded as showy garden
plants yet the new T. dipterocarpum is one of the love-
liest herbs imaginable. It grows from eight to ten feet
tall and the flower stems are very much branched
and bear relatively large lavender-purple flowers
in great quantity. The leaves are broad and much
divided and the whole habit and appearance of the
plant are most graceful and elegant. It requires a
good, well-drained soil, is fond of lime, and revels in
sunshine. Another sun-loving herb is Salvia Przewal-
skii which grows from two to two and a half feet high
and has large blue-purple flowers and good foliage.
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 239
(The Iris family is one of the most beautiful of all,
and Iris chrysographes and I. Wilsonii are welcome
additions. These new-comers are allied to the well-
known I. sibirica and have a similar habit and fibrous
rootstocks. They grow from two to two and a half feet
high, are very free flowering and have narrow, dark
green leaves. In J. chrysographes the standards are
brilliant dark purple-violet and the falls reddish-
purple, each with a median stripe and numerous
spots of golden yellow near the base. Iris Wilsonti has
clear yellow flowers with a copious veining of purple
on the lower half of the falls. These two new species
delight in a moist loamy soil, are not averse to
partial shade, and are well suited for planting by the
side of water.
In recent years China has given to gardens in the
west many very beautiful kinds of Primroses and
among them Primula pulverulenta, P. Cockburniana,
and P. Veitchii. In habit and in foliage the first
named resembles the well-known P. japonica but
has flower scapes a yard or more tall and each bears
nine to eleven whorls of flowers. The individual
flowers are a third larger than those of the Japanese
Primrose, rich crimson in color and often twenty or
more in a single whorl. The flower scapes are
clothed with a white farina and it is this peculiarity
240 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
together with its large flowers and taller scapes that
makes this new plant so very superior to P. japonica
and undoubtedly one of the very finest of all hardy
Primroses. There is an albino form, known as var.
Mrs. R. V. Berkeley, which has cream-white flowers
each with a rich orange-colored eye, and is a worthy
companion to the crimson-flowered type. In Massa-
chusetts P. pulverulenta thrives and is perfectly hardy;
in one garden I know, that of General Stephen M.
Weld at Dedham, Mass., there are large colonies
of this plant naturalized from self-sown seeds. Itisa
true perennial of vigorous growth, is very floriferous,
and remains in flower for a couple of months.
Primula Cockburniana has neat obovate, pale
green leaves and bright orange-scarlet flowers, each
an inch across, and borne in several whorls on scapes
from one to one and a half feet high. The color of the
flowers in this Primrose is unique in the family and is
one of the rarest colors in the vegetable kingdom,
but, unfortunately, the plant is virtually a biennial.
Hybridists, however, have secured several crosses
between it and P. pulverulenta and some of these
hybrids have the perennial character of the last
named and flowers of the same color as those of P.
Cockburniana. In stature and habit these hybrids—
to which the names Unique and Unique Improved
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 241
have been given by the raisers—are intermediate, and
there is every possibility of a new race of hardy Prim-
roses, distinguished by their remarkable orange-
scarlet-colored flowers, being developed from these
two species. A shady position, fairly heavy loam,
cow dung, and an abundance of water at the roots
are the essentials for the successful culture of these
Primroses. An ideal spot is the side of a woodland
stream free of rank weeds.
The third species (P. Veitchii) is a true perennial,
with leaves resembling those of P. obconica but with
a dense felt of white hairs covering the underside.
The flowers are of a pleasing bright rose color and are
freely produced in whorls on scapes from one to one and
a half feet tall. A hardy P. obconica with non-poison-
ous leaves sums up P. Veitchii. A light loamy soil rich
in leaf-mold and a moderately dry situation are neces-
sary for its successful cultivation and under such con-
ditions it will naturalize itself.
Although not hardy except in the warmer parts of
this country Corydalis thalictrifolia and C. Wilsonii
deserve mention here. The first has leaves rather
fleshy in texture in shape resembling those of a
Maidenhair Fern, and very numerous erect racemes
of large clear yellow flowers. The other is a smaller
plant with finely cut leaves, covered with a white
242 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
farina, and erect racemes of deep yellow flowers.
If seeds be sown in May in a cool greenhouse and the
seedlings potted on they will flower the following
winter. Their culture is of the simplest and those on
the look-out for pleasing decorative plants, for basket
or pot culture in a cool greenhouse, will do well to
give C. thalictrifolia and C. Wilsonii a trial.
Lilies belong in the category of herbaceous peren-
nials and I am tempted to add a word on their behalf.
At the commencement of this chapter it is emphat-
ically laid down that a rich soil is necessary to obtain
full results in the herbaceous border. Lilies are an
exception. To them manure is absolutely inimical
and I do so much wish that lovers of these flowers
would appreciate this fundamental truth. It is true
that some, like Lilium tigrinum and L. Henryi, will
withstand abuse in this direction as in others, but
there are very few that can. The herbaceous border
with its rich soil is not the place for Lilies. They
should be planted in association with low-growing
shrubs, as stated in Chapter II.
In the Regal Lily (ZL. regale) it is generally conceded
that garden lovers have a “jewel beyond price,”’ but
the discoverer is fearful lest its admirers undo it with
kindness. Loam, leaf-soil, good drainage, and full
exposure to sun and air are the essentials demanded
NEW HERBACEOUS PLANTS 243
by this Lily. Do not give it fertilizer in any form any
more than you would give an infant in arms beef-
steak. And this is true for Lilies generally in the
outdoor garden where they are planted in the hopes
of their yielding flowers from year to year. Mulch
them with leaves in the fall but do not, if you value
your Lilies, feed them with manure.
CHAPTER XIV
“HARDY” RHODODENDRONS
AMERICA’S NEEDS AND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET
THEM—WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SHAKE OFF THE
SHACKLES OF EUROPE’S MODELS
HODODENDRONS are in the forefront among
hardy ornamental shrubs and are warm
favorites in the gardens of this country
and of Europe and more especially those of the Brit-
ish Isles. ‘The evergreen section with its bold foliage
and large clusters of handsome flowers numbers
within its ranks some of the noblest of all plants
found in the north temperate regions. The section
with deciduous leaves is not surpassed in wealth
of blossom by any class of hardy shrubs. The flow-
ers vary enormously in size in the different species
and embrace all shades of every color except blue.
In many the flowers are delightfully fragrant and
where the climate is congenial the season of flower-
ing is virtually continuous the year round. Small
wonder then that the desire to possess them is so
very general. No class of shrubs possesses greater
attractions, and given certain essential conditions
244
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‘HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS 245
and provided the varieties planted are perfectly
hardy their culture is fairly simple. But in the colder
parts of the United States of America the climate is
such that only the very toughest of existing varieties
survive the summer drought and winter cold, and the
need of a more enduring race is patent. In this
chapter it is proposed to go fairly exhaustively over
the whole field of hardy Rhododendrons and to
draw attention not only to a majority of the best
sorts American gardens possess, but to delve deeper
and point out a possible way toward the attainment
of a race more suitable to the climatic conditions
that obtain.
The subject has many aspects but it may be
opened by remarks on the essential points in the cul-
ture of this class of plants in general. Evergreen
Rhododendrons are mainly woodland, and in a
measure also alpine, plants, and must never be al-
lowed to get dry at the roots. A situation screened
from the morning sun and sheltered from cold cutting
winds and where the roots may be kept cool is essen-
tial to success. The strong sun in March which
draws moisture from the leaves when the ground is
frozen and the roots perforce incapable of making
good the loss is a potent cause of death. This in
conjunction with the tender strain in the present-day
246 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
race and the fact that the majority are grafted on the
not hardy R. ponticum very thoroughly explain the dis-
appointment so generally experienced by American
lovers of these plants, and especially those who gar-
den in New England.
If practicable it is best to plant these Rhododen-
drons in association with trees; for, by so doing, they
receive a measure of protection from the sun’s direct
rays. In thin woods or on the margins of such
woods are good sites and if the situation be open and
exposed a screen of conifers—Hemlock, White or Red
Pine—should be afforded them. If the situation
be such that the roots are kept cool by a thorough
water-supply, the nature of the soil (always provided
it does not contain lime) is of less importance than
is often claimed. Where the White and Red Pine,
Birch, Chestnut, and White Oak thrive, Rhododen-
drons will grow. A soil free of lime—sweet, moist,
and porous—and fairly rich in leaf-soil is the ideal. A
decomposed granitic soil rich in humus is excellent.
In the absence of lime, Rhododendrons will grow in
good loamy soil; but it should ever be remembered
that they are humus-loving plants and require to
be mulched with leaves and the soil enriched with
leaf-soil or sandy peat. It is usually assumed that
peat is necessary in order to grow these plants, but as
*“HARDY’” RHODODENDRONS 247
a matter of fact a far greater number of the species
find a home on humus-clad rocks and cliffs than in
peat swamps.
in regions where the seasons are milder than in
New England, these Rhododendrons will thrive in
positions more or less fully exposed to the sun; but
no matter where they are planted they must never be
allowed to suffer from drought. The root system of
all Rhododenrons is fibrous and scarcely descends
more than a foot below the surface. Obviously a
mass of fine hair-like roots near the surface of the
ground cannot withstand drought and the need of a
mulch of leaves is clearly shown. On account of
their fibrous root system, Rhododendrons are easy
subjects to transplant provided this be done with a
large ball of earth and due attention be given to
keeping them properly supplied with water after-
ward.
The hardy members of the Azalea section are all
virtually deciduous and a majority will stand more
exposure to sun and drier conditions than will their
evergreen relatives, but drought has very evil effects
upon these also. It is advisable to place these
Azaleas fairly close together and, as a ground cover,
to plant different varieties of Heather (Calluna vul-
garis) and hardy Heaths (Erica carnea, E. vagans),
248 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
which are not only pretty in themselves but mask the
ground from the sun’s rays. Another and highly
important item in the culture of all Rhododendrons
is to remove all flowers after they have faded to pre-
vent the development of seed pods and to encourage
new growths.
A race of Rhododendrons that will thrive in lime-
stone soils is at present a desideratum. There are
several Chinese species which grow naturally on such
soils, and it is within the bounds of probability that
the future may see a race at least indifferent to this
mineral. At present, however, those whose gardens
are in limestone areas must give up thoughts of grow-
ing these plants unless they are prepared to make elabo-
rate preparations and take the risks involved. To
those desirous of such experiments it may be pointed
out that mounds of prepared soil should be made and
not dug-out beds filled with suitable compost since
the lime has a very much smaller chance of impreg-
nating a raised site.
For the purpose of this article hardy Rhododen-
drons may be divided into two groups known popu-
larly as Azalea and Rhododendron. In the first the
leaves are deciduous, or nearly so, and rather small;
in the second the leaves are persistent and usually
of good size. These main groups are pretty clearly
‘*HARDY’” RHODODENDRONS 249
defined in the minds of all garden lovers, but it is
convenient to subdivide them again: the Azaleas
into three smaller classes and the Rhododendrons
into two.
AZALEA
The three sections of Azalea may be briefly charac-
terized as follows:
a. Ryopora: Flowers from a terminal bud, leafy
shoots from separate, axillary buds; corolla almost
two-lobed; stamens seven to ten.
b. PENTANTHERA: Corolla funnel-form, stamens
five, otherwise as in Rhodora.
c. Tsutsutsi: Flowers and shoots developed from
the same terminal bud.
(a) The first section includes the Rhodora (R.
canadense) and R. Vaseyi, both good garden plants
which thrive best in moist soil and in the neigh-
borhood of water. The Rhodora grows wild from
Newfoundland to Pennsylvania and New Jersey,
and in the North in May covers large areas of swampy
land with a sheet of bloom. ‘This dwarf shrub, with
its small rose-purple flowers, is so well-known that
further details are unnecessary. Early in May R.
Vaseyi opens its compact clusters of small pink flow-
ers before its leaves appear. This Azalea is an
250 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
inhabitant of a few of the high valleys of the Blue
Ridge Mountains in South Carolina and had been
entirely overlooked until some thirty years ago. It
is a shrub with slender stems, and of loose, irregular
habit, sometimes growing to the height of from fifteen
to eighteen feet, although under cultivation it begins
to blossom when less than a foot high. It is perfectly
hardy and the pure, perfect pink of its flowers is
scarcely equalled by that of the flowers of any other
plant. There is also a form (album) of this species
with white flowers.
(b) Eastern North America is very poor in species
of evergreen Rhododendrons but it can claim to be
the richest region in the world for the section Pentan-
thera. Of the thirteen species belonging to this group
eight are native of the Atlantic seaboard, and one
(R. occidentale) of the western slopes of the Cascade
and Sierra Nevada mountains of the West, and an-
other (R. sonomense), with smaller rose-colored fra-
grant flowers, grows on dry slopes of the mountains
near San Francisco, but is not in cultivation. Of the
other three, one (R. japonicum) is confined to Japan
and Korea, another (R. sinense) to eastern and cen-
tral China, and the third (R. luteum) to the Caucasus
—the region in Asia Minor bordering the Black Sea
and known in ancient times as Pontus—and to Galicia
*“HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS Zool
where only recently it has been discovered. Of the
American species of this group five are well estab-
lished in the Arnold Arboretum and no group of
plants perfectly suited to our climate surpasses
them in beauty. The first to open their flowers are
R. canescens and R. nudiflorum. Both have fragrant
pale rose or pink flowers of various shades which
appear before the leaves or just as they begin to
unfold. In general appearance these two plants
are very similar but one is a southern and the other a
northern plant though there are places where they
grow together. The plants are twiggy, of medium
size, and grow singly or in great masses on treeless hill-
sides or in open woods. Rhododendron canescens is
very abundant in parts of Worcester County, Mass.,
and R. nudiflorum is especially common in the Gulf
States from eastern Florida to eastern Texas.
The next to blossom is R. calendulaceum, the\ Yellow
Azalea of the Appalachian Mountain slopes which
opens its flowers early in June. The color varies
from bright yellow to orange or shades of red and
the beauty is heightened by contrast with the dark
green leaves which are well grown before the flowers
open. It is a rather slow-growing but long-lived
plant, from eight to ten feet tall, and the beauty of
its brilliant-colored flowers is not surpassed by those
pia ye ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
of any other Azalea. The Yellow Azalea is followed
by R. arborescens, another inhabitant of the glades of
the Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to
Georgia, which blooms about mid-June. This is a
tall shrub, growing from ten to fifteen feet high, with
large, pure white, very fragrant flowers, the beauty
of which is increased by the bright scarlet color of
the long exserted stamen-filaments and styles. The
leaves are pale colored and are full grown before the
flowers open. ~.The last to flower is R. viscosum, the
Clammy Azalea or Swamp Honeysuckle, a common
inhabitant of swamps near the Atlantic seaboard,
which does not open its flowers until July. It isa
shrub of medium size with small, very fragrant, pure
white blossoms covered with sticky hairs and the
leaves are often pale bluish, especially on the lower
surface. The plant is valuable for the lateness of
its flowers, which continue to open for weeks when
those of most shrubs are past.
These five Azaleas are all good garden plants which
take kindly to cultivation and thrive in ordinary soil in
either open or shady situations.
Of the other American species of this section, seed-
lings of R. austrinum, R. candidum, and R. flammeum are
growing in the Arnold Arboretum, but it is too early to
judge of their merits as garden plants. The first has
‘HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS 253
pale yellow flowers appearing before the leaves and is
native of the valley of the Apalachicola River in
western Florida; the second has white or pale pink
flowers which appear after the leaves and is native
of southern Georgia; the third species (R. flammeum)
is common in open woods in parts of central Georgia.
The Western R. occidentale with its lovely white flowers
has not yet been successfully acclimatized in the Arnold
Arboretum.
The Chinese R. sinense has large, rich yellow flow-
ers and is almost hardy with us; the other east Asiatic
species (R. japonicum) is perfectly hardy and its
large flame-colored flowers are very handsome. These
species grow from four to six feet high and have stiff |
and relatively thick ascending branches. The re-
maining species (R. luteum, or incorrectly R. flavum),
commonly known as Azalea pontica, is not hardy in
the Arnold Arboretum. It has been much used in
hybridizing as we shall presently see, but it is doubt-
ful if the true species is in cultivation in this country.
As shown above there is a great range of color in the
American Azaleas and being perfectly hardy one
would naturally expect to find them very generally
planted in the gardens of eastern North America.
Such, however, is not the case for the simple reason
that it is difficult to procure them, for very few Amer-
254 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
ican nurserymen are willing to devote the time and
trouble necessary to raise these plants from seeds, the
only successful way in which they can be propagated.
In the absence of these plants and in ignorance
of their value and beauty, resource is made to the so-
called Ghent Azaleas—a race of enchanting hybrids,
but short lived, indifferently hardy, and not suited
to the climate of New England. As pot plants for
forcing purposes it is all very well to import them
from Europe by the shipload, but for the embellish-
ment of the outdoor garden in the colder parts of this
country they cannot be recommended. Much may
be learnt from history in the matter of plants as in
that of mankind, and the outlines of the origin of
these so-called Ghent Azaleas are instructive. In 1738,
Peter Collinson introduced from this country into
England, R. nudiflorum, R. viscosum, and R. calendu-
laceum; in 1793, R. luteum was introduced from the
region bordering the Black Sea. This Pontus Azalea
has fragrant, bright yellow flowers each two inches
across and its value as a garden plant was soon recog-
nized. In a few years a great number of hybrids
between it and its American relatives were raised in
England. The work was soon taken up in Ghent,
first by a baker named Mortier and afterward by
various nurserymen of whom Van Houtte was the
‘HARDY’? RHODODENDRONS 255
first to raise forms having double flowers. But
R. luteum came from a warm climate and its influence
on hybrid offspring has been toward a dislike of low
temperatures. In a measure this explains the lack
of success experienced by garden lovers of New Eng-
land with these Ghent Azaleas. It is probable that
if seeds of R. luteum were obtained from its altitu-
dinal limits in the Caucasus or from Galicia a hardier
type would result.
Another class of Rhododendrons much cultivated
in Belgium is that known as Mollis Azaleas. This
has resulted from the intercrossing of R. sinense and
R. japonicum with various Ghent Azaleas. The class
is a very beautiful one but is not more hardy in New
England than the pure Ghents.
(c) Under the name Tsutsutsi the Japanese in-
clude most of the Azaleas known in Japan, and
of the three species of this section which it is nec-
essary to mention here two grow naturally in the
Land of the Rising Sun and the other in Korea.
The most important is the scarlet-flowered R. Kaemp-
feri which was introduced by Professor Sargent
in 1892, and is one of the most valuable shrubs that
gardens of eastern North America have received from
Japan. It is a deciduous and perfectly hardy shrub
with slender stems and twiggy branchlets and grows
256 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
from three to eight feet high. The blossoms open
about mid-May and the plants are a perfect blaze of
color for one to two weeks. ‘Where fully exposed to
the sun the flowers bleach, and to enjoy the full
beauty of this shrub it should be planted in partial
shade. It is good as a specimen bush but it is better
when massed. The other Japanese species, R. rhom-
bicum, is a shrub growing from four to ten feet high
with slender rigid stems and rich red-purple flowers in
small clusters. It is perfectly hardy and thrives in
the open or in partial shade.
The Korean species (R. poukhanense) is a new in-
troduction and was raised in the Arnold Arboretum
from seeds sent by Mr. J. G. Jack from Korea in 1905.
In cultivation it is a low, much-branched, very com-
pact round-headed shrub and perfectly hardy. The
dark green, oblong, pointed leaves are deciduous and
the flowers are rosy mauve or red-violet in color and
delightfully fragrant. This new Azalea flowers very
freely and promises to be an excellent plant for the
open border or for the rockery. A double-flowered
form is in cultivation under the name of Azalea
yodogawa, but this plant is very inferior to the type
species.
There are other well-known and beautiful Azaleas
like R. amoenum, R. obtusum, and R. ledifolium—unfor-
‘HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS 257
tunately not quite hardy in New England—and rarer.
species like R. Schlippenbachii and R. Albrechtii, but we
must hasten to deal with our second main division.
RHODODENDRON
Hardy evergreen Rhododendrons may be divided
into two groups characterized by the nature of the
undersurface of the leaves. In one the underside of
the leaf is more or less densely dotted with small,
often brownish, scale-like glands; in the other it is
either smooth and green, or more or less hairy (often
densely felted) or clothed with a pale or dun-colored
crustaceous covering.
(a) The group with dotted leaves is a very extensive
one and a great number of species grow on the moun-
tains of western China and on the Himalayas and three
(R. carolinianum, R. minus, and R. lapponicum) are
native of eastern North America. All have small or
comparatively small leaves but only a very limited
number have proved to be hardy and amenable to
cultivation in this country. Many of them may be
rooted from cuttings, but it has been found difficult to
hybridize them with members of other groups. Asa
garden plant for this country, R. carolinianum is by
far the best species of this group and is one of the
very finest of all broad-leaved Evergreens hardy in
258 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
Massachusetts. It is a shrub of compact habit from
four to six feet tall and as much in diameter, with
handsome dark green leaves and is very floriferous.
The flowers are pale to deep pink and are borne in
clusters and open and fade before the young branches
begin to grow and therefore are not hidden by them.
The species is native of high altitudes in the southern
Appalachian region and was formerly confused with
R. minus, which grows in the same region but at a
lower level, under the collective name of R. punctatum.
Rhododendron minus isan old denizen of gardens and has
smaller leaves and flowers and a more open habit than
R. carolinianum and the flower clusters are much
hidden by the young branches which rise high above
them. The third native species (R. lapponicum) is
an alpine plant which also grows wild in Europe and
has proved a difficult subject under cultivation.
The two dwarf Rhododendrons (R. ferrugineum
and R. hirsutum), natives of the mountains of central
Europe, are unsatisfactory in New England but three
hybrids between them and the American R. minus and
R. carolinianum are valuable garden plants in this
climate. One of these hybrids (R. myrtifolium) is be-
tween R. hirsutum and R. carolinianum and is a very
compact round-topped shrub, from two to four feet
in height and as much through, with neat foliage and
‘“HARDY’” RHODODENDRONS 259
small, pretty pink flowers. Another (R. laefevirens),
known in gardens as R. Wilsonii, is a cross between R.
ferrugineum and R. minus and is a shrub of open,
spreading habit and forms low, wide masses. The
foliage is light green and handsome but the flowers are
small and of an unattractive rose color and the value of
the plant is in its ability to cover either sunny or shady
banks and for this it is admirably adapted. The
third hybrid is R. arbutifolium and is probably also
a cross between R. ferrugineum and R. minus. It is
not so good a garden plant as R. laefevirens.
From the cold regions of Mandshuria and Korea
came R. dahuricum and R. mucronulatum, which
though they belong to dotted-leaved group have
deciduous leaves. These grow from four to eight
feet high and are _ sparsely branched. In the
first named the flowers are deep rose-purple and
pink, and rose-colored in R. mucronulatum. They
are the earliest of this class to open their flowers
and in consequence these are often spoilt by late
frosts in the spring. Other early-flowering Rhodo-
dendrons are R. praecox and its variety Early Gem,
which are the result of crossing the Himalayan R.
ciliatum and R. dahuricum. Both are evergreen
bushes, much branched and compact in habit and
have pale to deep pink flowers. In favorable seasons
260 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
when the flowers escape late frosts these plants are
very beautiful in spring, but unfortunately this rarely
happens.
Valuable for the rockery and partial to sunshine
are R. racemosum, R. flavidum, and R. intricatum, three
new-comers from China. They are twiggy plants
growing from four to six feet high and may be rooted
from cuttings. The first named was introduced into
Paris about 1890, and has pure pink to rose-colored
flowers. The other two were introduced into England
by myself in 1904, and one, as its name suggests, has
pale yellow blossoms while those of R. intricatum are
pale violet. These species are very floriferous alpine
plants with small leaves and flowers and of neat and
charming habit.
The only other species of this group that need be
mentioned is R. micranthum, also from China, which
has clusters of minute Ledum-like white flowers
and small leaves. It is a hardy plant of twiggy
growth well suited for massing and grows from four
to six feet tall.
(b) We now come to the last group, the most valu-
able and desirable of all, and the one with which most
people associate the name Rhododendron. As met
with in gardens and in nurseries this group is mainly
of hybrid origin and I may preface what follows by an
‘HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS 261
enumeration of the best varieties which the experi-
ence of the Arnold Arboretum has found most adapt-
able to this climate. With red flowers—Atrosanguin-
eum (very early), Charles Dickens, H. W. Sargent
(late); with reddish flowers—Caractacus; with rose-
colored flowers—Roseum elegans, Lady Armstrong;
with pink flowers—Mrs. Charles Sargent, Henrietta
Sargent; with dark purple flowers—Purpureum grandi-
florum, Purpureum elegans; with light purple flowers
—Everestianum; with white or nearly white flowers,
Album elegans, Album grandiflorum, Catawbiense
album (very early). A few more are mentioned
later on in the text and one or two others, for exam-
ple, the white-flowered Madame Carvalho, are prom-
ising.
It will be seen that the number is very small, and
also it must be pointed out that in the Arnold Ar-
boretum these plants occupy a very favorable posi-
tion at the base of a steep slope clothed with Hemlock
and therefore much protected. Had this chapter
been written two or three years ago one might have
included other varieties such as Mrs. H. H. Hunne-
well, King of the Purples, and Delicatissimum, but
longer experience has proved them less hardy than
was generally supposed.
The mild winter of 1914-15 will long be remembered
262 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
by all lovers of evergreen Rhododendrons who endea-
vor to grow these plants out of doors in New England.
The effects in general were disastrous though fortu-
nately there were exceptions. In some gardens these
Rhododendrons came through exceptionally well,
in others the mortality was greater than ever before.
In the Arnold Arboretum varieties for twenty years
considered “‘ironclad”’ were killed outright. No gen-
eral statement can possibly explain these inconsis-
tencies, but the fact outstanding is that for New Eng-
land a tougher and more adaptable race of evergreen
Rhododendrons is absolutely necessary if they are
to occupy in gardens the permanent place their
beauty merits. Continuing to import plants bred
and nurtured in alien lands where milder climates
prevail will not solve the difficulty. Neither will dig-
ging plants from the mountains of Pennsylvania,
shipping them in carload lots to furnish the estate
and coaxing them in every possible way. This de-
spoiling of the countryside is most reprehensible.
It is vandalism; it is destructive and absolutely op-
posed to the true spirit of gardening which essays to
be constructive. None of the easy and apparent
short cuts will attain the object. The problem has
to be studied from a very opposite viewpoint and
attacked accordingly. True horticulturists should
‘HARDY’ RHODODENDRONS 263
welcome it since it affords much scope and opportun-
ity to prove their worth.
OUR VITAL NEED
Let us dig casually into the subject and look the
facts squarely in the face, and having realized our
situation perhaps some one will seize the vast oppor-
tunity that awaits. What American gardens need
is a race of evergreen Rhododendrons with good foli-
age, and large and bright-colored flowers, that is
perfectly hardy. It is admitted that the few kinds
enumerated earlier have endured the summer drought,
the winter cold, and the March sun of New England
more or less satisfactorily for a number of years but
they are still uncertain and owners breathe freely
each May when they find their plants alive and
healthy. In Massachusetts large sums of money have
been spent on these plants but the results on the whole
are discouraging and some who have given much in
time, labor, and money in the attempt to make this
class of Rhododendrons grow successfully are losing
or have lost hope. Such are the facts of the present-
day situation in New England and it is pertinent to
ask: Is there a remedy or a way out of the difficulty?
I make bold to say that there is, but it entails
beginning again. It means commencing here in New
264 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN
England and elsewhere in this country, and breeding
a race suited to the climatic conditions which obtain;
it means abandoning the old and lazy policy of rely-
ing upon other lands to supply our needs in this re-
spect; it means that we must do here what Europe
has done, namely, work out our own salvation. We
start later than they across the Atlantic but we start
with great advantages including those which have
accrued from the labors of the past. A little of that
concentrated effort and skill which have produced that
most typical of American floral products—the Per-
petual-flowering Carnation—would yield us our de-
sire in the matter of a race of hardy broad-leaved
evergreen Rhododendrons.
The present-day race of evergreen Rhododendrons
is essentially an English product and to better under-
stand the subject let us briefly investigate its early
history. No Rhododendron is native of the British
Isles and the first of the evergreen section to be intro-
duced was R. maximum, indigenous in eastern North
America, which flowered for the first time in London
in 1756.
Pinus peuke, 123
Pinus pumilio, 132
Pinus resinosa, 124
Pinus Strobus, 114, 123
Pinus Strobus, var. nana, 131
Pinus sylvestris, 124
Pinus Thunbergii, 124, 125
Pinus virginiana, 125
Pistacia chinensis, 172
Plant collectors first sent to China, 6, 8, 9
INDEX
Pliny, Roses known by, 12
Plukenet, in his “Almagestum,” 1679, mentions
new Roses from China, 4
Plum, 106
Plum Gardens of Tokyo, 187
Plums, for ornamental fruits, 83
Poison Dogwood, 107
Poison Ivy, 106, 110
Polygonum baldschuanicum, 66
Polygonium multiflorum, 66
Poplar, 106, 177
Populus lasiocarpa, 173
Populus Simonii, 174
Populus suaveolens, 174
Populus szechuanica, 174
Populus Wilsonii, 174
Potentilla fruticosa, 50
Potentilla fruticosa, var. parvifolia, 50
Potentilla fruticosa, var. Veitchii, 50
Primrose, China, introduced into England, 4
Primrose hybrids, 240
Primula hybrids, “Unique” and “Unique Im-
proved” 240
Primula Cockburniana, 239
Primula pulverulenta, 239
Primula pulverulenta, var., Mrs. R. V. Berkeley,
240
Primula Veitchii, 239, 241
Privets (Ligustrum), 96
Provence Rose (Rosa provincialis), known to
Pliny, 12
Prunus, for ornamental fruits, 83
Prunus ansu, 190
Prunus Armeniaca, 190
Prunus Davidiana, 189
Prunus glandulosa, 191
Prunus incisa, 202
Prunus japonica, 191
Prunus Lannesiana, 201, 202
Prunus Lannesiana Gioiko, 202
Prunus Lannesiana grandiflora, 201
Prunus mira, 189
Prunus mandschurica, 190
Prunus mume, 187, 190
Prunus Persica, 188
Prunus spams ibabe 201
Prunus Sargentii, 200
Prunus serrulata, 201
Prunus serrulata albo-rosea, 201
Prunus serrulata ‘James H. Veitch,” 201
Prunus serrulata, var. sachalinensis, 200, 202,
203
Prunus Sieboldii, 201, 202
Prunus subhirtella, 198
Prunus subhirtella, var. pendula, 199
Prunus tomentosa, 191
Prunus triloba, ror
Prunus triloba plena, 191
Prunus yedoensis, 200, 203
Pseudolarix Kaempferi, 134
Pseudotsuga taxifolia, 118
Pussy Willows (Salix), 177
Pyracantha angustifolia, 160
Pyracantha crenulata, 92, 160
Pyracantha coccinea, 92, 160 ‘
Pyracantha coccinea, var. Lalandii, 92, 160
Quince, 106
Rambler Rose, introduced into England from
China, 4, 5; into France from Japan, 9; wild
prototype of, 11
Raspberries, for ornamental fruits, 83
Red fruits, trees, and shrubs with, 84
Redwoods (Sequoia), 113
Reeves, John, sends Wistaria sinensis to England
from Canton, China, 60
INDEX
Remontant or Hybrid Perpetual Roses, parentage
ol,
Retinispora obtusa nana, 130°
Rhamnus, for ornamental fruits, 83
Rhamnus alpinus, 94
Rhamnus catharticus, 94
Rhamnus davuricus, 94
Rhamnus Frangula, 94
Rheum Alexandrae, 237 __
Rhododendron Albrechtii, 257
Rhododendron Album elegans, 261
Rhododendron Album grandiflorum, 261
Rhododendron altaclarense, 267
Rhododendron amoenum, 256
Rhododendron arborescens, 252
Rhododendron arboreum, 266, 273
Rhododendron arbutifolium, 259
Rhododendron Atrosanguineum, 261, 273
Rhododendron austrinum, 252
Rhododendron azaleoides, 266
Rhododendron Boule de Niége, 266
Rhododendron brachycarpum, 269, 270, 271
Rhododendron calendulaceum, 251, 254
Rhododendron californicum, 269
Rhododendron calophytum, 273
Rhododendron candidum, 252
Rhododendron canescens, 251
Rhododendron Caractacus, 261
Rhododendron carolinianum, 257
Rhododendron catawbiense, 264, 265, 269, 270
Rhododendron catawbiense album, 261
Rhododendron caucasicum, 264, 265, 269, 270
Rhododendron caucasicum album, 2
Rhododendron, Charles Dickens, 273
Rhododendron chrysanthum, 269, 270
Rhododendron ciliatum, 259
Rhododendron Coriaceum, 266
Rhododendron dahuricum, 194, 259
Rhododendron delicatissimum, 261
Rhedodendron Everestianum, 261
Rhododendron Fargesii, 273
Rhododendron ferrugineum, 258
Rhododendron flammeum, 252, 253
Rhododendron flavidum, 260
Rhododendron flavum, 253
Rhododendron Fortunei, 267
ododendron Griffthianum, 267
Rhododendron H. W. Sargent, 261, 273
eo Henrietta Sargent, 261
Rhododendron hirsutum, 258
Rhododendron Hybrid Maximum, 266
Rhododendron Hybrids, 260, 266, 271, 273
Rhododendron intricatum, 260
Rhododendron japonicum, 250, 253
Rhododendron Jacksonii, 266
Rhododendron Kaempferi, 255
Rhododendron King of the Purples, 261
Rhododendron Lady Armstrong, 261
Rhododendron laetevirens, 259 9
Rhododendron lapponicum, 257, 258
Rhodedendron ledifolium, 256
Rhododendron luteum, 250, 253, 254
Rhododendron Madame Carvalho, 261
Rhododendron maximum, 264, 266, 269, 270
Rhododendron Metternichii, 269
Rhododendron micranthum, 260
a minus, 257, 258
Rhododendron Mrs. Charles Sargent, 261
Rhododendron Mrs. H. H. Hunnewell, 261
Rhododendron Mont Blanc, 266
Rhododendron mucronulatum, 194, 259
Rhododendron myrtifolium, 258
Rhododendron nudiflorum, 251, 254
Rhododendron obtusum, 256
Rhododendron occidentale, 250, 253 ,
Rhododendron odoratum, 266
Rhododendron orbiculare, 273
309
Rhododendron oreodoxa, 973
Rhoddoendron ponticum, 246, 264, 265, 269
Rhododendron poukhanense, 256
Rhododendron praecox, 259
Rhododendron punctatum, 258
Rhododendron purpureum elegans, 261
Rhododendron purpureum grandiflorum, 262
Rhododendron racemosum, 260
ododendron rhombicum, 256
Rhododendron roseum elegans, 261
Rhododendron Schlippenbachii, 257
Rhododendron sinense, 250, 253
Rhododendron Smirnowii, 269, 270, 271
Rhododendron sonomense, 250
Rhododendron strigillosum, 273
Rhododendron Ungernii, 269
Rhododendron viscosum, 252, 254
Rhododendron wellesleyanum, 271
Rhododendron Wilsonii, 259
Rhododendrons, planting Lilies among, 27, 31;
culture of, 245; preparations for in limestone
areas, 248; in England, 264-268; natural
habitat, 260
Rhodora Azaleas, 249
Rhodora canadense, 249
Rhodora Vaseyi, 249
Rhodora Vaseyi album, 250
Rhus, for ornamental fruits, 84
Rhus javanica (R. Osbeckii or R. semialata)
for summer display, 45
Ribes, for ornamental fruits, 83
Rodgersia aesculifolia, 236
Rodgersia pinnata, var. alba, 236
Rodgersia sambucifolia, 236
Rosa, confines and classification of the genus, 10
Rosa alba, 12
Rosa arvensis, 12
Rosea Banksiae, 6
Rosa Banksiae, var. lutea, 6, 16
Rosa Banksiae, var. lutescens, 16
Rosa bracteata, 6
Rosa Brunonii, 155
Rosa centifolia, 7, 12, 13
Rosa centifolia, var. muscosa, 12
Rosa chinensis, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12
Rosa chinensis, var. semperfiorens, 4, 5, 7
Rosa chinensis, var. spontanea, 10
Rosa cinnamomea, 12
Rosa damascena, 7, 12, 13
Rosa Ecae, 15
Rosa filipes, 156
Rosa foetida, 15
Rosa Fortuneana, 8
Rosa gallica, 7, 11, 13
Rosa Gentiliana, 156, 157
Rosa gigantea, 9
Rosa Helenae, 156, 157
Rosa hemisphaerica, 12, 15
Rosa Hugonis, 15
Rosa humilis, rz
Rosa laevigata, 4, 6
Rosa longicuspis, 156, 157
Rosa Luciae,
Rosa microphylla, 7
Rosa moschata, 8, 12
Rosa multibracteata, 157
Rosa multiflora, introduced into France from
J wea :
Rosa multiflora, var. carnea, introduced into
England, 5 ar r
Rosa multiflora, var. cathayensis introduced into
England from China, 4
Rosa multiflora, var. platyphylla, introduced
into England from China, 5
Rosa odorata, 5, 8
Rosa odorata, var. gigantea, 6, 155
Rosa odorata, var. pseudoindica, 8
310
Rosa pendulina, 12
Rosa persica, 15
Rosa provencialis, 12
Rosa Roxburghii, 7, 10
Rosa Rubus 156, 157
Rosa rugosa, 6, I1
Rosa setigera, 11
Rosa spinosissima, 12, 16
Rosa virginiana, double flowered form, 11
Rosa Willmottiae, 157
Rosa xanthina, 15
Rose American Beauty, wild prototype of, 11
Rose d’Amour, double flowered form of Rosa
virginiana, 11
Rose Edward, 7
Rose, Moss, 12
Rose, Musk, 8, 12, 156
Rose of Sharon, for summer resorts, 39
Roses, introduced into Europe from China, 3, 4;
parentage of modern varieties, 7; now in cul-
tivation mostly made varieties, 11; kinds used
by hybridists, 12; varieties known to ancient
writers, 12; old varieties displaced, 13; how
propagated, 13; ideals in breeding, 14; new
varieties desired, 15; name, Rose common to
all peoples, 17; its place in the history of the
world, 17; societies, devoted to encouraging its
advancement, 17; new introductions, 156
Roses, climbing organs of, 57
Roses, for ornamental fruits, 83
Roses, Wild, Lilies planted among, 31
Rouen Botanic Garden, origination of Syringa
chinensis (or Syringa rothomagensis) at, 228
Rowan, for ornamental fruits, 83, 87
Royal Gardens, Kew, receives first plants from
China, 4; Sophora japonica thriving at, 42
Rubus, for ornamental fruits, 83
Rubus, bambusarum, 168
Rubus chroédsepalus, 168
Rubus flagelliflorus, 168
Rubus Henryi, 168
Rubus ichangensis, 169
Rubus Swinhoei, 169
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum patulum, var.
Henryi), 50
Salix Bockii, 170
Salix magnifica, 170
Salvia Przewalskii, 238
Sarcococca humile, 166
Sarcococca ruscifolia, 166
Sargent, Prof. C. S., flowers for first time Mag-
nolia kobus, var. borealis, 185; introduces
Malus Sargentii, 211; introduces, Rhododen-
dron Kaempferi, 255; met in Boston by Mr.
Wilson en route to China in search of Davidia,
276
Sargent, Mrs. Charles S., Lily named in honor of,
29
Sassafras, 84, 102, 107
Sambucus, for ornamental fruits, 83
Sambucus callicarpa, 91
Sambucus canadensis, 94
Sambucus canadensis, var. maxima, 95
Sambucus pubens, 95
Sambucus pubens, var. leucocarpa, 95
Sambucus racemosa, 91
Scale insects, to control, 203, 212
Schizophragma hydrangeoides, 68
Sciadopitys verticillata, 126
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), 88
Senecio clivorum, 233
Senecio tanguticus, 234
Senecio Veitchianus, 233
Senecio Wilsonianus, 233, 234
“Seven Sisters” Rose (Rosa multiflora, var.
platyphylla), 5,9
INDEX
Shadbush, 107
Sheep Laurel, 142
Shepherdia canadensis, 88
Shisandra chinensis, 64
Siberian Moonseed (Menispermum dauricum), 75
Silky Cornel (Cornus Amonum), 98
Silver Maple, 106
Sinomenium acutum, 75
Slater, Gilbert, obtains first Crimson China
Monthly Rose in England, 5
Smilax, climbing organs of, 56
Smilax hispida, 75
Smilax rotundifolia, 75
Smilax Sieboldii, 75
Smith, Prof. R. sends from Japan to England
“the Engineer” Rose, 8
Smoketree (Cotinus), 107
Snowberry, Creeping, 150
Snowberry Bush (symphoricarpos), 99
Snowberries, for ornamental fruits, 83
Snowy Mespilus, 107
Sophora japonica, for summer display, 41; intro-
duced into France from China by Father
d’Incarville, 42
Sorbaria Aitchisonii, 48
Sorbaria arborea, 48
Sorbaria assurgens, 48
Sorbaria Lindleyana, 49
Sorbaria sorbifolia, 48
Sorbaria stellipili, 48
Sorbarias for summer display, 47
Sorbus, for ornamental fruits, 83
Sorbus americana, 87
Sorbus Aucuparia, 87
Sorbus decora, 87
Sourwood or Sorrel Tree, 40, 106
Spicebush"(Benzoin aestivale), 84, 110, 180
Spindle-tree, for ornamental fruits, 83
Spondias axillaris, 173
Spraying solutions for scale insects, 203, 212
Spruce, Canadian, or White, 121
Spruce, Colorado Blue (Picea pungens), 119
Spruce, Engelmann’s, 121
Spruce, Norway, 120
Spruce, Oriental, 122
Spruce, Serbian, 121
Stachyuras chinensis, 170
Staphylea holocarpa, 171
Staphylea holocarpa, var. rosea, 172 _
Stewartia pentagyna, summer flowering native,
45
Stewartia pseudocamellia, for summer display, 44
Stranvaesia Davidiana, 161
Stranvaesia Davidiana, var. undulata, 161
Sumach, 84, 106, 107, IIo
Summer Lilac, 52
Summer gardens, shrubs suitable for, 39
Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis), 72, 73
Supple-Jack (Berchemia scandens), 65
Sweet, introducer of Fairy Rose, 7
Sweet Bay (Magnolia glauca) for summer dis-
play, 40
Sycopsis sinensis, 167
Symplocos crataegoides, 97
Symplocos paniculata, 84, 98
Symphoricarpos, for ornamental fruits, 83
Symphoricarpos mollis, 99
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, 99
Symphoricarpos racemosus, 99
Symphoricarpos racemosus, var. laevigatus, 99
Syringa affinis, 215,219
Syringa affinis, var., Giraldii, 219
Syringa alborosea, 223
Syringa amurensis, 226
Syringa chinensis, 228
Syringa chinensis alba, 229
Syringa emodi, 215, 225
INDEX
Syringa Henryi, 228
Syringa Henryi Lutéce, 228
Syringa hyacinthiflora, 229
Syringa japonica, 215, 227
Syringa Josikaea, 214, 224, 228
Syringa Julianae, 222
Syringa oblata, 215, 219, 220, 229
Syringa pekinensis, 226
Syringa persica, 221, 228
Syringa persica, var. alba, 221
Syringa persica, var. laciniata, 221
Syringa pinnatifolia, 221
Syringa pubescens, 220
Syringa reflexa, 221
Syringa Rehderiana, 223
Syringa rothomagensis, 228
Syringa Sweginzowii, 225
yb tomentella, 223
yringa villosa, 223, 228
Syringa vulgaris, 213, 214, 228, 229
Syringa Wilsonii, 223
Syringa Wolfii, 224
Tamarack or Hackmatack, 134
Taxodium, 113
Taxus baccata. 136
Taxus canadensis, 136
Taxus cuspidata, 136
Taxus cuspidata, var. nana, 137
Tecoma radicans, 67
Tecoma radicans. var. praecox, 67
Thalictrum dipterocarpum, 238
Thayer, Mrs. Bayard, Lily named in honor of, 29
Thea cuspidata, 164
Thuja gigantea, 127
Thuja occidentalis, 128
Thuja occidentalis Little Gem, 133
Thuja occidentalis, var. lutea, 129
Thuja occidentalis, var. pendula, 129
Thuja occidentalis, var. plicata, 127, 120 i
Thuja occidentalis, var. plicata argenteo-varie-
gata, 129
Thuja occidentalis recurva nana, 133
Thuja occidentalis Reedii, 133
Thuja occidentalis Tom Thumb, 133
Thuia occidentalis umbraculifera, 133
Thuja occidentalis, var. Vervaeneana, 128
Thuja occidentalis, var. Wareana, 129
Thuja occidentalis, var. Wareana aurea, 129
Thuja occidentalis Woodwardii, 133
Thuja orientalis, 129
Tiger Lily (Lilium tigrinum), 20, 25
Tokyo, Plum Gardens of, 187
Trailing Arbutus, 148
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus), 172
Trellises for climbing plants, 58
Tripterygium Regelii, 64
Trumpet-flower (Campsis radicans, or Tecoma
radicans), 67
Trumpet-flower, climbing organs of, 57
Tsuga canadensis, 114, 122
Tsuga canadensis, var. compacta, 122
Tsuga canadensis, var. microphylla, 123
Tsuga canadensis, var. pendula, 123
Tsuga canadensis, var. Sargentiana, 122
Tsutsutsi Azaleas, 249
Tulip-tree, 102, 106, 107
Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), 84, 106, 108
Turner, Messrs. Chas., purchase stock of “The
Engineer” Rose and change name to “Crim-
son Rambler,” 9
Ulmus americana, 176
Umbellate Lily, type of the group, 25
Ume (Japanese Apricot), 187
Under-tree planting, shrubs for, 166
oll
Vaccinium, for ornamental fruits, 84
Vaccinium Vitis-idaea, 148
Vacciriums, planting Lilies among, 31
Van Houtte, first to produce double Rhododen-
dron luteum, 254
Varnish Tree (Kéelreuteria paniculata), for
summer display, 41
Veitch, John Gould, first to send Lilium auratum
to England, 21
Veitch, Messrs., first in England to flower Lilium
auratum, 21; receive first seeds of Giant
Arborvitae (Thuja plicata), in England, 127;
send E. W. Wilson in search of the Davidia,
275
Veronica angustifolia, 53
Veronicas, planting Lilies among, 31
Viburnum, 106, 110
Viburnum acerifolium, 95
Viburnum alnifolium, 95
Viburnum americanum, 9r
Viburnum buddleifolium, 163
Viburnum Canbyi, 97
Viburnum cassinoides, 97
Viburnum coriaceum, 162
Viburnum Davidii, 161
Viburnum dentatum, 97
Viburnum dilitatum, 91
Viburnum furcatum, 95
Viburnum Harryanum, 162
Viburnum Henryi, 161
Viburnum Lantana, 95
Viburnum lantanoides, 95
Viburnum lentago, 97
Viburnum Opulus, 91
Viburnum Opulus, var. xanthocarpum, 92
Viburnum plicatum, 95
Viburnum propinquum, 162
Viburnum prunifolium, 97
Viburnum pubescens, 95
Viburnum rhytidophyllum, 95, 162
Viburnum rufidulum, 97
Viburnum Sargentii, 91
Viburnum Sieboldii, 95
Viburnum tomentosum, 95
Viburnum utile, 162
iburnum Veitchii, 95
Viburnum Wrightii, 91
Viburnums, for fruits and flowers, 79, 83
Vilmorin, Maurice de, raises first tree of Davidia
involucrata in Europe, 294
Vinca minor, 147
Virginia Creeper, 106, 107, 110
Vitis aestivalis, 72
Vitis amurensis, 71
Vitis armata, 71
Vitis betulifolia, 72
Vitis bicolor, 72
Vitis cinerea, 72
Vitis Coignetiae, 70
Vitis cordifolia, 73
Vitis Davidii, 71
Vitis Davidii, var. cyanocarpa, 71
Vitis Doaniana, 72
Vitis flexuosa, var. parvifolia, 72
Vitis flexuosa, var. Wilsonii, 72
Vitis labrusca, 73
Vitis Piasezkii, 72
Vitis pentagona, 72
Vitis reticulata, 72
Vitis Romanetii, 72
Vitis rupestris, 73
Vitis, climbing organs of, 56
Von Siebold, Philip Franz, introduces Prunus
subhirtella, var. pendula, into Holland, 199;
introduces Malus floribunda into Holland, 207;
introduces Malus Sieboldii, 208; distributes
Malus ringo, 210
312
Walnut, 106 d
Washington, George, plants Lilac at Mount
Vernon, 214
Washington Thorn, for ornamental fruits, 85
Waterer, hybridizer of Rhododendrons, 268
Wayfaring Tree (Viburnum Lantana), 95
Waxwork (Celastrus scandens), 65, 83
Weld, Gen. Stephen M., Primula pulverulenta
in garden of, 240 ;
Wichuraiana Rose (Rosa Luciae), introduced
into Belgium from Japan, 8; wild prototype
of, 1r
Wild Roses, extolled in poetry and prose for
centuries, 16; Lilies planted among, 31; for
fruits and flowers, 79; in autumn colors, 106
Williams, S. T., introduces Syringa affinis into
Arnold Arboretum from Japan, 219
Willock, Sir Henry, introduces Yellow Persian
Rose, 15
Willow, ros
Willows, new introductions, 170
Wintergreen, or Checkerberry, 149
Wistar, Dr. Caspar, Wistaria named in honor
of, by Nuttall, 60
Wistaria, 56
Wistaria, how named, 60
INDEX
Wistaria, Chinese, 60
Wistaria, Japanese, remarkable for long racemes
of flowers, 61; when and by whom introduced
es Europe and America, 62; how propagated,
3
Wistaria floribunda, var. macrobotrys, 61
Wistaria frutescens, 60
Wistaria multijuga, 61
Wistaria sinensis, introduced into England from
China, 60
Witch Hazels (Hamamelis), 177
Woodbines (Lonicera Periclymenum), 66
Xylosma racemosum, 173
Xylosma racemosum, var. pubescens, 173
Yellow flowered shrubs, 49
Yellow and orange fruited shrubs, 92
Yew, 136
Yew, English, 136
Yew, Japanese, 136 :
Yoshino-sakura, Japanese Flowering Cherry, 300
Yucca filamentosa, 49, 147
Yucca flaccida, 49, 147
Yucca glauca, 49,147 |
Yulan (Magnolia conspicua), 182
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TIM AIUT
00026424958