American Horticulturist Volume 72, Number 2 February 1993

ARTICLES

Proven Performers In our popular annual feature, three national plant societies name some (nearly) fail-safe favorites. Dianthuses by Rand B. Lee ...... 12 African Violets by Carol Bruce ...... 17 Lilies by Calvin Helsley ...... 21

Men Who've Loved Lilies by Melissa Dodd Eskilson ...... 26 From the exquisite but fussy species, lily-breeding pioneers have produced tough-as-nails hybrids for gardeners and florists. FEBRUARY'S COVER Drip Rationale Photographed by Priscilla Eastman by Robert Kourik ...... 34 The three-foot-tall Vollmer's tiger Simple hardware offers a drought-busting, water-conserving path lily, Lilium vollmeri, grows in to lusher growth. hillside bogs in two counties in southwest Oregon and adjacent A Defense of Ailanthus areas of California. It is threatened by Richard S. Peigler ...... 38 by collecting throughout its range, according to Donald C. Eastman's It may be the stinking ash to some, but in a city lot bereft of other Rare and Endangered Plants of greenery, it earns the name tree-of-heaven. Oregon. Of ninety lily species native to the Northern hemisphere, only twenty-two have been tapped by breeders for garden and DEPARTMENTS cut-flower hybrids. The Nature Conservancy reports that at least Commentary ...... 4 seven are candidates for federal listing as endangered. For more on Letters ...... 5 endangered lilies, see page 28.

Offshoots ...... 8

Book Reviews ...... 10

Pronunciations ...... 44

Classifieds ...... 45 American Horticultural Society

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

OFFICERS 1992-1993 reating a fertile ground of horticul­ Mr. George C. Ball Jr. tural understanding is essential to a President positive, progressive future, not West Chicago, Illinois C Mrs. Sarah S. Boasberg only for our organization, but also for our First Vice President nation. Therefore, the Society staff focuses Washington, D.C. much of its work on promoting gardening Dr. William E. Barrick to children and young adults. Neverthe­ Second Vice President Pine Mountain, Georgia less, our current membership of dedicated Mr. David M. Lilly gardeners and horticulturists is our Secretary germplasm, our li fe blood. I will devote the St. Paul, Minnesota next few commentaries to your concerns. I Mr. Gerald T. Halpin hope you take some time to respond. Treasurer Alexandria, Virginia We begin with the definition of horticul­ ture as an art and the need both to evaluate and to teach it as an art form. Webster traces "art" back to the Latin noun BOARD OF DIRECTORS "skill" and the Greek verb "fit" and defines art as "skill in performance Mrs. Suzanne Bales Bronxville, New York acquired by experience, study, or observation." Note its similarity to the Dr. Sherran Blair definition of science: "knowledge attained through study or practice." Columbus, Ohio Horticu'lture fares beautifully in Webster: "the science and art of growing Mrs. Mary Katherine Blount Montgomery, Alabama fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants." Note the emphasis on Mr. William F. Brinton both art and science. The Society will focus its resources on these two areas Mount Vernon, Maine in the next three years. We will promote and develop professional and Mrs. Beverley White Dunn Birmingham, Alabama amateur education and wi ll concentrate in our publications, lectures, and Dr. John Alex Floyd Jr. symposia on the art, design, and philosophy of horticulture. Birmingham, Alabama Of the contemporary arts, sculpture is most like gardening. It is subjec­ Mrs. Julia Hobart tive and physically demanding. A great sculpture inspires and then moves Troy, Ohio Dr. Richard L. Lower the spirit; it is a wellspring of emotion and energy. A great garden performs Madison, Wisconsin the same function. The ultimate expression of the art of gardening is the Mr. Elvin McDonald Japanese garden. Several thousand years have resulted in the suggestion of Houston, Texas Mr. William G. Panni II a universe within a small space. Western gardens may be more expressive Martinsville, Virginia of a particular philosophy of life or of the power and mystery of the natural Mr. Lawrence V. Power world, but no western garden expresses so directly the relationship between New York, New York human nature and the greater universe as does a Japanese garden. We Dr. Julia Rappaport Santa Ana, California burden our gardens with outmoded philosophies and "meaning." The Mrs. Flavia Redelmeier Japanese free their gardens of meaning, allowing the spirit of human nature Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada to mingle with the genius loci-the spirit of the place. Mrs. Jane N. Scarff New Carlisle, Ohio A recent lecturer at River Farm, Klaus Jurgen-Evert, spoke to us of the Mrs. Josephine Shanks new greenbelt recently completed in Stuttgart, Germany. He showed slides Houston, Texas of impressive new garden displays by American designers Michael Singer Mrs. Billie Trump Alexandria, Virginia and Dan Graham that break from patterns of tradition and reach beyond Mr. Andre Viette European models. Their gardens demand an experience of nature and Fishersv ille, Virginia plants unencumbered by conceptual baggage such as mankind's domina­ Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes tion of nature. These innovations are a good sign for the western horticul­ Mount Vernon, Virginia Ms. Katy Moss Warner tural tradition. We hope that eastern-inspired creativity continues to Lake Buena Vista, Florida liberate our gardens, enabling them to evolve in a greater and more universal context. Only in this way will horticulture become an important part of people's lives. -George C. Ball AHS President ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jr. , Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes

4 FEBRUARY 1993 American Horticulturist

Editor Kathleen Fisher LETTERS Managing Editor Mary Beth Wiesner Assistant Editor Chris Bright Editorial Assistant Steve Davolt Hope for Fruit berries and cranberries, and 400 currants Design Director In regard to Chris Bright's lamentati ons on and gooseberries . We also have smaller Joseph Yacinski plastic-enshrouded fruit and the shy selec­ coll ecti ons of" minor" fr uit genera such as Designer tion at his local market ("Offshoots," Oc­ elderberry, serviceberry, quince, and med­ Bob McCracken tober): the apples of the past may be lar. -Joseph Postman, Plant Pathologist Membership Director forgotten but they are not gone! Apple and National Clonal Germplasm Repository Darlene Oliver pear trees can surv ive for a century or more Corvallis, Oregon Editorial Advisory Board and far-sighted individuals have either pre­ Dr. Gerald S. Barad served or rediscovered many of our heir­ Included in Joseph Postman's letter were Flemington, New Jersey loom cultivars. Amateur fruit enthusiasts the addresses of the fruit organizations he John Bryan have associated into networks such as the mentions: Home Orchard Society, P.O. Sausa li to, Californi a John Creech North America n Fruit Explorers, the Home Box 776, Clackamas, OR 97015; North Hend ersonville, North Carolina Orchard Society, the Seed Savers Exchange, American Fruit Explorers, Route 1, Box Keith Crotz and others. Their members have developed 94, Chapin, IL 62628; and Seed Savers Chillicothe, Illin ois Panayoti Kelaidis extensive coll ecti ons of heirloom and mod­ Exchange, Rura l Route 3, Box 239, Denver, Co lorado ern fruit varieties . Decorah, IA 52101. Peter Loewer Fruit cultivars old and new, wild and Asheville, North Carolina cultivated, beautiful, gruesome, delicious, We Killed the "Jr." Janet M. Poor Winnetka, Illinois and unspeakabl y dreadful tasting are safe In her interesting a rticl e o n the White Dr. James E. Swasey at our National Germplasm Repositori es H o use la ndscape (October), Barbara Newark , Delaware opera ted by the U.S. Department of McEwan seems to say that Frederick Law Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Olmsted made a master design for the Advertising and are waiting for plant breeders and dar­ White H o use landscape in the time of AHS Advertising Department 341 Victory Drive, H erndon, VA 22070 ing growers to discover or rediscover thei r Franklin Roosevelt. The Frederick Law (703) 834-0100 hidden vi rtues. The repository for apples in Olmsted I know of died in 1903. (:olor Separations Geneva, New York, has abo ut 2,000 apple The reason I spotted this is because I only Chroma-Graphics, Inc. cultivars. At our repository in Corva llis, recently learned that Centra l Park (which Printer Oregon, we have collected nearl y 2,000 seems so modern) was already under way William Byrd Press, Inc. types of pears, including about 800 named at the time of the Civil War (whi ch seems edible cultivars. We are maintaining about so long ago). -Rachel Foster Replacement issues of AMERICAN H ORTICUL TUR- 1ST are ava ilable ar a casr of $2.95 per copy. The 300 kinds of hazelnuts, 700 strawberries, Eugene, Oregon opinio ns expressed in rhe articles that appear in 600 raspberries and blackberries, 400 blue- AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST are those of rh e authors and are not necessaril y those of the Society. You 're right. It was Frederick Law Olmsted Baranieal namendarure in AMERICAN HORTICUL­ Jr. who drew the plans for FDR. Ms. TURIST is based on HORTUS THIRD. Manuscripts, art work, and photographs se nt for possible publi cation McEwan is innocent; it was an editing error. will be rerurned if they are accompanied by a self-ad­ dressed, stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee the Three "Sycamores" safe rerum of unsolicited material. AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST, ISSN 0096-4417, The excerpt "Solace for a Pres ident" from is rheofficial publication of the American Horticultural Barbara McEwan's White House Land­ Society, 7931 East Boulevard Dri ve, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300, (703) 768-5700, and is issued six rimes a scapes makes an excellent case for the ther­ year as a magazine and six times a year as a News apeutic value of gardening, a concept I Edirion. The American Horticultural Society is a non­ profit organization dedicated ro excellence in horticul­ strongly support. This letter, however, is ture. Membership in the Society includes a subscription prompted by its mention that amo ng trees ra AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST. Narianal mem­ bership dues are 545; tWO years are $80. Foreign dues planted by John Quincy Adams was the are $60. $12 of dues are des ignared for AMERICAN "sycamore maple, which he called button­ HORTICULTURIST . wood." Copyright © 1993 by the American Hortic ultural So­ ciety. Second-class postage pa id at Al exandri a, Vir­ During travels in western Europe and ginia, and at additional mailing offic es. Israel, I became aware that the common Postmaster: Please se nd Form 3579 to AMERI CAN HORTICULTURIST,7931 Easr Boulevard Drive , Al­ The Pyrus genus ranges from the tiny name, sycamore, is appli ed to trees of three exandria, VA 22308- 1300. pea-pears of China to the large edible separate genera o n as many conti nents. European and Asian cultivars. The original sycamore appears to be

AM ERICAN HORTICULTURIST 5 Ficus sycomorus, the Biblical sycamore able to obtain the scholarly work of a from whose branches Zacchaeus ofJericho Japanese paleobotanist at a time when AHS Affiliates watched the passage of Jesus. A native of China and Japan were at war with each Africa, it became naturalized in Egypt and other. And then seed was collected and Members of the following Palestine. It is a member of the fig family, distributed before China closed itself for institutions are participants in AHS's Moraceae, and was given its species name decades. It rather sounds like a miracle. Affiliate Membership because its oval leaf resembles that of the Susan Sand has written an inspiring Program, a networking mulberry, of the genus Morus. It is a mas­ story that makes me just slightly more op­ opportunity available to most sive, broadly branched tree growing up to timistic about current efforts to identify botanical gardens, plant societies, eighty feet tall. new species in the face of habitat destruc­ and horticultural groups. Native to central and southern Europe is tion. -Mary Yee that continent's largest maple, Acer Silver Spring, Maryland pseudoplatanus. During the crusades of American Hibiscus Society the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Euro­ More Barbs Coco Beach, Florida pean churches produced miracle plays in I wonder why Castor-aralia (Kalopanax Chattisgarh Horticultural Society which a favorite scene depicted the flight pictus) failed to make the" pain and terror" Raipur, India of Joseph and Mary into Egypt. Legend list in your August iss Me? says they rested on their journey under a East Tennessee Horticulture Although I've never seen a mature spec­ and Landscape Associa~ion sycamore tree. Since no Ficus sycomo1'US imen, the daunting spines on the small one Knoxville, Tennessee grew where the plays were performed, this coming along in my garden suggest to me maple was chosen as a substitute, and that it has a brilliaflt future as a barrier Friends of Longue Vue gradually "sycamore maple," or simply plalilt. -Peggy Rea New Orleans, Louisiana "sycamore," becam.e its common name. Sewickley, Pennsylvania Friends of Manito Park Introduced into England in the 1500s, it is Spokane, Washington dome shaped with large, five-lobed leaves Young stems of the Castor-aralia are armed and grows approximately 100 feet tall. with stout prickles. But since the tree can Friends of the Botanical Garden A few centuries later, when western Eu­ grow to forty or sixty feet, your plant may University of California ropeans began penetrating the wilderness lose its value as a defense, except perhaps Berkeley, California beyond the mid-Atlantic coast of the North against second-story burglars. Friends of the Davis Arboretum American continent, they came upon tFees Davis, California whose size, general shape, leaf outline, and Reference Overlooked peeling bark at least superficially resem­ In Elisabeth Sheldon's review of Christo­ Garden ResoUFces of Washington pher Woods's WashingtOl'l, D.C. bled the familiar sycamore maple of Eu­ Encyclopedia of Perennials rope. The American "sycamore," however, (October), she overlooked the most com­ Hardy Fern Foundation is Platanus occidentalis, probably a descen­ prehensive of them all: Hardy Herbaceous Seattle, Washington dant of one of the first hardwoods to grow Perennials (1990) by Leo Jelitto and Wilhelm Schacht. It covers over 4,200 species and The Herb Society of America on earth, originating from the Cretaceous Mentor, Ohio and Tertiary forests of Greenland and arc­ 3,600 cultivars. It is available from Timber tic America. Press. -Robert B. Conklin, Publisher Master Gardene(s International One of the more appropriate common Portland, Oregon Cerporation names that developed for P. occidentalis is Alexandria, Virgin.,ia "buttonwood" or "buttonball," because Jelitto and Schacht are German and their Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the tree's one-inch spherical seed ball. reference book was first published in that Ann Arbor, Michigan Here in southeastern Pennsylvania button­ language. Sheldon's review was a compar­ wood seems to be used about equally with ison of American perennial encyclopedias National FFA sycamore as a common name for this spe­ for American gardeners (although she ob­ Alexandria, Virgin.ia cies. Adams's use of buttonwood as a com­ serves that some of those authors are Brit­ Newfoundland Horticultural Society mon name for the sycamore maple, which ish imports to our shores). She does not St. johl'l's, Newfoundland has a very characteristic maple seed, was have the Jelitto/Schacht set, she says, but not appropriate. But perhaps this small "having been urged by my friends, I've Rare Fruit Council International contusion in such a tangled taxonomy can been meaning to order it." The American Miami, Florida be forgiven even on the part of a former Horticultural Society's Gardeners' Infor­ Santa Barba&a eity College president. -Betty Cleland Cherry mation Service makes extensive use of it in Environmental Horticulture Program Lancaster, Pennsylvania answering member questions about peren­ Santa Barbara, California nials, primarily because it does contain information on such an exhaustive number Tennessee Native Plant Society Redwood Miracle KrlOxville, Tennessee I am a Newcomer to American Horticultur­ of plants. This is a good time to note that ist and I found Susan Sand's story about the the AHS Book Program offers many books Texas State Horticultural Society dawn redwood (October) alone wouth the that are never reviewed in our pages. College Station, Texas price of membership in the AHS. Hardy Herbaceous Perennials was listed in Tustin Garden Club It seems remarkable that i'n the midst of the book catalog in the September News Santa Ana, California a bitter war there were scientists in China Edition. Members can purchase the $125 persisting in their research on forestry. It is book for $1 05.95 plus $8 for shipping and also striking that a Chinese biologist was handling. Use the coupon on page 11.

6 FEBRUARY 1993 Ciarden Sensibly.

Katy Moss Warner, General Manager of Victory Garden Host Horticulture at Walt Roger Swain offers "An Disney World and AHS Ear to the Ground: board member discusses Listening to the the visual appeal of color. Heartbeat of a Garden. "

Robert Marvin, a South Rayford Reddell, owner of Carolina landscape Garden Valley Ranch in architect will speak on Petaluma, Calif., presents the visual elements of "Fragrance - Whose garden design. Nose Knows?" Colonial Williamsburg and the American Horticultural Society present "Cultivating for the Senses: The Sights, Sounds and Aromas of the Garden"

Join more than 200 horticultural Garden Symposium includes six days of professionals and home gardening access to Colonial Williamsburg's enthusiasts for the 47th exhibition buildings, craft shops, museums, and gardens; two receptions; WillialRsburg and a full schedule of tours, talks, demonstrations, clinics, conversations Garden SYlRposiulR and optional master classes. April 4-7, 1993 Please send information on the Garden Symposium. Name ______For full registration information, please Address ______mail the coupon to Garden Symposium, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA City State Zip ______23187-1776, or call (804) 220-7255. Telephone GIVE YOURSELF EXTRA CLOUT OFFSHOOTS WITH THE AHS MASTERCARD® CARD.

Carry the credit card that gives you the are being printed. The latter generally fall recognition of being a caring, active Help into two categories-either they are great member of the American Horticultural By Elisabeth Sheldon glossy books containing heart-breakingly Society. This is the only card that beautiful pictures of established gardens enables you to add your support to your verwhelmed as we all are these (usually in England) or they are business­ favorite non-profit organization! Get days by statistics on increased like how-to books full of diagrams, charts, these extra advantages at NO RISK! O crime, pollution, and the general and figures. Books in the first category deterioration of the planet afld other inspire those of us who, although we have • Issued free of an annual fee the first people's morals, we take great pleasure in not inherited stately mansions, a team of year, and just $40 for the Gold learning of the growth of worthy, as op­ gardeners, and a gentle climate, cheerfully MasterCard and $20 for the Silver posed to unworthy, activities, News of the settle for less. We study the pictures and MasterCard each year thereafter.t surge in flower gardening all over the texts, culling ideas from the experts, using • Higher line of credit up to $50,000. United States must cheer those who have what we can in some small way. deplored the attitude of most of their fel­ But it is the books and articles in the • Peerless Customer Service available low middle-class citizens who have for long second category that I want to discuss here. 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. confined their gardening activities, if any, Some of them are extremely helpful to to mowing the lawn and perhaps to "land­ beginning gardeners, giving sensible, sim­ scaping" their properties, i.e., getting some ple information about soil preparation, APPLY TODAY! landscaping firm to install foundation garden design, maintenance-all the basic plantings in the form of Japanese yews and stuff. Others, I fear, may be losing new possibly, to plant, somewhere on the lawn, recruits either by making gardening sound 1-800-847-7378, ext. SOOO a clump birch, a dwarf red maple, and/or too easy or too difficult. One writer tells Be sure to use thi s priority cod e w hen calling; KEFH . a pink dogwood. them it's a breeze, while another terrifies It is important that these newcomers to them with large amounts of scientific infor­ lTheAnnuol Percenloge ROle is 17.9%. mation and complicated requirements. MBNA Amenco· is a federally fegislered Sewice Mark of MBNA Americo Bonk, N.A.. proper gardening be given the help and Mo~erCard · is a federally regislered Sewice Mark of MaslerCard Inlemononol, Inc., encouragement they need. Perhaps follow­ One of the former will say that a "cot­ used pU(SlJont 10 license. ing the law of supply and demand, number­ tage garden" is an easy solution to all their less articles and new books on gardening garden problems. For this, they must take

8 FEBRUARY 1993 up their sod, till in sand and organic matter, istered at regular intervals. I realized (but install tough perennials, mulch with she did not) that the experts who wrote chipped pine bark, and relax. No more those books were descL"ibing what would hard work. Now, in the first place, "taking be optimum conditions for the horse and up the sod" is an enormous job. Further­ dog, but that the animals didn't necessarily more, with the sod goes much of the best require 100 percent perfection in their care topsoil. Perhaps the novice should be told and nourishment in order to thrive-any that the old-fashioned way of preparing the more than people or plants do. soil for a flower garden is to spade or One writer tells me that "bulbs need a mattock it up, removing the weeds, roots neutral well-drained soil with a high phos­ and all, then incorporating organic matter phorus content and these nutrients should in the form of compost or old manure. be at their root zone or just below it." If I (Grit can be added if the soil is very heavy.) took him seriously I would never put a bulb The modern method is usually to herbicide in the ground. In the first place, how could the area, wait a few weeks, then till it, I ascertain that the soil was neutral without working in the soil amenders. having a sample tested from each area The writer then tells you that, having where I planned to plant bulbs? No doubt, "prepared" the soil, having planted the in order to get the largest, happiest tulips, tough perennials (rudbeckia, sedum, the author's instructions should be fol­ grasses, etc.), having surrounded them lowed, but perfectly lovely tulips, daffodils, with a thick layer of wood chips, you're all squills, and other flowers can be 'had by set for the rest of your life, as if plants simply chucking the bulbs down into what weren't living things. Of course you'll have appears to be reasonable garden soil. A to lift, divide, cut back, and nourish them. child can-and often does-do it without There are low-maintenance but no no­ testing the soil or adding phosphorus. maintenance gardens, as anyone who has There's a big book on color in the garden tried to make one knows. that might persuade you that you don't Then there's the writer who recommends dare put two plants together in your border planting a "meadow," surely the most dif­ without first checking the position of their ficult gardening project of all. Even if the colors on the color wheel. area is made free of weeds and tilled before I've talked to novices whose self-confi­ planting, the weed seeds already in the soil dence has been all but destroyed by taking and those that will be deposited by birds such material too seriously. They are afraid and the wind will produce tough, unattrac­ they've designed their gardens badly, have tive immigrant weeds capable of triumph­ chosen the wrong plants, and have put them ing over most desirable native wildflowers, in the wrong places. They fear their color which gen€rally make up their own minds combinations are crude. When a plant dies MOVING? about where they want to live. Cornell they feel guilty, instead of feeling cross with University did a study on meadow gardens the plant, as we old-timers do. What is this? and found that even when the previously Gardening is supposed to be fun. prepared meadow was weeded for two We should certainly read constantly and years after planting the wildflower seed, search for information on the plants we are very few wildflowers remained for long. trying to raise-find out their place of ori­ DON'T LEAVE YOUR It is regrettable but understandable that gin, their preferences as to soil, light, tem­ AMERICAN vendors of seeds and plants would want to perature, moisture-then do our best to HORTICULTURIST BEHIND make meadow gardening or any other gar­ accommodate them. We should have our dening sound easy, but what many people soil tested, too, if it appears to be lacking don't realize is that many magazine editors in nutrients or to be inhospitable to the Send us an old address label and your want to do the same thing in order to please plants we're trying to grow. But since there new address and we'll make sure you the seed and plant vendors who will be are so many variables and inexplicables in don't miss a single issue. buying advertising space in their publica­ gardening, it's sometimes hard to say what tions. Their writers must accentuate the went wrong-or right. It's well-known that positive and all but eliminate the negative. it's possible for a plant to grow for some­ Send address and name changes to: I think that most of the writers who err one and not for the person next door, even in the other direction are authors of books. when the environment and treatment seem Address Change Department You have to say a lot to fill a book. I to be the same. We can but do our best and American Horticultural Society remember becoming quite irritated by not grieve too much over our losses. I did 7931 East Boulevard Drive books on raising animals that my daughter that for a long time. Then my husband Alexandria, VA 2230B-1300 used to read when she was young. They cured me of it with an old saying: "You told her that her horse had to have a can't win 'em all. " Fax: (703) 765-6032 wooden stable floor and expensive equip­ ment, food, and medicine. Her dog had to Elisabeth Sheldon is the author of A Proper have a special diet, regular visits to the Garden and a frequent contributor to veterinarian, and a battery of pills admin- American Horticulturist.

AMERI CAN HORTICULTURIST 9 Protects plants from transplant shock and drought. BoOK REVIEWS

honest about his own garden experience and funny as well. A little self-deprecation is a welcome trait in a field where many take themselves too seriously. One Man's Garden deserves a place 011 the bedside table and should be read an entry or two at a time before drifting off to the dream world. But watch out. The book has so many good ideas the reader may not go to sleep until the 1 a.m. news. Mitchell understands that gardeners live by dreams, but he has also grown plants in small places long enough to suggest that we not try to emulate large gardens by simply miniaturizing them. Enjoyment aRd keep­ ing fresh our sense of wonder, these are the important things. We cannot grow every­ thing, so why try? There are plenty of good plants that we both like and can grow. Henry Mitchell However, the garden will chaRge with time, II. ... I' • _/ partly because we are dealing with living Jhr 8."ItIl'/U/ 6'n,.lhman things. Also, interests change, and we be­ come bored with certain plants. As Mitch­ ell points out, the longest bloomer may One Man's Garden become too familiar. Concentrat€ on favor­ Henry Mitchell. Houghton Mifflin, Bos­ ites and give them good backdrops, includ­ ton, 1992. 262 pages. 61/4" x 91!2". Black­ ing hedges or shrub rows. Otherwise, and-white illustrations. Publisher's price, everything becomes a jumble. hardcover: $21.95. AHS member price: Mitchell has a fine sense of description. $19.75. The single-flowered kerria is a "golden nickel," the double-flowered one a American garden writing has been coming "shaggy yellow carnation." The cherries into its own the last few years. There is still are "powderpuffing" Washington, D.C., in Sprayed on plant surfaces, Wilt-pruf® plenty of antiseptic prose, slavish an­ April. Occasionally the reader can detect a forms a protective coating that slows glophilia, plant one-upmanship, and ac­ southern accent on the page, as about a down moisture evaporation from leaves color clash, "The flaming canary begins to and stems. Use for: counts that suggest more research on the part of the writer than actual garden time sing with the scrambled eggs." Beatrix Far­ • spring and summer transplanting • protection from summer heat logged. However, more authors are willing rand and Thomas Jefferson come in for and drought to venture opiRion, and these opinions are gentle lumps, as does the Yankee so-called • fall transplanting based increasingly on experience. In the common name for Magnolia grandiflora. • winter windburn protection forefront is Henry Mitchell. For me, one Mitchell aphorism will lin­ • Christmas trees, wreaths ger. "It is not important for a garden to be and greens Don't look for wimpy writing from Mitchell. One Man's Garden, his latest beautiful. It is extremely important for the Organic and biodegradable, Wilt-Pru f® gardener to think it a fair substitute for is the safe way to guard collection of columns from the Washington against moisture loss Post, is a refreshing pastiche of thoughts Eden." -Frederick McGourty year 'round. WILT£; that are practical, yet often with a broader Ask for Wilt-Pru f® at stroke of garden philosophy. Mitchell's Frederick McGourty and his wife own your garden supply PRUf® style is breezy, even gale force at times, but Hillside Gardens in Norfolk, Connecticut, store today. he is a keen and enthusiastic observer who a nursery specializing in uncommon peren­ P.O. Box 469, Essex, CT 06426-0469 has cast off most of the perniciol!ls abstrac­ nials. He is the author of The Perennial 2031767-7033 tions of the gardening art. He is brutally Gardener.

10 FEBRUARY 1993 Elisabeth Woodburn on "American H orti­ cultural Books." At her death in 1990, Woodburn was the lea ding expert on American garden books and this points up one of the strengths of Keeping Eden: editor Walter Punch assem­ bled a stellar group of authorities. The Drought results are best when the authors were all owed to follow their passions, often re­ Resistant prising a topic they had already explored Lilies in a full-length book. The illustrati ons are another strong Grace your world with point. Bulfinch Press is the illustrated-book the beauty of lilies ... imprint of Little, Brown and Company and its expertise shows. Eighty-one black-and­ Oriental hybrids. Asiatics. Trumpets/ Aureli ans. Rare and white and 114 color photographs, plans, endangered species. Plus and line drawings, most taken from period new exclusives, developed by leading hybridizers, & available sources, are printed on heavy, glossy paper onl y through our full·color catalog. with fine res ults. The bibliographi es at the Choose from more than 200 exquisite end of every essay, totaling hundreds of varieti es in all-the largest selecti on Keeping Eden: A History of Pacific Northwest garden lilies in of Gardening in America ci tations, are also excell ent. the world. All the finest quality on the Edited by Walter T. Punch for the Massa­ Editor Punch writes that he hopes Keep­ market today. All guaranteed. ing Eden will serve as a "catalyst and chusetts H orticultura I Society, B ulfinch ~------~ in vitation. " Diverse, authoritative, well­ Please send me your full-color catalog. featuring over Press/Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 200 varieties of lop-quality garden lilies. J enclose $2 1992.277 pages. 91/4" x 11IJ4". Color and illustrated, and entertaining, it should cer­ (refundable with order). black-and-white photographs and tainly play that role for a wide range of Name____ _

illustrations. Publisher's price, hardcover: readers. - Scott G. Kunst Address ______

$50. AHS member price: $45. Cuy _____ State __ Zip ___ Scott G. Kunst is a landscape historian and preservation planner in Ann Arbor, B&D Lilies Bea utiful and wide-ranging, this book of es­ 330 " P" Street . Pan Townsend. WA 98368 says on American garden history has ea rned Michigan. a place on my short list of essential books for beginners. I believe garden history profes­ sionals will enjoy and learn from it as well. Book Order Form Plant the Very Best .. The book opens strongly with a refresh­ Plant Andre Viette ing essay by Gordon De Wolf on "The D One Man's Garden . . . $19.75 Quality Perennials! Begi nnings" of gardening in America. Fo­ D Keeping Eden: A History cusing on utilitarian plants and practices, of Gardening in America $45.00 The Famous Andre Viette D Hardy Herbaceous Farm and' Nursery has De Wolf gives unusual attention-and re­ Perennials (page 6) .. . $105.95 one of the largest spect-to Native American gardeners. D Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape collections in the East. The next four essays move more or less and All Climates (page 37) . . $10.75 We ship nationally. chronologically forward, ending with very Postage a nd handling: $2.50, first book; $1.50 Rare and Unusual recent times. Unfortunately the set is repeti­ each additional book. Add $8 postage and Perennials tive and lacks rigor. One bright spot is the handling for Hardy Herbaceous Perennials. insightful piece by William Howard Adams Virginia residents add 4 l,12% sales tax. Please Specializing in on twentieth-century gardens. Essays on gar­ allow six weeks for delivery. Prices are subject to Flowering cha nge without notice. Perennials dens in the South and the West follow. Rock Garden The second half of the book includes an Enclosed is my check for $ ______Perennials excitingly wide array of garden history top­ Woodland o Visa 0 MasterCard Exp. Date: ___ ics. Mac Griswold explores what American Plants Daylilies art reveals of gardens, Tamara Pl akins Acct. #: ./ ::.?,- Thornton writes a social history of Victor­ .. <;"~, ian gardening and morality that is anything Signature:

but dull, and Keith Crotz offers tidbits on Ship to: the history of garden technology. The first ~>~ndre Yiette gas-powered lawn mower, for example, Street: FARM & NURSERY

was created in (where else?) Detroit in 1902 City: by a man who was both (think about it) an A.ccept No Substitute industrialist and real estate developer. State: Other engaging chapters in this section Zip: 703-943-2315 include Monticello's Peggy Cornett New­ Dept. AH , Rt. 1, Box 16 comb on "Plants of American Gardens," MAIL TO: AHS Books, 7931 East Boulevard Fishersville, VA 22939 Tovah Martin of Logee's Greenhouses on Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. AH2/93 Write for our catalog - $2.00 "Gardening Under Glass," and th e late

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST J 1 ~~~ PERFO o l(*, ,o~ ~...p "y CAN'T DECIDE U' + WHICH NEW INTRODUCTION \ TO TRY? THREE NATIONAL

PLANT SOCIETIES SUGGEST

SOME SEASONED VETERANS

YOU CAN COUNT ON.

ianthuses

B Y RAN D B LEE

THE ORDER CARYOPHYLLACEAE includes such garden stal­ warts as the campions and soapworts. It also contains the genus Dianthus, encompassing nearly \eighty annual, hardy perennial, and biennial species rahging in height from less than an inch to several feet. Most are native to the alpine meadows, woodlands, and forests of the north­ ern temperate zones. Best known are the feathered pink, D. plumarius, with its romantic English cottage garden associations, and the carnation, D. caryophyllus, but centuries of dianthus breeding have resulted in a bewil­ dering number of selections and interspecies cultivars. The genus was named dianthus ("divine flower") by Linnaeus, the eighteenth-century Swedish naturalist who developed the binomial system for naming plants. Medi­ eval perfumers and confectioners prized dianthuses for their spicy fragrances, but many species also boast spiky

12 FEBRUARY 1993 blue-green foliage that is wonderfully cool­ ing to perennial or mixed borders--even those that are somewhat dry-long after their flowers have blown. Dianthus breeding has been a minor mania in England and on the Continent since Tudor times. The American Dianthus Society was founded in 1991 to promote the cultivation of Dianthus species and hybrids in the North American home gar­ den and to lobby for increased attention to the genus among North American plant breeders, nursery folk, landscapers, and garden designers. In a recent poll, undertaken for Ameri­ can Horticulturist, our members named the following varieties, many antique, as particularly reliable garden performers, but the list is by no means exhaustive.

Hardy Perennial Garden Pinks Most of the following generally will over­ winter with some protection to Zone 5 and are best suited for the informal garden, being prolific of bloom but lax of habit. D. superbus, the superb pink, grows about one and a half feet tall. In June and July, from a base of narrow, soft green foliage, it produces long stems topped with very loose clusters ~f the most ethereal flowers imaginable: five threadlike white or palest lilac petals, so deeply fringed that they have virtually no center. They will usually keep reappearing until frost. A hy­ brid of D. superbus, D. x 'Rainbow Love­ liness Strain', bears larger flowers in richer colors over a longer period; it was bred by England's Allwood Brothers Nursery, which has brought numerous treasures into the dianthus world. Both breathe an exquisite fragrance, soft but powerful, not at all clovelike but pervasive and watery like poet's jasmine, with a slight, elusive, buttery underscent. D. plumarius 'Rose de Mai', introduced about 1820, forms ten-inch-high drifts of spiky gray green and armloads of fringed pale pink or creamy mauve semidouble flow­ ers with a delicious fragrance. From the 1840s comes the neglect-tolerant D.

The cheddar pink, like many dianthuses, is highly fragrant.

AMERlCAN HORTICULTURIST 13 plumarius 'Lady Granville' (often misnamed 'Lady Glanville', 'Lady Grenville', or 'Lady Glenville'), which bears atop ten-inch blue­ green foliage very fragrant double white flowers with burgundy tips and eye. D. plumarius 'Aqua' is almost certainly the American name for one of the most famous English pinks, D. plumarius 'Mrs. Sinkins', introduced into commerce about 1868 by the same grower responsible for the 'Cox's Orange Pippin' apple. In June and sometimes again in September it pro­ duces very fragrant snow white double flowers that, when fully opened, split their calyces, petals partly popping out from their sheaths like an eighteenth-century lady from her bodice. Its lax blue-green foliage can loll ten inches high by fifteen inches wide at maturity and requires sup­ port to look its best. D. plumarius 'Dad's Favorite' bears large double snow white flowers in loose clusters, edged and centered with a very striking deep maroon. It bloomed from late June through July in an exceptionally hot American Dianthus Society test plot and was still putting up sporadic flowers in August. Said by some to date from the late Top: 'Telstar Crimson 1700s, it is superb for boutonnieres and Picotee', a cultivar of the informal bouquets. rainbow pink, is a hardy Of much more restrained habit is the annual. Above: Among modern 'Spring Beauty' strain, which the group called cluster­ forms compact blue-green clumps twelve head pinks is this yellow inches high by sixteen inches wide over a Yugoslavian perennial. long period. It produces fragrant, frilly, Right: White Princess' and double flowers in various shades rang­ is a cultivar of the ing from white to dark rose. Many of the Finnish sand pink, one flowers bear beautifully contrasting cen­ of the first dianthuses to ters, or "eyes," and concentric circles on bloom in spring. the petals, known to dianthus growers as "zones." Hardy Perennial Border Carnations hardy garden pinks, often requiring a pro­ Another reliable compact pink with Gardeners who have never grown Dian­ tected spot when grown north of Zone 6. blue-green foliage is D. plumarius 'Frost thus may still think of carnations as florist The old standby D. caryophyllus Fire', a clove-scented dark red double from plants-inexpensive corsages worn to 'Grenadin Strain' is still the one to try. five to six inches tall. Its color is very close proms and weddings. While some of them Plants can form clumps up to two feet tall. to that of the David Austin rose 'William are amenable only to greenhouse growing, While their blue-green basal foliage is Shakespeare', which it complements beau­ the British have for years used hardy peren­ sturdy, the stems they put up in June and tifully. And for those gardeners who seek a nial carnations in their borders. July are frustratingly floppy, but perfect for sure thing, for sheer floriferousness under Most carnations are descended from D. an informal garden. These stems bear dou­ a wide range of climatic conditions no caryophyllus and tend to have large clumps ble (occasionally single) mini-carnations in dianthus beats the compact, vigorous All­ of thick, tightly curled foliage. Whereas loose clusters and colors that include white, wood Brothers cultivars D. x allwoodii pinks have small, single, fringed or feath­ a pure clear candy pink, fire engine red, 'Doris', a semidouble light salmon pink ered flowers, those of carnations are larger dark red, and yellow. Scent is especially with an azalea pink eye, and D. x allwoodii and double or semidouble. The border car­ good in 'Grenadin White'. D. caryophyllus 'Helen', a double salmon pink. nations are a bit more tender than the 'King of the Blacks' is said to be the most

14 FEBRUARY 1993 GROWING DIANTHUSES

lthough dianthuses have a reputation for being difficult to grow, the majority have only three general cultural requirements: alkaline soil, full strongly scented dark red border carna­ A sun (although in areas with baking summers, many dianthuses do best tion. White and red carnations are partic­ protected from afternoon burn), and good drainage, particularly in winter. If you ularly appealing against a backdrop of the have tried to overwinter pinks and failed, you might be judging low temperatures cool, airy, bronze fennel, Foeniculum vul­ to be the villain when in fact it was crown rot brought on by wet winter feet. gare 'Giant Bronze'. Many species and strains are easy to propagate from seed. Named cultivars usually must be propagated by cuttings and division. Take cuttings in July or Hardy Perennial Rock Garden Pinks August after plants have bloomed but before active growth has ceased. Divide These are the dianthuses to try where win­ plants in early spring before active growth starts. ters are harsh; many are hardy to Zone 3. To grow dianthuses from seed, for optimum results you will need a well­ They can probably be grown as far south drained, slightly moistened planting mix, such as equal parts commercial sterile as Zone 9, although they don't appreciate seed-sowing soil and coarse builder's sand; bottom heat to hasten germination; humidity and they demand excellent drain­ solid trays to support bottom watering and good air circulation to help prevent age. Dianthus 'La Bourboule' is a society damping-off; an environment around 55 degrees for growing seedlings; and the favorite; it is often misnamed 'La brightest light available. I have had good results using a bottom-watered, Bourbille', 'La Bourbrille', or 'La bour­ commercial seed-starting unit, the Gardener's Supply Company's Accelerated brille'. It is a charming half-inch-high mat­ Propagation System, but expensive equipment is not necessary. former bearing fragrant, deeply fringed Some gardeners begin by soaking seed overnight in a solution of one tablespoon pink flowers in late spring. 'La Bourboule liquid seaweed, which serves as a growth stimulant, to one gallon of warm water. Alba' bears white flowers. The tiny green Although wet dianthus seed is very difficult to sow evenly, this procedure seems to spiky leaves stay neat and tidy. hasten germination. Others immerse soil-filled planting cells in very hot water just Equally lovely is D. arenarius, the Finnish before sowing to soften the seed-coats and dissolve any natural chemical sprouting sand pink, which is up to six inches high, inhibitors. In any case, sow seeds thinly on the surface of the medium and cover very fragrant, fringed, and rampant; it is one of lightly with soil, no more than one-eighth of an inch deep. If possible, sprinkle a fine the first dianthuses to bloom in the spring. layer of coarse turkey grit, available at poultry feed stores, over your flats to amplify D. gratianopolitanus (once D. caesius), the the light striking them and to give easily rotted seedling crowns protection from cheddar pink, bears very fragrant fringed excess surface moisture. They will grow up through the grit. and light pink flowers atop blue-green Cover the flats with clear plastic, rest them in watertight trays, and place them over mounds around four inches high by twelve heating mats or in a warm spot. When seedlings appear, remove the plastic and place inches wide. A cheddar hybrid, D. 'Pretty the trays in a cool, well-ventilated room several inches below fluorescent lights or in Dottie', is a charming fragrant single white the sunniest window. Mist daily as required to keep the soil surface barely moist. and maroon bicolor. Another, D. 'Spotty' When seedlings have developed true leaves-the leaves that appear after the (sometimes listed as 'Spotti'), bears five-pet­ first two, which are cotyledons-add quarter-strength commercial fertilizer or aled red blooms spotted white atop gray liquid seaweed solution to your misting water. When seedlings are big enough green mounds. Four-to-six-inch-high D. that misting is no longer sufficient to keep their growing medium moist, water 'Tiny Rubies' covers one-foot-wide mats sparingly from the bottom. Do not let water stand in the trays. with wee clove-scented double rose pink Plant out in a sunny, well-drained spot after danger from hard frost has passed flowers, good for candying. (cover at night with inverted clay pots until the leaves toughen up). Avoid any Other useful long-bloomers include the location where water stands in winter or the snow cover remains for an unusually Allwoodii Alpinus hybrids, particularly long time in the spring. Dianthuses do not require heavy fertilization. It will be 'Patience', a fragrant, single pale rose with sufficient at planting time to mix into your beds some well-rotted compost and a red eye; the tufted, grassy, unscented some commercial fertilizer or a combination of compost with a mixture of one maiden pink, D. deltoides, blooming white, part cottonseed meal, fish meal, or blood meal plus one part rock phosphate or pink, or rose red; D. deltoides 'Brilliant', bone meal and a dash of kelp or alfalfa meal for micronutrients. four to six inches high with vivid double To extend bloom, keep faded blossoms picked off (this is quite a chore if done crimson flowers; D. 'Mrs. Holt', which one flower at a time; some dianthomanes give clumps wholesale haircuts with forms tight six-inch-high cushions of clear their shears). In the autumn, clear the plants' bases of dead vegetation, including pink; and the four-inch-high by six-inch­ fallen leaves, so as to discourage wet matting in winter and the fungal diseases wide mat-former D. 'Pike's Pink', which that ensue. If you must cover your clumps, use evergreen boughs or some other bears semidouble to double Persian rose covering that will not mat. Try to keep dogs from tromping through beds of the flowers, each with a cyclamen pink zone. taller pinks, whose stems tend to be brittle. Check for heaving during winter thaws. When spring growth becomes evident, snip off any browned material, but Clusterhead Pinks don't be too hasty; branches that seem dead may return to their blue- or gray The c1usterhead pinks carry their flowers in green under the warmth of the new sun. loose or tight umbels. Best known is the sweet Problems may include blister beetles, grasshoppers, slugs, and sowbugs and, William (D. barbatus), a short-lived peren- in humid areas, black spot, rust, and fusarium wilt. -Rand B. Lee

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 15 nial treated as an annual or biennial. Most tage garden romance to borders, beds, or sweet Williams bloom in June and July, containers, the genus Dianthus is a trea­ bearing single to double flowers in white, sure-trove of possibili ry. pink, salmon, red, and dark red, sometimes solid, sometimes marked with concentric Rand B. Lee, who lives in Santa Fe, New circles of contrasting hue. 'Excelsior Mexico, is the president of the American Strain', which grows to one and a half feet Dianthus Society. tall, is more fragrant than most and beau­ tifully colored. The charming dwarf 'Wee Willie' strain, about six inches tall, resem­ SOURCES 8, RESOURCES bles the original sweet Williams brought into England from Germany in the six­ The American Dianthus Society was teenth century. formed in 1991 to encourage the enjoyment Another favorite clusterhead is the yellow and cultivation of the genus Dianthus in Yugoslavian perennial pink, D. knappii. A American gardens; to preserve and dissem­ perennial hardy in Zones 3-9, it grows a foot inate existing stocks of heirloom to a foot and a half high and bears on stiff dia nthuses; and to bring the genus to the upright stems loose clusters of small, single­ attention of American breeders, garden de­ toothed sulphur yellow flowers for a month signers, landscapers, and nursery folk. It or more in mid- to late summer. Try it with publishes a quarterly newsletter, The harebells (Campanula rotundifolia), the an­ Gillif/ower Times, and is developing an en­ nual scarlet flax (Linum rubrum), or peren­ cyclopedia of commercially available nial blue flax (L. perenne). dianthuses. U.S. dues are $10. To join, or to obtain a more detailed source list of plants Annual Pinks & Carnations listed in this article, write them at P.O. Box From the tender perennial China or rain­ 22232, Santa Fe, NM 87502-2232. bow pink (Dianthus chinensis) spring Sources of Dianthus include: many dianthus strains that bloom the first Andre Viette, Route 1, Box 16, Fishersville, year from seed. Boasting soft, fresh green VA 22939, (703) 943-2315. Catalog $2. foliage, the "annual" pinks-though virtu­ Canyon Creek Nursery, 3527 Dry Creek ally scentless-add sturdy, heat-resistant Road, Oroville, CA 95965, (916) 533- color all summer long to window boxes, 2166. Catalog $2. container gardens, and bedding schemes. The Fragrant Path, P. O. Box 328, Fort Annual pinks can usually be overwintered Calhoun, NE 68023. Catalog $l. Top: Dianthus x from Zone 6 southwards; some are even J. L. Hudson, Seedsman, P.O. Box 1058, allwoodii 'Helen' hardier. 'Carpet Series' is popular, particu­ Redwood City, CA 94064. Catalog $l. flowers generously in a larly 'Carpet Series Snowfire', which fea­ Lamb Nurseries, East 101 Sharp Avenue, wide range of climates. tures striking white flowers centered with Spokane, WA 99202, (509) 328-7956. Above: The sweet bright cherry red on plants six to twelve Catalog $1. William is a hardy inches high. 'Ideal Series Violet' offers vel­ Logee's Greenhouses, 55 North Street, biennial clusterhead. vety dark purple blooms on ten-inch, sub­ Danielson, CT 06239, (203) 774-8038. zero hardy plants. 'Magic Charms Series' Catalog $3. grows six to eight inches tall, blooming Milaeger's Gardens, 4838 Douglas Ave­ blood red, coral, pink, and white. 'Telstar nue, Racine, WI 53402, (414) 639- Series Crimson Picotee', a six- to eight-inch 2371. Catalog $1. fringed crimson edged in white, has been Powell's Gardens, 9468 U.S. Highway 70 known to survive a Nebraska winter in an East, Princeton, NC 27569. Catalog $3. iron kettle with no protection. Rice Creek Gardens, 1315 66th Avenue Those seeking a fast-blooming "annual" N.E., Minneapolis, MN 44432, (612) carnation can hardly do better than D. 574-1197. Catalog $2. caryophyllus 'Dwarf Fragrance'. Scented, Stokes' Seeds, Inc., Box 548, Buffalo, NY sturdy, and floriferous, it blooms in five 14240, (416) 688-4300. Catalog free. months from seed in a wide range of colors. Thompson & Morgan, P.O. Box 1308, For those seeking to bring cooling fo­ Jackson, NJ 08527-0308, (908) 363- liage, fragrance, delicious color, and cot- 3335. Catalog free.

16 FEBRUARY 1993 are still occasionally found-two were discovered as recently as 1991. But al­ though additions to the genus are excit­ ing, botanists are currently more concerned about possible losses. Several African violets are endangered and at least one, S. inconspicua, is thought to iolets have already become extinct, in both na­ ture and cultivation. There is a resurgence of interest in grow­ ing Saintpaulia species, but the vast major­ B Y ( A R 0 L B R U ( E ity of African violet fanciers prefer hybrids. Since African violets hybridize readily­ with intriguing results-they have long fas­ JUST OVER A CENTURY AGO, IN 1892, Baron Walter von Saint cinated both commercial growers and Paul noticed some lavender flowers growing on his vanilla basement hobbyists. Over 20,000 named plantation in German East Africa (now Tanzania). The Baron cultivars have been produced so far, mostly had an eye for flowers and his interest in these won him from S. ionantha, though the pedigree of botanical immortality. He sent some of the plants home to his Saintpaulia hybrids is often uncertain. Whatever their origin, an estimated 50 to father, who passed them on to Herman Wendland, director 100 million African violets are now sold of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Hanover, Germany. Wend­ annually in the United States alone. land assigned the plants to the family Gesneriaceae and In this country, the hybridizing rage named them Saintpaulia ionantha, after the Saint Paul began in the 1930s, when the Los Angeles family and the Greek word for the color violet. By the nursery of Armacost and Royston released following year these "African violets," as they came to ten cultivars, all with single blooms in the lavender-to-purple range. In 1939, Michi­ be called, were a horticultural rage. At the 1893 Ghent gan grower Edward Wangbichler discov­ Quinquennial Flower Show, the baron's flower shared ered a double-flowered specimen. By the with the orchid the honor of the "Best New Introduction early 1940s, Holton and Hunke! nursery in of the Show." Today, some twenty Saintpaulia species are Milwaukee had patented a pink mutation. known, all from Tanzania and Kenya. New subspecies Today African violets come in an extraor­ dinary variety of forms and colors. Their leaves may be spooned, ruffled, lobed, or scalloped, and variegated in pink, yellow, white, or tan. Their flowers may be single, semidouble, or double, and ruffled, frilled, or wasp-shaped. They bloom in white, pink, coral, green, and almost red, and these colors may be solid, splotched, streaked, edged in another color, or even striped. With thousands of cultivars available, choosing the very best is a formida ble task. My choices are based on the "Best Varie­ ties" list published each year by the African Violet Society of America (AVSA), a mem­ bership society for African violet enthusi­ asts and the international registration authority for the genus Saintpaulia. The "Best Varieties" list is determined by poll-

'Majesty' is one of the first African violets that has flowers with yellowish tones.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 17 P LEN T Y o F LIGHT MEANS PLENTY o F FLOWERS

he first growers of African violets lost many of their tain few nutrients, so fertilizing is necessary. The plants can be specimens because they tried to duplicate what they fed fertilizer constantly, either by wicking or by watering can. Timagined to be the plants's gloomy, wet growing condi­ Use one-eighth to one-quarter teaspoon of 12-36-14 or 15-30- tions in "darkest Africa." In fact, most species occur on well­ 15 fertilizer per gallon of water. drained, rocky mountain niches dappled with equatorial light. African violets can be propagated readily from leaf cuttings. If you imitate these conditions, some cultivars will bloom Remove a leaf that has grown about halfway to the edge of the nonstop for months. rosette, then, using a sharp, clean razor blade, cut its petiole to Generally, if it hasn't bloomed, it needs more light. African one or one-and-a-half inches. Insert the petiole n€arly to the violets do best with twelve to sixteen hours of either natural or bottom of the leaf into a small pot filled with soil. The cutting fluorescent light a day. Since natural light is unpredictable, should be wicked, or it can be watered, allowed to drain, then most serious growers use double-tube, forty-eight-inch fluores­ popped into a clear plastic bag. After a few months, little cent lights. Placed with their foliage eight to ten inches below "mouse ear" plantlets will appear. These may be gently sepa­ the lights, plants usually start budding in a few weeks. rated from the "mother" leaf when they are an inch or more Light is the key to the African violet's bloom cycle, but water long. They should be potted individually in small pots. These is the key to growth. It doesn't matter whether the plants are will dry out quickly if th€y are not wicked. watered from the top or bottom, but it is important to give Miniature and semiminiature African viol€ts should have the them the proper amount of water. To understand the ideal same care as the larger cultivars, only more of it-except for watering, it may help to visualize your favorite cake. The fertilizer. Most will need more light to bloom and should be potting soil should always have a moist, spongy, "cakelike" placed six to eight inches below the light tubes. They will also texture. It shouldn't be soggy, nor should it be dry and crusty need to be watered more often, since they will be in smaller around the edges. pots. Older leaves should be removed and plants should be To achieve this ideal, the most popular method is wick watering. repotted every three or four months so that the root ball can To wick a plant, it must be planted in a porous medium of which be trimmed and the soil refreshed. While some cultivars grow one-quarter to one-third is perlite. The wick must run from a into perfect rosettes, others tend to sucker and ne€d constant reservoir below the pot, through the pot's drainage hole, and well grooming to retain attractive shapes. into the soil. You can make a wick from four-ply knitting-worsted Trailers may be propagated either by leaf cuttings or by acrylic yarn or a matchstick-thin nylon cord. (Do not use natural division if they have developed multiple crowns. The latter fibers because they will disintegrate). If you use the yarn, you may technique can produce rooted, blooming plants in only a few need to rub it under water to break its initial water resistance. weeks. When taking a leaf cutting from a trailer, remove a stem Reservoirs can be made from margarine tubs or similar containers. with several pairs of leaves. Strip away the lowest pair and treat Just cut a small hole in the lid, fill the reservoir with a dilute as you would a rosette leaf. fertilizer solution, and set the plant on top so that the wick hangs Probably the two most common maladies in African violets freely through the hole into are mite infestations and a the liquid. To start the fungal infection called wick, or whenever the res­ crown rot. To rid yourself ervoir goes dry, water the of the mites, you may have plant from the top. Every to resort to a pesticide. To couple of months, the cure crown rot, it may be plant should b€ watered necessary to cut the stalk at heavily from the top to the soil surface, remove in­ flush out excess salts. fected tissue, treat with a The growing medium fungicide, then reroot in should be light, porous, vermiculite. To help keep and pasteurized, with a pH your collection healthy, it's of about 6.5. A commer­ a good idea to quarantine cial African violet medium new plants for at least two may be used or you can months. mix your own. A typical Another common prob­ recipe is three parts dry lem is caused by the accu­ peat moss, two parts ver­ mulation of fertilizer salts miculite, one part perlite on pot rims. The salts can (two parts for wicking), damage leaves that touch one-half part hydrated the rims. Repotting plants, water-holding polymer of course, is a sure solu­ crystals, and dolomite lime tion, but some growers if needed to raise the pH. also cover the pot rims African violet mixes con- 'Peppermint Kathy', an example of the "Suncoast" series. with foil. -Carol Bruce

18 FEBRUARY 1993 PURSUING THE YELLOW VIOLET

n October 1946, the H. G. Hastings seed store in Atlanta, Georgia, was mobbed by ing AVSA members: to be listed, a cultivar I 10,000 people. Clerks were forced to take must collect at least fifty votes. In 1992, refuge on countertops and police had to be members elected forty-one "Best Varieties." called in to direct traffic. The occasion was the What should a good African violet look first American flower show devoted exclu­ like? According to criteria that AVSA uses sively to African violets. The two-day event to judge show specimens, a good African had attracted over 200 exhibitors, who violet should be "symmetrical"-that is, brought a hodgepodge of specimens potted in round-and low. A rosette should have anything and everything, including wash tubs. only a single crown, producing evenly dis­ Most of the plants had short-lived, five-petaled tributed foliage. And it should produce lots Nolan Blansit. flowers in blue or purple. Then one visitor of flowers-an average of twenty to twenty­ spotted a plant that had lost all its petals but still raised aloft its bright yellow five on a mature plant of normal size. anthers. Soon rumors were flying that a yellow African violet had been added to African violets are usually grouped into the handful of cultivars then known. But the yellow violet, if indeed there was three categories, according to the form of one, never reappeared. Visions of yellow have haunted growers ever since. the plant. The standard rosette is the low, The first attempts to breed a yellow violet yielded such early cultivars as 'Select round, single-crowned habit that you prob­ Yellow Brown Boy' and 'Yellow Breakthrough'. But these did not produce true ably think of when you think of African yellows and proved dead ends. violets. The miniature is just a small rosette. During the 1970s, researchers at the University of Wisconsin attempted to The trailer has multiple crowns and long, introduce red and yellow pigments into the Saintpaulia palette by hybridizing African hanging stems. Rere, grouped by category, violets with plants from a related genus, Episcia. But still no yellow violets emerged. are some of the 1992 "Best Varieties" that In 1980 Winston Smith, a Saintpaulia hybridizer well-known for his "Wrangler" have proven themselves at my house. and "Maverick" series cultivars, was startled by a scream from a visitor who had noticed a cluster of yellow blossoms in his greenhouse. Smith immediately took Rosettes leaf cuttings from the plant, a mutation of 'White Silver Sands'. But in a quirk of 'Splendiferous' has the species tendency to Texas weather, a frost killed the yellow-blooming plant and all its offspring. drop its flowers early but in spite of this, I It was the fate of another hybridizer, Nolan Blansit, to succeed where others had still think very highly of it. Its flowers are failed. But as Blansit recalls it, his achievement was not entirely due to his own fringed singles with pink- and white­ efforts. Blansit's background had been in hybridizing Episcia. In 1977, when he banded petals and fuchsia pink eyes. The and his wife, Cindy, were driving through California on their honeymoon, Blansit flowers contrast strongly with its large, heard a clear voice say, "I want you to trust me for a yellow African violet." dark green, quilted leaves. Astounded, he pulled the car over and hesitantly told his bride of the divine 'Something Special' lives up to its name. inspiration. Immediately after the honeymoon, Blansit outfitted his mother's Although its large leaves are plain, it is a basement with lights and benches and began his search for the elusive yellow. prolific bloomer, producing quantities of It took more than ten years and thousands of crosses, but in May 1989, African large bluish purple semidouble flowers. Violet Magazine published photos of Blansit's first yellow violets: the blossoms were 'Melody Kimi' is another prolific not solid colored but instead showed combinations of yellow, peach, and orange. bloomer. Its double flowers are a deep blu­ Blansit wanted to stabilize the color before releasing plants to the public, but in June ish purple and the lower petals are marked 1992, he marketed 600 small plants through the Violet Express company in Eagle with white bibs. Its foliage is the plain, River, Wisconsin. Even at $50 apiece, the plants quickly sold out. tailored, medium green found in most cul­ "The reaction to my plants has been exceptional," says Blansit. "There has tivars produced by large-scale nurseries. been such a hunger to see new colors." 'Happy Cricket' topped the "Best Varie­ And Blansit thinks he is well on the way to a solid yellow. "We're probably 70 ties" list in 1992. This large, easy bloomer percent of the way there. It's been very slow, but improvements are steady." His has big, wavy double flowers in two-toned breeding has also produced oranges "with yellow influences," shades of salmon lavender with some purple edging. Its ruf­ and pink-even an ivory. fled leaves are dark green on top and red Currently, Blansit supervises the hybridizing program for Green Circle Grow­ underneath. ers in Oberlin, Ohio, the third largest wholesaler of African violets in the country. 'Mark' is a perennial show-winner. Its He plans to release another batch of yellow violets this summer, once again fringed, double blooms are a deep rasp­ through Violet Express. His cultivars should also begin turning up on other berry red and its dark green leaves are grower's lists, perhaps as soon as this summer. slightly ruffled. Blansit's cultivars include 'His Promise', which has double flowers in blush 'Tiger' is another classic. This large, white streaked with yellow. 'Majesty' has white, slightly frilled blossoms with strong grower has dramatically variegated yellow and pink marks. 'Heavenly Dawn' has small but prolific semidouble leaves, and masses of old-fashioned dark flowers. Their color is ivory, with shadings of peach, apricot, or sometimes yellow, bluish purple double flowers. over bronze green leaves. -Carol Bruce

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 19 ~ often fragile. Tastes have changed since continuously with white semidouble flow­ ~ then, but because the large growers have ers. 'Pixie Blue' and 'Dancin' Trail' also § only recently begun to work with minis, deserve mention. 'Dancin' Trail' has dark ~ they are still not widely known. red double flowers over compact foliage, i True miniatures are no more than six while 'Pixie Blue', an older form, has old­ ~ inches across. Plants growing up to eight fashioned single, purplish blue flowers . ~ inches are called semiminiatures. There are These are some of my favorites, but you ~ now exceptional hybrids in both catego­ need not limit yourself to the ones listed ~ ries and several semiminis have made it on here. There is a wealth of possibilities in the § to AVSA's " Best Varieties" list. Among vast number of hybrids already on the these is 'Precious Pink', which grows with­ market-and of course you could always out coaxing into a perfect rosette of varie­ make some crosses of your own. Who Its two-tone flowers put gated green, white, and pink leaves and is knows? Maybe the next proven performer 'Melody Kimi' on the usually covered in pink flowers. Two other will be one of yours. 1992 African Violet pink semiminis are also listed: 'Little Pro', Society of America's which has tailored green leaves, and Carol Bruce, a free-lance writer living in "Best Varieties" list. 'Snuggles', which has variegated foliage. Las Vegas, Nevada, has been raising Afri­ Another notable semimini is 'Irish Flirt', can violets for more than twenty years. Some Saintpaulia hybrids are "chime­ which was awarded Best New Cultivar at ras"-a term used for plants whose cells the 1990 AVSA and New York State con­ SOURCES & RESOURCES are not genetically identical. In a chimera, veNtions. 'Irish Flirt' is a rosette of shiny, cells from one genetic line grow alongside medium green, slightly wavy leaves, cells from another line. Since the two lines topped with bright green double flowers. The African Violet Society of America is a do not occur in the same cells, chimeras As the interest in miniatures mounts, nonprofit membership organization de­ cannot reproduce sexually, but only some growers are producing even smaller voted to growing, showing, and encourag­ through tissue culture or suckers. (See" At­ plants. It has recently become popular to ing research on the genus Saintpaulia. tainable Chimeras," American Horticul­ train down the smaller miniatures as AVSA maintains a Master Variety list for turist, December 1991.) microminis and grow them in one-and-a­ the genus, which records both species and One of the best chimeras is the rosette half inch pots. But plants this small must registered cultivars. Through its 500 chap­ 'Granger's Desert Dawn'. Its blossoms are be wick watered or watered daily. (See ters, AVSA also sponsors regular exhibits, a light coral pink with distinct darker sidebar on page 18.) One grower, where new cultivars are shown and judged. stripes down the center of each petal. The Holtkamp Greenhouses in Nashville, Ten­ Membership in AVSA is $13.50 per year symmetrical plant has plain leaves. nessee, has even begun marketing a series and includes a subscription to the bi­ 'Kiwi Dazzle', a chimera rosette from of "Little Jewels" in thumb pots already monthly African Violet Magazine. (The New Zealand, is a prolific bloomer. Its wicked into miniwells. "Best Varieties" list appears annually in the flowers are fringed and striped-red on the November-December issue.) Members sides, white down the centers. They grow Trailers may also show or sell their violets at events high over medium green, plain leaves. Another increasingly popular form is the sponsored by AVSA affiliates and they In addition to these individual hybrids, trailer. Trailers develop long stems that have access to the latest information on the keep an eye out for any plants belonging to dangle over the rims of their pots, making culture of Saintpaulia. Contact AVSA at the more successful series, like Winston them ideal for hanging baskets or taller P.O. Box 3609, Beaumont, TX 77704, Smith's "Wrangler" series or the "Sun­ containers. The first trailers on the market (409) 839-4725. coast" series by Sandra Williams. derived from the sparsely blooming species Sources of African violets include: S. grotei. They were offered in 1954 by Holtkamp Greenhouses, P.O. Box 78565, Miniatures Tinari Greenhouses. But their lack of flow­ Nashville, TN 37207, (615) 228-2683. Miniature African violets are attracting ers and their tendency to sprawl made these Catalog free. more and more attention these days, early plants unpopular. Then s. magungen­ Lyndon Lyon Greenhouse, 14 Mutchler though they have actually been around for sis, another trailing species, was added to Street, Dolgeville, NY 13329, (315) 429- a while. The first registered miniature, a the gene pool and crosses with miniatures 8291. Catalog free. mutation named 'Miss Liberty', was re­ also helped to overcome the sprawling Tinari Greenhouses, 2325 Valley Road, leased in 1951 by Tinari Greenhouses in tendencies. Recent trailers are free-branch­ Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006-0190, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. But at ing, dense plants, often covered with hun­ (215) 947-0144. Catalog 50 cents. the time, most growers were trying to pro­ dreds of flowers. Violet Express, 1440-41 Everett Road, duce huge specimens and cared little for One of my favorite trailers is 'Falling Eagle River, WI 54521, (715) 479-3099. such "tea-cup African violets," which were Snow'. This fairly small cultivar blooms Catalog $2.50.

20 FEBRUARY 1993 flower shapes are almost as varied as the colors. Petals may bend back to the base of the flower, forming a "turk's cap," or re­ main fairly straight, producing a flat face. Some lilies look like a chalice; others like a trumpet. Lily blooms may be only an inch across, as in some of the species, or they may measure a full foot, as with some of the oriental hybrids. Plant height, too, var­ ies from about twenty inches, with the 'Pixie' hybrids, to six or seven feet in some B Y ( A L V N HELSLEY of the trumpet hybrids. You can find a lily to fit almost any WHETHER IT'S "THE LILIES OF THE FIELD" in the famous garden situation, whether you need a di­ parable or the Madonna lilies associated with the Virgin minutive species for a rock garden or a big, robust plant for a perennial border. And by Mary, lilies seem to have the power to inspire religious choosing carefully from the species and awe. But for gardeners, they can also inspire fear. Lilies hybrids on the market, you can have a lily have a bad horticultural reputation. They are widely in flower for practically the entire growing regarded as difficult plants-and many of them are. But season. For several years in my Zone 6 if you take the trouble to look, you can find a wide variety garden in Missouri, I have had lilies bloom­ of lilies that will reward even gardeners of little faith. ing from the end of May, when the martagon hybrids unfold, until the frost cuts down my Most gardeners know the tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium last L. formosanum in October. or L. tigrinum) and the Easter lily (L. longiflorum). And Behind all this variety are the roughly most have probably seen some exotic oriental lilies, at 100 species that make up the genus Lilium. least in florists' arrangements. But these few examples Lily species are perennial and occur don't begin to suggest the full diversity of the lily genus. CCasa Blanca', one of Modern lily hybrids bloom in almost every color except the most popular blue-you'll find lilies in white, yellow, red, orange, pink, orientals, is a florists' and green, both as solids and in gaudy combinations. And standby.

AMERI CAN HORTICU LTURI ST 2J throughout the northern temperate zone. and most modern hybrids are grouped Typically, they grow from bulbs composed here. Thus, it's not surprising that this di­ of fleshy scales attached to a basal plate. vision should be the most diverse. Here is Their stems produce scattered or whorled where you find the greatest variety in color leaves and culminate in an inflorescence. and flower form, as well as the longest It's important to distinguish true lilies from blooming season. Usually, though, Asiatics the many other plants that share their have no fragrance. name, such as the daylily (Hemerocallis), One reliable group of Asiatics is the Iily-of-the-valley (Convallaria), or the spi­ "Connecticut" series developed in the der lily (Hymenocallis). While the last 1950s and '60s by independent breeders grows from bulbs, other "imitation lilies" David Stone and Henry Payne, both of often have tuberous or fibrous roots, rather whom are now deceased. For years, 'Con­ than the real bulb typical of Lilium. necticut King' has been a staple in the cut Lily species have been cultivated for flower market and it has proven a reliable thousands of years, for ornament and med­ garden lily as well. Its spotless, deep yellow icine-even for food. (Lily bulbs are said to flowers with a gold flush in the center make taste like potatoes.) But the earliest known it a favorite for many. Two other early hybrid lilies date only from the 1830s. Even Connecticut hybrids that remain high on so, that century and a half of breeding has my list are 'Connecticut Yankee', a spotless produced a bewildering array of cultivars orange, and 'N utmegger', a heavily spotted and more are added every year. To keep yellow. Although their flower form has track of all this diversity, the Royal Horti­ been surpassed by more recent hybrids, cultural Society in England, the interna­ few newer hybrids can top the overall dis­ tional registration authority for the genus, play that these two lilies achieve. Both are has worked out a lily classification scheme. tall, vigorous growers that are great for the It's helpful to know how the scheme back of the perennial border. Another works. Catalogs of lily specialists sometimes wonderful Stone and Payne lily is 'Yellow use it to list their offerings and, even where Blaze'. This strain is generally represented the system isn't followed to the letter, most of by a super vigorous clone that is a consis­ the terms for classifying lilies are derived tent, summertime performer. from it. You can use it too, as the basis for If you like pink, consider 'Sally', hybrid­ choosing plants for your garden. There are ized by Richard Lighty of the Mount Cuba eight divisions in the system, each of which Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora, from which it is named. Both 'Cabaret' and contains cultivars derived from a particular and 'Tiger Babies' by Judith McRae of 'Willowwood' are yellow with a dark red set of species. (A ninth division, not discussed Columbia-Platte Lilies. Both produce "brushmarkj" a pattern increasingly seen here, is reserved for the species themselves.) beautiful flowers in salmon pink with a over the last fifteen years, in which each Some divisions are broken down into sub­ coral center. Both are sturdy, vigorous, and petal looks as if it has been touched by a divisions by flower shape and orientation. justifiably popular. paintbrush. Three orientations are recognized: upward Two lilies that I will always grow are facing, outward facing, and pendent. 'Maple Cream' and 'Miss Alice', both by Division II: Martagon Hybrids As we look through the divisions, you will Julius Wadekamper of Borbeleta Gardens. These exquisite lilies are derived from two see that although many hybrids are intro­ 'Maple Cream' is exactly the color of species, L. martagon and L. hansonii. They duced each year, relatively few stand the test maple cream candy, with a few dark spots have relatively small, turk's cap flowers and of time and are worth keeping in the garden towards the center of its beige pink flowers. rather wide foliage arranged in whorls. Al­ year after year. The following are those that 'Miss Alice' is a tall, spotless red. It is though they are fairly easy to care for once I have selected as dependable performers vigorous and one of the most beautiful they are established, martagon bulbs may not throughout much of the country. lilies for the garden. sprout their first year. They are also very slow Three newer hybrids that I expect to see to propagate, so they aren't sold widely and Division I: Asiatic Hybrids for many years to come are 'Timepiece', by they tend to be expensive. But martagons are These cultivars come from a large group of Hartle-Gilman Lilies; 'Cabaret', by Vicki beautiful, durable, very long-lived, and relatively easy-to-grow species native to Bowen, an independent breeder in Rock­ among the first lilies to b I 00 m. L. x China, Japan, and Korea, though a few ville, Maryland; and 'Willowwood', by dalhansonii, perhaps the most famous of European species are also represented. Hy­ Wadekamper. 'Timepiece' blooms in a them, has been around for a century and is bridizers, both commercial and amateur, splash of brilliant orange with a clocklike still worth growing. It has glossy, purplish have worked extensively with this group spotting pattern at the center-the feature brown to mahogany red flowers.

22 FEBRUARY 1993 The Asiatics are the most diverse of the lily divisions. 'Yellow Blaze', left, is an older Asiatic cultivar of proven vigor and consistency.

Divisions ill, Iv, & V: Candidum, just becoming available. They bloom in shaped flowers, as well as some with American, & Longiflomm Hybrids white, yellow, red, pink, and green. Their recurving petals. The next three divisions are stocked with flowers are usually bowl shaped. Most LA I have a particular fondness for Division interesting plants, but few of them could hybrids have not been available long VI, and if! had to pick my absolute favorite safely be called "proven performers." Di­ enough to have proven themselves. lily, I would tend to favor the aurelian vision III contains hybrids mostly from L. 'White Henryi' by Leslie Woodriff. Its candidum, the Madonna lily. One of the Division VI: Trumpet & large, flat-faced flowers are a creamy white oldest known hybrids, L. x testaceum, is Aurelian Hybrids with orange centers. Over the center is a placed here, but there are very few modern This group includes hybrids of a number speckling of brown papillae. (These are hybrids available from this group. of Asiatic species, mostly with trumpet­ tiny bumps that occur on some lily petals.) Division IV contains cultivars derived shaped flowers. Particularly important Each stem may produce as many as twenty from species native to North America. among these species is L. henryi, whose flowers, providing several weeks of bloom. Most of these species occur on the West flowers, however, have a starburst instead 'White Henryi' is vigorous as well as beau­ Coast and have proven difficult to grow of a trumpet form. (Cultivars of L. henryi tiful and has been elevated to the North elsewhere. Perhaps that is the reason for are called aurelians.) The lilies in this divi­ American Lily Society's "Hall of Fame. "To the rather limited hybridization within this sion are among the easiest to grow in the make the Hall of Fame, a hybrid must place group. Division IV hybrids are also rare in entire genus. Many are also fragrant and first at least five times in the annual popu­ the trade. will even attract hummingbirds. They usu­ larity poll that the society conducts among In Division V, we find hybrids derived ally flower later than the previous divisions its members. from the Easter lily, L. longiflorum, and a and they're usually taller. They flower in 'Gold Eagle' is another "must have" Taiwanese lily, L. formosanum. A number white, pink, yellow, orange, and green. In from Division VI . Its wide, flat flowers of of these cultivars, sometimes called "LA addition to the trumpet and starburst golden yellow are lightly sprinkled with Hybrids" (for " Longiflorum-Asiatic") are flower forms, you'll find some bowl- small cinnamon spots. Its beauty and deli-

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 23 DRAINAGE IS CRITICAL FOR HANDLING LILIES

rowing modern hybrid lilies is really quite simple if you meet their one major requirement: good drainage. They can be grown successfully In a cious fragrance could make it one of your range of soil, light, and nutrient conditions, but they sImply wIll not G best performers for July. tolerate "wet feet." Lilies are hardy perennial bulbs. You will be leaving them undisturbed for three Division VII: Oriental Hybrids to four years, so make an effort to plant them with care. You can plant them in These hybrids derive from species native to either fall or spring but either way, start out right by buying fresh, healthy bulbs. East Asia, mainly to Japan. The most im­ Bulbs that have dried and started to sprout seldom bloom their first year and portant forebears of Division VII are the often don't even survive. gold band lily, L. auratum, and the Select a well-drained area with plenty of sunlight. Avoid areas where water 'Rubrum' cultivar of L. speciosum. Orien­ collects after a rain. If you are in doubt about the natural drainage of the site, tals are considered the showiest of the lilies. make raised beds with rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, or railway ties. Mound the They produce spectacular flowers, usually beds with loamy soil enriched with compost or peat moss. Add some sand too. in white, pink, and red, and often with When planting, mix a tablespoon of a balanctld granular fertilizer in t~e soil fascinating spotting patterns. A potent, below the bulb. (Do not fertilize lilies with manures or high nitrogen fertIlIzers.) spicy fragrance is also characteristic of the Plant the bulb with the roots down and cover with four to six inches of soil. Lilies group. Sometimes this scent is so strong are heavy feeders and form roots on the stem, so sprinkle more fertilizer on top that it can be overpowering indoors. of the soil to feed the stem roots. Water the area and mulch. Such exotic splendor doesn't always Each spring a light sprinkling of fertilizer scratched into the surface is ben~fi­ come tlasily. Orientals tend to be more cial. But be careful: new growth is very tender and breaks easIly, so aVOId dlggmg exacting in their requirements than other until all stems have poked through the ground. lilies, and that's why I'm reluctant to rec­ Lilies multiply by division of the main bulb and by the formation of smaller ommend them to gardeners just getting "bulblets" on the stem just above the main bulb. Every three or four years, this started with the genus. But those beginners clump should be dug up and divided. Do your digging in October, and be sure who cannot be dissuaded should give to replant your lilies in new soil. 'Black Beauty' a try. Though it's classified Just a few years ago, available hybrid lilies required a l~t o~ "babying." as an oriental, 'Black Beauty' has L. henryi Growers had to be vigilant against a host of dreadful maladIes, including lIly in its parentage, which makes it far more mosaic (a complex of viruses that attack the foliage), fusarium rot (a bulb and rugged than most Division VII plants. root fungus), and botrytis (another fungus that attacks the entire plant above the 'Black Beauty' blooms are a deep black-red soil). Today's hybrids generally have some disease resistance, though you may edged in white and with a green, star­ still need an insecticide and, to control botrytis, a fungicide. -Calvin Helsley shaped nectary at the center. Its stems can easily carry thirty to fifty flowers apiece. 'Black Beauty' is as spectacular as many other orientals, and far less temperamen­ tal. I still consider it one of the best per­ formers-it rivals 'White Henryi' on my personal list of favorites. Like 'White Henryi', 'Black Beauty' was hybridized by Woodriff and it too is in the lily society's "Hall of Fame." I would cite two other orientals as espe­ cially durable. 'Journey's End' has per­ formed well in many gardens. It has deep red flowers with chocolate nectaries. Vtlry popular and one of the most beautiful of all the lilies is 'Casa Blanca'. Florists have come to rely on its huge, spotless white flowers and it has proven a good garden plant too. Hybrids of the Future Division VIII is a catch-all category, set up to include any hybrid that doesn't find a place in the previous seven divisions. At present it has very few members. But this scarcity is not likely to continue for long, 'Connecticut King', an Asiatic, is popular with both florists and gardeners.

24 FEBRUARY 1993 'Sally', which is salmon pink with conspicuous coral spots, has three sets of chromosomes. Such polyploids tend to be virtually indestructible. since lily breeders are constantly testing the orientals, 'Journey's End' and 'Black owner of Ozark Mountain Lilies, a former limits of the other divisions by producing Beauty'. But unlike most crosses involving president of the North American Lily Soci­ wider and more complex crosses. the latter, 'Scarlett Delight' does not greatly ety, and its current publications manager. Over the past decade, one of the most resemble 'Black Beauty'. With its towering promising trends in lily breeding is a re­ stems of large, deep rose red flowers edged newed interest in polyploid lilies. (A poly­ in white, it is much closer to 'Journey's SOURCES & RESOURCES ploid has three or more copies of each End'. One trait that it has in common with chromosome, instead of the normal com­ both parents is that it persists where other The North American Lily Society is an plement of two.) There are already a num­ orientals fail. My other choice among the international nonprofit organization de­ ber of well-established polyploids, most of tetraploids is the Asiatic 'Apricot voted to promoting interest in the genus which are triploids. (As the name suggests, Supreme'. It is actually more orange than Lilium. The society sponsors shows, en­ a triploid has three sets of chromosomes.) apricot, but its large flowers have the heavy courages scientific research, and runs a lily 'Red Velvet', for instance, is a striking and substance typical of tetraploids and make bulb exchange. Annual membership dues reliable triploid Asiatic. 'Sally', mentioned a good addition to the garden. are $12.75 and include a subscription to earlier, is also a triploid. Further breeding will no doubt produce the society's quarterly bulletin. Members But today many breeders are adding an­ other solid performers. But the varieties also have access to the bulb exchange, a other set of chromosomes, to produce tet­ mentioned here should help you get over slide collection and library, and expert cul­ raploid hybrids. Though it's still early for any fears you might still have of the lily. tural advice. The society's 48-page hand­ tetraploids, two have already proven them­ Soon maybe your own lilies will be inspir­ book on lily culture, Let's Grow Lilies, is selves to be excellent plants. Both were ing other gardeners with awe. available for $3.50. Contact the North developed by independent breeder LeVern American Lily Society at P.O. Box 272, Freimann. 'Scarlett Delight' is the product Calvin Helsley has been growing and breed­ Owatonna, MN 55060. of a cross between tetraploid forms of two ing lilies for over thirty years. He is the For sources of lily bulbs see page 37.

AMERICAN HORTICU LTURIST 25 MenWho've Loved Lilies Their high standards have given us hybrids that are both gorgeous and tough.

B Y MEL S S A DOD D ESKILSON

earching for new species through hybridized offspring of lily species that per­ Central China along the Yangtze form best in the garden, pot, and vase. River and its tributaries, plant Many of the lily species discovered and collector Ernest H. Wilson knew brought into cultivation from the 1830s to that physical danger was always the early 1900s quickly became notorious aS possibility. On an expedition in the early for being temperamental and demanding. 1900s he found a lily he had sought, Lilium For decades, diehard lily lovers worldwide regale-"crowned with ... large funnel­ continued to dote on waning lilies stunted shaped flowers ... and laden with delicious in stature and bloom. Then about 1925, perfume exhaled from every blossom"­ breeding by a handful of hybridizers began perched on slate and mudstone cliffs prone to bear fruit. Within a few decades beauti­ The late Jan de Graaff, to rockslides, flanking a narrow roadside ful, healthy, adaptable, floriferous lilies opposite, made lily­ that wound above a turbulent tributary. with the constitutions of iron were readily breeding history with his Wilson managed to collect about 7,000 of available.

26 FEBRUARY 1993 AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 27 PROTECTING F U T U R E L I LIE S

s lily hybridizers seek new characteristics resistance. As a result of the de Graaff for lily hybrids, it's not unusual for them team's breeding and marketing successes, A to return to the extensive gene pool of the in the early 1980s the majority of lilies unhybridized Lilium species. Dutch-born Amer­ grown across the globe originated at OBE ican lily breeder Jan de Graaff mined the Cali­ But while 'Enchantment' was a milestone fornia native lily L. pardalinum-a light reddish in lily history, it was by no means the pinnacle. orange, turk's cap lily heavily spotted with crim­ As de Graaff himself wrote, "Like clay in the son brown-in creating some of his world-fa­ hands of the master potter, new lilies can be mous lilies. Yet to date, only about twenty of the modeled to our needs. We can draw on our world's 100 or so known lily species have been imagination and then fuse their colors, their tapped for hybrids. Clearly, much potential still forms, and their good habits into new combi­ exists in the genus. nations. Much has already been accom­ Lilium pitkinense. But lily speci~s, like many other flower types, are plished, but much still remains to be done." being increasingly threatened with extinction by loss of habitat and in some cases unchecked colle::ctiofl. Of the approximately 3,000 endangered wildflowers in ontinuing where de Graaff North America, 400 ar~ predicted to be extinct by th~ year 2000. Although there:: and other OBF hybridists left are no formal reports on wild-collecting of lily bulbs, lily cousins in the Erythron­ off is former OBF protege Ed­ ium genus are offered in several mail-order catalogs and the Natural Resources Defense ward A. McRae, now research Council fears most of the stock is collected in the wild. Of twenty-four North American and development manager at native lilies, Nature Conservancy Chief Botanist Dr. Larry Morse reports that seven theC wholesale bulb-producing company are in vatying degrees "rare" and candidates for future federal listing as threatened or Van der Salm Bulbfarms, Inc., in Wood­ endangered species. land, Washington. McRae is something of Most rare, and currently top priorities with the Conservancy, are the golden yellow, an unsung hero in the lily gardening world; dark orange-spotted L. iridollae, which is native to southern Alabama and northwest­ the names of his hybrids are probably bet­ ern Florida, and the native Californian L. pitkinense, which is orange-scarlet suffused ter known than his own. His earliest suc­ with yellow. "We must fully grasp how important it is to prese::rve the natural species," cesses at OBF, with the input of OBF lily lily breeder Edwafd A. McRae, a former de Graaff associa.te, recently wrote. "Every hybridists Harold Comber and Earl Horn­ effort must be made:: to establish meaningful populations, both in their natural back, included the salmon peach 'Chin­ environment and in cultivation. We can then do much to ensure that the unique beauty ook', the unspotted pink 'Gypsy', and of both the species and hybrids from them endures for posterity." 'Sterling Star', which is white with black Clearly, gardeners are ne> less dependent on the gene::tic diversity of plants than spots. Their pastel shades were a break­ are breeders. Lily gardeners can help make a stand for the native species by: through and all had appealing upfacing ~ Actively questioning horticultural, mail-order catalog companies about their blossoms. "These lilies were something to­ sources for native lily ste>ck. tally new, unknown before I came to this ~ Helping to establish populations of nursery propagated, native lily stock in country," relates McRae. private and public garde::ns and arboreta. The United States got quite a catch when ~ Contributing to, and becomililg active in, groups working to protect endangered de Graaff hired McRae away from his lily species, such as local wildflower societies, the Nature Conservancy (1815 North Scottish homeland. Born in 1932 in the Lynn Street, Arlington, VA 22209), the Natural Resoun;:es Defense Council (40 West village of Echt, Aberdeenshire, he was in­ 20th Street, New York, NY 10011), and the National Wildflower Research Center troduced to horticulture in the flower and (2600 FM 973 North, Austin, TX 78725). -Melissa Dodd Eskilson vegetable gardens of his maternal grand­ parents, who raised him after his mother's death when he was an infant. Though his grandmother was not formally educated, that would last, that wouldn't pass on any 57 and jotted in his records: "VERY McRae remembers her "as quite a botanist disease susceptibility to future genera­ GOOD, nasturtium red, very fine." The in her own right, very knowledgeable tions," Gi bson says. Of the millions of lily was the hardy, highly adaptable, Asi­ about her plants, many of which were seedlings grown in trialing fields, only 1 to atic 'Enchantment'. Asiatics are distin­ rare." One of the earliest photos of McRae 5 percent are ever sold commercially. guished by leaves that form in whorls along shows him as a toddler standing next to a Undoubtedly the most well-known of their entire stem and cup-shaped flowers towering bed of tiger lilies. American lily hybrid promoters was Jan de four to six inches wide that cluster at the McRae served an apprenticeship at Graaff (1903-1990), the Dutch-born top of the plant. They bloom any time from Fyvie Castle Gardens near his birthplace, American bulbsman who was the first to May to July but are typically scentless. then three years in the Royal Air Force organize and oversee mass hybridizing and 'Enchantment' combined the best charac­ before beginning a three-year horticultural extensive field trialing in a systematic teristics of at least six species and changed program at Edinburgh's Royal Botanic breeding program. lily history, according to one lily grower, Garden. He stayed there another four years From among tens of thousands of seed­ "as surely and completely as Napoleon as botanical foreman. He had begun han­ propagated lily crosses growing in a field changed world history." Its most notable kering for new challenges when he met de at Oregon Bulb Farms (OBF) in Portland characteristic was its saturated color, but Graaff, who was looking for a protege to in 1941, de Graaff singled out Selection D most important to growers was its disease study under Comber.

28 FEBRUARY 1993 McRae arrived at OBF in the spring of 1961. "My horticultural and agricultural education had prepared me somewhat," he says, "but lily breeding is such a specialized business, I learned much of what I do after having come to the United States." Into the mid '60s, McRae's greatest pri­ ority was increasing disease resistance in all types of lilies. When the industry emphasis shifted away from garden varieties to cut and potted lilies, McRae began focusing on Asiatic species and in crossing them inad­ vertently developed a new hybrid charac­ teristic called brushmarks-attractive, contrasting dark blotches on petal centers. (Lily" petals" are technically tepa Is, which include petals and sepals.) "I'd gone back to the species for certain characteristics," explains McRae, referring to lily species as if they were priceless old reference books, "and from seedlings in the second genera tion this un believa ble brush mark appeared. A complete surprise, but then dramatic surprises are often what you get when you return to the original material." The brushmark group, includ­ ing the now classic hybrids 'Impact' and 'Vanguard', are, as a bonus, virus toler­ ant-and popular stock among breeders. Also counted among McRae's finest achievements thus far are the fine yellow Asiatics 'Pollyanna', 'Cordelia', and 'Joanna' and McRae's miniature "Pixie" lilies, short in stature and long on perfor­ mance as potted lilies. One of McRae's current priorities is to increase the fertility of offspring of the wide cross pairing of fragrant oriental and au­ relian lilies, thus to more easily produce hybrids in a new lily division that some are calling "orienpets." Orientals, developed from Japanese species, are outstanding for their open-faced, pendent, late season blooms, which can be from six to twelve Edward McRae's many inches wide. Heavy in substance, they often achievements include his have reflexed or rippled petals and boast a «Pixie" series of miniatures, strong, spicy scent. Reds, pinks, and whites like 'Buff Pixie', left. are their most common colors. Aurelians have a sweeter fragrance, with trumpet­ shaped flowers that appear in midsummer, most frequently in pastels. They have taller, less wiry stems than orientals, and are somewhat more likely to be outward facing. Genetically, the two want little to do with each other. McRae's orienpets, which may be available within five years, are exhibiting fragrant upright flowers, excellent disease resistance, and a new range of colors, in­ cluding peaches, rich reds, and unique bi­ colors such as red with yellow margins.

AMERI CAN HO RT ICULTURIST 29 Ron Beck, who worked with McRae at Sign north of McKinleyville, OBF, recalls that even in McRae's off hours, located on the northern Cali­ he was rarely far from the paraphernalia of fornia coast, reads: "Turn lil y-breeding. Former wife Judith McRae was here for lilies and begonias." an OBF geneticist. She now owns and oper­ The sign points the way to ates the wholesale lily production company AFairyland Begonia and Lily Garden, a Columbia-Platte in Boring, Washington, and small retail and mail-order plant operation has bred award-winning lilies of her own. consisting of a greenhouse and two acr€lS Their daughter Catherine, now 18, spent this of fields surrounding a small, blue house. past summer with her father, crossing and It is the base of operations for 82-year-old evaluating lilies at Van der Salm. Leslie Woodriff, one of the world's most Social visits to the McRae home, said B€lck, respected lily breeders. were like a trip to a science fair. "Like as not Woodriff is perhaps most famous for you'd find a microscope on the dining room 'Star Gazer', whose upfacing flower broke table," he says, "focused on some minute lily new ground among orientals. Crimson with reproductive part. And the entryway was full dark spots and petals outlined in white, it is of lily breeding paraphernalia. You could popular as a cut, potted, and garden lily and always find a test tube or petri dish there-if used extensively in Holland as both a cut you happened to need one." flower and breeding base. Currently the Even more than McRae's novel house­ Dutch are cultivating more than 1,000 acres hold, Beck recalls the hybridist's energy of 'Star Gazer', almost four times the space and devotion. "I compare Eddie and his devoted to the runner-up hybrid, yellow lilies to a father and his kids," he relates. 'Connecticut King'. The first hybrid to com­ "He lives and breathes his work. When I bine characteristics from five Japanese spe­ worked with him, he'd be out in the fields cies, 'Star Gazer' was simply anoth€lr step early in the morning, then at the warehouse in Woocdriff's overall dream of producing by midmorning to make sure the bulbs what he calls the perf€lct lily: the first to Leslie Woodriff, now 82, is were being packed and shipped properly. bloom in the s pring, the last to bloom in the famous for 'Star Gazer', Still later he'd be back in the field." fall, with the biggest flowers, best scent, and above. Its upward-facing But even though McRae's lily offspring widest adaptability. flowers are rare among could do no wrong in his eyes, Beck says, "With the work we're doing, I believe we oriental lilies. the breeder knew when to let go of a cross can put pret' near all of them in one fertile that was less than sterling, particularly in mixture," Woodriff avers with a touch of regard to disease resistance. Says McRae: the accent he retains from having lived in "You have to have the faith you're doing Texas and Colorado. something very creative and that eventu­ Besides 'Star Gazer', he has developed two ally, if you keep on doing it, you'll bring a other hybrids, the oriental 'Black Beauty' and wealth of beauty to the world." the aurelia'll 'White Henryi', whose popular­ Among McRae's honors are the North ity among lily gardeners warranted the lily American Lily Society's E. H. Wilson society's creation of the Hall of Fame-lilies Award for individuals making outstanding that have appeared so frequently in society contributions to the genus Lilium and the popularity polls they deserve special status. Royal Horticultural Society'S equivalent, To date 'Black Beauty' and 'White Henryi' the Lyttel Cup. are the only lilies inducted. Both are famous Of late he's devoted considerable energy to for their vigor, their unparalleled hardiness, preserving lily species threatened the world and disease resistance. The recurved petals of over by pollution and land development, to 'Black Beauty' are dark red with a green star ensure that future breeders will be able to dip in the center and petals outlined in white. It into the species germplasm in making their will grow up to nine feet tall with fifty or own crosses. He has directed a species pre­ more flowers. 'White Henryi' has a sunburst­ servation project at Portland's Berry Botanic shaped flower with an orange throat and Garden and is encouraging the lily society to cinnamon flecks. Says Woodriff proudly of begin species preservation research. 'Black Beauty': "It's a cross of a pink reflex As McRae writes in the journal Her­ from Japan and the orange reflex from bertia, "There are ninety species of Lilium China, specially selected from over 50,000 scattered throughout the Northern Hemi­ seedlings. Each parent is picky about its lo­ sphere and approximately twenty-two of cation, soil, and culture, but cross the two these have been used to produce the hybrid and they don't care where they grow." lilies sold in today's marketplace," some of Also to Woodriff's credit is the award­ these only sparingly. winning aurelian 'Gold Eagle', known for

30 FEBRUARY 1993 its rich yellow, fragrant blossoms; the ori­ ental 'Tempo', deep garnet with a white band and dark red spots; and 'Rosy', a rose-scented oriental with white petals overlaid with pink and red spots. Dutch-in­ troduced lilies bred and reared first by Woodriff include baby pink 'Le Reve'; 'Laura Lee', which has deep pink spots and " whiskers" on its white petals; and 'Fellowship', white with a ruffled edge, pink center stripe, and pink to red spots. Woodriff's influence on Holland's orien­ tal lily culture has been so great that the Dutch Horticulture Advisory Service named a new lily, 'Woodriff's Memory', after him in 1990. In 1991 the Dutch Bulb Growers' Association gave him its Dix Award, the highest award given by the Dutch in the field of flower bulb breeding. This man of many honors, including the E. H . Wilson Award, employs breeding methods that can perplex classically trained, systematic hybridizers. Although very mixed parentage is the rule among lily hybrids, many breeders, like race horse owners, can trace ancestors back several generations. Fellow breeder LeVern Frei­ mann recalls the day he dropped in on Woodriff and found him pollinating breed­ ing stock with mixed pollen taken from an assortment of lilies and kept in a fruit jar. "Some people consider this very unscien­ tific," relates Freimann, " but in the final analysis you have to consider, 'What did the breeder accomplish?' And Woodriff's accomplished plenty." Woodriff was born in Quanah, Texas, in 1910 but his family moved shortly after­ wards to Colorado, where they took up cattle ranching. There at the age of 6 he met his first

0:: 113111", •.,I!l,tT l h.!\lnllhr b ~r~ il' .'ntl rt\1 lily. "I saw a rubrum lily forced into flower III 5,,,rllrntturr by a friend of my Dad's. I loved the fragrance and color of the blossom so that I grew some seedlings," he recalls, then chuckles. "Ifchip­ munks hadn't eaten my best seedlings back then, I'd be a millionaire today." ~ ~ -tot" ' It ",t 'to tllllt(l'l (II.'W* t~l) '1 ";' ;'tI-: [Uult ~" "t J ~nr l ~. ' hl When Woodriff was 12 he helped his l.rshr Woobnlr mother, Violet, open a small retail green­ \ house business selling begonias, gloxinias, fall bulbs, and lilies to bring in additional ~ income for the family. Woodriff was in charge of growing lilies from seed. When a doctor ordered Violet to a lower altitude i for a heart condition, the family sold their cattle, moved to Oregon, and eventually began focusing on producing lilies there. Though family finances prohibited him from going to college, Woodriff managed the family business and helped se nd his two brothers through schoo!. During a brief

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 31 sta y in Los Angeles, Woodriff met his wife Ruth, the daughter of a landscape gar­ dener. They were married in 1930 and joined Wood riff's parents in the lily busi­ ness. In 1970 a large bulb distributing cor­ poration lured Woodriff, Ruth, and two of their fi ve children from Oregon to McKin­ leyville. But within eight months the deal went sour and the corporation legally re­ tained most of the breeding material on the premises-including the original bulbs of 'Star Gazer', worth far more than anyone could have imagined at the time. From out of those ashes rose Fairyland Begonia and Lily Garden, where Woodriff can be visited today, working with his daughter, business partner, and fellow hybridizer Winkey. Though Woodriff's eyes have grown weak and he must use a walker to move around Fairyland, his work has been little affected. He still makes crosses daily, looking for a lily that can be forced in fifty days, polyploid lilies with heavier substance, and wide crosses between orientals and Asiatics. Clearly, the life of a breeder is not always financially rewarding. "The satisfaction is to see your hybrids go around the world," says Woodriff. "Sure, there's money to be made in developing new hybrids, but it can cost hundreds to patent one. Then you have to 'police it,'" he continues with dis­ dain. "None of my lilies are patented. I'm interested in making things popular. I'm satisfied with opening a few doors."

cres of trialing fields and mass hybridization programs are of little value to award-winning breeder Le Vern Freimann, who has pursued his lily Abreeding avocation for over sixty years in small garden plots around his homes in Bellingham, Washington. "I've always worked on the wide crosses," Freimann explains. "Usually with those crosses you get a minimum of seed, if any. So large trialing grounds were never a necessity in my breeding program." Freimann has be­ come well known as one of the first breed­ ers to produce readily hybridized, tetraploid lily clones of sterile or hard-to­ cross diploid lily hybrids. His first diploid subject was Woodriff's popular oriental hybrid 'Black Beauty'. Although the lily was disease resistant, highly adaptable, and elegant in flower, it refused to set seed, which meant of course that its characteris­ tics could not be passed on to other hy­ brids. To make it fertile, Freimann needed colchicine, the highly poisonous alkaloid

32 FEBRUARY 1993 obtained from the autumn crocus (Colchi­ hybridizing on his off hours. cum) that will double plant cell chromo­ After retiring from extension work in some numbers during division. But it was 1966, Freimann continued working with in high demand for medicinal uses, difficult his lilies, vegetable garden, and orchard, to obtain, and expensive at the time. So until his one-acre homesite became too Freimann improvised. He procured a batch difficult to maintain. In 1989 he and his of autumn crocus bulbs, ground them into wife Marion moved to a retirement com­ a paste in a meat grinder, and soaked his munity in Bellingham where Freimann has lily bulb scales in it. Homemade but potent, a large front bed in which to continue his his crocus paste worked and a fertile, tet­ work-ample space for his "less is better" raploid 'Black Beauty' was created. Its fer­ hybridizing style. tility opened new doors for breeders Marion died recently, but Freimann, worldwide-including Freimann himself. now 91, is as energetic as any new ag Crossing his tetra 'Black Beauty' with an­ school graduate when it comes to his cur­ other tetraploid oriental, 'journey's End', rent hybridizing project. "It's always been Freimann produced the vigorous 'Scarlett my goal to produce lilies as hardy as a Delight', a strong, attractive lily with the common daffodil, specifically to produce heavy petal substance characteristic of its an auratum hybrid as tough as 'Black tetraploid lineage. Beauty', and I'm reaching nearer that goal Freimann went on to create tetraploid every season. I've found a lily-one I think Asiatics as well, including 'Apricot I would've given anything to have found LeVern Freimann was a Supreme'. Apricot colored with large twenty years ago." Purchased from Wood­ pioneer in tetraploid lilies, brown-black spots, it netted him the lily riff, the plant was supposed to be a species including 'Scarlett Delight', society's S. L. Emsweller Trophy for the but is probably a L. auratum hybrid. above. best new hybrid of polyploid breeding and Whatever its identity, it will cross "with the Earl Hornback Award for the lily show­ most any hybrid I have-Ddd varieties I ing the greatest advance in hybridization. never would've thought would work! The Though Freimann persists in calling potential for reaching my goal is great, but himself a lily breeding" hobbyist," he is a at my age, in the sunset of my life, I've well-educated plants man. Born in Iowa in arrived at a point where I don't know if I'll 1901, he moved to Selah, Washington, personally be able to do it. with his family as a child, graduated from "Others are working on it, though," Washington State University in 1928 with says Freimann, brightening, "and will no an agriculture degree, and was then as­ doubt succeed:" signed to Bellingham as an extension B & D Lilies purchased much of agent. In 1928 a custodian at the federal Freimann's stock when he recently made building housing the extension offices the move from his home to an apartment. showed Freimann a large, native Burmese Co-owner Bob Gibson indicates there are Lilium sulphureum bulb he had purchased. treasures among the stock when he says, "When I saw the beauty of that plant I was "We're keeping close tabs on the material, determined to get one even at the asking propagating it carefully and keeping it in price of $3.S0-a price unheard of in those plots separate from our other lilies." Fu­ days when you could buy a common lily ture Freimann lily hybrid introductions bulb at the dime store for 10 cents." He will no doubt come from the material. ordered the bulb from New York, planted Even with Freimann's award-winning it, and, he recalls, "I thought it had the lilies on the market, Gibson attests, most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. The "Breeders tend to receive little recognition stalk grew to about six feet and had four­ in the industry at large for their work. teen or fifteen flowers. They're kind of like fine painters. It'll be "I had taken two courses in plant breed­ years before the gardening world fully rec­ ing at college," he continues, "and couldn't ognizes the contribution Freimann made in help but wonder what the Burmese lily his breeding breakthroughs." The city of could do in hybridization. At that time Bellingham will be ahead of the rest of the lilies were just coming on to the market. world. This past summer, it began planning Though many species were available, not the LeVern Freimann Lily Garden, to fea­ much had been done in hybridizing. So I ture all of his hybrids. thought, here is an opportunity to do a Freimann says he wouldn't change little. pioneering with a flower that hasn't much about his 90-plus years. His advice been worked on extensively." Freimann to those younger? "Everyone should have continued acquiring bulbs and dabbling in a hobby. Hybridize Continued on page 37

AM ERI CAN HORTICULTURIST 33 he phrase "drip irrigation" all too often is synonymous only with western gardens and the dreaded "D" word-drought. Drip While it's no surprise that drip Tirrigation helps gardens flourish during torrid droughts in arid climates, drip irri­ gation is much more than a last-ditch strat­ egy for a parched landscape-it's a way to help all American gardens prosper. Even Rationale when it rains periodically throughout the summer, gardens with well-designed drip There~s a scientific systems display more plentiful foliage growth, a tangible increase in bloom, explanation for its higher vegetable and tree crop yields, and a marked reduction in diseases such as effectiveness. mildew, crown rot, and rust. And drip irrigation does all this while saving 30 to 70 percent of the water supply. As an ad­ ditional bonus, the gardener has more lei­ sure time (or time for other gardening tasks) due to the elimination of time-con­ suming watering by hand. Drip irrigation technology originated in Israel during the early 1960s and gets its name from the action of the emitters-small devices that limit the flow of water to tiny droplets that slowly moisten the ground without flooding. Drip emitters release water very slowly and form a wet spot B y R o B E R T K o u R K beneath the soil's surface. Pictured verti­ cally, this moist area is shaped differently in To understand duce the lowest different types of soil, ranging from a long, why drip irrigation growth and reduced carrotlike shape in sandy soil to a squat, promotes luxurious yields of fruits, nuts, beetlike shape in heavy clay soils. growth, you'll need and vegetables. It's easy to understand how drip irrigation to take a fresh look at There is a biological benefits climates with four- to six-month how roots absorb explanation for these summer droughts. But consider just a few moisture and nutri­ phenomena. examples of the efficacy of drip irrigation in ents and how plants The upper layers humid, summer-rain climates. Art Gaus, an respond to wet and of the soil are the extension horticulture specialist with the dry periods in an irri­ most aerobic, with University of Missouri-Columbia, has had a gation cycle. Many the highest popula­ drip system in his home garden for more than landscape gardening books recommend tion of air-loving bacteria and soil flora. nine years. In the summer of 1986, his bush deep waterings on an infrequent basis-in The top three inches of the soil have nearly watermelons with plastic mulch and a drip dry climates, every couple of weeks or even four-and-a-half times more bacteria, al­ system produced thirty-two pounds in a four­ once a month. This "ancient wisdom" ob­ most eight-and-a-half time~ more actino­ foot-by-four-foot area, compared to an aver­ viously hasn't killed every tree or shrub, mycetes (organisms midway between age of nine to sixteen pounds produced in the because millions of people continue to fol­ bacteria and fungi that give soil its earthy same space with conventional irrigation. He low this advice. But recent research shows odor), more than two times as many fungi, estimates a well-timed drip system "could this approach to watering does not pro­ and five times the algae of the eight- to mean a 100 percent increase in yields; during mote maximum growth. ten-inch zone. These valuable decomposers the droughts of 1980, '83, and '84 it meant While deep irrigations are useful for the are nature's fertilizing machines and must the difference between having a crop or no survival of trees during times of extreme have plenty of oxygen to fuel their activity. It crop at all." In a study of established pecan drought, this watering regime is far from trees in Georgia, trees with supplemental drip ideal for both the quality and quantity of Above: Drip irrigation promotes irrigation showed a 51 percent increase in foliage. Studies have shown that the health­ growth that is uniform and luxurious. yields. Michigan State University has docu­ iest trees, with the biggest canopies and Right: Technophobes take comfort. mented a 30 percent yield increase in vegeta­ greatest productivity, are those that receive The right design will render the ble crops with drip irrigation, even with more frequent, regular, and shallower irri­ much-dreaded hardware of a drip sporadic summer rains. gations. Infrequent irrigations also pro- system nearly invisible.

34 FEBRUARY 1993 AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 35 THE BENEFITS OF DRIP IRRIGATION

'i' Uses water efficiently. Sprinklers waste water as a result of wind, evaporation, is mostly these bacteria and flora that are runoff, or deep leaching. responsible for the liberation of mineral­ 'i' Provides precise water control. Every part of a drip irrigation system is con­ ized-and therefore unavailable-nutri­ structed with an exact flow rate so you can control the amount down to the ounce. ents into a soluble form that the plant can 'i' Increases yields. Drip irrigation easily maintains an ideal soil moisture level, absorb. The soil life stimulates the produc­ promoting more abundant foliage, greater bloom, and higher yields than all other tion and renewal of humus, which releases methods of irrigation. much of the nutrients plants utilize. Thus, 'i' Provides better control of saline water. Saline water applied to a plant's foliage the upper, aerobic horizon of the soil is can cause leaf burn. Also, frequent use of drip irrigation helps to keep the salts in where the greatest amount of nutrients is solution in the soil so they don't affect the roots adversely. liberated. 'i' Improves fertilization. A fertilizer injector (or proportioner) can easily apply Plants absorb these nutrients primarily dissolved or liquid fertilizers without leaching the fertilizer beyond desired root zones. in a soil-water solution. In all the studies 'i' Encourages fewer weeds in dry-summer climates. The emitters make only a I've found over the past ten years, the usual small moist spot while the larger dry areas between emitters remain too dry in conclusion is that, for the sake of quality dry-summer climates for weed seeds to sprout. growth, as opposed to sheer survival, the 'i Saves time and labor. Drip irriga.tion systems eliminane tedious amd inefficient upper one or two feet of the soil account hand watering, especially with automated systems. for more than 50 percent of all the water a 'i' Reduces disease problems. Plants are less likely to develop sprinkler-stimulated plant absorbs. While many plants have diseases such as powdery mildew, leaf spot, anthracnose, crOWFI rot, shothole roots deeper than two feet, these deeper fungus, fireblight, and scab. roots exist mostly to stabilize the plant, ~ Provides better water distl'ibution on slopes. Drip emitters apply the water absorb some micronutrients, and help the slowly enough to allow all the moisture to soak in, regardless of slope. plant survive droughts rather than to sup­ 'i' Promotes better soil structure. Drip-applied water gradually soaks into the port an abundance of growth. ground and maintains a healthy aerobic soil that n~ taiFiS its loamy structure. If the upper layers of soil are too dry, 'i Conserves energy. The low pressure of a drip irrigation system means lower then nutrient uptake is inhibited because pumping costs with FFlunieipal amd pJ;ivate water supplies. the soil life can't thrive. Allowing the upper 'i Uses low flow rates. Drip emitters can water larger areas than spriFlkler systems soil to dry out between infrequent irriga­ with the same amount of water. tions means that nutrient uptake also 'i Is more economical than permanent sprinkler systems. Drip irrigation systems "dries up" during this period. Then, when usually cost less than underground sprinkler systems. plenty of water is supplied all at once, the soil is saturated to the point that roots and THE LIMITATIONS OF DRIP IRRIGATION air-loving soil life may be stressed or killed from too much water-nutrient uptake is 'i Eliminates soothing hand-watering. For some, the act of hand watering is mon~ inhibited by the lack of air that normally valuable than therapy or meditation and drip irrigation is counterproductive. sustains the humus-producing bacteria and 'i Initial costs are high. A simple oscillating sprinkler will always be cheaper than supports active root hairs. It also takes even the least expensive drip irrigation system. some time for the air-loving soil bacteria to 'i Can clog. MaRY early models of emitters were more prone to clogging and gave repopulate either the too-wet or too-dry the industry a bad reputation. With the correct modern emitter, clogging is no soil, so there is a biological lag of hours, longer a serious problem. days, or weeks before the roots get their 'i May restrict root development. With only one or two emitters per plant, root best meals. Infrequent and deep irrigations growth can be greatly restricted. With the proper placement of emitters, root tend to produce two extremes in the water­ growth will be uniform, expansive, and healthy. ing cycle where the soil life is damaged 'i Rodents can perforate the tubing. Gophers are likely to chew on the drip hose enough to reduce or prevent growth. for a drink. OccasioFially even mice and wood rats will chew through the hose. I like to think of frequent irrigations as 'i Isn't c0mpatible with green manures and cover crops. The growth of a green "topping off the tank." Starting with an manure crop gets all tangled up with the drip tubing, thus prohibiting the usual ideal soil moisture, not too anaerobically tilling-under of plants. wet and not too dry, the goal is to replace, 'i Weeding can be diffieult. Care must be takeFi not to damage an exoposed drip as often as every day, exactly the amount system while weeding. (Mulch can mitigate this problem.) of moisture lost due to evaporation from 'i Requires greater maintenance. Drip irrigation requires more routine maintenanee the soil and transpiration from the plant's than a hose or sprinkler to sustain its high level of efficiency, but it's relatively simple. leaves (called the ET rate, for evapotrans­ 'i Doesn't cleanse the foliage. Plants with leaves that require an occasional piration), plus an amount that represents sprinkling should be watered with low-flow sprinklers. enough extra water for higher yields or 'i Doesn't create humidity. Humidity-loving plants prefer misters and sprinklers. more gorgeous foliage. In climates with 'i You can't see the system working. With a well-mulched drip system, the emitters sporadic summer rains, this means turning quietly go about their work hidden from view. For some, this is the beauty ofthe system. the drip system on only when the rains are For others, not being able to watch the wateriFlg is unsettling. -Robert Kou1'ik too far apart to maintain proper soil mois­ ture. In arid summ.er areas, the drip system is used on a regular basis to sustain an ideal

36 FEBRUARY 1993 WATER USE AT VARIOUS DEPTHS, IN PERCENTAGE PER FOOT

Almond Tree Pear Tree Lily Breeders Continued from page 33

plants if it will increase your interest in life," says Freimann. "I think anybody who has a hobby has a better chance of living longer." McRae, Woodriff, and Freimann are among a special breed of hybridizers who collectively created a golden era of lily breed­ 2 ing in America for most of the twentieth 3 century. All three readily admit that Dutch hybridizers have taken the global lead in sheer volume of new lily hybrids. Holland 5_ 25% 10% has also moved forward aggressively into 10% 6_ high-tech research and production methods, 7 _ including using recombinant DNA proce­ 8_ 18% dures for increasing lily disease resistance. 9_ Though the United States boasts many lily breeders, most would be classified as 10_ To China t 7% to 12' amateurs, working on a small scale sans a monied sponsor. Yet if Freimann's accom­ Drip irrigation is founded on the principle that plants absorb most of their plishments are representative of "amateur" water and nutrients from the upper one to two feet of the soil. contributions to American lily breeding, perhaps the golden age is not yet over. soil moisture level. Daily irrigation, with two gallons per emitter for each two-week minute amounts of water, will produce the period or equal to over eighteen ounces per Melissa Dodd Eskilson is a free-lance greatest effect-whether your goal is fo­ day-more than twice the water applied in writer who grows lilies in Topeka, Kansas. liage, caliper, bloom, or yields. daily doses to my neighbor's garden. From Arboriculture by Richard W. Har­ The plumbing required for drip irriga­ ris, we read: "In contrast to other systems, tion systems is well within the means and SOURCES drip irrigation must be frequent; waterings skills of most gardeners. Whatever mis­ should occur daily or every two days during takes you make in plumbing a drip system Lily hybrids produced by the three featured the main growing season ... the amount of are easily rectified and virtually harmless­ breeders can be found in gardening cata­ water applied should equal water lost providing you correctly install a backflow logs and nurseries around the world. The through evapotranspiration." This doesn't preventer to protect the purity of your following sources, which also offer lilies mean you'll be wasting tons of extra water. home's drinking water. If you're intimi­ mentioned in the "Proven Performers" ar­ Often it means just applying the same dated by any device more complicated than ticle, are simply a sample of suppliers: amount of water on a monthly basis, but in a hand-operated can opener, rest assured B & D Lilies, 330 "P" Street, Port a very different pattern of application. that drip irrigation is nowhere near as bad Townsend, WA 98368, (206) 385-1738. Sometimes, daily irrigation can actually as it seems. Think of all those put-'em-to­ Catalog $3. LeVern Freimann hybrids. use less water per month than other meth­ gether parts as toys for grown-ups. Harken Borbeleta Gardens, 15980 Canby Avenue, ods. For example, I planted a drought-re­ back to the bygone days of childhood, Faribault, MN 55021, (507) 334-2807. sistant garden for a neighbor with plants when you whiled away many happy hours Catalog $3. such as lavender, santolina, rock roses, and with Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, or Tinker Fairyland Begonia and Lily Garden, 1100 rosemary. After the risk of transplant Toys. If you can put yourself in that same Griffith Road, McKinleyville, CA shock was over, the irrigation line was carefree, playful frame of mind when out 95521, (707) 839-3034. List 50 cents. turned on each day for only eight minutes. in your landscape, then drip parts may not Leslie Woodriff hybrids. While the system came on daily, each emit­ seem so intimidating. After you've installed Hartle-Gilman Lilies, Rural Route 4, Box ter in the line passed only one-half gallon a drip system, your garden will reward you 14, Owatonna, MN 55060, (507) 451- of water per hour (gph). This means that with an abundance of bloom, productivity, 2170. Catalog free. each emitter was distributing the paltry and foliage. Lilies and More, 12400 N.E. 42nd Avenue, amount of eight ounces of water per emit­ Vancouver, WA 98686, (206) 573-4696. ter, per day. Since the entire line has 400 Robert Kourik is the author of Designing Catalog $l. emitters, capable of passing 200 gph, the and Maintaining Your Edible Land­ Mt. Hood Lilies, P.O. Box 1314, Sandy, line only uses twenty-five gallons per day­ scape-Naturally and Gray Water Use in OR 97055. Catalog $2.50. for over 600 square feet of landscaping. By the Landscape. This article is excerpted Ozark Mountain Lilies, P.O. Box 306, contrast, a garden near my neighbor's, and from his most recent book, Drip Irrigation Mansfield, MO 65704. Catalog free. in a similar soil, is arbitrarily irrigated for Every Landscape and All Climates, Park Seed Company, Cokesbury Road, twice a month for four hours with one-half available from the AHS Book Program. Greenwood, SC 29647-0001. Catalog gph emitters. This amounts to as much as See the order form on page 11 . free. Edward A. McRae hybrids.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 37 A Defonse oj Ailanthus In ravaged urban sites, few trees are more

tenacious than the cc stinking ash. "

B y R ( H A R o p E G L E R

n her 1943 novel, A Tree Grows in nurseries. It has received the botanical kiss Brooklyn, Betty Smith wrote of the of death: it is a "weed tree." Ailanthus altissima that its branches Most written descriptions note that the "look like a lot of green opened um­ male trees bear "putrid" or "vile" flowers, brellas." No matter where its seed and "stinking ash" is among its common Ifalls, she wrote, "it makes a tree which names. An 1875 law passed by the District struggles to reach the sky. It grows in of Columbia, citing this "offensive and nox­ boarded up lots and out of neglected rub­ ious odor," declared the trees "nuisances bish heaps. It is the only tree that grows out injurious to health" and harboring them a of cement. It would be considered beautiful crime. Property owners who failed to re­ except that there are too many of it." move an Ailanthus could be fined up to $10. Smith considered the "Brooklyn palm" As late as five years ago, the law was still a symbol of endurance and strength that on the books. Some authors also mention would thrive in spite of adversity. But while the male's copious production of pollen, to the tree was deliberately introduced into the distress of allergy sufferers. cultivation throughout much of the tem­ Yet elsewhere, and at other times, it has perate regions of the world during the eight­ eenth and nineteenth centuries, it is now The tree that grew in Brooklyn can rarely planted intentionally, at least in Eu­ take the harsh conditions of any city. rope and North America. I have never It seems actually to prefer poor, found it for sale in garden centers or tree disturbed soil.

38 FEBRUARY 1993 AMERICAN HORTICULTUR1ST 39 been held in much higher repute. In its Chinese sumac. The leaves can be more native China, where it is called chhu, the than two feet long, divided into eleven to tree is valued as an ornamental and has forty leaflets, each of which has a highly been deliberately planted on the streets of visible pair of warty glands. The huge Beijing. Its wood, while lightweight and leaves are well-supported by the tree's weak, is used for carts. The seeds are a branches, which on saplings can quickly source of cooking oil and the bark is used become as thick as broom handles. Some for tannin. And it serves as a food source European gardeners cut them to the for a species of wild silkworm, which pro­ ground each season, which results in even duces silk in that country and India. In the larger, more exotic leaves, whose effect in 1860s this big saturniid moth, known as a border was compared by one author to the ailanthus silkmoth or cynthia moth that of "some ferocious fern." (Samia cynthia), was introduced and be­ Whether or not you find the musty male came established in Paris and Vienna as flowers unpleasant, it should be noted that well as in Philadelphia, New York, and they bloom for only about two weeks each other eastern U.S. cities. The intended silk year. The flowers of the female are negligi­ industry never became profitable in North ble, but their rosy red seeds appear in America or Europe, of course, and the U.S. masses in late summer, giving color effects populations of the moth have declined dra­ as fine as many flowers. These seeds persist matically in recent years. through the winter, changing from a rich Various sources report the tree being brown to a bleached beige as they fade in cultivated in New Zealand, southern Aus­ the winter sun, adding relief from all the tralia, and southern Africa. Ailanthus is bare trees around them. These are techni­ used to control erosion around the Black cally samaras, a type of winged fruit. But Sea and in the mountains of Morocco, and unlike the more familiar ones of the maple is the most commonly planted tree in and ash, which spin like helicopter blades greenbelts in Iran. as they fall, the Ailanthus seed is twisted so Ailanthus is used in traditional Chinese that an individual samara will twirl length­ medicine today as it has been for centuries to wise as it tumbles through the air. treat dysentery and intestinal hemorrhage. In On top of all these aesthetic attributes, and A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants, Steven probably the strongest argument in the tree's Foster and James Duke note that an infusion favor, is the fact that the Ailanthus is highly of the bark has been used to treat tapeworm, tolerant of city pollution, having thrived in leukorrhea, and diarrhea. More recently it the smoke and grime permeating the air of was discovered that Ailanthus contains at the big industrialized cities from the time least three compounds that are effective when air pollution was an accepted norm. It against malaria. tolerates a lot of salt in its soil, a decided It would seem that the Germans extolled advantage where roads with snow and ice are the tree, which they called Gotterbaum, or routinely salted. Ailanthus seedlings and "tree of the gods." However, the tree's suckers emerged to thrive from underneath common name no doubt refers not to a bomb debris in Europe after World War II. divine appearance, but to its fast growth. The tree is also fast growing. One source The tree's genus name comes from aylanto, I consulted claims that the young trees can the native name for another species, A. grow almost ten feet per season. That may moiuccana, found in the Molucca Islands be true in the South, but certainly not in of far eastern Indonesia. G. E. Rumph or Denver. Three to five feet is probably more "Rumphius," a merchant who studied nat­ typical for the average-length season. Sci­ ural history there in the seventeenth cen­ entists at the Urban Horticulture Institute tury, translated this word, meaning of Cornell University discovered that an "reached to heaven," as arbor cae/i, or Ailanthus seedling develops a very exten­ tree-of-heaven. The species name, meaning sive root system composed of thick, far­ "highest," repeats the theme. reaching roots early in its development. Yet in a stark urban landscape, the tree These roots would explain why the tree can can in fact seem almost unearthly in both thrive amid so much concrete or asphalt. appearance and tenacity. The slender, un­ In fact, the tree seems to prefer a disturbed branched trunks of saplings crowned with long compound leaves create the illusion of The female tree-of-heaven bears none coconut palms on a tropical beach. These of the male tree's "vile" flowers, leaves, which led to its comparison with the but is covered in late summer with ash, have given it another common name, rosy red seeds.

40 FEBRUARY 1993 AMERJCAN HORTICULTURIST 41 habitat. It is uncommon, or even absent, in the country, and the Cornell team found that while a Norway maple could outcompete an Ailanthus when both were planted in rich soil, the opposite was true in poor soil. Just as many contemporary horticultur­ ists don't agree about the worth of this tree-whether it is in the words of one author "arboreal riffraff or ultimate tree"-early botanists had trouble classify­ ing it. It is a member of the quassia family (Simaroubaceae), which has no native rep­ resentatives in Europe or North America except for a few in southern Florida and western Mexico. In 1786 English botanist Philip Miller, growing it from seed at Chel­ sea Gardens, called it Toxicodendron al­ tissimum, putting it in the same genus as poison sumac. In 1788 Parisian Rene Above: Unlike the "helicopter" Louiche Desfontaines, unaware of Miller's samaras of the maple, the seeds of earlier published description, renamed the Ailanthus are twisted and will twirl species Ailanthus glandulosa, in recogni­ corkscrew fashion as they fall. tion of the warty glands on its leaves. Left: A century ago, District of Seeds of the tree had been sent to Paris Columbia officials declared it a crime from Beijing in 1751 by a Jesuit missionary to harbor the male tree-of-heaven named Pierre Nicolas Ie Cheron because they found the odor of its d'Incarville (1706-1757). He was sent to flowers so noxious. China with the charge of converting the emperor to Christianity. One story says that d'Incarville gained favor with the em­ peror by presenting him with living speci­ mens of the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), and the two agreed to exchange European plants for Chinese plants. D'Incarville is also credited with the intro­ duction to the West of golden-rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), arborvitae (Thuja orientalis), and Chinese aster. Even he seemed to have some ambivalence to­ Temple Square, an appropriate site for a female Ailanthus by propagating them ward the tree, since it appears that he was tree-of-heaven. Historically, Ailanthus has from rootstock. Breeders could select trees the first to call it (rene puant, or stinking ash. been widely planted in the eastern United that have fewer objectionable qualities. Al­ His first two consignments of plants States, but then began to fall out of favor, though three named cultivars have been from China met with disaster. The first was much as did two other fast-growing Chi­ developed-one of them a male, interest­ captured at sea by the British and the sec­ nese introductions to our Southeast-the ingly-they are almost unobtainable. ond was shipwrecked. The Ailanthus seeds china berry (Melia azedarach) and the Yet a market-savvy nursery might be that finally reached Europe presumably paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). well-advised to promote the fast-growing, traveled by an overland caravan. These In the case of Ailanthus, the recommen­ drought- and pollution-resistant tree-of­ were soon successfully raised in England dation that is usually made is to plant only heaven for use as a highway or street tree. and France. female trees. (In some ways, I prefer the It's worth noting that the most common In 1784 the tree was introduced from males, which retain lush leaves while the street tree in Colorado is the honey locust England to what is now the United States, females exhaust their energies making (Gleditsia triacanthos), a species that was where it was first planted around Philadel­ fruits.) Unfortunately, the sex of a tree deemed objectionable due to dangerous phia. In 1820 a nurseryman on Long Island cannot be practically determined until it is spines and messy seed pods until spineless propagated and sold this tree on a large large enough to flower, which takes ap­ and sterile cultivars were available. scale and it was planted extensively in proximately a decade here in Denver. And In addition to its other qualities, the Brooklyn and other sections of New York in the case of the poor beleaguered stinking Ailanthus is virtually pest-free. Verticil/um City. Later in that century, Chinese miners ash, it is unlikely that any nursery is going wilt is the tree's most damaging enemy and brought the tree from China to California. to coddle a seed-grown tree along until it even this rarely does great harm. Shoe­ One of the largest specimens I have ever reaches this mature age. string root rot is an occasional problem. seen grows in Salt Lake City on a corner of Nurseries could build a reliable stock of The U.S. population of the cynthia moth

42 FEBRUARY 1993 has fallen too sharply for it to be a threat. Outside of Florida, the tree is exclusive host to the caterpillar of a tiny North American moth, the ail anthus webworm (Atteva punctella) . While it sometimes causes defoli ation, the moth is an attractive one, checkered with black, white, and or­ ange. Of interest to entomologists is that the introduction of the tree appears to have grea tl y increased the moth 's original range

from Florida, where it feeds on the paradi se Schultz Company. 14090 Rlverport Drive. Maryland Heights. MO 63043 tree (Simarouba glauca), another member of the quassia fa mily. H ybridization could conceivabl y be an answer to improving the Ailanthus image. But while there are about a dozen species of Ailanthus, which range from northern Choose from over 1500 useful plant varieties in our mail China to southern India and down through catalog. Extensive collections of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Indonesia to New Guinea, the most appeal­ Conifers, Perennials, hardy Camellias, Kalmias, _o.-r....n'WF/If ing would not be hardy in much of the United States. A. excelsa is a beautiful and rare shrubs and trees and much, much more. majestic tree of the Himalayas, where na­ Send $3.00 for our descriptive mail order catalog to: tives call it barkesseru or maharukh. The Roslyn Nursery barpat (A. grandis) grows in warmer cli­ mates of sub-Himalayan regions across to 211 Burrs Lane, Dept. L so utheastern China. I obtained seeds of Dix Hills, NY 11746 these two species and find that the seeds of (516)-643-9347 A. excelsa, like the tree itself, look much like A . altissima, but the samaras of A. grandis are comparative ly huge and the plants also look quite different. The barpat EW beauty, gorgeous is used in India as a fo restry tree. Its rapid new colors, exotic fragrance and growth provides a hi gh yield of wood, used fascinating new interest fo r box planking, matches, and newspaper are given to your Ngarden by the addition of a pulp. Since neither of these species will Water Lily Pool. And, withstand Denve r winters, I grow them fortunately, every garden, indoors much of the year. I have made large or small, provides herbarium specimens from some of the ample room for a Water Lily Pool, or at least a seedlings and I plan to offer some live simple sunken tub garden. pl ants to horticulturists in the Gulf States. Marvelously beautiful As with many other trees whose natural effects can be achieved distribution is now limited to eastern Asia quickly and with little and/or eastern North America, foss il re­ effort or expense. You can enjoy a Water Lily Pool cords show that Ailanthus grew in western this summer if you plan North America, Europe, and western As ia now. during muc h of the Tertiary period, from EW Full Color Catalogl 70 to 10 million years ago. Fossil im­ A beautiful catalog pressions of leaves and samaras have bee n filled with helpful collected at many sites in these regions, information describes Nand illustrates in full where a gradual cooling and dry ing of the color the largest collection climate, culminating in Ice Age glaciation, of Water Lilies in America ca used the tree to become extinct. But now along with Aquatic Plants and Ornamental Fishes that humans have reintroduced the tree-of­ and Pool Accessories. heaven into these regions, it appears that SEND $3.50 or call the ai lanthus is back. Whether it is with a 1-800-524-3492 ve ngeance, or with a purpose, is still up to (Mastercard or Visa) us to decide. William Tricker, Inc. 7125 Tanglewood Drive Richard Peigler is an entomologist at the Independence, OH 44131 Denver Museum of Natural History.

AM ERICAN HORTICULTURIST 43 PRONUNCIATIONS

Acer pseudoplatanus AY-se r soo-doe-plat-AY-nus Episcia ee- PISS-ee-uh L. speciosum L. spee-see-O H-sum Ailanthus altissima ay-LAN-thus al-TIH-sih-muh Erythronium air-ih-THROW-nee-um L. sulphureum L. sul-FEW-ree-um A excelsa A. ek-SEL-suh Ficus sycomorus FIE-kus sih-koh-MORE-us L. x testaceum L. x tes-TAY-see-um A glandulosa A. gland-yew-LOW-suh Foeniculum vuLgare fee-N ICK-yew-Ium vul-GAY-ree L. tigrinum L. tih-GRY-num A grandis A. GRAN-diss Gleditsia triacanthos gleh-DIT-see-uh rry-uh-CAN-thos L. vollmeri L. VOL-mair-eye A moluccana A. mol-uh-KAN-uh Hemerocallis hem-er-oh-KAL-li ss Linum perenne LI E-num per-EN-ee Broussonetia papyrifera Hymenocallis high-men-oh-KAL-li ss L. rubrum L. ROO-brum brew-son-NET-ee-yuh pap-ih-RIH-fer-uh Kalopanax pictus ka l-oh-PAN-aks PIK-tus Magnolia grandiflora mag-NOH-Iee-uh Campanula rotundifoLia kam-pan-YEW-Iuh Koelreuteria paniculata kel-roo-TEE-ree-uh gran-dih-FLOR-uh roe-tund-ih- FOE-Iee-uh pan-ik-yew-LAH-tuh Melia azeda.rach MEE-Iee-uh ah-ZED-eh-rak Colchicum KOAL-chih-kum Lilium auratum LlL-ee-um ar-AY-tum Mimosa pudica mih-MOH-suh PEW-dih-kuh ConvaLlaria kon-val-LAY-ree-uh L. candidum L. KAN-dih-dum Platanus occidentalis PLAT-uh-nus Dianthus x allwoodii die-AN-thus x all -WOOD-ee-eye L. x daLhansonii L. x dal-han-SOWN-ee-eye ahk-sih-den-TA L-iss D. arenarius D. a r-ee-NAY-ree-us L. formosanum L. for-moh-SAY-num Morus MOH-rus D. barbatus D. ba r-BAY-tus L. hansonii L. han-SOWN-ee-eye Rudbeckia rood-BEK-ee-uh D. caesius D. SEE-zee-us L. henryi L. HEN-ree-eye Saintpaulia grotei sa int-PAUL-ee-uh GROW-tee-eye D. caryophyLlus D. kair-ee-oh-FIL-Ius L. iridollae L. eye-rih-DOLE-ee S. inconspicua S. in -kon-SPICK-yew-uh D. chinensis D. chy-NEN-sis L. Lancifolium L. lan-sih-FOE-Iee-um S. ionantha S. eye-oh-NAN-thuh D. deltoides D. del-TOY-deez L. Longiflorum L. lon-jih-FLOR-um S. magungensis S. mag-ung-GEN-sis D. gratianopolitanus D. grat-see-ay-no-pol-i h-TAY-nus L. martagon L. MAR-tah-gon Simarouba glauca sim-ah-ROO-buh GLAW-kuh D. knappii D. NAP-ee-eye L. pardaLinum L. par-dah-LIE-num Thuja orientalis THEW-yuh oh-ree-en-TAL-iss D. plumarius D. I1'loo-MAIR-ee-us L. pitkinense L. pit-kih-NEN-see Toxicodendron altissimum tok-sih-koh-DEN-dron D. superbus D. soo-PER-bus L. regale L: ree-GAL-ee al-TIH -si h-mum

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HOUSE PLANTS SOUTHEASTERN NATIVES, hea t-tolerant de­ Over 100 photographs. CONNELL'S, 10216 ORCHIDS, GESNERIADS, BEGONIAS, ciduous azaleas, magnolias, rare introduce d 40th Avenue E., Tacoma, WA 98446. CACTI & SUCCULENTS. Visitors welcome. plants. Catalog $1.50. SOUTHERN PLANTS, 1992-1993 catalog $2. LAURAY OF SALIS­ P.O. Box 232, Semmes, AL 36575. EMPLOYMENT BURY, 432 Undermountain Rd., Salisbury, CT BOOKS PROFESSIONAL CARETAKER AVAILABLE. 06068. (203) 435-2263. HORTICA-AII -Color Cycl opedia of Garden Expert properry ca re. Horticultural expertise. Up­ keep and improvement skills. Estate, farm, or ranch Herbs, Fuchsias, Odd & Rare House pl ants, Flora, with Hardiness Zones, also Indoor Pl ants, Ivies, Miniatures and Scented Geraniums. Excel­ 8,100 photos, by Dr. A. B. Graf, $23 8. TROPICA position sought in rural West or Rocky Mountain states. L. S., P.O. Box 761, Ojai, CA 93024. lent Selections. Send $2 for catalog and mail­ 4 (1992), 7,000 Co lor photos of plants and trees order information to: MERRY GARDENS, Box for warm environments, $165 . EXOTIC HOUSE We at the American Horticultural Society are 595, Camden, ME 04843. PLANTS, 1,200 photos, 150 in co lor, with keys often asked to refer individuals to significant to care, $8.95. Circ ul ars gladly sent. Shipping horticultural positions around the country. We INDOOR GARDENING PUBLICATIONS additional. ROEHRS CO., Box 125, East Ruth­ are not in a position to offer full placement HousePlant Magazine-Enjoy indoor ga rdening, erford, NJ 07073. (201) 939-0090. services to candidates or employers. However, travel, humor and information about your favorite The Second Edition of North American Horti­ as a service to our members-jobseekers and houseplants. New, full-color quarterly, $ 19.95/year culture: A Reference Guide, edi ted by Thomas employers alike-we would be very glad to re­ U.s. YISAIMC Orders: (800) 892-7594 U.S. onl y. ce ive resumes and cover letters of individuals Sample copy: $3 U.S.I$5 Internati onal (U.S. Funds). seeking job changes and employers seeking can­ HOUSEPLANT MAGAZINE, P.O. Box 1638, didates. All responsibility for checking refer­ Elkins, WV 26241-1638. ences and determining the appropriateness of , ~~ ~CHIP2 LILIES _ Computerized Horticultural both position and candidate rests with the indi­ , r Information Planner viduals. AHS serves as a connecting poi nt for "LET'S GROW LILIES" . . . Everything you Call or write: PH/FAX: 1-800·544·2721 members of the Society. Inquiries and informa­ need to know about growing lilies. Send $3.50 or PH/FAX: 516-324-2334 ti onal materials shou ld be se nt to HORTICUL­ to: NORTH AMERICAN LILY SOCIETY, PARA DISE INFORMAT ION, INC. TURAL EMPLOYMENT-AHS, 7931 East Robert Gilman, P.O. Box 272, Owatonna, MN P.O. Box 170 1, East Hampton, NY 11937 Boulevard Dr., Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. 55060.

AMER.ICAN HOR.TI CULTUR.IST 45 MAGNOLIAS PLANTS (UNUSUAL) SEEDS SUMPTUOUS FLOWERS in many hues, from OVER 2,000 KINDS of choice and affordable FREE CATALOG: UNUSUAL SEED varieties. darkest purple and ruby red to bright yellow and plants. Outstanding ornamentals, American na­ Giant Belgium, Evergreen, Pin eapple tomatoes, pure whi te- dozens of magnolias and other tives, perennials, rare conifers, pre-bonsai, wild­ and more. We make ga rdening fun. GLECKLER trees and shrubs of distinction are described in life plants, much more. Descriptive catalog $3. SEED MAN, Metamora, OH 43540. our catalog, $3. FAIRWEATHER GARDENS, FORESTFARM, 990 Tetherow Road, Wi lli ams, WAT ER PURIFICATION Box 330-A, Greenwich, NJ 08323. OR 97544-9599. SOLID CARBON BLOCK drinking water puri­ NURSERY STOCK ROSES fiers . $59 Factory direct. Compare at $240! Lab MILLIONS OF SEED LINGS: High Quality, LARGEST ASSORTMENT OF ROSES to be tested, guaranteed, li fetime warranty. Detai led Reasonabl e Prices. Over 100 Selections fo r fou nd anywhere, at reasonable prices: HT, information: (800) 945-5782. Christmas Trees, O rnamentals, Windbreaks, climbers, antiques, English Garden Roses, Timber, Soil Conservation, Wildlife Cover. Free Ren ni e's mini atures, Cocker's introducti ons, Catalog. CARINO NURSERIES, Box 538, etc. A superb collection. Most orders shipped in NEW COMPOST SUPPLY CATALOG Dept. J, In diana, PA 15701. our refrigerated truck to USA UPS depots for distribution. Catalog $3 . HORTICO INC., 723 The Americun Horticulturol Society curries 0 full line Choose from 1,500 va rieties of exciting and of compost bins, tumblers, ond occessories. Coli (800) hardy plant varieties. Many exclusive. Rhodo­ Robson Road, Waterdown, ON LOR 2H1. 777-7931 for 0 free price sheet . dendrons, azaleas, conifers, shrubs, trees, peren­ (41 6) 689-6984 or (416) 689-3002. Fax (416) nia ls and much more. Mail-ord er catalog $3. 689-6566. ROSLYN NURSERY, Dept. AH, Box 69, Ros­ lyn, NY 11576. (516) 643-9347. PERENNIALS Huge selections of quality perennials, grasses, vin es, nati ves and roses. $1 for col'or catalog. MILAEGER'S GARDENS, Dept. AH , 4838 Douglas Ave., Racine, WI 53402-2498. FREDERICK The newest Bu lb Lilies, Daylilies, Siberian Irises, Retail catalog $3. To qualified wholesalers, free listing. BORBELETA GARD ENS, 15980 Canby LAW OLMSTED Ave., Faribault, MN 55021. NEW, INEXPENSNE way to buy perennials. Spe­ AND THE cialist in growing and shipping perennials guaran­ tees you the finest plants ever offered. Send today for Bluestone's free catalog for spring planting- it lists more than 400 varieties plus information on BOSTON care and growing. BLUESTONE PERENNIALS, 7247 Middle Ridge, Madison, OH 44057. PARK SYSTEM As seen in February 1992 ~ American Horticulturist Cynthia Zaitzevsky

JUJUBE TREES ,'[This] book tells the story of a pari< system (Chinese Dates) that was once perhaps the finest in the nation. It's fu ll of scholarly history, yet Cold hardy trees which readable and fresh, filled with illuminating produce fresh or dried fruit maps and plans and with achingly lovely period photographs of the magical places O lmsted created out ofwhat had previously Li or Lang Varieties been, so often, dreary wastelands." $24 Medium - Robert Campbell, Boston Globe

$29 Large "One of the many merits of this clearly plus 15% shipping written, carefu lly documented, and hand­ Order before March 1, 1993 somely illustrated [book] is that it represents a significant contribution to the relatively Nursery inquiries invited recent growth of two interrelated special­ Franklin Park. Woodland Path izations: the historiography of landscape Roger & Shirley Meyer architecture and t he practice of preserva­ At your bookstore 16531 Mt. Shelly Circle tion, restoration, and adaptive reuse of hi s­ Harvard Fountain Valley, CA torically significant landscapes." University - Albert Fein, Landscape Joumal 92708 Press Belknap 175 halftones/$19.95 paper Cambridge, /1M 02 138 1617) 495·2480

46 FEBRUARY 1993

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