B E v E R L y s I L L s Gardener, Opera Legend

" Life in the city... I love its vitality, but not the stress.

Often I can't wait to escape to the country. There in the quiet beauty

of my garden I find peace, contentment and renewal.

I've been a Miracle-Gro fan for years. I use it on everything

in my garden - and everything grows just beautifully."

MIRACLE-GRO eric an Horticulturist Volume 71, Number 6 June 1992

ARTICLES Night and Daylilies by Peter Loewer ...... 12 These easy, sun-loving perennials include some evening stars.

Daylilies of His Field by Tom Cahill ...... 17 When Brother Charles Reckamp makes crosses, the results can be heavenly.

A House Full of Wmgs by Meg Williamson ...... 20 A behind-the-scenes visit to Callaway Gardens' Day Butterfly Center. JUNE'S COVER A Tree History: The Empress Tree Photographed by K. Mark Cowick by Susan Sand ...... 27 The zebra longwing (Heliconius charitonius) alights on a Texas This "weed tree" is said to be our most valuable timber. thistle (Cirsium texanum) at the Zilker Butterfly Garden and Trail at Oz-some Poppies the Texas Botanical Garden Society by Molly Dean ...... 30 in Austin. Dr. Larry Gilbert, who There's no place that can't be a home for some of these bold helped design the butterfly garden yet fragile beauties. there, has found that this butterfly has the unique ability to absorb protein, making it longer lived than The Desert Farmers of the Southwest most butterflies. A tropical butterfly by Betty Fussell ...... 36 whose larval food plant is Passiflora Some eighteen centuries before Columbus arrived on New World caeruiea, it can survive freezing shores, native tribes were "keeping the corn from misunderstanding." nights as long as day temperatures are warm enough to thaw it out. In most of the United States, it needs the protection of an indoor butterfly garden, such as the Day Butterfly o EPA R T MEN T S Conservatory at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Read Commentary ...... 4 more about these two butterfly gardens beginning on page 20. Letters ...... 5

Offshoots ...... 6

Book Reviews ...... 9

Classifieds ...... 44

Pronunciations ...... 46 American Horticultural Society

The American Horticultural Society seeks COMMENTARY to promote and recognize excellence in horticulture across America.

OFFICERS 1991-1992 his month an unprecedented Mr. George C. Ball Jr. gathering of world leaders takes President place in Rio de Janeiro. The agenda West Chicago, Illinois T of Earth Summit, a United Nations-spon­ Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes First Vice President sored conference on the environment, will Mount Vernon, Virginia focus on two concepts: that humanity has Mr. Richard C. Angino an incalculable impact on the natural en­ Second Vice President Harrisburg, Pennsylvania vironment and that our species must take Mr. Elvin McDonald responsibility for that impact. Secretary We at the AHS applaud Maurice Strong, Houston, Texas secretary-general of the U.N. Conference on Mr. Gerald T. Halpin Environment and Development, for having Treasurer Alexandria, Virginia the vision and ability to gather repre­ sentatives of seventy governments and more than 1,000 nongovernmental organizations for this event. AHS will be BOARD OF DIRECTORS represented by one of our newer members, Rory O'Connor, a television Mrs. Suzanne Bales Bronxville, New York production executive and journalist, who will report to us on developments Dr. William E. Barrick related to horticulture. Pine Mountain, Georgia Another important event opened in April for a six-month run in Columbus, Dr. Sherran Blair Columbus, Ohio Ohio. AmeriFlora '92, this nation's first attempt at an international horticul­ Mrs. Mary Katherine Blount tural exposition, is a courageous act that deserves the support of our members. Montgomery, Alabama Such "garden expositions" originated in Europe following World War Mrs. Sarah Boasberg II with a dual purpose: to create beautiful and useful public parks in areas Washington, D.C. Dr. Henry Marc Catbey destroyed by war, and to celebrate the richness of their region's horticul­ Washington, D.C. tural activities. Thus the earliest garden expositions took place in Holland, Mr. Russell B. Clark Belgium, Germany, and France, and the concept spread to other countries Boston, Massachusetts Mrs. Beverley White Dunn in Europe. Today they are primarily celebrations of the beauty and useful­ Birmingham, Alabama ness of ornamental horticulture. Dr. John Alex Floyd Jr. Why haven't Americans done this sort of thing before? Sure, we gather Birmingham, Alabama in convention centers and put on spring flower shows-valiant efforts of Mrs. Julia Hobart Troy, Ohio regional societies that are generally well-attended. But we have nothing in Mr. David M. Lilly America to rival the European shows. St. Paul, Minnesota This is due in part to our not having a unified horticultural community. Mr. Lawrence V. Power New York, New York A single horticultural display simply could not represent all of North Dr. Julia Rappaport American horticulture. Imagine someone announcing an exposition of Santa Ana, California European gardening and horticulture. Which one? British, Dutch, French? Mrs. Flavia Redelmeier Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada The organizers of AmeriFlora '92 did a wise thing. They chose to Mrs. Jane N. Scarff promote, generically, the value of gardening and the beauty of plants and New Carlisle, Ohio flowers. There are educational demonstrations, fun events for kids, and a Mrs. Josephine Shanks great abundance of attractive, colorful displays. Houston, Texas Mrs. Billie Trump While it may not reach the level of sophistication and refinement of the Alexandria, Virginia European expositions, it is an excellent start. Just as we are a young Mr. Andre Viette country, we are to a great extent a nation of "beginning" gardeners. So the Fishersville, Virginia Ms. Katy Moss Warner generic, educational, "entry-level" approach that comprises much of Lake Buena Vista, Florida AmeriFlora '92 is appropriate. Let us hope that more gardeners result from the tremendous effort the Columbus community has made. We encourage all of our members to go, not only to see what does well in ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR the southeastern Great Lakes subregion, but also to wimess a first attempt at Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes a world-class horticultural exposition. Other groups across the country should consider the possibility of undertaking similar projects in their communities. George C. Ball Jr., AHS President

4 JUNE 1992 American Horticulturist

Editor Kathleen Fisher LETTERS Assistant Editor Mary Beth Wiesner Editorial Assistant Steve Davolt Design Director Plants in Education for its care. I admit that we do attribute an Joseph Yacinski No wonder four-year-old Charles had so animal characteristic to plants when we Designer much trouble when told that plants talk about feeding them and it may not be Bob McCracken "needed food to survive," as related in the scientifically correct, but it does reinforce Membership Director article "Wiggly Creatures and Amazing our goal. I am much more careful about Darlene Oliver Mazes" by Brian Holley (April). Plants do my tendency to anthropomorphize since not need food to survive, and to tell children my experience with Charles. Editorial Advisory Board Dr. Gerald S. Barad so misleads them. Growing plants in solu­ I too find the recent interest in plant Flemington, New Jersey tion culture hydroponics is an easy way to studies by educators a very exciting John Bryan show children that plants only require air, prospect. No other medium offers as many Sausalito, California John Creech light, water, and the proper minerals. Two­ opportunities for intellectual and affective Hendersonville, North Carolina liter plastic soda bottles or 35-millimeter development, as well as the development of Keith Crotz plastic film canisters make excellent practical skills. ChiUicothe, Illinois Panayoti Kelaidis hydroponic systems for school use. Denver, Colorado The April "Commentary" about using Peter Loewer plants in science education adds another ~ Asheville, North Carolina voice to what might become a renaissance ~ Janet M. Poor ~ Winnetka, Illinois for plant use in education. Four recent ~ Dr. James E. Swasey curricula funded by the National Science ~ Newark, Delaware Foundation center on gardening or plants; g they are Wisconsin Fast Plants, GrowLab, t5 Advertising American l:iorticultural Society LifeLab, and Project LEAP (LEarning About ~ ~ Advertising Department Plants). There have also been numerous ~ 2700 Prosperiry Avenue recent publications about the use of plants ~ Fairfax, VA 22031 UJ in education. David R. Hershey ~ (703) 204-4636 University of Maryland j Color Separations College Park, Maryland Correction: A photograph that accom­ Chroma-Graphics, Inc. panied "Wiggly Creatures and Amazing Printer Brian Holley responds: Mazes" in April was misidentified. The maze William Byrd Press, Inc. I certainly agree that hydroponics can be a garden photo by Allan Rokach was taken at Replacement iss ue s of AMERICAN HORTICUL­ very effective way of teaching basic plant the New York Botanical Garden. The real TURIST are available at a cost of $2.50 per copy. The physiology in a classroom setting. I use opinions expressed in the articles that appear in Longwood Gardens maze appears above. AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST are those of the hydroponics with older students at the authors and 3re not necessarily those of the Society. Royal Botanical Gardens' Teaching Gar­ Botanical nomenclature in AMERICAN HORTICUlr TURIST is based on HORTUS THIRD. Manuscripts, den to demonstrate the ways in which artwork, and photographs sent for possib le publication various nutrients affect plant growth. will be returned if they are accompanied by a self-ad­ VICTORY GARDEN MEMORIES dressed, stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee the However, in this instance, I was talking safe return of unsolicited material. about a very different age group. And most For an upcoming article, American AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST, ISSN 0096-4417, of the plants that children come in contact is the official publication of the American Horticultural Horticulturist wOHld like to hear Society, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA with, whether they are in a forest, a garden, from members who grew or helped 22308-1300, (703) 768-5700, and is issued six times a or at home, will be growing in soil or a grow victory gardens during World year as a magazine and six times a year as a News Edition. The American Horticultural Society is a non­ similar medium. As a result, when working War II. Of course, you were mere profit organization dedicated [0 excellence in horticul­ with children in a gardening program, I babes then. But perhaps family ture. Membership in the Society includes a subscription to AMERICAN HORTICU LTURIST. National memo feel it is quite important that they under­ stories or journals have kept this ex­ bership dues are $45; two years are $80. Foreign dues stand the role of soil and of techniques such perience alive. Tell liS briefly what are $50. $12 of dues are designated for AMERICAN as composting for improving the soil. HORTICULTURIST. your parents grew, whether the Copyright © 1992 by the American Horticultural When I'm working with preschoolers, one children helped, whether it was Society. Second-class postage paid at Alexandria, Vir­ of the goals is to sensitize them to the needs delightful or drudgery, and how that ginia, and at addi ti ona l mailing offices. Postmaster: Please send Form 3579 to AMERICAN of plants as fellow organisms. In the par­ has affected your gardening today. HORTICULTURIST, 793 1 East Boulevard Drive, ticular program referred to in the article, each Alexandria, VA 22308·1300. child adopts a house plant and is responsible

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 5 AHS Affiliates

Members of the following institutions are participants in AHS's Affiliate Membership Program, a networking OFFSHOOTS opportunity available to most botanical gardens, plant societies, and horticultural groups.

American Calochortus Society Hayward, California American Hibiscus Society Coco Beach, Florida Bok Tower Gardens Lake Wales, Florida Botanica, The Wichita Gardens Wichita, Kansas Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden Dallas, Texas Durfee Conservatory Amherst, Massachusetts East Tennessee Horticulture and Landscape Association Knoxville, Tennessee Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens Youngstown, Ohio Friends of Longue Vue New Orleans, Louisiana Friends of Manito Park Spokane, Washington Friends of the Botanical Gatden University of California Berkeley, California Friends of the Davis Arboretum Davis, California more for the fact that hardly anyone else has Illinois Native Plant Society Horticultural Discrimination Westville, Illinois it than for the fact that it is strikingly beauti­ Inniswood Society By Elisabeth Sheldon ful. On this subject I found an amusing para­ Westerville, Ohio graph in the memoirs of the English novelist Kentucky Native Plant Society hen I began flower gardening in E. F. Benson, which follows an affectionate Richmond, Kentucky earnest and met other people description of a garden he has made: Lyon Arboretum Association devoted to that pursuit, I There was nothing of the slightest in­ Honolulu, Hawaii W thought I had moved into a somewhat terest or rarity, for this garden was not Master Gardeners International Corporation rarefied atmosphere. I felt that somehow intended to be one where the owner, Alexandria, Virginia my fellow gardeners and I, through our with difficulty deciphering a metal Matthaei Botanical Gardens constant association with flowering plants, label, solemnly introduces the visitor Ann Arbor, Michigan had undergone a kind of mysterious to a minute mouse-colored blossom Memphis Botanic Garden Foundation purification process that freed us from and tells him that never before has this Memphis, Tennessee many human frailties-at least in our deal­ species flowered in Sussex . .. How I National FFA Alexandria, Virginia ings with one another. I thought we would long, on such occasions, to stamp on Nebraska Statewide Arboretum all be happy guileless gardeners together­ the mouse, passionately exclaiming, Lincoln, Nebraska children of paradise, in a way. However, 'And it shan't go on flowering in Sus­ Newfoundland Horticultural Society I'm now aware of strong evidence that we sex now .. . ' St. John's, Newfoundland have brought one unworthy element to our Benson's strong reaction notwithstanding, Oklahoma Botanic Garden and Arboretum horticultural heaven from the world out­ this way of measuring the worth of any Stillwater, Oklahoma side, and that is snobbery. object, animate or inanimate, is regrettable Rare Fruit Council International This snobbery has two aspects. The first but still comparatively innocent. Miami, Florida is the simple manifestation of the old It is the second aspect of horticultural Santa Barbara City College human failing of wanting to have some­ snobbery I find more disturbing-that of Environmental Horticulture Program Santa Barbara, California thing one's friends and neighbors don't those who concentrate on one whole group Tennessee Native Plant Society have (yet). It makes the gardener cherish of plants and look down on all others. I Knoxville, Tennessee his Corydalis cashmeriana for the cupidity don't mean enthusiasts of a particular Texas State Horticultural Society it arouses in his chums, his Androsace for genus-say those who adore Iris, Primula, College Station, Texas the anguish of longing he reads in visitors' or Rosa-who love these plants especially eyes, and his Arisaema candidissimum but appreciate and grow many others. I

6 JUNE 1992

mean those who embrace one group and constructing screes and moraines, devising discount all the rest. Reginald Farrer, who crevices made of just the right rock, placed UNIQUE encountered this attitude in his time as at just the right angle to suit his Lewisia, HOUSEPLANTS well, wrote in In a Yorkshire Garden: Saxifraga, and/or other highland princess­ It is the specialist in gardening that es. I've even heard of a passionate alpinist I dread-not the specialist in him­ who puts all his pots of a particularly ex­ self . . . but the spirit of narrow igent subject into the refrigerator every exclusiveness that specialism seems night and takes them out in the morning. liable to breed. Alpines are truly lovely plants, restrained Oddly enough, he had just been speaking and elegant, and certainly provide a chal­ of people in Cornwall who concentrated lenge to those who need one, especially if they on growing gorgeous rhododendrons and are trying to grow them at low elevations in scorned his beloved small plants from the the United States. The fanciest of these plants high mountains. Nowadays that situation are also hard to find and expensive when Inhale our Sweet has been almost completely reversed, with found. Dedicated rock gardeners join alpine Parma Violets many sophisticated gardeners sneering at societies and raise as many as they can from rhododendrons (and other plants that their seed exchanges. This is all innocent and Established in 1892, Logee's is produce big explosions of color) and wor­ commendable activity--even I try doggedly one of the country's foremost shipping only alpines. In fact, it is among to raise alpines. Even I, as I criticize, am mailorder sources of rare tropicals. these alpine enthusiasts that the biggest leaving my writing pad to go peer, now and Our color illustrated catalog lists plants snobs seem to be found today. Many then, at seed flats that I hope are hatching over 2,000 of the finest fragrant and of them value a plant only if it is very small, Erodium, rock yarrows (Achillea spp.), and flowering plants. very rare, and very difficult to grow. They Androsace that might miraculously resign scorn large, lusty perennnials and- remain themselves to living in my stone wall. I yearn L08ee's unmoved even at the sight of smallish rock to have alpines as well as easy rock plants plants if they are the sort that are at all from below the tree line. Greenhouses amenable. If a plant can be grown by a Nevertheless, rock gardeners and other 141 North Street novice, no matter how pretty it may be, it specialists should keep in mind that Farrer Dept. AH is beneath their notice. may have had something when he said: Danielson, Conn. 06239 It is easy to understand a gardener'S This cult of the separate rarity is the going overboard for alpines, even to the destruction of true gardening . .. the Catalog $3.00 refundable point of spending a lifetime hauling rock, true gardener despises nothing . .. You may ignore, you may leave out, but you must never despise . .. EW beauty, gorgeous While it was Farrer who introduced the new colors, exotic fine art of rock gardening to Great Britain, fragrance and it is Louise Beebe Wilder who is given the fascinating new interest Nare given to your credit for bringing it to America. Like Far­ garden by the addition of a rer she adored alpines but regretted the Water Lily Pool. And, attitude that was quickly assumed by some fortunately, every garden, who became experts in the field. She wrote large or small, provides in defense of easy saxatile plants that "sel­ ample room for a Water Lily Pool, or at least a dom receive sufficient credit . .. they ask simple sunken tub-garden. so little-which, instead of arousing our gratitude seems to engender a faint con­ Marvelously beautiful tempt. " effects can be achieved quickJy and with little Shouldn't we listen carefully to these two effort or expense. You can superb gardeners? Shouldn't we enjoy plants enjoy a Water Lily Pool for their own sakes rather than for their social this summer if you plan positions? Shouldn't we note the beauties of now. an ordinary clump of sundrops as well as those of Daphne, value the contribution of a mass of stout Delphinium as well as that of a two-inch Penstemon acaulis, of Aquilegia chrysantha as well as A. jonesii? And when a rock plant, such as an Aubrieta or Cam­ panula elatines var. garganica, is pretty and along with Aquatic Plants easy to grow, we certainly should not scorn and Ornamental Fishes it but rather be grateful to it for giving so and Pool Accessories. much to our gardens in exchange for so little SEND $3.00 to: William Tricker, Inc. effort on our part. 7125 Tanglewood Drive Water Gorden :!>p.ecl£llIslt .... Independence, Ohio 44131 Elisabeth Sheldon is a frequent contributer since 1895 (216) 524-3491 to American Horticulturist.

8 JUNE 1992 BoOK REVIEWS

gra phs on almost everyone of the 273 pages of text. These are often on the same page as the plant under discussion, but not always, and you don't know whether a plant will be illustrated without referring to the index. Some of the plants are mag­ nified specimens beautifully photo­ graphed, while others are indifferent examples. The text is reminiscent of a stroll through Ingwersen's nursery with him at your side giving short descriptions, snip­ pets of history, lots of praise (he only shows you plants he likes), and occasional cul­ tural hints; the feeling of affection for plants comes through strongly. This is a book to browse through, recognizing familiar plants, looking for new ones, and aching to extend the list to include one's own favorites. Alpine plants form a category without fixed boundaries and in Alpines this collection you can find plants that The Gardens of Roberto Bude Marx Wi7! Ingwersen. Sagapress, Inc.!Timber come not only from above the tree line, but Sima Eliovson. Sagapress, Inc.!Timber Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 1991. 292 also from forests, deserts, and the seashore, Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 1991.237 pages. 73/4" x 101/2". Color photographs. along with garden hybrids and selections. pages. 83/4" x 111;4". Color photographs, Publisher's price, hardcover: $65. AHS Lovers of these beautiful plants are often black-and-white illustrations. Publisher's member price: $55. specialists but not usually purists, so alpine price, hardcover: $45. AHS member price: gardeners tend to make room for any $38. The late Will Ingwersen was probably one desirable plant that seems to fit in their of the ten best nurserymen in the United gardens. Brazil's unique cultural composition, a mix­ Kingdom. He specialized in alpine plants at But Will Ingwersen's nursery is not your ture of races and diverse indigenous and his nursery southeast of London. I visited own garden, so some of the plants may not European influences, has produced an artis­ there a few years back and wandered be hardy in New England or growable in tic dynamic of extraordinary excitement, around in wonder at the variety and beauty Arizona. Many of the hybrids and good energy, imagination, and high technology. A of the well-grown plants. An elderly man forms are not available in the United States, fine example is Roberto Burle Marx, interna­ who was hovering around came up to me so you have to understand phrases like "in tionally known landscape architect and and started to talk about plants. This was general cultivation" or "in catalogs" to painter, designer, botanist, passionate gar­ Ingwersen himself, connoisseur of plants mean something else. There is still pleasure dener, and collector. He has worked with and extensive traveler like his nurseryman­ in reading about the unattainable. great talents-Le Cor busier, Oscar Nie­ plantsmafl father. Typically, he showed us He grumbles a good deal about botani­ meyer, and Lucia Costa, his teacher and some of his best and rarest specimens, not cal name changing and repeats author greatest influence. He has traveled the world as a sales pitch, but because he needed to Reginald Farrer's ridiculous use of the for seeds and plants for both himself and for share his obsession. word "race" for "genus," but his tone is botanical gardens. He has designed, among His previously written Manual of Alpine genial and plant-friendly. He leaves you heaven knows what else, tablecloths, tiles, Plants has been useful and popular. Now feeling that a life close to plants is well wall and floor murals, and mosaics. we have his last words on alpines in a book spent. -Geoffrey B. Charlesworth The late Sima Eliovson first met Marx in edited and arranged by his colleague in the 1973, visited him often, and wrote this Alpine Garden Society, Richard Bird. This Geoffrey B. Charlesworth is the author of excellent biography of the man and his is a less encyclopedic but a more personal The Opinionated Gardener and has held accomplishments, because she believed his and more casually organized work. It is various offices in the American Rock Gar­ work has been the "greatest single in­ also a handsome book with color photo- den Society. fluence on gardens since the development

AMERI CAN HORTICULTURIST 9 of the English garden in the eighteenth cen­ tury," which liberated garden design from NORTH AMERICAN HORTICULTURE the formal French and Italian Renaissance gardens. Marx has moved freely in all tradi­ tions, taking whatever he needed to expand The Second Edition of North American Horticul­ into still another dimension-his own-in ture: A Reference Guide, which he creates masterpieces on the edited by Thomas M. Bar­ NORIH AMERICAN ground_ "I paint my gardens," he once said, rett, is now available from and so he does, with a brilliant palette_ the AHS Book Program. HORllCUITURE • Marx achieves his effects in large part Compiled by AHS, the com­ because of his impressive knowledge of A ~dbook o{ bo niculruMll O>!IIAluOOn.. p la.n l toeietiet, pletely revised and ex­ eduunon.lp~ public ...dhiAoric prdcoa. how plants live together in their habitats. panded North American lIclu>Iarly orpmatioOl., boWlic:&l f.nd honiculruMlllibrari... ODIlIUY&CiOll~prdc:z>club UlOCi&tioat,llD dlD"'eb lDOJ1' . He then plants them accordingly in his HortiCulture: A Reference ~Hotticulrunl Society. designs. He is selective, preferring to use Guide is the most com­ prehensive directory 6f U.s. many plants of only one species, and he and Canadian horticultural controls his design to complement and not organizations and pro, overpower the architecture. It must be said grams. Major new sections that these are all high-maintenance gardens in this edition include native for individuals, businesses, or governments plant societies and batani­ cal cllIbs; state, provincial, with full purses, but there is much for the and local horticultural or­ amateur to study and try. ganizations; horticultural Look, for example, at how he can "paint" ther.gp~; and historical hor­ a scene with banks of just two or three colors ticulture. Thousands of or­ ganizationsand programs are arranged in twenty'-eight categories, including: ronser­ of coleus and grass cut in a mosaic pattern; vation organizations; international registration authorities; national governmental what he can do with falling water, walls, and programs; noniculture educatien progr.ams; botanical gardens, arboreta, eanser­ levels; boulders and river rocks; assertive vatories, and other putllic gardens; plant societies; and community gardens. geometric shapes in a "natural" landscape; and sculptural plants like Vriesea imperialis North American Horticultyre is the only single source for this information. It will lle an invaluable reference fer professional and amateur gardeners, horticulturists, and used with vines and tropical vegetation_ anyo.ne interested in plants, gardel1ing, and eonser.vation. Roberto Burle Marx trusts his work will show what "gardens ought to be-spaces The volume is available 10 AHS members for just $78.50 postpaid. in which people (can) .. _renew their faith and belief in finding a better wa y of living." They do_ -Faith Jackson

THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL Faith Jackson is a former book editor ofthe SOCIETY FLOWER FINDER Miami Herald.

This is the most authorita­ The Golden Age of American tive, comprehensive guide ):t.I(.~~I!II»tth,,)l l., "~!fl R,.Jtr~ )Ii!l "' .. .."J,"' ...... JI­ Gardens to selecting flowers Witli ft,rtype of gardem and climate. big, beautiful, expensive book about big,

You'll fiAd over 1,200 rultivars ' l' "~ .... <.>S'\' AUTtlfl~tT"TlVE. beautiful, expensive gardens-all belong­ erganized 1n seventy-five t;tHIPR&R&NSlVS- (;\I\OS TO Sll:UCT1NC ing to America's rich and very rich of fifty "Rower Fit1de!" lists of bultlS, I'lOW~*S WITH. "ASTING !luu'n, Til" CR6AT~ST t>I>:ST "'NO to 100 years ago. Superb as a coffee table pereAnials, and annuals. l)lUAU aUS't$T~N~l, toN\) THEe LOWEn ""UNTttN"NC~ RI>:Qur\l.~ .. tit>IT~ ornament, it is a work of serious scholar­ Special highligHts of this ship as well. bOok include: over 400 exquisite color pliotographs IAtQUHlNE HERmAU The book got its start in the 1970s with "n\t ·hn~..,.,w.:,1..A1JI, from outstanding garden photograpllers; a botanical ~q,'ftl~;\I.ll.""'IIt. .. ,- \.I,):~",,~ t.h.~~ "'I\~ ~\t'·N."""" the rediscovery of a remarkable collection index with the American Association of NlIrserymen ~~'it.tt .at.v l ¢ r t1! nursery crops coding; and complete information on of "magic lantern" slides commissioned by planning for sequential color, combining colors, and working with plant forms and textures. the Garden Club of America (GCA) early in this century. Through GCA efforts, these This $40.00 volume is just $35.00 postpl!id for AHS members. Additional copies are $32.50 each postpaid. 1,400 hand-colored, glass-plate images have become the nucleus of the Smith­ TO ORDER: sonian Institution's new pictorial Archives Send a check or money order along with the titles of the books ordered to: AHS Books, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. To charge your Visa m MasterCard call (800) 777-7931. of American Gardens. Supplemented by over 200 other photo­ graphs (most in black and white), the heart

10 JUNE 1992 of this book comprises 100 of these The author is the keeper of the National dreamy, softly tinted images. More would Collection of Primroses in the North of have been even better. All 1,400 are listed, England (Yorkshire) and is just about the at least, in an appendix. only primrose expert who is also a much But this is not really a picture book. Most honored botanical artist. And yes, there is of its 408 pages are crowded with a text dense a chapter on botanical painting. with facts . Eleanor Weller is chairman of the Reviewers do look for mistakes, and Archives of American Gardens; Mac Gris­ since there is no such thing as a perfect wold is a New York writer with a special book, turn to page 72. The captions for interest in garden history. Drawing on a wide numbers one and three are switched. array of primary sources, they spent five The illustrations must be viewed in years working on this book, accumulating in natural light in order to get the best rendi­ the process fifteen file drawers of correspon­ tion of color and in bright light in order to dence and documentation. best see the fine detail. A first impression Intelligently winnowed, the results are concerning the color has never quite left still monumental. Over 500 gardens are me: about a dozen of the reproductions profiled, set into social and cultural con­ seem to be stuck on the color mulberry. text, their owners and designers illumined Botanical illustrations need to preserve by anecdotes, and the whole leavened by the delicate tones of the originals. I found an almost chatty style and a good helping myself wishing the color had been printed of wit. Though at times the wealth of detail by the firm that is used by American Hor­ SUNDIALS. WEATHERVANES overwhelms both the big picture and the ticulturist instead of a firm in far-off Sin­ WEATHER INSTRUMENTS gardens themselves, it would be ungrateful gapore. Then I saw the illustrations with to criticize Griswold and Weller for giving the author's article in another magazine. GARDEN ORNAMENTS us too much of a good thing. The book is much, much better. Free Catalog With an encyclopedic range, evocative I put the author at the top of my list of photographs, and a sense of humOI; this book people with whom I would most like to spend will satisfy and inspire many gardeners and a spring day and maybe sip a little cowslip Wind & Weather preservationists. -Scott C. Kunst wine. On second thought, one day would not be nearly enough. -Cyrus Happy P.O. Box 2320-AH, Mendocino, CA 95460 Scott C. Kunst is a landscape historian in (707) 964-1284 Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cyrus Happy is president of the American Primrose Society. The Book of Primroses Barbara Shaw. Timber Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon, 1991. 96 pages. 11" x 93/4". Color illustrations. Publisher's price, Book Order Form hardcover: $35. AHS member price: $30. o Alpines ...... $5~.00 o The Gardens Here is a book about one of my favorite of Roberto Burle Marx $38.00 subjects charmingly written by a know­ o The Golden Age ledgeable and talented author. One look of American Gardens . $64.00 o The Book of Primroses $30.00 inside and you will be captivated by sixty­ four reproductions of excellent botanical Postage and handling: $2.50, first book; $1.50 watercolors. each additional book. Virginia residents add 4V2% sales tax. Please allow six weeks for delivery. Prices This is not a book about the wide rang­ are subject to change without notice. ing genus Primula. Rather it is about named varieties of garden primroses that Enclosed is my check for $ ______have been around for a long time. Starting D Visa D MasterCard Exp. Date: with the foundation plants-wild prim­ rose, cowslip, oxlip, a colored primrose Acct. #: from Eastern Europe, and P. juliae-the Signarune: illustrations lead through sports and hybrids, doubles, jack-in-the-green and Ship to: hose-in-hose, on into the miniature world Street: ______of P. juliae hybrids. The text explains the history and City: o Choice of stunning Opal White or Bronze-TInt qualities of the plants in an easy conversa­ glazings on white or bronze framework 0 QWIK'· tional style. The chapter on growing prim­ State: window/screen change system 0 Do-it-yourself assembly 0 America's # 1 value. roses is loaded with special little tricks that Zip: Send $2 for C%r Catalogues, Prices, can make you a highly successful grower. SENT FIRST CLASS MAIL. Primrose aficionados will enjoy the way MAIL TO: AHS Books, 7931 East Boulevard Dealer Inquiries Welcome Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. AH692 the author delicately sidesteps the question VEGETABLE FACTORY, INC. of the origins of the Garryard varieties. PO. Box 1353, Dept. AHO Stamford, CT 06904-1353

AM ERI CAN HO RTICULTURIST 11 Night Daylilies

After-five gardeners can choose varieties that open as the day draws to a close.

B y p E T E R L o E w E R hen we moved to our citrina, ordered in 1984. Known in the healthy stem (or more properly, a scape) first country house in the 1930s as the citron daylily, it has arching will often reach three to four feet and bear late 1960s, among the leaves up to forty inches long that are up to fifty buds with two or three opening few plants left in a gar­ rippled along the edges and attractive in each evening. den ignored for about their own right. They are dark green and Yet while descriptions of this plant admit Wfifty years were two big clumps of the in autumn turn to a golden yellow and that it's attractive, most write it off for lemon lily (Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus) finally to a bright yellow brown. But most ha ving an undesirable night-blooming and hundreds of the common orange dayli­ importantly, the narrow flowers open in habit and narrow flowers. One team of ly (H. fulva 'Europa'). late afternoon and stay open all night, contemporary writers criticizes the foliage For a number of years gardening took a finally starting to decay about noon of the as well, for tending to die too early in the back seat to restoring the house to a next day (earlier if the day is excessively fall (undoubtedly a fault if your garden is semblance of habitability, so we were glad warm). The three lemon yellow sepals have devoted to only one species, but I find the to have the daylilies. They required no streaks of green on their backs. Each tip is fall color very attractive, especially with work at all, blooming without fail every stained with a blot of purplish brown, easi­ grasses and other perennials). summer. ly noted when the flowers are in bud. The The citron day lily originally came from As our garden grew, our collection of petals are a clear and pale lemon yellow north central China's Shensi province. In perennials went beyond those ordinary and the blossoms are sweetly fragrant at 1890 a Catholic missionary, Guiseppe varieties found at local garden centers, large­ night. I have a friend who planted a whole Giraldi, sent a plant to Antonio Biondi in ly as a result of my entering the wonderful row of them beneath his bedroom window Italy. Professor E. Baroni of the Museum world of mail-order nurseries and growing a so that on warm summer nights, the light of Botany at Florence saw Biondi's plant number of plants from seed. perfume is wafted in upon the evening air. and in a description published in 1897, The first of our seedling daylilies was H . And the plants bloom for a long time. A gave it its botanical name.

12 JUNE 1992 The hybridizing began immediately, in the early 1900s. It too was nocturnal Long-blooming little 'Stella de Oro', with everyone hoping that by mixing the with narrow-petaled flowers and was writ­ which has been called America's most genes of the citron day lily with other ten off as "dull and worthless." popular day lily, is a winner in the species and clones, they would eventually 'Golconda' appeared in 1924, the result evening too. produce a flower that would be open for of a hybrid between a forgotten clone and longer than twenty-four hours. H. citrina. The flowers were large and light In 1928 Bay Street Nurseries distributed In 1903 two Naples nurserymen, Karl cadmium in color, but because they were 'Lemona', a night-blooming plant that Ludwig Sprenger and his nephew Willy night-blooming, this hybrid was aban­ reached five feet and produced numerous Milller, released 'Baroni', a plant similar to doned by the Farr Nursery Company. pale lemon yellow flowers almost five in­ H. citrina but with fuller flowers. That 'Thelma Perry' was listed in 1925 by ches across. It was gone by 11 o'clock on same year, 'Millleri' was released by a Amos Perry as a hybrid between H. thun­ warm, sunny mornmgs. Charles Sprenger-who turned out to be bergii and H. citrina. This plant was 'Golden West', a hybrid between H. the same Sprenger with an Anglicized first described as having "erect foliage, tall well­ citrin a and H. aurantiaca, was introduced name-and, of course, his nephew Willy. branched spikes ... each with fifteen to by H. P. Sass in 1932. H. aurantiaca ap­ He said it was the best of the hybrids twenty flowers, blooming from July to Sep­ peared in Kew Gardens in 1890 and was between H. thunbergii and H. citrina. The tember." Alas, it too was nocturnal. assumed to have arrived from Japan at an flowers were described as being very large Another cross between H. citrina and H. earlier date. with a sweet scent. Unfortunately it opened thunbergii, 'Citronella', was released in A survey of American Hemerocallis about 4 o'clock in the afternoon and was 1926. Although it had excellent foliage and Society members failed to locate a source gone before noon the next day. pale yellow flowers fuller than either of any of these citron daylily hybrids, either 'Fulcitrina' resulted from a cross be­ parent, this night-bloomer was discon­ from nurseries or a private collection. Ob­ tween H. fulva 'Maculata' and H. citrina tinued in the trade. viously the idea of enjoying daylilies in the

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST J3 THE ALL-AMERICA DAYLILY SELECTION COUNCIL raftspeople, says Angelo Cerchione, get juried before But so many of the really good daylilies are in such short supply they can present their products in prestigious shows. that unless a nursery takes plants to a tissue culture lab, there C "But everyone is allowed to register daylilies with judg­ just won't be enough exceptional stock." ing taking place over a long period of time. Almost 40,000 have Cerchione says the council's goal is to evaluate all of the been registered, but no performance verification has ever been 13,000 available cultivars, both new and old. Of the older done. Some of the very large nurseries have internal systems to ones, he observes: "You don't throwaway good genetic ferret out unworthy plants, but that's not common." material and you don't throwaway beauty. You wouldn't Cerchione, of Deep Gap, North Carolina, is executive direc­ throwaway a Picasso just because he's out of fashion. You tor of a three-year-old group, the All-America Daylily Selection want to save anything that can offer one good characteristic, Council, which incorporated last year. Its members include like diamond dusting or creping. And you want some data for growers from New England to California, Florida to Pennsyl­ comparison, so if someone orders 'Aztec Gold', the grower can vania and Missouri. Cerchion€ started devcdoping a perfor­ suggest a better gold. " mance evaluation system five or six years ago, just out of Among its all-America selections, the council will try to curiosity. He knew that all of the 13,000 cultivars on the include day lilies with different uses. Highway departments market could not be equally excellent. may want cultivars that withstand salt and spread to six feet "If the only criteria you have is a pretty face, daylili€s a,re in diameter, so they have to dig fewer planting holes. Landscape terrific. But if you begin to try to find a balanced performer­ daylilies may bloom for 100 days but have rather ordinary attractive foliage, plants that will not bleach in the sun, plants flowers. Front door specimens have shapes or coloring that without a terrible spent bloom habit, and plants that hold their make them stunning on close inspection but may stop bloom­ flowers above the foliage-the attrition rate gets to be enor­ ing after a month and a half. mous. By using questionnaires and through talking to commer­ Says Cerchione of the council: "We see ourselves as a service cial people, we eventually developed a set 0f fitty criteria." to the public and also to people who are inter€sted in daylilies The group evaluates daylilies at three levels. At Tier One, whether commercial or amateur gardeners. We don't sell Cerchione and his staff visit gardens and nurseries and rate daylilies. While most of the members are growers, their business every flower they see on general criteria such as overall beauty activities take place outside the organization. What we're trying and foliage type. If a daylily gets a passing grade on this initial to do is to go through all of the dayWies now in circulation." test, the information is added to a computer file and the plant In Tier One they have been through about 6,000 of the is promoted to Tier Two and brought to Cerchione's gardens 13,000 existing cultivars. There are between 500 and 600 in in North Carolina. Th€re it is tested further to see if it is worthy Tier Two and about 200 inTier Three. "When we get to that of moving up to Tier Three. If it is, plants are shipped to sixteen top one percent that a commercial enterprise could invest in or test stations across the country. Then all year long, data comes an amateur could put in his or her garden because it's been back monthly and is added into a computer database. As a known to do well in their weather zone, we'll be dealing with result of following this procedure for two years, the computer some pretty terrific daylilies." is jammed with information. "We have 108 codes, so we can For example, while the average day lily has good foliage for include such information as whether it's a double that tends to eight to ten we€ks, the best will be attractive for eighteen weeks. go single," says Cerchione. The average daylily increases by two, but some of the better One member of the council is Darrel Apps, a hybridizer and varieties will produce ten divisions. The average daylily owner of Woodside Garden in Chadds Ford, Pellilsylvania. He produces twenty-one days of bloom, but the days of bloom b€lieves that most new hybrids are of good quality but that too vary considerably around the country-in California som€ many older cultivars have been allowed to stay on the market. plants produce for 300 days-so the council has developed a "The older varieties had thin petals instead of fat petals. figure called the average daylily bloom intensity (ADBI). They didn't have good foliage, and their bloom times were very The ADBI tells how many blooms per day a plant is providing short," says Apps. The modern daylily, in comparison, "is a over its entire period of bloom. The average is a bloom every other totally new plant." day per scape. Some cultivars will average 2.7 blossoms in the first There are some 600 breeders in the country, turning out as year and in their second or third year, will go as high as eight or many as 1,000 new hybrids a year. "We should be thankful for twelve. Next year, the council will have found sufficient cultivars all these breeders," says Apps. "Our pallette is getting very rich." lacking in poor features and well above average in performance Yet given this rapid growth in the number of available cultivars, to announce its first All-America Daylilies. perhaps it's not surprising that some growers are skepnic~1 about When the consumer's guide that the council is preparing is their quality. The English had landscape authorities like William published, daylily selection will be a whole new ballgame. As Robinson to set standards for gardens and plants, says Apps, but the newer cultivars enter the market, they can be paired with in the United States, there are few experts to say sweepingly, "This performance data just like automobiles or electronic applian­ is the way it should be." Hence the need for groups like the ces, and garden€rs can have a very clear choice as to which is All-America Daylily Selection Council. a good daylily and which is a loser. -Peter Loewer Cerchione agrees that most of the inferior daylilies are older ones. "Right now," says Cerchione, "if you buy daylilies, For more information on the All-America Daylily Selection chances are the plants are from cultivars fifteen to twenty years Council, write Route 1, Box 625, Deep Gap, NC28618 oreall old and they were probably not the best daylilies at that time. (704) 264-7839.

14 JUNE 1992 evening has been unpopular over the past Because plants don't use time pieces, but eight decades, suffered bad press, or per­ function on solar time, these observations haps was looked upon as being declasse. must be made in solar time. In solar time, In the 1930s, A. N. Steward introduced noon occurs not when the clock proclaims a second nocturnal daylily, H. altissima, it but when the sun crosses the observer's found in the Kiangsu and Anhwei provin­ meridian-that spot directly overhead ces of China. My efforts to find seeds paid where the sun appears to be the highest in off six years ago when Major Howell's the sky. What we call standard time is solar international seed exchange came to the time at the center of each time zone. At the rescue. Planted out in May, they produced western border of any time zone, it will be flowering plants the following year. thirty minutes later, and at the eastern bor­ Botanical descriptions of H. altissima der, thirty minutes earlier. And solar time call for leaves to four feet long and fragrant is measured on the twenty-four-hour clock, flowers that begin to open after 3 p.m., are so 2 p.m. is really 14:00 hours and 7 p.m. fully open by 9 p.m., and call it quits is 19:00 hours. around 8 o'clock the next morning. The Spencer's classification system for noc­ scapes are supposed to be four to six feet turnaVdiurnal daylilies has five categories: tall, hence the species name. Noc 0: The new flower is open at least But my scapes were over seven feet tall, and 80 percent between 12:00 and 16:00 solar the orange brown flowers, while fragrant, time and remains fresh all night. opened in the very early morning, stayed open Noc 1: The new flower is at least 80 all day, and gave up the ghost at dusk. percent open between 16:00 and 22:00 Darrel Apps, who ran the Department of solar time. Education at Longwood Gardens for Noc 2: The bud is less than 80 percent seventeen years and has more than forty open at 22:00 solar time but at least 80 cultivars to his credit, told me I no doubt percent open by 06:00. had an impure strain of seed. "Even though yours came from a botanical garden, in the intervening years some hybridization oc­ curred among the plants that produced SOURCES your seed," he explained. "While frag­ rance is there, along with increased height, American Daylj[y and Perennials, the nocturnal habit is gone." P.O. Box 210, Grain Valley, MO Today H. altissima is being used to cre­ 64029, (816) 224-2852. Catalog $3 ate a whole new breed of taller daylilies (deductible). with night-blooming genes. Caprice Farm Nursery, 1524 S.W. There are literally hundreds of nocturnal Pleasant Hill Road, Sherwood, OR and extended-bloom daylilies available. 97140, (503) 625-7241. Catalog $2 However, most catalogs and nurseries (deductible). neglect to pass the information along, Daylily Discounters, Route 2, Box believing that gardeners are uninterested in 24, Alachua, FL 32615, (800) 329- the garden-after the cocktail hour rolls 5459. Catalog $3 (includes $5 around. For example, in his 1989 book coupon). Hemerocallis, the Daylily, author R. W. Top: 'Yearning Love'; Center:

AMERI CAN HORTICULTURIST 15 NOCTURNAL DAYLIL Y CUL TIVARS he following descriptions of nocturnal daylily cultivars 'Lime Painted Lady'. Noc; greenish ye llow flowers lightly dusted include the noc number according to Donald Spencer's with glitter. T system if possible; if not, the notation is "noc." Because 'Lullaby Baby'. Noc 2 (3 when nighttime temperatures are in the many of these flowers are difficult to find, information such as 40s); light pink flowers with green throat. bloom time is missing for some. 'Lusty Lealand'. Noc. Six-inch, fire engine red flowers with a 'After the Fall'. Noc; two-and-a-half-inch flowers of tangerine gold throat on twenty-eight-inch scapes; plants bloom mid­ and copper blend with a yellow halo; plants are twenty inches season and rebloom. high and bloom very early in the season. 'Margaret Guillory'. Noc; six-inch, fragrant flowers of two-tone 'Agape Love'. Noc 2; seven-inch ivory flowers washed with rose with a green throat on twenty-one-inch scapes; plants pink; fifteen-inch high plants bloom midseason. bloom early in the season and repeat bloom. 'American Bicentennial'. Noc; six-inch, fragrant flowers of dusty 'Master Blend'. Noc; huge seven-and-a-half-inch, fragrant rose with green throats; plants bloom midseason on twenty­ flowers of rose pink with a green throat on twenty-five-inch eight-inch scapes. scapes; plants bloom midseason. 'Best of Friends'. Noc 2; six-and-a-half-inch, deep pink flowers 'May May'. Noc 2 (even after 45-degree nights); creamy flowers with a green throat; plants bloom early to midseason on with a chartreuse throat. nineteen-inch scapes. 'My Belle'. Noc 2; flesh pink flowers with a green throat. 'Bitsy'. Noc 1 (except after a very cold night); two-inch, fragrant 'Puddin'. Noc; two-and-a-half-inch, fragrant, lemon yellow yellow flowers on twenty-inch scapes above six-inch grassy flowers on twenty-inch scapes open until midnight; plants foliage; plants bloom continually. bloom midseason. 'Butterpat'. Noc 1-2; two-al'ld-half-inch, fragrant, creamy yel­ 'Red Bantam'. Noc; two-inch flowers of bright red with a low blossoms on twenty-six-inch scapes; plants bloom mid­ tangerine throat on eighteen-inch s<;apes; plants bloom early season. midseason. 'Eeenie Weenie'. Noc; one-and-a-half-inch, fragrant blooms of 'Silver Circus' . Noc; seven-inch, fragrant flowers of bright yel­ light yellow Oil twelve-inch scapes last well into the night. low suffused with pink, ruffled edges, and a green throat on 'Erin Prairie'. Noc 2; golden yellow flowers with a grass green thirty-inch scapes; plants bloom early to midseason. throat. 'Stella de Oro'. Noc 1; three-inch fragrant golden yellow flowers 'Evening Bell'. Noc 2; seven-inch flowers of light yellow with a on twelve-inch scapes stay open until at least 8 p.m. throughout green throat on twenty-two-inch scapes; blooms early to mid­ the season; does not do well in the deep South. season. 'Treasured Bouquet'. Noc; five-and-a-half-inch lavender rose 'Gentle Shepherd'. Noc 2; near-white flowers with a yellow­ flowers with a green throat on twenty-eight-inch scapes stay green throat. open for twenty-four hours; plants bloom early to midseason 'Green Ice'. Noc; seven-inch, fragrant flowers of pale yellow with a late summer repeat. with a green throat on thirty-six-inch scapes; plants bloom 'Witches Dance'. Noc; six-and-a-half-inch flowers are dark red mid- to late season. with a green throat on thirty-inch scapes; plants bloom early 'Guardian Angel'. Noc 1-2; four-inch, almost white flowers with to midseason. a green throat on twenty-six-inch scapes; plants bloom early 'Yearning Love'. Noc; five-and-a-half-inch ivory flowers over­ to midseason. laid with pink, and pink veins and rippling edges of ivory. 'Ida Miles'. Noc; fragrant, pale ivory yellow blossoms on thirty­ Plants with thirty-inch scapes bloom late into the evening inch scapes last until after midnight; plants bloom midseason. beginning midseason and have some repeat bloom. 'Lemon Mint'. Noc 2; lemon yellow flowers on numerous scapes. 'Zarahelma'. Noc; five-inch, fragrant, pink lavender flowers 'Lily Fields'. Noc 1 (but doesn't open fully after cold nights); have a magenta halo and veining and a green throat. Twenty­ light gold flowers with a green throat turn orange as the flower inch scapes flower late into the evening; plants bloom mid­ ages. season.

Noc 3: The bud is more than 20 percent Just about dusk on many summer eve­ The large, ivory yellow blossoms of but less than 80 percent open at 06:00 solar nings, I walk into our formal garden where Hemerocallis 'Ida Miles' are next to the time. the majority of the night-blooming pinks of 'Erin Hanley', both fronted by a Noc 4: The bud is less than 20 percent daylilies are planted. Here they flower large patch of 'Stell a de Oro', its golden open at 06:00 and the flower does not stay against the dark green backdrop of a yellow trumpets gleaming in the fading open all night. rhododendron hedge, with ferns and a star light of day. And mixed with the scents of The first three catagories define noctur­ magnolia (Magnolia stellata) to the right a host of tropical plants are the fragrances nal day lilies while the plants in the Noc 3 and our viburnum tree (Viburnum macro­ of the daylilies, drifting on a sli ght breeze and 4 categories are diurnal, since their cephalum ) to the left. I have se t flagstones coming up from the lake below-light and flowers don't open until after daybreak. underneath the magnolia and moth or­ sweet on the evening air. So far I have obtained a half dozen noc­ chids and cymbidiums spend their sum­ turnal cultivars, and my wife and I plan to mers there. All the night-flowering plants This article is excerpted from Peter create an entire bed of H. citrina and from the greenhouse hang on various Loewer's The Evening Garden, which will favorite shrubs along a garden path. branches of the viburnum. be published by McMillan this fall.

16 JUNE 1992 Daylilies of His Field From Brother Charles Reckamp come ruffled pastels that some might call divine.

when we let it grow back the next year, it rounded. Their deep-textured broad petals B Y TOM CAHILL was fine." It would eventuall y be named are fanned by prominent, firm sepals. 'Amen', and it was only the first of a In 1983 a local magazine, Northshore An­ n 1971 a little crippled plant growing heavenly series. nual, reported that Brother Charles had in a nursery field in Techny, Illinois, "I took its pollen and used it very "close to 140 named daylily varieties caught the keen eye of Brother Char­ generously throughout the garden," he says. registered with the American Hemerocallis les Reckamp. He had been growing "From then on, every generation of our Society, and is known the world over among and hybridizing daylilies for almost daylilies has had more and better ruffling. " connoisseurs of this particular flower." Nine Ithirty years, but this was the first he had Today, these ruffled edges on paste/­ years later, at age 86, Brother Charles says he seen with ruffled edges. "It seemed stunted, colored blossoms are his trademark. has lost count of his named cultivars. But he almost as though someone had stepped on Generations of painstaking se lection have maintains his quiet passion for hybridizing, it," Brother Charles recalls, "although produced flowers that are full and seeking patiently to produce a more perfect,

Now 86, Brother Charles Reckamp keeps putting in long days at the work he loves.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 17 Top: Applying pollen to a daylily stigma. Above: Says Brother Charles: "A lot of people have never seen some of the modern hybrids growing. " Right: 'Heavenly Companion'. Opposite: 'Little Flock'. even more delightful daylily. opinion of many, Brother Charles's cultivars claim the glory of his own Creator. In 1927 His views on the characteristics of a good and their names are out of this world. Some he joined the Society of the Divine Word, daylily are quite definite. He considers the of the names reflect the wonders of Earth­ which conducts educational and mission­ daylily market flooded with plants of in­ 'Dawn Ballet', 'Sunshine', 'Little Rainbow'­ ary work in poor countries and low-in­ ferior quality. He is not impressed by many but others are more heaven bound­ come districts in the United States, to of those appearing in catalogs. He considers 'Hosanna', 'Commandment', 'Heavenly spread the seed of the Gospel as a mission­ hybridizing a nice hobby but definitely not Treasure'. Most are in the cream-yellow-pink ary brother. Instead, for sixty-five years he an immediate money-spinner. range and vary in their markings, size, or has lived and worked in Techny, spreading Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.) originated shape. 'Heavenly Grace' is ivory pink ringed the word through his flowers. in China, Japan, and Siberia, and have since with tangerine. 'Heavenly Treasure' has a Born in Ethlyn, a town about fifty miles naturalized in many countries, including yellow edge and green throat. Some, like northwest of St. Louis, Missouri, he was the United States. Their common name is 'Ascending Hymn', are fragrant. 'Exaltation' one of twenty-two children. Rising at dawn derived from the blossoms' resemblance to is particularly tall at three feet; 'Hosanna' has to work on his family's 200-acre farm that of the lily, and the fact that the flowers recurved orange sepals. Brother Charles par­ toughened him to hard physical labor at an last just a day after they open. However, ticularly likes to see a tinge of lavender or early age. "There was no machinery then," they are unrelated to real lilies; they grow pink on the petals and promises the release he says saltily. "Horses and mules only." not from bulbs but from sinewy roots. soon of several with rounded petals that are It was fortunate that he liked farm work. The most common species, H. fulva, is a rose-colored at the tips. His arrival in Techny coincided with the sturdy, plain flower with a stark orange For him, the creation of new daylily establishment of a nursery to benefit the color. But if the species is a bit earthy in the cultivars has been a unique way to pro- seminary by Father Peter Oswald, a biology

18 JUNE 1992 professor who had studied botany with Benedictine monks in the Swiss Alps. "When I came to Techny I had no back­ ground in horticulture," Brother Charles says. "Just had a country school, eighth­ grade education." But Father Peter noticed him, as Brother Charles would notice the unformed day lily some forty years later, among other class­ mates that he invited to his room for infor­ mal botany classes. That was the foundation for Brother Charles's work with plants. "He taught us how plants grow, how the cells divide, how some grow from seed, and how some grow from division." With that very basic botany, he plunged into private study, relying primarily on nursery catalogs and encyclopedias. "If I saw a plant that I didn't know about listed in a catalog, I'd look it up in the encyclopedia and try to find out if it could be grown in this area, what its attraction was, whether it was the bloom or its shape, or something else." He remembers two seminarians from those early days who seemed to know every plant from Lake Michigan to the Des Plains River west of Chicago. He claims that they could identify every plant except the grasses-every tree, shrub, or flower that they came upon. "They would take me on walks around the grounds and point out the different plants and some of their different charac­ teristics. That helped me a great deal to appreciate the plants that had always been around me." Brother Charles began breeding day lilies in the 1940s, although he could not spend much time at it for many years because of the pressure of having to make money at waited on. I couldn't afford to go out into Northbrook who was the first in that region the society's nursery. He did not become a the nursery and hybridize irises." to produce a tetraploid daylily. These plants fulltime breeder until 1975, when the nurs­ Daylilies, on the other hand, are one of have twice the usual number of chromo­ ery was closed. "I was getting older, and it the easiest plants to hybridize, not only somes, and a heavier substance that enables was too difficult for my superiors to find because the reproductive parts are large them to withstand the elements. help for me," he says. and accessible, but because the anthers can Fay sold Brother Charles one of these early His first breeding efforts, interestingly, be removed before the buds open and pol­ tetraploid plants for $200 to help him get were not with Hemerocallis but with the len from those that bloom early can be started with stock. It was money well spent. German iris. Irises, along with gladioli and dried and stored to cross with late-season "Now all the daylilies we breed are peonies, were among the flowers that the bloomers. For Brother Charles they offered tetraploid," says Brother Charles. "Double seminary nursery grew for cutting. an additional advantage, because they the n umber of chromosomes and you have Talented horticulturist friends taught him bloomed later in the summer when the so many more possibilities for stronger and how to make iris crosses and to propagate nursery was no longer busy with cus­ heavier petals." them from seed. tomers. So Brother Charles refocused his A number of his cultivars, including one However, irises must be pollinated when attention on daylilies, again on the advice of his latest introductions, 'Techny Per­ they bloom in spring. "The iris bloomed of friends. fume Delight', are a testament to the poten­ when we were the busiest in the nursery," One of these friends was Dr. Robert tial of Hemerocallis for fragrance. " Most Brother Charles recounts, "and we didn't Griesbach, a professor of botany at DePaul daylily varieties have little if any frag­ have the time to make crosses. A customer University. Another was Orville Fay, a com­ rance," Brother Charles says. "Those with would stand there in line and want to be mercial grower in the Chicago suburb of Hemerocallis Continued on page 42

AMERICAN HO RTICULTURI ST 19

Its large, bright, scarlet flower panicles are a favorite of butterflies and visitors alike. Star-cluster (Pentas Lanceolata), with its dense terminal flower clusters, is another shrub that is often visited by the butterflies. The white form is used here, but it also flowers in magenta, pink, and lilac. Spicy jatropha Uatropha integerrima) is a small tree found in the plantings. Its bloCld red inflorescences also attract much attention. Thro\!lghout the conservatory are hanging baskets of Lantana camara, which has flat multicolored flower heads containing florets of yellow, orange, and in some cases, pink. Butterflies commonly seen visiting these flowers are the zebra long­ wing (Heliconius charitonius), the Malay­ sian lacewing (Cethosia hypsea) , and Danaus chrysippus, a monarch relative. Altogether, some fifty species of tropical butterflies flourish in this ideal environ­ ment, where the humidity is kept between 60 and 80 percent, and the temperature is maintained at or near 78 degrees. A brick walk descends into the octagonal conser­ vatory, curves around through the lower levels and eventually ascends back up the other side. Near the entrance, a multitiered waterfall cascades from a large, rounded basin into several smaller ones. On the other side of the building, another water­ fall drops twelve feet into a large, shallow pool where mandarin ducks paddle. These water features not only help create a serene atmosphere but also help to maintain the appropriate humidity and temperature. This miniature ecosystem is also home to hummingbirds, ground pheasants, and bleeding-heart doves. from a chrysalis. Encompassing 8,000 who specializes in butterflies-explained There is also a one-and-a-half-acre out­ square feet, it is the largest free-flight, glass that butterfly larvae feed only on certain door butterfly garden where no humidity enclosed butterfly conservatory in North host plants and that these are often dif­ controls are needed. Here the challenge, America. ferent from the nectar plants that attract since there are no walls, is keeping the During my first visit to the Cecil B. Day the adults. Female butterflies know instinc­ butterflies around for visitors to enjoy. A Butterfly Center, I too was captivated by tively which plants these are, and if they brick path encircles the entire site, while those beautiful creatures that seemed to aren't present, they won't lay eggs. So to another curves around the center build­ float effortlessly among the bright flower­ avoid having ragged plants spoiling the ings-an entry building and the conser­ ing plants. But then the sensibilities of a beauty of the conservatory, larval host vatory itself. Viewed from the air, these horticulturist began to gnaw at me. I plants were not included among the per­ paths form the wings of a butterfly. Inter­ wondered how they did it-not only where manent plantings. spersed along the paths are flower beds they got the butterflies and how they kept Instead, nonhost plants such as aroids, containing perennials such as butterfly them happy and healthy, but how they kept palms, and ferns provide a backdrop of bush (Buddleia davidii) , butterfly weed plant pests at bay without harming the greenery. Flowering plants from Central (Asclepias tuberosa), Coreopsis spp., Ver­ butterflies and how they kept the butter­ and South America, Malaysia, and Taiwan bena spp., and Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium fly's less appealing life form, the caterpillar, offer a source of nectar for the 1,000 or so purpureum). Annuals such as lantana, star­ from devouring all the plants. individual butterflies that inhabit the con­ cluster, zinnia, cosmos, and marigold are Education is one of the center's primary servatory on any given day. massed around the perennials, creating a missions, and center manager Frank Elia These plants include the showy, large­ visually stunning display, but more impor­ was happy to solve some of these mysteries. lea ved CLerodendrum speciosissimum, tantly, helping to attract some seventy Elia, a lepidopterist-an entomologist which is a dominant shrub in the plantings. species of butterflies native to the area.

22 JUNE 1992 Opposite: The postman butterfly (Heliconius melpomene) is native to Central and South America. Above: Malaysian lacewings dry after emerging from their chrysalises. Far left: The owl butterfly feeds on ripe bananas left on dishes in the conservatory. Left: Frank Elia and Mary McPherson watch the caterpillar of a mormon butterfly (papilio polytes). Below: Hanging baskets of Lantana camara are found throughout the conservatory.

During the summer months, visitors are likely to see the Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), the mascot of the Day Butterfly Center, visiting the flowers. Others commonly sighted incl ude the cloudless sulphur (Phoebia sennae), the buckeye Uunonia coenia), and the painted lady (Vanessa cardui). The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is often seen in the fall. Its larvae feed on the various milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) planted there, while larvae of other species feed on the abundant na­ tive vegetation in naturalized areas throughout Callaway Gardens. Because there are no larval plants in­ doors in the conservatory, a~d thus no eggs from which new generations can hatch, its residents must be continuously replenished from butterfly farms. While some but­ terflies live only three days, and others survive to become com para tivel y ancient at

AM ERI CAN HO RTI CULTURI ST 23 BUTTERFLIES I N T E X A S BY K. MARK COWICK from preschool classes to retirement home residents, there is a special emphasis on learning opportunities for children. "One of the main ideas we help kids understand is the interconnec­ lthough Callaway's Day Butterfly Center is the largest tion between themselves and nature. Not only in the gardens, indoor butterfly garden in the country, there are many but in their own yards and in their whole town," explains A other indoor and outdoor butterfly gardens to visit. Peggy Winkler. "We ask them, 'What was here before your One of these is the Zilker Butterfly Garden and Trail at the house or your yard? It was wild. So what animals were living Texas Botanical Garden Society in Austin, Texas, which was here?' Then we talk about the wildlife that still lives with us created in the spring of 1990. and explain how things like insects can be very important." With its long growing season and warm weather, central The Texas Botanical Garden Society'S Docent Program pro­ Texas is a great place to see butterflies. The Xerces Society, a vides free guides for elementary classes and the garden has nonprofit group dedicated to educating the public about but­ hosted thousands of children from schools throughout central terflies and other invertebrates, estimates that almost half the Texas. Winkler and co-teacher Susan Overbey know how to butterfly species in the United States visit Texas at some time get the children involved and enjoying their visit. For example, during the year, and Austin is full of them from early spring to explain pollination, they choose some students to be flowers. until the middle of Novembe,. This includes migrants from The" flowers" stand up and put their hands in the air, announc­ Central America as wetl as n~sident butterflies. ing, "These are my stamens." Then the other children, As its name indicates, the Zilker garden and trail has two equipped with hand puppets of butterflies or bees, buzz by the aspects. The garden is a large open space surrounding a gazebo "flowers" and tickle them while everyone screams, "Get the and an esplanade full of flowering plants-a favorite haunt for nectar, get the nectar!" It's guaranteed to have children and visitors, with color and life that seem to bring out the artist in their escorts squealing with laughter. everyone. Pa.iPtiF):g and drawing classes are hdd her.e and it is Winkler and Overbey have been helping schools throughout rare to visit and not see someone sitting in the shade of a live central Texas create their own butterfly areas. Fifth and sixth oak with a sketch pad or easel. graders at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin designed a The butterfly trail begins on the garden'S northwest corner. migratory songbird and butterfly garden and working with It wanders through a canopy of oaks, mountain laurel, and students from lower grades, installed it on the school grounds. beebrush (Aloysia gratissirna), and is pUQGtuated by open areas Students there plan to build butterfly gardens for St. Andrew's planted with flowers. These include the scrub plant (Bouvardia Retirement Center and for El Buen Samaritano, a community ternifolia), a drought-tolerant plant found in western Texas's outreach program. Girl Scouts at Bryker Woods and Casis Guadalupe Mountains that seems to be struggling in the state's elementary schools and students at Parkside Community recent heavy rains. Although wasps, which are valuable for School have also planted butterfly areas. The Austin Area controlling predators, thoroughly enjoy it, butterflies seem to Garden Council plans to introduce butterfly gardening into the like it less than, some of the others heI1e, such as purple landscapes of city recreation centers and those of schools in coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Lantana species. low-income neighborhoods. On the trail you are more likely to find a number of the shy The garden society has an arrangement with the Travis insects, like the pearly eye butterfly or the clear winged sphinx County sheriff's department that allows it to maintain its moth, that normally inhabit woodland areas. This space grounds at little cost to the taxpayer. Since the Zilker garden mimics the natural habitat of many species, and while it is not opened, it has been groomed with the help of community as showy as the rest of the garden, it offers many surprises for service crews-usually first-time offenders who must provide the watchful visitor. If you are patient and watch closely, you community service hours to fulfill the terms of their probation. will see a thread-waist wasp digging in the sand that lines the Under the guidance of garden society volunteers, they begin trail, its cobalt blue body flashing brilliantly against the sun as their work at 7 a.m. sharp every Saturday. Last season the it works away. Ot looking carefully, you will recognize an crews helped expand the butterfly trail and make more areas oraQge and black harleql!lin bug lying camou.flaged in the wheelchair accessible. blooms of a butterfly bush. The Zilker garden also serves as a showplace for environmen­ Native plants make up the majority of the garden's beds. tally sound techniques that work in urban and suburban Perennials like lantanas (Lantana horrida), salvias (including landscapes. Using native plants, avoiding broad-spectrum pes­ Salvia azurea, S. coccinea, S. farinacea, and S. greggii), and ticides, encouraging natural predators like wasps to control plant yarrow (Achitlea millefolium) serve as nectar sources, while pests, and replacing some turf areas with ground covers are spicebush (Lindera benzoin), passionflower (Passiflora incar­ practices that have all been effective here. Consequently, many nata), and asters (Aster ericoides, A. subulatus, and A. texanus) local landscapers and homeowners have started using these ideas provide food for larvae. The result is a low water-use garden in their gardens-a big plus for butterflies and humans as well. alive with color. The gatdtm and trail were designed to provide hands-on K. Mark Cowick is a free-lance writer and gardener living in education to visito);s of all ages. While visiting groups range Austin, Texas.

24 JUNE 1992 six months, the average lifespan is only two weeks. Elia and his staff could raise many of the species that fly in the center, but it is a very labor-intensive process, and they find it more economical to import them from the farms, many of which are in Asia. Elia feels that dealing with these foreign suppliers helps the economies in those countries and also promotes conservation of forest resources. Rather than cutting down forests to cultivate short-lived crop land, these farmers plant larval host plants in the forests and thus establish long-term business ventures. Although this entails shipping the insects out of their native lands, many others escape collection to reproduce and maintain the local popula­ tions. The butterflies are shipped in the chrysa­ lis stage since they are most likely to survive the trip at that time. Durable though the chrysalises might be, many look like fragile works of art. Some are an iridescent green. Others appear to be tinged with gold leaf, while yet others are smooth, egg-shaped, and pearly white. When Elia's assistant, Mary McPherson, receives a shipment of chrysalises, she uses their silky attachment strings to hang them from a styrofoam sheet fitted over a ter­ rarium. Moist paper toweling lines the bot­ tom of the terrarium to increase the hhlmidity. The chrysalises remain in this enclosure until metamorphosis occurs. After the butterflies emerge and their wings have dried sufficiently, McPherson gently picks them up, puts them in a covered, insulated box, and takes them to the conservatory. Sme then puts them in inconspicuous places on screens along the glass walls where they warm their wings in the sunlight in preparation for flight. Some species that aren't commercially available are raised in the insectary's green­ houses. Within each of the two green­ houses are two rearing cages measuring sixteen feet square and eight feet tall and containing both nectar and larval host plants in large pots. An automatic mist system maintains the humidity at an op­ timum level. Twelve to thirteen females and five to seven males of the same species are released into each cage, where they mate and lay eggs. Like the imported species, they are released into the conservatory after under­ going metamorphosis. One species that is raised in this way is the owl butterfly (Caligo spp.). Its enormous furry brown larvae feed on banana plants in the

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 25 OTHER NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLY GARDENS Bayou Bend Garden, 1 Westcott Street, Cincinnati, OH 45220, (513) 281- The butterfly center, which opened in Houston, TX 77219, (713) 529-8773. 470l. 1988, was the brainchild of Deen Day Butterfly World, 3600 West Sample Road, Kanapaha Botanical Garden, North Smith, widow of Cecil B. Day, the founder Coconut Creek, FL 33073, (305) 977- Florida Botanical Society, 4625 S.W. of Days Inns of America. The Days were

4400. 63rd Boulevard, Gainesville, FL 326081 nature lovers who often visited Callaway Butterfly World, 4 Port Alberni Highway, (904) 372-4981. Gardens to relax and unwind. For several Coombs, BC VOR 1MO Canada, (604) National Zoological Park, Smithsonian In­ years after Cecil died at the age of 44, Deen 248-7026. stitution, 3001 Connecticut Avenue Day continued to operate the Days Inns Butter.fly World, Marine World Africa, N.W., Washington, DC 20008, (202) and became a powerful businesswoman U.S.A., Marine World Parkway, Val­ 673-4670. and a major corporate philanthropist. In lejo, CA 94589, (707) 643-6722. North Carolina State Museum of Natural 1986, after visiting butterfly houses in Calgary Zoo, Botanical Garden, and Prehis­ Sciences, 102 North Salisbury Street, Britain, she became determined to establish toric Park, P.O. Box 3036, Station "B", Raleigh, NC 27604, (919) 733-7450. a major butterfly center in the United Calgary, AB T2M 4R8 Canada, (403) Papillion Park, 120 Tyngsboro Road, States. 232-9342. Locatiem: Memorial Drive Westford, MA 01886, (508) 392-0955. Callaway Ga rdens, a 14,000-acre nature at 12 Street East, St. George's Island. Ross Pari< Zoo, SQuthenl Tier Zoologica.l preserve, horticultural showplace, educa­ Insect World, CinGinnati Zoo and Society, 185 Park Avenue, Binghamton, tional facility, and recreational resort, Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine Street, NY 13903, (607) 724-5461. seemed to be the perfect location for such a center, so she presented the idea to G. Harold Northrop, Callaway's president and chief executive officer. Skeptical at insectary's greenhouse. This will be a life­ soaps and oils are applied in spot treat­ first, he was also inspired after touring long taste: the large brownish butterfly, ments. This integrated pest management those same butterfly houses overseas, whose wings bear conspicuous dark spots system seems to work quite well; there is where he was particularly impressed by the circled in white, is often seen in the conser­ little evidence of insect pests or damage rapt attention of child visitors. Several vatory feeding on ripe bananas left for it on caused by them. members of the Callaway board were en­ shallow dishes. Another species that feeds Although most visitors never learn all of couraged to make the same trip and on ripe fruit from these dishes is the dead these behind-the-scenes tricks, they are returned as converts. Deen Day Smith leaf butterfly (Kallima paralekta), a master educated by informative signs found donated the lead gift to establish the Cecil of disguise with wings that look just like a throughout the conservatory. For instance, B. Day Butterfly Center in memory of her dead leaf when it comes to rest and folds a potted citrus provides an example of a late husband. them together. larval host plant. A sign beside it explains William Barrick, vice president and When asked about the center's pest con­ that once swallowtail butterflies lay their director of the gardens, was named project trol strategy, Elia rubbed the fingers of one eggs on it, it is taken back to the insectary director. To plan the buildings and develop hand together and replied, "The 'pest where the caterpillars hatch, grow, and the four-and-a-half-acre site he chose control' wears blue shirts and they do a lot develop into butterflies. Henri Hova, who designed the Jimmy of this." He was wearing a blue shirt, as The 7,000-square-foot entry building Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, and were other staff members. Ah yes, contains artwork depicting butterflies, Robert Marvin, a national award-winning mechanical control! It can be quite effec­ host plants, and birds in various media. landscape architect headquartered in Wal­ tive. In addition to squashing pests be­ There is also a theater, where an engaging terboro, South Carolina. Elia, who had tween their fingers, the staff uses biological film explains the biology of butterflies. been working at the Cincinnati Zoo, was controls with a high degree of success. Near the exit from the conservatory there hired in the early stages to advise the design They periodically release a predatory is a display case containing chrysalises, team so that the conservatory would pro­ beetle called the mealybug destroyer where visitors gather in the hope of seeing vide butterflies with the optimal environ­ (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri), and preda­ a butterfly emerge. mental conditions. tory mites are introduced to prey upon pest There are numerous other educational A portion of the Callaway Gardens mis­ mites. opportunities. Question-and-answer ses­ sion statement says that the organization Given the numerous lantanas and other sions are held at the center on weekends, seeks to "promote a better understanding whitefly favorites growing in the conser­ and pamphlets on butterfly watching are of all the living world." It seems to be vatory, it is surprising that whiteflies are also available. During the growing season, fulfilled through the educational efforts of not a serious problem. A wasp, Encarsia butterfly gardening demonstrations take the Day Butterfly Center and the exhilarat­ formosa, which parasitizes whitefly larvae, place at Callaway'S vegetable garden. In ing experience of visiting the conservatory is used to control that pest in the insectary's addition to the broad spectrum of horticul­ and its grounds. It is a miniature living greenhouse, and could be released in the tural classes, Callaway'S education depart­ world where the interrelationships be­ conservatory if the population were to in­ ment offers in-depth courses on butterfly tween flora and fauna are demonstrated in crease, Elia observed. Another pest-control gardening, integrated pest management, a beautiful and magical way. measure has been to remove plants that and creating back yard wildlife habitats. prove excessively prone to insect pests and The quarterly newsletter also features ar­ Meg Williamson is a free-lance writer and replace them with more tolerant species. As ticles relating to nature, gardening, and staff horticulturist for the Botanical Gar­ a last resort, short-residual controls such as conservation. den of Georgia.

26 JUNE 1992 A TREE HISTORY The Empress Tree Paulownia tomentosa has been both vilified and venerated.

B Y SUS A N SAN 0

he Chinese native empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa) has an ancient history full of twists and turns and ironies. Considered a weed by many, itT has also been a target of thieves and a lucrative United States export to Japan. While lacking the delicate refinement of other Chinese ornamentals such as the dove tree, the empress tree is nevertheless valued by many for its spring blossoms and high-quality, lightweight wood. The genus Paulownia was mentioned in Chinese literature as early as the third cen­ tury B.C., when it became known by its traditional name of "tung." "Yung-tung­ mu," meaning "glorious paulownia wood," appeared in a list of useful woody plants in an encyclopedia of cultural and natural topics. Centuries later, more com­ plete information on the tree's culture was published in a 1049 treatise by Ch'en Chu. At that time, paulownia wood was used in Buddhist monasteries to make dishes and utensils and for coffins, ridgepoles, beams, and pillars of houses. It was later recom­ mended for medicinal use, and even today all parts of the tree are important in the folk medicine of rural China for conditions that range from graying hair to bruises, fever and delirium, and liver ailments. P. tomentosa is the species most com­ monly cultivated in China and Japan. While the empress tree is native to western and central China, Japan imported both the tree (which they call "kiri" ) and its associated customs long ago. One such custom was the father's planting of an The empress tree's large lavender blossoms are downgraded by some because empress tree upon the birth of a daughter they appear in spring before leaves emerge to provide a background. and harvesting it to make a bridal chest

AMERI CAN HO RTICULTURIST 27 when she reached marriageable age. The approached for negotiations. Unaware of wood was fire-resistant and chests made of the empress tree's worth, they were happy paulownia protected the kimonos stored in to be paid for trees they considered a them, even when the owners' straw houses nuisance; some Washington, D.C.-area were destroyed by fire. The chests became owners were even giving them away. increasingly elaborate and important to the The paulownia export business was marriage ritual and are still a major im­ highly profitable for the first few years: in petus for Japanese purchase of paulownia 1978, six suppliers grossed more than $8 timber. million. However, the empress tree's for­ Japan was the source of the paulownia tunes took another turn in the spring of that arrived in Europe about 1830, col­ 1979 when an enormous stand was found lected and shipped by Philip Franz von in western Tennessee near the Mississippi Siebold, a German doctor who worked for River. A massive rush followed, and when the Dutch East India Company. Siebold exports doubled in volume, oversupply and another German physician, J. G. Zuc­ caused the market to collapse. After a few carini, gave the tree its generic name, writ­ years, Japan€se buyers did return, but only ing in an 1835 monograph that they had for the finest quality timber. named it for Princess Anna Pavlovna, wife In the meantime, all the publicity about of Prince Willem of the Netherlands, the value of paulownia had led to a rash of daughter of Russian Tsar Paul I, and tree stealing. In the Baltimore area, trees granddaughter of Catherine the Great. were cut from school grounds, parks, afld Most of paulownia's common names private property, then whisked to the docks derive from this association. where they were quickly sold and loaded After its introduction, use of the empress on ships. Thieves were once ca ught in Rock tree spread in Europe, and sometime around Creek Park in Washington, D.C., when a 1845 it was introduced to the United States, ranger who lived nearby heard a chain saw possibly by seed used to produce nursery operating late at night. plants. Most widely planted in the South, it Empress trees' sudden increase in value quickly became naturalized, establishing it­ prompted not only thievery, but also a keen self from southern New York to Florida to interest in commercial cultivation. Very lit­ Top: Flower buds, which form the Texas. Fast growing and adapted to many tle was known about their culture, how­ summer before blooming, provide soils, this prolific seed producer proved to be ever, even though they had been introduced winter interest but are often killed by virtually pest and disease free. Thus by 1919 some 130 years earlier. As a result, several northern winters. Above: The Japanese it was described in American Forests as a research programs were initiated to deter­ have valued fire-resistant paulownia "fugitive tree" that had successfully "sown mine the most productive methods of wood for making bridal chests. much more of its own seed than man." It growing paulownia commercially. sprouted in barnyards and pastures, along Dr. John F. Kundt, a retired extension enthusiastic admiration from some and roadsides, and in vacant urban lots. Indeed, forestry specialist for the University of lukewarm support from others. Donald paulownia has been found to produce up to Maryland who has researched the produc­ Wyman, in his Trees for American Gar­ 2,000 seeds per capsule, with one tree tion of plantation-grown trees, says that dens, has termed it "striking," praising its capable of producing twenty million seeds. paulownia is the most valuable single tree appearance in flower and noting the ad­ This "weed," however, was destined for we have in the United States. John Michel, vantage of its heavy shade. While Wyman royal status in the United States. By 1973, consultant forester from Elkton, Mary­ and Michaco:l Dirr, author of Manual of a witches-broom blight in Japan had land, reports that wild trees currently sell Woody Landscape Plants, both consider it diminished the supply of superior for $1 to $5 per board foot, with a high coarse in texture, some gardeners admire paulownia wood. The Japanese needed quality tree bringing up to $1,500. The the tropical appearance of its foliage. Its sources in addition to their own plantings Japanese look for narrow, evenly spaced production of large lavender blossoms on and imports from China. That spring, a growth riflgs- preferably five per inch­ a virtually leafless tree in early spring has logging exporter named Milton Carr was and wheat- or beige-colored wood rather beco:n considered both a spectacular sight driving a Japanese customer through West than white. One half of 1 percent of and a failure, since there is no foliar back­ Virginia when the man suddenly asked empress tree wood exported by the United drop for the flowers. Carr to stop. The guest jumped out of the States fits this category, and it is used in Most of paulownia's features are actual­ car and ran back to examine a tree with Japan for making harps (kotos). Furniture, ly more curious than they are beautiful, but pale violet flowers. Japanese buyers had jewelry boxes, and sandals are also the tree's flowers are indeed lovely. T wo­ been unaware that paulownia grew in the manufactured from paulownia. Since the inch-long vanilla-scented blossoms United States; suddenly there was a market wood weighs only fourteen to nineteen develop on eight- to twelve-inch upright for these wild trees. During the spring pounds per cubic foot, poorer grades make terminal panicles. The tubular, pale violet blooming period, small scattered stands­ excellent crating material for air freight. flowers, dividing into five unequal, round€d sometimes just one or two trees-were lo­ When viewed as an ornamental rather lobes, are similar to foxglove in form, not cated by helicopter and landowners were than a timber tree, paulownia engenders surprisingly, since both are in the figwort

28 JUNE 1992 tion, pau lownia prefers a moist and deep well-drained soil in a locatio n providing full sun or pa rtia l shade and protecti on from wind. Ba ll ed and burlapped trees should be transplanted in ea rl y spring. There are several interesting cultivars of paulownia. 'Coreana' is a 1925 Korean se lec ti on from the wild with heart-s haped to egg-shaped leaves, whi ch are ye ll owish a nd covered with dense, short, matted hairs underneath. Its violet fl owers have ye llow-speckled th roats, while those of the species are typica ll y yellow striped. 'Lila­ cin a' is a 1908 Paul Guillaume Farges in­ troducti on from western China bearing pale lil ac fl owers. M ichael M arcotrigiano's 'Somaclonal Snowstorm' has irregularly variegated leaves of creamy white, ye ll ow­ green, and green. It origina lly developed from callus tissue of a hypocotyl (the part of the axis of a seedl ing pl ant that is below the cotyledons) explant in ti ss ue culture. Dirr has noted tha t the leaves of the 'Somaclonal Snowstorm' spec imen in the Georgia Botanical Garden reverted to green and that careful pruning is required to maintain the va riegation. Interest in the empress tree has not fl agged for more than two millenn ia . Because of its rapid growth ra te and ability to sprout and survive on barren, disturbed soil , paulowni a also has potential for global reforestati on, a mission pursued by Dr. Peter R. Beckj ord, a The one-to-two-inch long seed capsules clatter in the winter, giving paulowni,a former University of Maryland professor. So the common name of rattlebox. this rema rkably ve rsatile tree, long ap­ preciated by the Japanese and Chinese and fa mily, Scro phula ri aceae. The heart­ ing winter fea ture: when the wind blows, increasingly important in the United States, shaped opposite leaves, occasiona ll y th ree they rattle, giving paul ownia the common may someday be well known to even more or fi ve lobed, are usuall y five to ten inches name of rattle box. These tough, persistent people around the globe. wide and long. H owever, when the trees capsul es, coupled with terminal branch are yo ung, they grow as much as ten feet di eback of up to four feet in northern areas, Susan Sand is a horticulture and biology in one season and can produce leaves thirty give empress tree a reputation for messi­ instructor at Damascus High School in inches wide. As they mature, the trees ness, since fru it, twigs, and leaves create Damascus, Maryland. This is the fourth in develop a dense rounded crown, and oc­ litter on the ground. a series of tree histories by Sand. casionally reach a height of sixty fee t, al­ Adding paulowni a to carefully manic ured

though thirty to forty feet is more typical. yards does require some seasonal cl eanup I In autumn, woody capsules form, but work. However, while enthusiasm for the SOURCES & RESOURCES the paul ownia leaves remai n green. On the bold, ten-inch leaves may vary, the flowers morning after the first killing freeze, they are truly bea uti fu l and unusual; a back­ The N ational Paulowni a Center publishes begin to shed, often denuding the tree ground of conifers creates a pleasing contrast the Kiri Newsletter and a paul owni a in fo r­ within a day. Only the capsules a nd brown with their pale violet blossoms. Once the mation packet and sells seeds. For informa­ pubescent buds fo r next spring's flowers leaves develop, they cast a dense shade, creat­ t ion send a self-addressed stamped remai n. Because the buds are vulnerable to ing a welcome retreat from summer heat. enve lope to Dr. Peter R. Beckjord, 4303 temperatures below zero, they often do not Owners of new homes on treeless lots may Kenny Street, Beltsvill e, M D 20705. survive for spring bloom in northern areas. also appreciate empress tree's rapid growth, Carr o ll Gard ens, P. O . Box 310, USDA H ardiness Zones 7 to 10 are the and children are fasc in ated by the "Jack and Westminster, M D 211 58. Catalog $2. most favorable for the empress tree. the Beanstalk" appearance and growth rate Forestfarm, 990 Tetherhasl, Wi ll ia ms, The one- to two-inch long, egg-shaped, of the young trees. OR 97544. Catalog $2. pointed seed capsules, although consi dered Although it will grow in poor soils and is Gree r Gardens, 1280 Goodpasture Is­ unattractive by some, add another interest- eve n being used for surface mine reclama- land Road, Eugene, OR 97401. Catalog $3 .

AM ERICAN HORTICULTURIST 29

Iceland and Shirley and Welsh, oh my!

B y M o L L y o E A N

My ADMIRATION OF THE POppy BEGAN years ago in England when I saw fields of corn poppies blanketing the countryside in early summer. I was captivated by their brilliant red and the seeming paradox of such a bold color in such a fragile flower. As I learned more about the poppy family, I became amazed at its diversity. All of us have heard of the opium poppy, but how many are familiar with the majestic Himalayan poppy, which has flowers of an intense, glistening blue? Many of us have planted Shirley poppies (the descendants of the corn poppy), but how many gardeners have sown the seeds of the cultivar 'Mother of Pearl', also known as 'Fairy Wings', which is equally easy to grow? These fragile flowers are aptly named: their petals are softly iridescent

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 31 shades of the palest grays, peaches, lilacs, period is brief, but its flowers are often roses, and blues. enormous, up to ten inches across and Papaver, the genus name of most plants flamboyantly ruffled. Yet even these giants popularly known as poppies, means milk possess an elusive air of delicacy. and alludes to their milky sap. The sap The oriental poppy, native mainly to found in the large seed head of the peony­ valleys along the Iran-Afghanistan border, flowered or opium poppy is the source of was discovered in 1702. It then found its opium. way to France and the court of Louis XIV The poppy has been cultivated since an­ and by the early half of the seventeenth cient times and has served not only as a century had gained popularity in many religious symbol, associated with fertility European gardens. and prosperity, but also as a food source. Today it is often seen in traditional cot­ Both an oil extracted from opium poppy tage gardens along with other perennials seeds and the remaining oleaginous cake such as columbine, iris, peony, and phlox. were consumed by people in the Ganges Its natural flaming red-orange is not subtle; Valley of India and other opium areas. however, various other colors have been Today the oil is used for food processing, bred, such as pinks, crimsons, raspberries, and the poppy oil cake for cattle feed. The salmons, and white. 'Springtime' is huge seeds are used as flavoring on breads or in and snowy white with a ruffled pink bor­ cakes. der. 'Helen Elizabeth' is a pure but pale The mythic origin of the poppy associates salmon pink. it with sleep. It is said that the poppy was Another striking characteristic of the made by Somnus, the god of sleep, so that oriental poppy is its dark, velvety center, Ceres, goddess of agriculture, could find the sometimes surrounded by splotches of rest that had long eluded her and thus black. Although the petals appear fragile would restore long-neglected crops. This as paper, the gray green foliage is coarse association is made, of course, because of and thistly. It dies away completely in July the narcotic qualities of the opium poppy. or August, after the flowers have bloomed. It finds its way to the twentieth century in Therefore this poppy should be grown in popular stories such as "The Wizard of conjunction with late blooming flowers Oz," in which the Wicked Witch of the such as baby's-breath that will fill in for it West creates the magical field of poppies to the rest of the summer. bring about Dorothy's enchanted sleep. Exotic as the oriental poppy might ap­ The poppy is used as a symbol for love pear, its care is not difficult. Its most im­ in the first "revolutionary" ballet per­ portant requirements are plenty of sun and formed in the Soviet Union. This work, a well-drained soil of average fertility. composed by Reingold Gliere, was Space the plants about a foot apart and originally called "The Red Poppy," but give careful consideration to where you was later renamed "The Red Flower." It want them, as they are difficult to trans­ tells the story of the love between a Chinese plant once established. Provide good dancer and a Soviet sea captain. When he drainage; wet crowns during cold weather is fired upon by her manager during an can be fatal. Winter mulch protects the uprising of the Chinese people, the dancer plant from constant thawing and refreez­ shields him with her body and dies, clasp­ ing. In warm regions mulching in summer ing a red poppy in her hands. helps the plant retain moisture and stay In this ballet the red poppy is also as­ cool. Oriental poppies prefer cool summers sociated with death in battle. Poppies are and are hardy in Zones 3 to 7. often a metaphor for slain soldiers. A Early last spring I massed Iceland pop­ poem, "In Flanders Fields," written in pies (P. nudicaule) instead of my usual 1918 by Col. John McCrae, linked the red pansies along a sunny bed bordered by poppy and the blood of fallen heros and large rocks. This poppy is less individually inspired the American Legion Auxiliary tradition of distributing paper poppies Left: California poppies are a favorite prior to Memorial Day and Veterans Day. in meadow gardens. Famous for their All poppies, from the everyday to the golden orange color, they can now be exotic, are loved for the graceful simplicity found in white, cream, pink, deep of their blossoms and the silky, crepe-paper orange, and mauve. Right: Residents texture of their petals. This holds true even of the Pacific Northwest can try the in the boldest and most dramatic poppy of stunning blue Himalayan poppy, all, the oriental (P. orientale). Its blooming which can grow five feet tall. showy than the oriental, but possesses a inches across, and ruffled and frilled. It is Many of these have "margined or suffused pleasing grace of its own. One of its best found in shades of translucent pinks, petals," as he described them. He changed qualities is the abundance of flowers it whites, purples, and crimsons and has a the original black flower centers to yellow produces continuously during its blooming large, elegant seed head, shaped like an and then white. Most seed catalogs and season, which in my northeast Georgia urn. The flowers of this annual are offset sources in this country list Shirley poppies, garden is April. In cooler regions it will by distinctive silver blue foliage. all descendants of Reverend Wilks's first bloom in early summer at about the same It is difficult to accept the idea of such a poppies, in forms such as 'Shirley Re­ time as bearded irises. beautiful flower on a crop plant; yet, it is selected Double Mixed' or 'All Double The Iceland poppy is native to Arctic grown as a crop, in many cases illegally. Shirley'. In England, seed mixes closer to regions, in North America south to Colo­ Workers routinely hack off hundreds of the original are available. Some examples rado, and in Eurasia. Another poppy poppy heads in vast fields in the Middle are 'Reverend Wilks' Strain', which is paradox is the image of this airy golden East and southeast Asia to get to the young described as the reselected form of the flower blooming on such rough, frigid ter­ seed pods, which contain the sap used to original, and 'Shirley Double Queen', the rains. It was first seen by explorers and make opium. It is equally difficult to recon­ double form of the first. came into cultivation in 1730. cile the beauty of P. somniferum with its The Shirley poppy and its relatives cast The Iceland poppy is a fairly neat and use as a source of the ill-famed narcotic, their seeds about the garden, assuring off­ uniform plant, its soft-looking foliage heroin, which is made from opium. It is spring for the next growing season. Even forming low clumps in the garden. Its also grown legally on farms in India to be though they don't come up true to form, specific epithet, nudicaule, refers to its used in medicines such as codeine and mor­ they produce very pretty and interesting characteristic leafless stem. This feature phine. The abundant seeds, which have no blends of red, pink, white, and peach. Gar­ differentiates it (and the alpine poppy) narcotic properties, are those same seeds deners who have never sown these seeds from other members of the poppy genus. It sprinkled on cakes and breads. are often daunted by their tiny size; how­ is often labeled as a perennial at garden Mankind discovered the opium poppy at ever, if the seeds are mixed with twice their centers, but while it will survive as a short­ least six thousand years ago. We know that amount of fine sand, they will be easier to lived perennial in northern climes, this opium use began in the Middle East. Depic­ sow. The seeds can be planted in fall or cold-lover usually must be treated as an tions of the opium poppy ornamented the early spring at the site where they are to annual. walls of Egyptian temples, and opium was grow. Unlike many other poppies, they Most Iceland poppies are cream, rose, prescribed as a drug by Greek doctors may also be transplanted while small into orange, or yellow, all with a warm, sun­ before the time of Christ. In much more individual containers. Successive plantings kissed look. 'Garden Gnome' and the recent times, Thomas Jefferson grew white can provide flowers for a long period popular 'Wonderland' have flowers in all opium poppies for their striking visual im­ during the blooming season, usually May these colors and are low and compact, pact in his garden at Monticello. through July here in Georgia. usually not taller than twelve inches. They Other annual poppies, almost all of All of these members of the Papaver can be used to good advantage at windy which are easy to grow from seed, are ideal genus share the common characteristics of sites, since they don't need staking, or in for gardens with a naturalized look. Fragile milky sap, showy flowers borne singly on rock gardens. 'Hybrid Matador', however, in appearance, they are actually tough cus­ erect stems, and capsules containing many has vivid crimson flowers and often tomers once established. small seeds. They are also generally native reaches a height of up to eighteen inches. A poppy lover like myself thrills at the to the Old World, including Britain, Cen­ Another poppy of the north is the lists of available annual poppy seeds, most tral and southern Europe, and temperate diminutive alpine poppy (P. burseri, some­ of which are descended from the corn or Asia. times sold as P. alpinum), which reaches field poppy (P. rhoeas) seen all over Europe The Papaver genus is encompassed by only four to ten inches in height. This and Asia. Three of the best selections are the large poppy family known as Papavera­ native of the Swiss Alps has grayish foliage 'Danebrog', 'Mother of Pearl', and the ceae. Some say the name is suggestive of the that is low and mounded and delicate one­ Shirley poppy. 'Danebrog', which is named sound made when chewing poppy seeds. inch flowers of yellow, pink, or white. for the flag of Denmark, is boldly red with This family includes twenty-eight genera, Often found in rock gardens or flecking a distinctive white cross. 'Mother of Pearl' with 450 species, mostly herbs, native to gravel paths, it prefers poor soil with good has a unique, iridescent sheen to its petals North temperate and tropical regions. drainage and will grow quickly from seed and comes in soft, pastel shades. Among its diverse members are the bleed­ sown directly where it is to grow; the plant The Shirley poppy, regarded by some ing-heart, Dutchman's breeches, and does not appreciate root disturbance. Sow authorities as a cultivar while classified by bloodroot as well as non-Papaver plants the seeds in summer for bloom the follow­ others as a strain, has become one of our commonly called "poppies"; the beautiful ing spring. This flower is hardy in Zones 4 best-loved garden flowers. In England white prickly poppy (Argemone grand­ to 7 and usually behaves as a short-lived toward the end of the last century the if/ora), native Continued on page 43 perennial. Reverend W. Wilks of the Shirley vicarage The opium or peony-flowered poppy (P. found a wild poppy, a comely freak of Oriental poppies are loved for the somniferum) is probably the best known nature sporting a delicate white outline silky, crepe-paper texture of their of all poppies. It possesses a certain mys­ about the edges of its petals. Beginning flowers, which can grow up to ten tique, not only because of its illegal status with this flower, Wilks eventually inches across. Often used in cottage in this country, but also because of its developed a poppy with a color range from gardens, they die away completely in beauty. Its blossoms are big, up to five red to white, including pinks and peaches. late summer.

34 JUNE 1992

THE DESERT FARMERS OF THE SOUTHWEST

B Y BET T Y F U SSE L L For centuries, bout the same time that Christ was born in they have used song a desert across the sea, members of the to make the sand Hohokam tribe were beginning to make sprout corn. their stretch of the Sonoran Desert bloom with corn, as they had done for three cen­ turies already with squashes, limas, tepary beans, and tobacco. Although earlier desert cultures like the Mogollon had cultivated corn in the mountainous borderlands of southern Arizona and New Mexico, corn as a civilizer of the Southwest desert began with the Hohokam, whom their Pima descendants called the "Huhugam 0 ' odham," meaning "the vanished ones." In the next thousand years, the Hohokam would develop the most diverse plantings of any tribe living in what is now the United States as well as one of the largest canal systems in North America. The Hohokam were farmers despite sandstorms, flash floods, and temperatures that jumped, then as now, from 7 to 119 degrees.

Right: A fanner of the Acoma Pueblo gathers corn stalks in 1945. Excerpted with permission (rom The Story of Corn by Betty Fussell, to be published next month by Alfre d A. Knopf, Inc.

36 JUNE 1992 o"­ ::; ::> UJ (f) ::> ::; w J: I- o"­ >- ifl tr ::>o (.) a: g UJ a: ~ P:~:&t>tf'fllll1.' w "-

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 37 Rainfall averaged less than ten inches a the corn when the striped woodpecker yea r. Forrunately, there was the floodplain strikes at its heart, for the green time when of th e Gil a Ri ve r, formed by the Salt and the tassels wave for joy, and for the harvest Verde rivers flowing toward the Colorado. time when the corn is embraced lovingly by With stone hoes these farmers began to dig the harvester's arms. "Sometimes," said pit houses and wide, shallow canals. If you Underhill, "all the men of a village meet visit Arizona's Park of the Four Waters together and sing all night, not only for the today, yo u can see the remains of eighteen corn but also for the beans, the squash, and prehistoric irrigation canals running paral­ the wild things." Songs and prayers were lel to the modern canal that now waters an essential parr of cultivating wild things downtown Phoenix. The city is built over and while no one has proved that loving a the ruins of 1,750 miles of Hohokam corn plant, as Henry Agard Wallace said, canals. Along the Gila south of Phoenix, will improve it or its progeny, the sense that you can see the extensive ruins of corn was sacred certainly did it no harm. Snaketown, where the Hohokam flourish­ It was not lack of desert song but a ed until 1450, covering 2.40 acres with their disastrous series of droughts and floods dwellings and irrigated fields. that def>opulated the Hohokam valleys a As Mesoamerican cultures bred new century before Europeans set foot in the strains of corn resistant to drought and Southwest. The first to do so were three found new ways to irrigate it, a Reventador Spanish slave-catchers and a Moorish slave popcorn, a Chapalote flint, and the eight­ named Estevan de Dorantes, who had been rowed, sixty-day flour corn we call Maiz shipwrecked on the Gulf coast of Texas in de Ocho reached Mexico's northern fron­ 1535. Before they worked their way back tier. Along with adaptive corn breeds came to Mexico, the Spaniards were told by Mesoamerica 's planting sticks and, no less natives they encountered of a kingdom of importantly, their planting songs. In their rich cities to the north. A later foray headed many different languages, all tRe South­ by Dorantes and a Franciscan priest, Fray western peoples knew the power of corn Marcos de Niza, got the slave killed for his song. trouble, but the priest's tales of imaginary "It is late July, the moon of rain," Ruth gold were enough for Francisco Vasquez de Underhill writes in 1938 in Singing for Coronado and his troops to saddle their thing never seen in these regions. In one Power: The Song Magic of the Papago horses and set out for the "Seven Cities of year they harvest enough for seven years." Indians ofSouthern Arizona. "Now plant­ Cibola." In 1540 they found instead the A century ago the methods of Zuni corn ing can begin. " Every man, she explains, cornfields of the Zuni. farming impressed another observer, Frank placed his field at the mouth of a wash Hamilton Cushing, who led a Smithsonian where, after a torrent, the earth would be uni Pueblo is on the expedition to the Pueblo in 1879 and dis­ soft enough to puncture with his digging New Mexico side of covered there a handful of Presbyterian stick. In each hole he dropped four kernels the Arizona border, missionaries working hard to cultivate a and, kneeling, spoke to the seed so there due south of Gallup tribe of 1,700 unsaved souls. Cushing was would be no misunderstanding. "Now I and north of Bat a remarkable translator of the distinctive place you in the ground. You will grow tall. Cave. To reach it, Zunian language, but he took his en­ Then they shall eat, my children and my you must first climb thusiasm for the Zuni culture to extremes friends who come from afar." While the through rocky can- unacceptable to his Was hington burea u corn grew, night after night the farmer yons and forests of chiefs. The Easterner who came to observe walked around his field , "singing up the pinon and juniper before hitting a barren aboriginal ways remained for four and a corn." plateau. Theirs is the only one of the eighty half years to become a Priest of the Bow Writes Underhill: "There is a song for pueblos conquered by Coronado that has and First War Chief, before hi s assimilation corn as high as his knee, for corn waist retained its ancestral land, which they call was cut short by his choking to death on a high, and for corn with the tassel forming." the Middle Ant Hill of the World. Few fishbone at age 43. The corn comes up; Zunis grow corn here today. Those that From Cushing we learn in precise detail It comes up green; do"\largely for ceremonial purposes­ how Zuni and other desert farmers made Here upon our fields grow it as their ancestors did. the sand sprout corn . When a young Zuni White tassels unfold. The corn of their ancestors impressed wished to mark land as his own, Cushing The corn comes up; Pedro de Castaneda, who, when he re­ tells us, he looked for the mouth of an It comes up green; turned to Mexico City in 1596, wrote arroyo and carefully "lifted" the sa nd with Here upon our fields about his trip with Coronado in Relacion his hoe. First he lifted little mounds of sand Green leaves blow in the breeze . .. . de la jornada de Cibola. "The Indians plant at intervals around his proposed field, then There is also a song for the blue evening in holes, and the corn does not grow tall, he built them into embankments called when the corn tassels tremble, for the wind but each stalk bears three and four large "sand strings." At each corner he placed a when the corn leaves shake, for the fear of and heavy ears with 800 grains each, a rock to establish his claim to this land for

38 JUNE 1992 his lifetime and, after his death, his clan's. a plumed prayer stick and a cane of wild In a 1936 photo, women of the San Before he could plant, the Zuni farmer, tobacco. The priest knelt in the new field Juan Pueblo shuck mountains like the Hohokam, had to construct an facing east and implored the god priests of of colorful corn during a husking irrigation system. Upstream of his chosen earth, sky, and cavern "not to withhold bee, as their ancestors had done arroyo, he drove forked cedar branches in their mist-laden breaths, but to canopy' the for centuries. a line across the dry stream bed and built earth with cloud banners and let fly their a dam with branches, rocks, and earth. shafts little and mighty of rain, to send black powder of corn-soot (what we ca ll Downstream, he built more barriers on forth the fiery spirits of lightning, to lift up corn-smut) and a mixture of yellow dye, either side. Finally, he looked for a ball of the voice of thunder whose echoes shall yellow flowers, and corn pollen, so that the clay, which he buried at the side of the bed step from mountain to mountain, bidding grains became bright ye llow in token of where he wanted rain freshets to flow, then the mesas shake down streamlets." That their strength. She then stored them in a banked earth over the clay to form a long the streamlets might become torrents and pouch made from the whole skin of a fawn. embankment that angled into the arroyo. feed the earth-seeds, the priest "this day At the first of May, when the farmer The buried ball of clay was important sym­ plants, standing in the trail of the waters, heard the Sun Priest ca ll from the house­ bolically as well as practically, for it repre­ the smoke-cane, and prayer-plume." tops, he sharpened his planting stick of sented a wooden cy linder used in a Zuni It would be a full year before the infre­ juniper. The base of his stick was forked game called "Ti'-kwa-we," or Race of the quent rain deposited sufficient loam. Then with a stump that he could use as a brace Kicked Stick. Here two opposing teams, the Zuni would plant rows of sagebrush for his foot. He brought with him to the running at full speed, competed over a along the western boundaries of his field to fields a plumed prayer-stick and six corn twenty-five mile course by kicking ahead catch the fine dust and sand blown during kernels of different colors, which a corn­ of them two small cy linders of wood. The April, the month of the Crescent of the matron sprinkled with water to bless with clay ball provided a cylinder for the water Greater Sand Storms. Usually there was "rain." When the farmer arrived at the gods, encouraging them to race with the but a single rainstorm in the spring and its field, he dug four holes equidistant from kicked stick and to push their waters ahead waters, channeled by the embankments, the center, each of them a cardinal point, of them with li ke force and speed. helped redistribute and tamp down the soil and in each he planted a corn kernel of the This earthen banking created across the until it was at last ready for the ceremonies right color-red for the south, white for the farmer's field a network of barriers that of planting. east, yellow for the north, blue for the west. directed any freshets and caught any rain During the winter the seed had been He dug two more holes and planted a white that fell. To encourage the rain, the farmer blessed by the corn matron, who had kernel for the sky regions and a black sought the corn priest of his clan to prepare sprinkled a tray of selected kernels with the kernel for the world below. In lin es extend-

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 39 ing fro m each o f the fo ur directio ns, he diameter at the base, a nd o n its w indward The corn still "comes up green" in the pl anted rows o f corn until a ll the kernels in side, a ho le a bo ut two feet in dia meter that fields of the Hopi and other South­ his po uch were gone. H e returned ho me to opened into the interior o f the pit. Through western tribes today, although each fast and pray fo r fo ur days. the ho le in the top they threw dried grass, year there are fewer planting the old leaves, and wood, until the pit was full , way. Ancient strains are kept pure by hen th e fa rmer then fired the pit so that it would burn a ll cultivating them in fields isolated could pla nt all ni ght. When the coals were glowing, they from each other. hi s corn . Ta king threw in green corn stalks a nd a ll the un­ a seed bag and a husked ea rs of corn, plugging the top a nd people; or we could get seed from other lunc h of piki the draft ho le w ith gr een sta lks, then pueblos; but the o ld men do not want to do bread , a flat mounding earth over the whole. After a that, " a native of San I1d efo nso to ld a trio bread m a d e o f day a nd a ni ght, the mo und a nd sta lk plug of ethno bo tanists in 1916. " They want to corn fl o ur, th e were removed a nd steam would shoot keep the very corn of the puebl o, beca use pl a nter dug ho les hundreds of feet in the air. By afternoon the the corn is the same as the people." fo ur to seven in ches dee p a lo ngside last mass had cooled a nd they could shovel o ut They still pla nt their corn w ith pla nting yea r's rows. (The country is so dry, C ush­ the corn and ca rry it into the vill age, where sti cks a nd tend it by singing. "A pla nting in g explains, that seed had to be planted they husked the golden brown ears a nd stick is special," fa rmer George Blue-eyes deep in the underlying loam fo r protec­ braided them to ha ng from the rafters of told so me Navajo students in 1979 at Point tio n.) A boy fo ll o wed him, dropping twelve their houses. This was their la rder fo r the Community School in C hinle, Arizona. to twenty kernels in each ho le and co vering co mmg year. "Yo u must finish your planting a nd put it them with sand. Where the broken stalks While the rema ining co rn in the field away before the last qua rter of the moon. of last year's rows were thin, the planter ripened, the Z unis built little huts fro m You should sing after pla nting in the first reinfo rced them with twigs o f greasewood w hich children a nd old men could keep fo ur ho les." or sagebrush to catch drifting soil blown watch against coyotes and burros as well Now there a re mo re pla nting songs than by the wind. as crows. Any burro so foolh a rdy as to corn fi elds. Three centuries after Spanish N ext the pl anters made a netwo rk of venture into a cornfield after his first beat­ ad ve nturers brought ho rses a nd swords to cro w traps. They erected severa l ceda r ing regretted it. C ushing recalls a burro the So uthwest, white American engin eers po les, topped them with prickly leaves, a nd nicknamed "sho rt-horn" tha t had hi s ears bro ught dams and simila r improvements. strung between them ropes made from split shaved, his tail a nd to ng ue cut sho rt, some The Salt Ri ve r Project effecti ve ly ended yucca leaves. On these they hung rags or teeth pulled a nd hi s left eye put o ut. "The Pima farming in 1920 w hen it di ve rted strips of hide, moss, old bones- anything Z unis, and pro ba bly most o ther India ns, water fr o m Pima lands. The pattern is that would sway in the wind. They also are touchy o n the subject o f their bread­ familiar. At tha t date there were still over made small nooses, using a hair baited at stuff," he understates. 48,000 N ati ve Ameri can farmers in the each end with a co rn kernel, contrived to When frost turned stalks to gold a nd United States, half of w hom owned the la nd cho ke two cro ws simulta neously. Boys shucks to feathers, the corn was picked and they fa rmed. In 1982 the number had fashi o ned scarecrows with faces of painted carried into to wn fo r husking. Wo men d ropped to no mo re tha n 7,000. Each year ra whide, eyes of cornhusk ba ll s, teeth of formed the husking bees, shucking the co bs there a re fewer to say w ith George Blue-eyes cornstalk, ha ir of bl ack horseta il s, and lo ll ­ in great numbers, selecting ears to string o n that " planting the o ld way is still best." ing tongues o f red leather. These were the threads of yucca fiber and carrying baskets "Corn pl anted by tractor may take two "watchers of corn sprouts" and soon they of cobs to the roof to dry next to heaps of weeks to come up," he explain ed to The were joined by crows that were ca ught a nd chili peppers. Dried corn was stored in the Seedhead News, the newsletter of Nati ve hung beak downwa rd to wa rn their fell o ws corn room or granary of each ho use, where Seeds/SEARCH program. "Min e might be away from the corn. four sacred o bj ects were kept in the center: a up in fo ur days. Wind can blow tractor­ When the kernels had sprouted , it was perfect ear of yell ow corn, a bifurcated ear of planted corn ri ght out of the gro und. Mine is " leaf-lifting" time. The farmers pulled up w hite corn, a bunch of bl ack corn-soot, and stro ng. The plow ro lls the ground over on a ll but fo ur o r fi ve of the best shoots an ear blessed by a seed priest in the sacred itself across the whole fi eld. Too much soil sprouting from each pla nting ho le and Sa lt Lake, " Las Salinas." The salt ear and the dries out. The stick digs just eno ugh for each killed the white grubs near the roo ts. Then soot ear formed a couch fo r the " Father and side. The ground underneath stays wet." H e it was hoeing o r staving time, when they M other of corn crops"-the ye ll ow and might have added that the roar of a modern dug o ut weeds with their ancient hard­ white ears, respectively-to rest upon. Each combine is nothing like a song. So how can wood scythes o r with the white man's hoe yea r the co rn matron presented the first new it keep the corn fro m misunderstanding? of ha nd-w rought iro n. After the second or corn to these corn parents in a ceremony H ow can it kee p the tassels from trembling, third hoein g of the summer, they hilled the called M eeting of the Children. the wind from its tender leaves, the wood­ corn with a pickaxe made fr o m an elk's Today the Zuni and other Puebl os still pecker from its heart, until it IS gobbled up scapula o r a broad stone a nd left the corn keep their va ri ed strains of colo red corn by the ravening harvester? until ha rvest. pure by cultivating them in fi elds isolated In a utumn they picked a ll the corn that from each o ther. They still keep back some Betty Fussell, who lives in New York City, was still too green to sho w signs of ripening seed, year after year, to mainta in the blood­ is the author of four previous books and and carried it to a hill. H ere they dug a lines of their own pueblos. "We could buy writes regularly for many magazines and deep, funnel-sha ped ho le, severa l feet in other seed, and perhaps better, from white journals.

40 JUNE 1992 AMER ICAN HORTICULTUR IST 41 Reckamp Daylilies Continued from page 19 its own nursery fields for further evalua­ tion and propagation for marketing. This association with a well-known nursery name gave his daylilies respect and good prices-to the benefit of the society and its work. In recent years, the most widely distributed plant catalogs in the country have begun to list some of the daylily cul­ tivars cloned by Brother Charles. Although daylilies are easy to grow ("Just put them in the ground and jump back," Brother Charles quips), hybridizing is not instantly gratifying work. "Anyone interested might be at it a long time before they could make a living out of it. But as a hobby, it's very nice," he says. Surprisingly, he believes that the market is flooded with daylilies, many of which are 'Heavenly Crown'. "totally unacceptable and unnecessary." This is not because daylilies are easy to citrina in their heritage tend to have an hybridize so much as because older, vastly attractive, lemony fragrance." inferior varieties are still grown and The trademark characteristic of most marketed. The older cultivars bloomed Reckamp daylilies is their ruffled edges. briefly, usually midseason, and often hid "Other people have it, too," he notes, "but their blooms in their foliage. The new we were one of the first and some say we hybrids are not only better in this respect, have the best ruffling of any of the but hold up better to the elements and offer growers." a vast variety of colors and sizes. Brother Charles does not make crosses "There's a lack of education among gar­ between species nor has he had much luck deners," he says. "Take cars as an example. with reds. He has never tried to develop a If you had never seen a modern car and miniature. His objective has been wider, someone was trying to sell you a 1938 rounder petals and color combinations in Chevy, you might think it was the best which the cream is energized with a little available. A lot of people have never seen pink or the pink is touched with yellow. some of the modern hybrids growing." There is enough genetic variation among Brother Charles sets high standards for the medium-height pastels to keep him himself, introducing only a few new plants challenged, he says. "I started with that line annuall y. One of his introductions, 'Angel's and I'm glad 1 stayed with it. When you Delight', adorned the cover of the Wayside o Please send me a free catalog. jump around too much you get inferior Gardens catalog in the fall of 1981. His o Please send me 100 Mammoth offspring." Pastel colors show up well in most recent honor was receiving the first Darwin Hybrid Tulips for $19.95. the evening, when most people enjoy their presentation by the Chicago Botanical Payment enclosed: ____ o gardens, and when darker colors begin to Garden of its Award of Linnaeus, which is Charge to: 0 Master Card 0 VISA o disappear. "And our blooms are just as bestowed on individuals for outstanding Acct. No.: ______fresh in the evening as when they first achievement in horticulture. Exp. Date: ______open," he says. Unlike his da ylilies, Brother Charles Name: During his time at the community nurs­ remains unruffled by his success. And un­ Mailing Address: ______ery, Brother Charles had built a reputation like the blooms of his flowers, what he has for raising high-quality plants. When the achieved will last much longer than a day. nursery closed, Roy Klehm, director of the Shipping Address: ______well-established Klehm Nursery in South Tom Cahill is a priest with the Divine Barrington, Illinois, asked him to continue Word Missionaries in Maynooth, County City: his breeding program with daylilies. Kildare, Ireland. State: _____ Zip: _____ "He would take everything 1 produced," Phone Number: ______Brother Charles still marvels today. "I , would need no catalog, do no bookkeep­ SOURCES VaJ1 €J1Sc1CJ11J1c. ing, have no office. 1 would do the breed­ Stillbrook Farm ing, and he would pay me for my work." Klehm Nursery, Route 5, Box 197 Penny 313 Maple Street, Litchfield, CT 06759 Klehm Nursery takes Brother Charles's Road, South Barrington, IL 60010-9389. (203) 567-8734 most promising efforts and plants them in Catalog $4, refundable on the first order.

42 JUNE 1992 Protects plants from Poppies Continued from page 34 moss and leaf mold, and should be grown in filtered light rather than direct sun. transplant shock to Mexico; the delicate wood or celandine The California tree poppy (Romneya poppy (Chelidonium majus) , native to coulteri), native to Southwestern canyons, and drought. Europe and eastern North America; and the enjoys bright sun and dry, infertile soils. California poppy (Eschscholzia californica). When grown from seed it will take several The California poppy is native to the years to flower, but it is well worth the West but is seen in meadow gardens all effort. This four- to eight-foot perennial over the country. It is famous for its dainty, produces three- to six-inch, clear white cuplike flowers and cheerful golden orange flowers with yellow centers. Its petals have color. Its color range, however, has been a texture often described as crumpled silk. greatly expanded by modern hybridizers to This plant should be kept well to itself, as include pink, cream, white, deep orange, its roots quickly spread out, encroaching and mauve. There are also new double and on the territory of neighboring plants. semidouble cultivars. One exciting new When I lived in England, I used to bring California poppy, 'Thai Silk', has mostly in armloads of red field poppies to brighten semidouble flowers with a fluted form and the house. Most poppies make good cut a pleasing crinkly look to the petals, as well flowers, the cultivated forms being more as bronze-tinged foliage. long-lived than my beloved wild ones. Be­ The California poppy is a hardy annual cause most members of the poppy genus whose tiny seeds may be sown in the fall, ooze a substance that clogs their stems, it's except in the extreme north, or as soon as a good idea to sear the stem for an instant the ground can be worked in the spring. It over a lighted match and then immediately will thrive in dry, alkaline soils with good set the flower in warm water. Only the drainage; however, it is important to pro­ California poppy lasts well indoors with­ vide plenty of moisture after sowing to out this treatment, although it closes its break seed dormancy. petals after dark. Many people also use the Whether or not you can grow some of dried seed heads of certain poppies in the more unusual poppies depends upon flower arrangements. One cultivar that is where you live. Those living in the Pacific particularly good for this is the annual Northwest can grow the Himalayan blue Papaver somniferum 'Hens & Chickens'. poppy (Meconopsis baileyi) and the Welsh Outdoors, as well, these individually poppy (M . cambrica). Both of these cold­ beautiful flowers have many uses. Poppies hardy perennials demand cool, very moist can be incorporated in traditional peren­ conditions. nial borders, cutting gardens, rock gar­ My own experience with the Himalayan dens, or the happy hodgepodge of a cottage poppy at this point is limited to a single, garden. It is hard to visualize, in fact, a type tiny sprout that germinated from one of my of garden where some form of poppy seeds. I tend it with loving care. The odds would not be at home. for its survival are not great, considering my Southeast location. This is a rare Molly Dean is a free-lance writer who lives flower, more often seen in stunning photos in Clayton, Georgia. than in real gardens. Most gardeners are Sprayed on plant surfaces, Wilt-Pruf® intrigued by a challenge, however, and the forms a protective coating that slows lure of those glistening sky blue flowers down moisture evaporation from leaves SOURCES and stems. Use for: with golden anthers is undeniable. The • spring and summer transplanting Himalayan poppy must be grown from Carroll Gardens, 444 East Main Street, • protection from summer heat seed and needs three seasons to become P.O. Box 310, Westminster, MD 21157, and drought established. Picking off buds or new (301) 848-5422. Catalog $2. • fall transplanting blooms before the third year prevents the J. L. Hudson, Seedsman, P.O. Box 1058, • winter windburn protection plant from going to seed and thus helps it Redwood City, CA 94064. Catalog $1. • Christmas trees, wreaths and greens reach optimum growth and hardiness. It Garden Place, 6780 Heisley Road, P.O. Organic and biodegradable, Wilt-pruf® grows to two to fi ve feet. Box 388, Mentor, OH 44060, (216) 255- is the safe way to guard The Welsh poppy, which comes from 3705. Catalog $1. against moisture loss Europe, reaches a height of about twelve to George W. Park Seed Company, Inc., year 'round. WIll0 eighteen inches and produces yellow or Cokesbury Road, Greenwood, SC 29647, Ask for Wilt-Pruf® at orange flowers; some cultivars are heavily (800) 845-3369. Catalog free. your garden supply PRUf® petalled doubles. Good drainage is vital for Thompson & Morgan, P.O. Box 1308, store today. both the Welsh and Himalayan poppies. Jackson, NJ 08527, (908) 363-2225. P.O. Box 469, Essex, CT 06426-0469 They prefer acid soil with plenty of peat Catalog free. 203fi67-7033

AMERICAN HORllCULT1J RIST 43 CLASSIFIEDS

Classified Ad Rates: $1 per word; mini­ Schultz Company. 14090 R,verport Drive. Maryland Heights. MO 63043 mum $20 per insertion. 10 percent dis­ count for three consecutive ads using same copy, provided each insertion meets the $20 minimum after taking discount. Copy ANNOUNCING A NEW BENEFIT and prepayment must be received on the 20th day of the month three months prior TO SERVE OUR MEMBERS BETTER to publication date. Send orders to: American Horticultural Society Advertis­ The American Horticultural Society is pleased to announce an exciting new member benefit, the American Horticultural Society MasterCard®, issued by MBNA ing Department, 2700 Prosperity Avenue, America®, the only bank whose primary business is servicing membership associa­ Fairfax, VA22031, or call (703) 204-4636. tions like AHS. Every time an account is opened or renewed, and every time a purchase is made with an AHS MasterCard® , AHS will receive a royalty from MBNA America® to support its education pregrams and help keep its member dues THE AVANT GARDENER affordable. Because every card will bear the name and logo of the American FOR THE GARDENER WHO WANTS MORE Horticultural Society, it will provide visibility and identify you as a proud member of FROM GARDENING! Subscribe to THE AHS. Compare the AHS MasterCard® with your current credit card and see for AVANT GARDENER, the liveliest, most useful yourself just how special it is. of all gardening publications. Every month this unique news service brings you the newest, most FEATURES AND BENEFITS practical information on new plants, products, The prestigious Gold MasterCard® with credit lines up to $50,000 or the Preferred techniques, with sources, feature articles, special MasterCard® with credit lines up to $5,000 both offer many benefits not available issues. 24th year. Awarded Garden Club of with Gold Cards issued by most other financial institutions, including: America and Massachusetts Horticultural Society medals. Curious? Sample copy $1. • Toll-free access to 24-hour Customer Satisfaction 365 days a year. Serious? $12 full year (reg. $18). THE AVANT • Collect calls accepted from anywhere in the world. GARDENER, Box 489M, New York, NY 10028. • Card features the AHS name and logo. AZALEAS AND RHODODENDRONS • High credit lines-Gold Cards up to $50,000; Preferred Cards up to FOR GARDENERS WHO CARE WHAT $5,000. GOES WHERE: Carlson's Catalog and Color • No-finance-charge option-25-day grace period. Cue Cards help create year-round, low-main­ tenance Azalea and Rhododendron gardens. • Travel Accident Insurance'-up to $1 ,000,000 for Gold Cards and up to Two-year subscription: $3. CARLSON'S GAR­ $300,000 for Preferred Cards. DENS, Box 305-AHC, South Salem, NY 10590. • Supplemental Auto Rental Collision Deductible Reimbursement-up to (914) 763-5958. the full value of the car when charged to a Gold Card and up to $15,000 BOOKS in coverage when charged to a Preferred Card. EXOTICA Series 4, with 16,300 photos, 405 in • No liability for lost or stolen cards. color, 2,600 pages in 2 volumes, with Addenda of 1,000 updates by Dr. A. B. Graf, $187. • Free credit card registration service (a $12 to $15 annual fee for this TROPICA 4th edition, 1992, 7,000 color benefit with other credit card companies). photos, 1,156 pages, $165. Exotic House • Instant cash advances at over 77,000 Cirrus® machines. Plants, 1,200 photos, $8.95. HORTICA, pic­ torial cyclopedia of Garden Flora and Indoor • One-hour credit line increases 24 hours a day. Plants, 8,100 color photos scheduled for Fall • Additional cards at no additional charge. 1992. Shipping additional. Circulars gladly sent. • Supplemental lost luggage reimbursement up to $3,000. ROEHRS COMPANY, Box 125, E. Rutherford, NJ 07073. • Emergency card replacement, cash advances, and more. BULBS South African Gladiolus, Ixia, Babiana, , Certain restrictions apply to these benefits. Lachenalia Amaryllids and other seeds and bulbs. Write for catalog to RUST-EN-VREDE NURSERY, P.O. Box 231, Constantia, Republic For more information on the AHS MasterCard® benefit write Membership of South Africa 7848. Department, American Horticultural Society, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Dutch bulbs for fall planting, 12CM Tulips, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. m DN1 Daffodils, Hyacinths and Miscellaneous. Catalog Free. Paula Parker DBA, Mary Mat­ tison van Schaik, IMPORTED DUTCH BULBS, P.O. Box 32AH, Cavendish, VT 05142.

44 JUNE 1992 CACTI AND SUCCULENTS PEONIES ROSES HUGE SAVINGS-DURING MOVING SALE! Also DAYLILIES, JAPANESE & SIBERIAN LARGEST ASSORTMENT OF ROSES to be Save up to 25%-Don't Miss Out! Cataloglin­ IRISES. New 1992 catalog-$2 (deductible). found anywhere, at reasonable prices: HT, climb­ formation . .. $2. K & L CACTUS/SUC­ CAPRICE FARM NURSERY, 15425 S.w. ers, antiques, English Garden Roses, Rennie's CULENT NURSERY (AH), 12712 West Pleasant Hill, Sherwood, OR 97140. Phone & miniatures, Cocker's introducti ons, etc. A su­ Stockton Blvd., Galt, CA 95632. Fax (503) 625-7241. perb collecti on. Orders shipped in our QUALITY, FAIR PRICES: Cycads, pa lm s, PLANTS (UNUSUAL) refrigerated truck to USA UPS depots for dis­ tribution, in most cases. Catalog $2 . H ORTICO agaves, aloes, dasylirions, nolinas, yuccas, OVER 2,000 KINDS of choice and affordable INC., Fax (416) 689-6566. caudex, euphorbias, semps, cactus, succulents, plants. Outstanding ornamentals, American na­ rare trees, much more! Catalog $2 (refundable tives, perennials, rare conifers, pre-bonsai, STATIONARY with order). JOE'S NURSERY, P.O. Box 1867, wi ldl ife plants, much more. Descriptive catalog PHOTO NOTE CARDS-full color-sample, Dept. A, Vista, CA 92085. $3. FORESTFARM, 990 Tetherhasl, Williams, brochure $1. PHOTOS BY TRISH, Dept. AH, ORCHID CACTI (EPIPHYLLUMS), Catalog OR 97544. 89D Louis Ave., Valley Cottage, NY 10989. $2 (USA only), EPI WORLD, Dept. H., 10607 Glenview Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014. FLOWERING JUNGLE CACTI catalog for 1991-1992 including 4-page 1992 plant adden­ dum now available. 190 color photos of Orchid r ~ AHS PRESENTS "GREAT GARDENERS Cacti (Epiphyllums), H oyas, Rattail Cacti, XmaslEaster Cacti, Succulents, more! 77-page ~~ OF AMERICA" AT AMERIFLORA '92 plant/cactus bookshop catalog, all only $2. Hurry! RAINBOW GARDENS, 1444 (A H ) Taylor St., Vista, CA 92084. Want to learn more about daylilies? The revolution in vegetable gardening? New urban CARNIVOROUS PLANTS trees? Gardening in the shade? Join America's gardening experts for the "Great Gardeners of America" lecture series being held at AmeriFlora '92 in Columbus , Ohio. Carnivorous (Insectivorous) Plants, seeds, sup­ Presented by the American Horticultural Society, in association with First Community plies, and books. Color brochure free. PETER Bank of Ohio, the lecture series will continue every Saturday until October 10. PAULS NURSERIES, Canandaigua, NY 14424. AmeriFlora '92, the official Quincentenary Celebration of Christopher Columbus's voyage tothe New World, is a showcase for American gardening. For ticket information DAYLILIES contact: Sherran Blair, First Community Bank of Ohio, 4300 East Broad Street, P.O. AWARD-WINNING DAYLILIE5-direct from Box 717, Columbus, OH 43216, (6 14) 239-4680. grower! Beautiful catalog featuring 195 color illustrations: $3 ($5 coupon included). DAYLI­ LY DISCOUNTERS, Rt. 2, Box 24AH , "GREAT GARDENERS OF AMERICA" LECTURE SERIES Alachua, FL 32615. SCHEDULE: JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST 1992 EXOTIC PLANTS June 6: "What Catalogs Can Bring to Our American Gardens" THE EXOTIC PLUMERIA (Frangipani) by Steven A. Frowine, horticultural research and information director at White Flower Elizabeth and Sharon Thornton. All you ever Farm, Litchfield, Connecticut wanted to know about plumerias and more. Cultivars identified in color. Send $13 to June 13: "Improving Your Garden With Herbs" Plumeria Specialties, 4110 Spyglass Hills Dr., Holly Shimizu, horticulturist and director of information at the U.S. Botanic Garden, Katy, TX 77450. Washington, D.C. FREE PLUMERIA PLANT with minimum June 20: "The Gardens of Wave Hill" order!!! Easy-to-grow Tropicals. 300+ varieties! Marco Polo Stufano, porticultural director of Wave Hill, Bronx, New York Plumerias, Hibiscus, Bo ugainvilleas, Gingers, Flowering Vines and Shrubs, Bulbs, Jasmines, June 27: "Oasis for City Dwellers: The Public Gardens of New York City" Fragrant Plants. Books. NEW! Super Flower­ Lynden Miller, landscape designer, New York City producing specialty fertilizers. NEW! Plumeria July 4: "A New Era in Gardening-The Old and the New" Handbook (color), $10.95. Beautiful descrip­ Andre Viette, president of the Perennial Plant Association, owner of Andre Viette Farm and Nursery, and an tive catalog, 100+ color photos, $2. PLUMERIA AHS Board Member, and Jacqueline Heriteau, author ofThe American Horticultural Society Flower Finder PEOPLE, Box 820014-AH, Houston, TX and The National Arboretum Book of Outstanding Garden Plants 77282-0014. July 11: "Gardening in Small Spaces and Containers" GARDEN FURNITURE Linda Yang, author of The City Gardener's Handbook and a garden columnist for the New York Times ENGLISH REGENCY STYLE. Carefully hand­ July 18: "Wild Kingdoms of the City" forged. Entirely hand-riveted. Direct from James van Sweden, landscape designer, Washington, D. C. blacksmith. Legal SSAE for brochure to F. B. ODELL, 6209 Upper York Rd., New Hope, PA July 25: "New and Better Urban Trees" 18938. William Flemer III, president of Princeton Nurseries, Princeton, New Jersey GARDEN SUPPLIES August 1. "American Plants for American Gardeners" E-Z KLEAN @INSTANT DECK CLEANER. John Elsley, horticulturist at Wayside Gardens, Hodges, South Carolina Recommended by the New York Times as Best, August 8. "The Agony and Ecstasy of Specializing in a Holly Plant" Easiest, Safest way to restore color to dirty, gray, Jim Wilson, host of the PBS series "The Victory Garden" and author of Masters of the Victory Garden mildewed wood decks, steps, shakes. Environ­ mentally Friendly, Nontoxic to plants. Free August 15. "New Variations of Old Landscape Plants" Catalog. CHEMICAL-WORLD, Box 376AH, J. C. Raulston, director of the North Carolina State University Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina Holtsville, NY 11742. (516) 654-9437. August 22. "Native Wildflowers: Habitat Gardening for the Future" HOUSE PLANTS David K. Northington, executive director of the National Wildflower Research Center, Austin, Texas ORCHIDS, GESNER lADS, BEGONIAS, August 29. "Bulbs as Companion Plants" CACTI & SUCCULENTS. Visitors welcome. Brent Heath, owner of the Daffodil Mart, Gloucester, Virginia 1992-1993 catalog $2. LAURAY OF SALIS­ BURY, 432 Undermountain Rd., Sa li sbury, CT 06068. (203) 435-2263.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 45 BEAUTY FROM BULB~ PRONUNCIATIONS

Achillea millefolium uh-KIL-ee-uh mil-ih-FOE-lee-um Aloysia gratissima uh-LOY-see-uh gruh-TISS-ih-muh Androsace an-DROSS-uh-see Aquilegia chrysantha ah-kwi-LEE-jee-uh krih-SAN-thuh A. jonesii A. JONES-ee-eye Argemone grandiflora ar-JEM-oh-nee grand-ih-FLOR-uh Arisaema candidissimum ar-ih-SEE-muh kan-dih-DISS-ih-mum Asclepias tuberosa ass-KLEE-pee-us too-beh-ROW-suh Aster ericoides ASS-ter ear-ih-KOY-deez A. subulatus A. sub-yew-LAY-tus The native Passiflora incarnata is a popular A. texanus A. teks-AY-nus food source for many butterfly larvae. Aubrieta oh-bree-AY-tuh Bouvardia ternifolia boo-VAR -dee-uh L. horrida L. HOR-id-uh tern-ih-FOE-lee-uh Lewisia lew-ISS-ee-uh Buddleia davidii BOOD-lee-uh Lindera benzoin lin-DEER-uh ben-ZOH-in d uh -VID-ee-eye Magnolia stellata mag-NOL-ee-uh Campanula elatines var. garganica stel-LAY-tuh kam-PAN-yew-luh ee-lay-TEE-neez var. Meconopsis baileyi mek-on-OP-siss gar-GAN-ih-kuh BAY-lee-eye Chelidonium majus kel-ih-DOE-nee-um M. cambrica M. KAM-brih-kuh MAY-jus Papaver alpinum pah-PAY-ver ai-PINE-urn Cirsium texanum SIR-see-um teks-AY-num P. burseri P. BUR-ser-ee Clerodendrum speciosissimum P. nudicaule P. new-dih-KAW-lee kler-oh-DEN-drum spee-see-oh-SISS-ih-mum P. orientale P. or-ee-en-TAL-ee Coreopsis kor-ee-OP-siss P. rhoeas P. REE-us Corydalis cashmeriana koh-RID-uh-liss P. somniferum P. som-NIF-er-um kash-me-ree-AY-nuh Passiflora caerulea pass-ih-FLOR-uh Serving America's frnest Daphne DAF-nee see-REW-lee-uh gardens for over 80 years. Delphinium del-FIN-ee-um P. incarnata P. in-kar-NAY-tuh Echinacea purpurea ek-ih-NAY-see-uh Paulownia tomentosa paw-LOW-nee-uh John Scheepers, Inc. offers the most per-PEW-ree-uh toe-men-TO E-suh spectacular collection of flower bulbs Erodium ee-ROW-dee-um Penstemon acaulis PEN-steh-mon to enhance your garden's beauty. Eupatorium havenense uh-KAUL-iss yew-pah-TOR-ee-um hav-eh-NEN-see Pentas lanceolata PEN-tas Send for FREE catalog E. purpureum E. per-PEW-ree-um lan-see-oh-LAY-tuh Send for your free color catalog Eschscholzia californica Primula PRIM-yew-luh featuring Holland's largest selection esh-SHOLT-see-uh kal-ih-FORN-ih-kuh P. juliae P. JEW-lee-ee and finest quality of flower bulbs. Hemerocallis altissima hem-er-oh-KAL-iss Romneya coulteri rom-NEE-uh Name: ______al-TISS-ih-muh KOOL-teh-ree H. aurantiaca H. aw-ran-tee-AH-kuh Rosa ROW-suh Street: ______H. citrina H . sih-TRY-nuh Salvia azurea SAL-vee-uh az-yew-REE-uh H. fulva H . FUL-vuh S. coccinea S. kok-SIN-ee-uh City: ______H. lilioasphodelus S. farinacea S. far-ih-NAY-see-uh H. lil-ee-oh-ass-FOE-del-us S. greggii S. GREG-ee-eye State: ______Zip code: ______H. thunbergii H. thun-BERG-ee-eye Sax ifraga saks-ih-FRAJ-uh Iris EYE-riss Verbena ver-BEE-nuh John Scheepers, Inc. Jatropha integerrima jah-TRO-fuh Viburnum macrocephalum vy-BUR-num P.O. Box 700 in-tej-er-EEM-uh mak-row-SEF-uh-lum Bantam, Connecticut 06750 Lantana camara lan-TAY-nuh Vriesia imperialis VREE-zee-uh (203) 567-0838 kuh-MAH-ruh im-peer-ee-AY-liss

46 JUNE 1992 TRAVEUSTUDV TRIPS FOR THE AHS GARDENER

JUNE 18-27, 1992 GARDENS OF THE COLORADO ROCKIES AND THE GRAND TETONS The Denver Botanical Garden's former director, Dr. William Gambill, and its senior horticultural advisor, Andrew Pierce , will lead a tour that begins in Denver, Colorado, and concludes in Jackson, Wyoming. The itinerary includes private gardens, Colorado Rockies National Park, Dinosaur Nation­ al Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and a float trip on the Snake River.

JULY 12-21, 1992 SUMMER GARDENS ALONG THE OHIO A steamboat voyage on board the magnificent Mississippi Queen will take participants up the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh. We are indebted to AHS members and friends who have opened their homes, gardens, and clubs to us. And what a splendid collage of gardens they are, includ­ ing the unique collection of trees and shrubs of Mr. and Mrs. Morse Johnson in Cincinnati, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Motch's artfully used native plants in New Richmond , and the English gardens of J. Judson Brooks in Seickley. Leading this program for AHS will be Mrs. Harry Van de Kamp of Paso Robles, California, a former AHS Board Member.

AUGUST 8-19,1992 GARDENS OF FRANCE This will be a most unusual exploration of the great private gardens of the French regions of Brittany and Normandy. Here you will find gardens ranging in style from Prince Wolkonsky's Mediterranean ~ terraces in Keraldo to Princess Sturzda's wonder­ ful use of ground covers at Le Vesterival. You will find each garden different, yet the incomparable French style has been used throughout to provide accommodating homes for many rare species of trees, shrubs, and other plants. Leading this program will be long-time AHS Board Member Richard Angino.

OCTOBER 20-NOVEMBER 11, 1992 SPRING GARDENS OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND T.his unique itinerary affords the opportunity to visit a number of superb private gardens from Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm McConnell's country garden in Auckland and Mr. and Mrs. John Tynegrove's garden rooms in Christchurch to the Canberra home garden of Mrs. Peter G. Park, author of The World is My Garden. The itinerary includes the North and South Islands of New Zealand along with an excursion to Milford Sound. In Australia, the itinerary includes Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne. The program is led by Andre and Claire Viette. Andre is a long-time AHS Board Member and a distinguished author and lecturer in the field of horticulture.

NOVEMBER 14-21, 1992 GARDENS OF THE ANTEBELLUM SOUTH Join us for an exceptional voyage of exploration on board the yachtlike Nantucket Clipperfor seven days from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jackson­ ville, Florida. Ports of call will include Savannah, Hilton Head, Beaufort, and St. Simons Island. We'll see restored and new gardens created by garden desig­ ners Louisa Wood and Lou Trell Briggs, along with a marvelous selection of private gardens, including the Charleston gardens of James Morton featured in A View from the Windowby Heather Angel and Emily Waley's garden featured in The American Woman 's Garden by Rosemary Verey and Ellen Samuels. The program is led by Everett L. Miller and his wife CassoEverett is a Past President of AHS and former director of Longwood Gardens. LeroaId Haertter Travel CorrparT)'. 7922 Balhomme Averue, Sl Louis, MO 63105, (BOO) 942- 6666, (314) 721 ·6200 (in Missouri) Tour participants will visit Vaux Ie Vicomte during an August trip to the French regions of Brittany and Normandy.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT TOURIST OFFICE Is your garden missing j~wel-like flowers floating on a shimmering Ifyou haven't one, you are missing a great deal ofsatisfaction from your water surface ana the darting br:i.1liance of goldfish? Are you missing garden. the melodic sounds ofwater spil1i1igfrom a fountain, vessel or waterfall? Let Lilypons and TetraPond help you to get started today by ordering What you need in your garden is a water lily pool. A water lily pool is one of our durable TetraPond 32 mil, flexible, 2 ply PVC pool liners. So a garden whose plants like damp to very wet feet. Fish and frogs like easy to install and maintain you will askyourselfwhyyou waited so long to live there and butterflies will like your garden better than ever. A to begin this adventure. Call toll free to nearest location. Please have water garden is simply one of the most satisfYing forms of gardening. credit card information handy. Choose ITem the seven siZes listed (siZes are approximate) for depth 18" to 24" in your own design. Lilypons catalogue suh$ripti@fi (Fr~e with liner order) .. .. g 5 13' x 20' liner makes 9' x 16' pool ...... g229 8' x 12' liner makes 4' x 8'pool ...... , .' . " . . . . 99 16' :it 23' liner makes 12' x [9' pool 299 10' x 16' liner makes 6' x 12"p001'. .. " . '.... " '.'. ;., . . : , , :.L49 ' .'j 2Q' x 26' liner makes 16' x 22' pool .. ' .... 399 13' x 13' liner makes 9' x 9' pool ...... 165 23' x 30' liner makes 19' x 26' pool ...... 499 Use your personal check or circle credit card: , Discover VISA MasterCard American Express Card Number . ExpirationDate ____.,...... ______Name Address ______------~~--_---- City State Zip -,-.'~ ____ Phone ( )-~----- California (7.75), Maryland (5%), and Texas (7.25%) residents please add sales tax. Lilypons Water Gardens® Dept. 1526 ' Depf 1526 Dept. 1526 P.O. Box 10 , P.O.Boxl88 P. O. Box 1130 Buckeystown, Maryland 21717-0010 Brookshire, Texas 77423-0188 Thermal, CallfOrnia 92274-1130 800-723-7667 Washington Local 428-0686 800-766-5648 Houston Local 391-0076 800-685-7667 .