WIWAM THOMPSON 1823-1903

This man created gardening history in 1855 ... by compiling the first of the now world famous Thompson and Morgan Seed Catalogs.

With an unbroken annual publication it now lists over discoveries. More recently T&M sponsored the search 4000 varieties of flower and vegetable seeds, a and discovery of the "Blue Amaryllis" and have saved contribution to gardening acknowledged by the 1977 many varieties from extinction. They have also joined "Guinness Book of World Records", by offering more in the campaign by "Kew Gardens" to protect and save seed varieties than any other company in the world, many endangered plants. since when, many hundreds of new varieties have been added. Seeing is believing! and we invite you to send for the It is truly a remarkable gardening reference, not only of 1985 edition now, as unfortunately supplies are the old favorites but of unusual and exotic varieties that limited . You won't be disappointed, for example . .. have taken T&M years to collect. The search for new you get 220 pages (6" x 9") containing an and exciting subjects carries on the policy laid down by alphabetical list of over 4000 varieties, fully described William Thompson, himself a world authority and with nearly 1000 beautifully illustrated in full color. The recipient of the "Gold Award" of The Royal when, where and how of growing related to states and Horticultural SOciety, a fact known by Charles Darwin a "Green Fingers" guide to advise the degree of who regularly sent William seeds of his many experience needed to achieve perfect results.

Acclaimed by gardeners throughout the world, order your copy by calling (201) 3632225 anytime, or use this coupon. It's still FREE! 1984 Customers will be mailed their new copy automatically!

Thompson and Morgan Inc., Dept AD50 , PO Box 1308, Jackson, New Jersey, 08527 Please send my FREE copy to: nlD.

Name ..

Address THE SEEDS MEN EST. 1855

City ...... Suppliers of seeds to the Royal Families of virtually State ...... Zip ...... I .. _-­ L _.... -'" every country in Europe . ------~ VOLUME 63 NUMBER 12 Cantents

Q&A: Charles Huckins, Executive Director 3

Strange Relatives: The Ginseng Family by Jane Steffey 4

Book Reviews by Gilbert S. Da ni els 10

Pronunciation Guide 12

Desert Natives: Adaptations to Drought by Richa rd M. Adams, II 14

One Day in the Mountains Text and Photography by Dr. John L. C reech 20

Wave Hill by Peter Loewer 24

Miniature C yclamen by All en Lacy 30

Sources 32

Classifieds 34

1984 Index 38

The Indoor Gardener: The Flowering House Plant Family by George A. Elbert 40

The Design Page: Garden Seats by Margaret Hensel 44

On the Cover: Desert plants have a variety of ways of adapting to the harsh habitats where they are found. This beaver-tail cactus, Opuntia basilaris, photographed in Nevada at Valley of Fire State Park, is an ex­ cellent example of a speoies that must conserve water in order to survive Overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades of th e harsh drought and high temperatures of its native environment. To New Jersey-and just minutes from midtown lea rn more about how plants conserve water, and what makes a good Manhattan-is a garden ~hat is beautiful at any time drought-tolerant plant for a desert garden, turn to Rich Adams' article, of year. Join Peter Loewer for a tour of Wave Hill on "Desert Natives: Adaptations to Drought," on page 14. Photograph by page 24. Pat O'Hara.

EDITO R, PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR, Barbara W. 1Olli s. ART DIRECTOR, Rebecca K. McClimans. ASSOCIAT E EDITOR, Lynn M. Lynch. EDITO RI AL ASS ISTAN T , Jane Steffey. HO RTI CULTURAL CO NSULTANT, BOOK EDITO R, Gilbert S. Daniels. PRONUNCIATI ON GUID E AGVISOR, Eve rett Conklin. ASSISTANTS TO T HE EDITOR, Louise Baughn, Cin dy Weakland. BUS IN ESS MANAGER , May Lin Roscoe. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR, Connie Clark. COLO R SEPARATIONS, John Simmons, Chroma-G raphics In c. ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES, C. Lynn Coy Associates, Inc., 55 Forest Street, Stamford, CT 06902, (203) 327·4626.

Repl acement iss ues of AM ERI CAN HO RTICULTURIST are availa ble at a COst of $2.50 per copy. The opinions expressed in the articles that appear in AM ERICAN HO RTI CULTURIST are those of the authors and are net necessarily those of the Society. They are presented as co ntributions to contemporary thought. Manuscripts, art work and photographs sent for possible publica ti on will be returned tiE ch ey are accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST , ISSN 0096·4417, is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society, 7931 East Boul evard Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22308, (703 ) 768-5700, and is iss ued monthly. Membership in the Society in cl udes a subscription to AM ERI CAN HORTICULTURIST. Membership dues stan at $20.00 a year, $12.00 of which is designared fo r AMERICAN HO RTICULTURI ST. Copyri ghr © 1984 by the American Horticultural Society. Second-class postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia and at additional mail ing offi ces. Postmas ter: Please send Fo rm 3579 to AM ERI CAN HO RTI CULTURIST, Mount Vernon, Vitginia 22121.

American Horticulturist Photograph by Alvin StaffanlCounesy Ohio Department of Natural Resources

any of America's most treasured wildflowers-including the beautiful lakeside daisy, Hymenoxys acaulis var. glabra (above)-are threatened with extinction. In fact, experts estimate that one-tenth of the species and varieties native to the United States are in jeopardy. Over 50 taxa have already disappeared. Help save our endangered wildflowers by purchasing the American Horticultural Society's 1985 Endangered Wildflowers Calendar. Funds raised from sales will be used to support conservation projects. To order your calendar, turn to page 9. Q&A Charles Hucki~ Executive Directar

Q. What comes to mind as the most {{Response to the Calendar ticultural know-how from, say, the trop­ exciting project the Society has initiated in ical parts of this country to their own lo­ yo ur first year as Executive Director? and to the Wildflower cales. For example, with the Spring A. I'd say the Endangered Wildflowers Symposium in Miami, there was much to Calendar is the most tangible new project. Rediscovery Project has been learn about the care of what non-Florid­ Response to the Calendar and to the Wild­ ians know as indoor plants. We're trying flower Rediscovery Project has been over­ overwhelming, and I'm happy to hit topics on the cutting edge of hor­ whelming, and I'm happy to see the Society to see the Society make this ticulture in our meeting programs and bring make this big step forward into plant con­ our members in touch with the experts on servation efforts. And since we're con­ big step forward into plant these topics. The Spring Symposium in Los cerned about getting the Society'S message Angeles will focus on the use of drought­ out to those who are not familiar with it, conservation efforts. JJ resistant plants, among other important the publicity these programs have gener­ subjects, and I think that's an important ated is gratifying. At last count, several ity. How does that tie in to the long-term item to have on the Society's national thousand non-members had written to us growth you're referring to? agenda, given the increasing concern for information about the Endangered A. The Society has been providing com­ everywhere about the availability and Wildflower Project. Not only are we fur­ puter services to other horticultural organ­ quality of our water resources. thering the cause of plant conservation, we izations for some years, keeping member­ Q. We don't really have space to cover are familiarizing more people with other ship and plant records for them. To my all of the Society's activities in this inter­ Society aims and projects. knowledge, the service is unique, and has view. I'd like to conclude by asking you Q. The Society's membership has grown helped plant societies and botanical gar­ where you see the Society going in the near quite a bit in the last several years. What dens with their administrative and scien­ future. kinds of changes can members expect to tific needs. Now that we are able to up­ A. For all of our good efforts to serve see in membership programs? grade our computer capabilities, we can the general needs and interests of horti­ A. We're continuing to promote mem­ serve more organizations, and provide them culturists throughout the country (and, in­ bership aggressively, and I'm always look­ with better, more responsive service. Our deed, we are well represented by our mem­ ing for members in good standing to help improved computer resources will also be bers in aliSO states and territories), I believe us do more of that. One of the greatest essential to the long-term success of our that we could help make everyone better changes we've made in terms of member­ Gardener's Information Service. It's criti­ informed about the great value and variety ship is the revamping of our membership cal that we keep constantly updated infor­ of horticultural resources, particularly categories. In recent months, we've created mation on horticultural resources and events places of horticultural information and new membership categories with addi­ throughout the country, and the computer learning, and sources of horticultural goods tional benefits for membership levels above is the only way to do this efficiently. and services, that exist throughout this vast the basic dues rates. This should give mem­ Q. Now that you've had the opportunity and varied land of ours. Currently, the bers more of a sense of AHS as a society­ to attend an AHS Spring Symposium and staff and trustees of the Society are de­ a group of people across the nation who an Annual Meeting, what's your view of veloping a sponsoring membership pro­ share the same interests and who can help these national-level events? gram that will help bring these resources us achieve some of our goals-promoting A. I was extremely pleased with both of together. With this new program, more local and regional horticultural activities, this year's meetings. The San Antonio An­ communication 'between horticultural or­ improving horticultural education, pre­ nual Meeting, with its focus on native plants ganizations will be possible, and this will serving endangered and threatened plants and their usefulness in cultivated settings, certainly benefit the home gardener as well ... . I'm also happy to report that we've represents the Society's interest in pro­ as the professional. We're excited about changed our renewal program to avoid the moting horticultural trends of importance offering this program to botanical gardens difficulties advance notices cause some of to the nation and of value to the gar­ and arboreta, landscape and nursery firms, our members. Although our renewal rate dener- and of course it enabled us to high­ garden clubs and plant societies, and other has always been very good, we're hoping light the unique horticultural resources of horticultural organizations throughout the to keep more members on board through the San Antonio area. I see the meetings United States, so that we might begin serv­ the improved renewal system, and that's as an opportunity to showcase horticulture ing them better. This way, we will be able an important part of our long-term growth. in different parts of the country, while to benefit not only them but the American Q. AHS is upgrading its computer facil- members learn how they might apply hor- public as well.

American Horticulturist 3 STRANGE RELA TIVES The Ginseng Family

ccording to Chinese legend, gin­ mice aI1d chipmunks are fond of the seed. seng was cultivated in heaven by Al'lother species, P. trifolius; groundnut Athe gods and brought to earth to or dwarf ginseng, is found ff0m Nova Sco­ help ease the suffering of mankind. At one tia to Wisconsin and south to Georgia. It time, only the emperor had the privilege differs from P. quinquefolius in that it is of collecting this root, renowned for its smaller, has three leaflets, and produces fantastic powers of allaying fatigue, il'l­ yellow berries. It is not desirable creasing mental capacities, prolonging life commercially. and dissolving tumors. For thousands of Samples of American ginseng root were years the root of this herb was referred to sent to China for examination soon after in Oriental medicine as the "elixir of life" the plant's discovery. Once the Chinese and the "herb that cures all." It has been confirmed that the quality was satisfac­ credited with healing innumerable ail­ tory, the French in Canada began collect­ ments, and, in some quarters, is considered ing ginseng from the Indians for €Xport. both a rejuvenating antidote to impotence Demand for ginseng grew so quickly that and a sexual stimulant. it became an important article of com­ The earliest complete Western descrip­ merce in Montreal. Soon, American col­ tion of Chinese ginseng can be found in onists became enthusiastic about collect­ an eleventh-century herbal. P. Jartoux, an ing the roots. Gathering and marketing, eighteenth-century Jesuit missionary in which began on a small scale, picked up China, was perhaps the first westerner to momentum when the extent of ginseng's witness the gathering and use of ginseng range in the colonies became known, and in Manchuria. He was also the first to the collection and sale of American ginseng furnish a detailed description of the plant, became a highly profitable venture. Gin­ which he published in transactions of the seng was first exported to China from the Royal Society of London in 1714. This colonies in the mid-eighteenth century, by communication created tremendous inter­ way of the East India Company in Eng­ est in the Western world and aroused spec­ land. A shipload of 55 tons of ginseng ulation that the valuable root might be sailed from Boston to China in 1773. In found elsewhere, particularly in areas of 1782, John Jacob Astor made the first di­ the world with a climate similar to that of rect shipment of American ginseng to China. Manchuria, such as Canada. Father Joseph The supply of wild ginseng was much Francis Lafitau, a Jesuit missionary who depleted during the nineteenth Gentury be­ worked with the Iroquois Indians in Can­ cause of the constant and heavy demand ada, was also fascinated by the reports for the root by Chinese the world over. In about ginseng. Lafitau observed the In­ addition, the plaI1t's woodland habitat was dians' use of a remarkably similar root in Block's greatly diminished by lumbering opera­ the treatment of stomach disorders and as ABOVE: Algerian ivy, Hedera canariensis. tions and by settlement. an aphrodisiac. After searching for several RIGHT: Aralia spinosa, commonly known as Great quantities of ginseng roots were Hercules' -club or devil's-walking stick. months, he discovered American ginseng dug in the wild, without consideration given near Montreal in 1716. is native to shady slopes of ravines in hard­ to the age of the plants or for replacing Linnaeus gave ginseng the name Panax, wood forests from Quebec to Manitoba, them, and American ginseng nearly be­ in reference to the plant's miraculous heal­ and from Maine and Minnesota, south­ came extinct in the wild. Ultimately, cul­ ing powers. Panax is derived from the Greek ward to the mountains of Georgia, Ar­ tivated plants grown in various parts of word panakes, meaning panacea. Best kansas and Louisiana. the country became available. known of th€ species in this genus is Panax P. quinquefolius is a fleshy-rooted per­ Under the Endangered Species Act of pseudoginseng (also called P. ginseng and ennial herb, 10 to 20 inches tall. Its stems 1975, the status of ginseng was considered P. schinseng). American ginseng is P. quin­ bear a single whorl of palmately divided on a nationwide basis. Lawmakers decided quefolius, a name assigned by Linnaeus in leaves with five leaflets. A solitary stalk that the overall situation was not grave 1753. bears an umbel of greenish-white flowers, enough to warrant federal listing of gin­ The species of ginseng found in North followed in S€ptember by bright red fruit seng as a Threatened or Endangered Spe­ America is only slightly different from the about the size and shape of wax beans, cies. However, under the Convention of plant from the Far East. P. quinquefolius each containing two or three seeds. Birds, International Trade in Endangered Species

4 December 1984 Pamela Harp er

American H ortlculturi. st 5 STRANGE RELA TIVES

trunk. The bark of A. spinosa has been used for medicinal purposes. Hercules'-club is hardly a species you would think of planting as an ornamental, but the great inflorescences of creamy-white flowers the plant produces in July give it an almost exotic beauty. It is even more ornamental in the fall, when bllrry-like fruits of crim­ son or reddish-purple hyes cover the plant. The suckering habit of this species may be a detraction in the garden, but A. spinosa can make a majestic addition to a mass of lower-growing shrubs, or can serve as an effective barrier plant. The angelica trees-A. chinensis from China and A. elata from Japan, Korea and Manchuria-are also prickly trees. They are very handsome, with large, hairy flower clusters and large foliage. Some of the more ornamental cultivars of the two angelica Fatsia japonica, commonly called Japanese fatsia or Formosa rice tree. Betsy R. Crowder trees (there are several variegated ones, for example) are more commonly grown than (CITES), export of both wild and culti­ important genera. The juvenile forms of the species. vated American ginseng is still regulated leaves and growth often differ markedly Aralia cordata is a spineless, perennial on an annual basis. Exporters must have from the adult forms. When grown as or­ herb that grows about nine feet tall. Com­ a federal permit, as well as state documents namental pot plants, many different spe­ monly call1ld udo, it is grown on many that certify that the roots were legally har­ cies remain in similar juvenile stages and truck farms in Ja;pan. Its brilliant white, vested. Much of the American ginseng that arll difficult to identify. These filatures con­ crisp, fiberless shoots have a slight tur­ is harvested is cultivated in shaded farms tribute to the horticultural interest and value pentine flavor, suggestiv!! of pine. The young or wooded areas, then exported. of many species. shoots are peeled, cut into shavings and The U.S. Food and Drug Administration The plant stems of aralia family mem­ soaked for an hour in ice water in prep­ permits the import and marketing of bers are pithy, and frequently bear spines aration for use as a salad grllen. Udo is Chinese ginseng roots and other ginseng or prickles. Leaves are usually alternate, also cooked somewhat as is asparagus. It products provided that no nutritional or and are often large and variously com­ is ready for eating extremely early in the therapeutic claims are made on the labels pound. Hairs on the leaves are distinguish­ spring. This hardy herb is not commonly of the products. Ginseng tea, extracts, tab­ ing features of some species. In species of grown in the United States. lets and capsules imported from three climbing habit, aerial roots on the stems Herbaceous wild relatives of udo in thll countries-Korea, the USSR and China­ enable the plant to cling to supporting United States are wild sarsaparilla and the are sold in some Amllrican drugstores and structures. Some leaves and roots are spikenards. A. nudicaulis, wild sarsapa­ Oriental food stores as food, not as drugs. aromatic. rilla, produces one long-stalked compound Since 1950, the People's Republic of Small, greenish or whitish flowers are leaf and a naked flower stalk that arises China has produced the root under gov­ arranged in clusters. In some instances, the from the underground stem. The flower ernment supervision. Chinese and Russian sexes are on separate plants. Generally, stalk has three clusters of greenish flowers, researchers report having isolated five gin­ there are five to 10 petals; occasionally, which are followed by purplish-black ber­ seng chemicals that they. believe act as there are four. The petals are free or par­ ries. The creeping, aromatic rootstock is stimulants, tranquilizers or painkillers. tially fused. There are from five to many used in homemade root beer, and was once Russian studies also conclude that ginseng stamens. The fruit is a drupe. used medicinally as a stimulant and di­ diminishes the harmful effects of radia­ Thirty species of herbs, shrubs and trees uretic. Udo roots have also been used in tion; Western scientists tend to refute such in the ginseng family are botanically clas­ this way. The name sarsaparilla comes from claims. sified in the genus Aralia. Several of these the Spanish zarza, meaning bramble, and Ginseng and its relatives are membllrs are nearly or fully hardy in USDA Zone parrilla, or little vine. of the Araliaceae, the aralia or ginseng 5, including such woody plants as Her­ The two spikenards-A. racemosa and family, which consists of 84 genera of herbs, cules'-club, Japanese angelica tree and A. californica-differ in leaf size and in shrubs and trees that are distributed Chinese angelica tree. the number of flowers to a cluster. Berries throughout the world in both temperate Aralia spinosa, Hercules' -club or dev­ of A. racemosa are used to make jelly; the and tropical regions. The chief centers of il's-walking stick, is a clump-forming North plant's aromatic root is used medicinally distribution are India, Malaysia and trop­ American shrub or tree that grows to 30 or as an ingredient in homemade root beer. ical America. Various vegetative and floral feet or more. It is thickly armed with stout The name spikenard alludes to a fragrant characteristics-for example, simple or spines. The two common names allude to ointment, mentioned in the Bible, that has lobed leaves, and pinnately or palmately the vicious spine-covered clubs or canes become associated with this Aralia species compound leaves-distinguish the most that can be fashioned from the stem or in modern times.

6 December 1984 $500 off irst order!* ~~mfrIh1~

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World's Largest Rose Growers and Nurserymen 45 Rose Lane, Medford, Oregon 97501 All J&P Roses have @1984. Jackson & Perkins Co. earned t~is seal The Pleasure STRANGE RELA TIVES of Flowers•.. Most of the plants florists call "aralia" atures rarely go below freezing, Fatsia can belong to another genus of the ginseng grow outdoors as a garden shrub; else­ - QUALITY TOOLS family, Polyscias. Polyscias species are trees where, it is a much-admired and frequently from Africa, India and the Pacific Islands, used indoor plant. Its rich, one-foot-wide, - BEAUTIFUL CONTAINERS and range in height from eight to 25 feet. glossy-green leaves are palmately lobed. - ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR In the North, these plants are grown as The lobes are long and sharply pointed, GARDEN AND TABLE greenhouse foliage plants, and usually reach cut beyond the middle of the leaf blade. three to six feet in height. In the tropics - UNIQUE GIFTS Small, whitish flowers on long terminal and subtropics, they are used outdoors as stalks are followed by black berries. The -AND, OUR hedges and for other landscape uses. There name Fatsia is derived from the Japanese are about 80 species; cultivated species and vernacular name for the plant. NEW CATALOG their numerous cultivars appear under such Fatsia japonica 'Moseri'-a compact, brought to you by the familiar names as Balfour aralia, fern-leaf vigorous cultivar-is one of the parents of distributors of the aralia, ming aralia and geranium-leaf ara­ an amazing offspring, X Fatshedera lizei, ORIGINAL STEM STRIPPER ••• lia. Generally, these plants are spineless, tree ivy. Also known as botanical-wonder, and are known for their fine foliage. The x Fatshedera is a hybrid between two gen­ The Keth Company aromatic, compound leaves vary from spe­ era. This semi-erect, vine-shrub is shrubby, cies to species in size, shape and color; like Fatsia. Its five-lobed leaves are much Box 645, Dept. PH-3 some are plain green, while others are var­ like ivy, only larger. Such intergeneric hy­ Corona del Mar, California 92625 iegated with white and cream mottling or brids occur infrequently. The other parent PLEASE SEND $1.00 margins. Flowers are rarely produced on is Hedera helix 'Hibernica', a variety of REFUNDABLE ON YOUR FIRST ORDER cultivated plants. The name Polyscias is English ivy. This accidental cross occurred PI£ASE PRJ,.".:Name ______from the Greek words for "many" and in the Lize brothers' greenhouse in France "shade," in reference to the abundant fo­ shortly before World War 1. Address ______liage and the shade provided by the foliage. Tree ivy is a glossy-leaved, semi-climb­ City ______False aralia, Dizygotheca elegantissima, ing evergreen that can be tied to a support Slate, Zip ______is a straight-stemmed, willowy plant that or can be allowed to grow as a bush. Its Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Backl is frequently used in interior landscaping hardiness permits its use outdoors from and as a house plant. There are about 15 Zone 7 southward. Flowers, when pro­ species in the genus, all of which are spine­ duced, are sterile. x F. lizei 'Variegata' is less shrubs or small trees. When used as a cultivar with white margined leaves. an indoor tree, false aralia attains a height Tet-rapanax is a genus somewhat like of three to six feet. It retains its juvenile Panax, the ginseng genus, with flower parts characteristics-finely divided, red-brown in groups of four (tetra). There is only one leaflets that are wavy-edged and slightly species, T. papyriferus. Commonly known NOW YOU CAN PRODUCE NEW lobed-under these conditions. The as Chinese rice paper plant, it is a small, HEALTHY PLANTS FOR LESS whorled leaves are borne at the ends of spineless evergreen tree native to southern THAN 1¢-NOT 25¢ or 30¢! long stems. China. In cultivation, it does not normally YES-WE DO! Brassaia is a genus of about 40 species exceed 10 or 20 feet in height; as an indoor of trees or shrubs native to India, the Malay tree, it rarely grows higher than three to AQUAMONITOR GETS THE MAX­ Peninsula, the Philippine Islands, north­ five feet. Fan-shaped leaves measure 12 IMUM FROM THE SUN. IT AUTO­ east Australia and Hawaii. B. actino­ inches across and are deeply lobed. Each MATICALLY SHADES WITH phylla-Australian umbrella tree, Queens­ lobe has strong veins and corrugations be­ TIMELY BURSTS OF MIST-RAPID land umbrella tree, or octopus tree-is a tween veins. The trunk in the juvenile stage GROWTH WITHOUT BURNS. 40-foot evergreen. Its glossy, compound is covered with white, woolly hairs; leaves YOU SAVE A "BUNDLE"-FUEL leaves may be two to four feet long; seven are white-felty when they first appear. Small, BILLS DWINDLE. to 16 leaflets radiate umbrella-like from a white flowers, which stand out beyond the central stalk. Flowers are small, red and foliage, are clustered in panicles almost OUTDOORS OR IN YOU SAVE TIME crowded in clusters arranged in long, erect three feet long. The white pith of the trunk AND MONEY. spikes that stand out above the foliage. The and branches is extracted, cut in thin strips NOTHING CAN COMPARE-NOT fruits that follow are purplish-red. B. ac­ and pressed to make a very expensive rice EVEN COME CLOSE. tinophylla is the superb house plant known paper. The paper is made into artificial as schefflera. (The so-called dwarf schef­ flowers or used for surgical dressings and FREE BROCHURE DESCRIBES THE MARVELOUS PROPAGA­ flera, Shefflera arboricola, is in a different for cleaning lenses. Ivy, the climbing evergreen that can be TION EQUIPMENT. genus altogether, and is so new that it is not yet listed in some references. ) identified by even the least knowledgeable For generations the Japanese have been observer of the landscape, is also a member growing a sturdy plant we know as fatsia. of the ginseng family. Hedera is the sci­ It is Fatsia japonica, now a very popular entific name for ivy; the word ivy is derived plant in the West as well as in the East. In from the Greek iphyon. areas where winters are mild and temper- Ivies are evergreen woody plants that

8 December 1984 have both juvenile and adult foliage forms. In the juvenile forms, leaves are palmately lobed. Flexuous stems produce aerial roots, which the vine uses to cling to any avail­ able support. The vine does not flower in its juvenile state. Ivies become shrub-like or tree-like at maturity. In the adult stage Here in the lush harvested plants they have stiff, non-climbing, rootless stems, mountains of will arrive and the leaves are elliptic or ovate, not N orth Carolina looking fit ti? lobed. At this stage, ivy produces clusters are our fields ti? ready to grow. greenhouses filled You want quality of small, greenish flowers on bushy with hardy her· ti? you get it from branches; rooted cuttings of this adult form baceous perennials, Holbrook Farm. produce an erect shrub, not a vine. The selected trees ti? Send $2.00 fruit of ivy is a small, poisonous, bl ack shrubs ti? our own {refundable with first berry. native wildflowers. order} for your Spring catalogue We have a special interest in our today. You will also receive our Chief among the five species of Hedera m ountain grown plants. We are Fall ca talogue when available. are H. canariensis, Algerian or Canary Is­ gardeners, first ti? last, ti? our Name land ivy, which is much cultivated in the commitment is to grow the best subtropics; H. colchica, Persian or Colchis of th e new introductions as well Address as your old fa vorites. We also go Ci ty ivy, which is native to regions south of the to great lengths to assure Caspian Sea, and has large, heart-shaped, dull green leaves that produce a resinous odor when crushed; and Hedera helix, =th=a=t=o=u=r=c=ar=e=~=U=lly======~===S=t=a=te======Z=iP======English ivy, a woody vine native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia that is cul­ Holbrook Farm &Nursery tivated in temperate zones of the world. Rte. 2, Bo x 223B·5017, Fletcher, NC 28732 Most cultivated ivies are H. helix. It is the most variable of all hederas, and many cultivars have arisen. Juvenile shoots mu­ tate freely, giving rise to various foliage forms and growth habits. Such mutations are unstable and frequently revert to the original form with age. H. helix is now much more than a ground cover or wall Endangered Wtldflowers drapery; ivy specialists and hobbyists have produced over 100 cultivars by propagat­ ing choice mutants. 1985 CALENDAR English ivy is hardy, even in many parts of Zone 5. Moreover, ivy is an almost per­ fect foliage house plant. The wealth of va­ Help save our endangered wildflowers by purchasing the American rieties of foliage has attracted many ad­ Horticultural Society's 1985 Endangered Wildflowers Calendar. Funds mirers and collectors. raised from sales will be used to support conservation projects. Not all "ivies" are ivy. A number of plants from other families carry ivy in their • 18 full-color photographs of endangered American To Order Calendars: names, presumably because they are Send $5.95 per calendar ($5.35 for AHS climbing or trailing plants. Some of these wildflowers members), including postage and handling, are Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspi­ • Information on all plants to Jeanne Eggeman, American Horticultural data; devil's ivy, Epipremnum aureum; pictured Society, P.O. Box 0105, Mount Vernon, VA • Large 8W' by l11i2" format 22121. Virginia residents, please add 4% Swedish ivy, Plectranthus species; and grape sales tax. ivy, Cissus species. • Space for notes and An ages-old panacea, historic commer­ appointments cial ventures, and ornamentation of mod­ ern gardens are all seen in a review of the N~e ______REWARD OFFER: Owners of ginseng family. All of these plants con­ the calendar are encouraged to tribute to the leafy greenness of our planet Address ______rediscover populations of plants and to the cycle of life on it. 6 that are possibly or probably City ______-Jane Steffey extinct in this country. State _____ Zip ______Jane Steffey retired last year as the Society's Horticultural Advisor. She is now an active Total # Ordered __ Am!. Enclosed $ ____ AHS volunteer and serves as Editorial Advisor to American Horticulturist.

American Horticulturist 9 Book Reviews

HERB GARDEN DESIGN. in this book should inspire you to change I The ONLY specialty liquid plant I I foods in the industry. Made for I Faith H. Swanson and Virginia B. Rady. or improve your design. In addition to many I safety, accuracy and results. University Press of New England. specific designs, Herb Garden Design in­ JUNGLE JUICE (2-5-4) for fantastic I Hanover, New Hampshire. 1984. 155 cludes an introductory chapter describing I foliage growth and super green. I pages; softcover, $15.95; hardcover, many different garden structures, as well I GRANNY'S BLOOMERS (0-6-5) I $30.00. AHS discount price, $15.85 as a final chapter that details the actual ZERO nitrogen and special trace (softcover), $28.50 (hardcover) including planning and installation of a sample I for abundant african violet I postage and handling. garden. I blooms, you won't believe your I eyes. This book is based on the premise that an herb garden showld be both functional and I CACTUS JUICE (1-7-6) For I SHRUBS IN THE LANDSCAPE. aesthetically p!t~ asing. More than 50 dif­ I outstanding specimens and helps I Joseph Hudak. McGraw-Hill Co. New I promote flowering. ferent garden designs-based on herb gar­ York, New York. 1984.292 pages; FLOWER CRACKER (1-6-5) For I dens located throughout the country-are hardcover, $34.95. AHS discount price, I Impatiens, Orchids, Bromeliads, I presented. Their level of complexity varies $29.45 including postage and handling. Geraniums, all flowering plants. from the very small and simple to the very I I The landscape architect who wrote this la,rge and complex. A plan is given for each 6 oz_ bottle makes 12 gals_ capful I book is well known not only for the quality I measure_ $3_85 ppd_ garden design, including dimensions, de­ of his designs, but also for his extensive I Any 4-6 oz_ btls_ $11_85 ppd_ Free I tails of construction and lists of plants. If catalog. knowledge of landscape plants. About one­ you have ever wanted an herb garden of quarter of the book is devoted to basic your own, one of these designs will cer­ cultivation and design principles, while the Deerfield. Il 60015 n Clarel tainly work for you. If you already have Ldl)(Hdtorlt'~ Illl remainder is divided into three sections on III an herb garden, the many ideas illustrated needle evergreens, broadleaved evergreens and deciduous shrubs. A brief history of the use of each species in cultivation is CACTI Origin of followed by a description of growth habits World Famous and outstanding features. Where appli­ & SUCCULENTS cabh~ , cultivar lists give further descriptive "AFRICAN VIOlETS" detail. An appendix with lists of plants for Mail Order Specialists special applications is also very helpful. This would be a good basic reference work Listing Over 900 Varieties on shrubs were it not for the rather bad photographic reproductions included. The Agaves plates with their postage-stamp-sized il­ Cacti lustrations might better have been elimi­ ,Cotyledons nated altogether by the publisher and the Crassulas Echeverias price reduced accordingly. Epiphyllums Euphorbias ROSES FOR AN EMPRESS. Haworthias .. Home of the first double Josephine Bonaparte and Pierre-Joseph Lithops pinks Redoute. Sidgwick and Jackson. Pachypodiums London, England. 1983. 118 pages; .. Reddest reds hardcover, $19.95. AHS discount price, Rhipsalis '" Miniatures & trailers Stapeliads $17.45 including postage and handling. and many more .. Exotic house plants Empress Josephine was a lover of roses, and the flowers that bloomed in her garden Remit $2.00 for our all new catalog, Shipping available to all 50 states with more added color photos. (Com- from May 1st to Nov. 1st, at Malmaison were immortalized in the plete catalog cost refundable on your weather permitting! paintings of Pierre-Joseph Redoute. This first plant order.) is the story of Josephine Bonaparte, told Send $1.00 for our latest through her own letters and those of her K & L Cactus Nursery color catalog to: contemporaries, and illustrated with the Dept. A.H.S. Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc. color paintings of her roses by Redoute. 12712 Stockton Boulevard This very attractive book is the perfect Galt, California 95632 Dept. AH 14 Mutchler St. (209) 745-4756 Dolgeville, NY 133290249 Christmas present for a rose lover or any­ one interested in the history of gardening.

10 December 1984 Its for SCOTLAND'S GARDENS. on the natural succession of plants is fol­ ~rm~t G. Allen Little (editor) . Spurbooks. lowed by four major chapters devoted to the Very Finest in Edinburgh, Scotland. 1981.280 pages; the interrelationships of plants in four basic Miniature Roses hardcover, $17.95. AHS discount price, communities: the va ri ous kinds of decid­ $15.85 including postage and handling. uous forest, as well as open lands, wet­ This extensive guide is essential for anyone lands, and dry lands. This is a clear and We carry the best who visits Scottish gardens. I can vouch well -written introduction to pl ant ecology selection, featur­ for its value, having recently returned from intended to inform the amateur naturalist a garden tour of Great Britain, which in­ about what he sees around him and why. • 'J ing the very best cluded many choice locati ons in Scotland. It would make an excell ent text for an of the older and The book contains a brief introduction to extension course in plant ecology, or sim­ the very newest the history of gardening in Scotland, as ply interesting and informative reading for well as stories of travelers who were re­ the inquiring nature lover. varieties. sponsible for the many plant introductions from all over the world. The descriptions THE BOOK OF EDIBLE NUTS. of individual gardens are arranged geo­ Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. Walker and graphicall y. While many of these are still Company. New York, New York. 1984. ! --D- --~~-~~--~;--;~:: - -~-:~:~----- privately owned, nearly all of them are 384 pages; hardcover, $35.00. AHS open to the public at some time during the discount price, $29.50 including postage gardening season. The number and beauty and handling. of Scottish gardens may not be appreciated The Book of Edible Nuts is an in-depth Name by many travelers; this book should quickly study of 42 different kinds of nuts. "Nuts," Address correct that oversight. Of particular inter­ in this case, range from waln uts, Brazil est is a chapter devoted to the problems nuts and cole nuts to sunflower seeds and City of maintaining a large estate garden in water chestnuts. The history, fo lklore, State Zip modern times. commercial development and harvest of each crop are discussed at length. Also in­ .for~t Miniature Roses, Inc. 58 Hammond Street BOTANY IN THE FIELD. cluded is a selection of recipes that describe Jane Scott. Prentice-Hall, Inc. the basic preparations necessary to make L______~_~~!~?'.. ,__ ~~~~~_:~~~:_~~~_~_~?_~? ______, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1984. the nuts edible. Written in the same style 165 pages; softcover, $8.95; hardcover, and with the same authority as the author's r------, $16.95. AHS discount price, $8.90 earli er The Book of Spices, this is an en­ Send me (softcover), $15.50 (hardcover) including joyable book to expand your knowledge. I Burpee~ free 1985 I postage and handling. In addition, it is a valuable reference work The title of this book is misleading. Botany covering all aspects of nuts, with the ex­ I garden catalog! I in the Field is not a guide to the conven­ ception of details of actual cultivation in I It's packed with over 400 vegetables and I tional study of plants in the field; rather, the home garden. 0 - Gilbert S. Daniels 650 fl owers-including new varieties I it is a guide to plant communities-the and Burpee exclusives! Plus fruits, Gilbert S. Daniels is the Immediate Past I shrubs, garden aids, and more! Send for study of plant ecology in the field. A brief President of the American Horticu ltural I yours now! I introduction regarding the effects of man Society. I I I Book Order Form I o Herb Garden Design (softcover) ...... $15.85 Enclosed is my check for ___ books for the I UPNEW-07040 total amount of $. ____ o Herb Garden Design (hardcover) ...... $28.50 Please all ow six weeks for delivery. Discount I UPNEW-07050 price includes postage and handling. Virginia Clip and o Roses for an Empress ...... $17.45 residents add 4% sales tax. I mall today! MERRI-07060 W. Atlee Burpee Company o Scotland's Gardens ...... $15.85 Mail to: Jeanne Eggeman, American Horticul­ I 2365 Burpee Building MERRI-07070 tural Society, P.O. Box 0105, Mount Vernon, Warminste r. PA 18974 o Shrubs in the Landscape ...... $29.45 Virginia 22121. MCGRA-07080 I Name Ship to, ______(Please print) o Botany in the Field (softcover) ...... $ 8.90 Address ______PRENT-07090 Steee" ______I o Botany in the Fi~ld (hardcover) ...... $15.50 City PRENT-07100 City, ______I State _____ Zip ______o The Book of Edible Nuts ...... $29.50 lf you ordered from BUIjlee in 1984. your new catalOg J WALKE-07110 State, ______Zip, ____ will be sent to you automatically inJanuary.) l2 ____ c w. Atlee Burpee Co. 1984

American Horticulturist 11 Pronunciation Guide

The accent, or emphasis, falls on the syllable that appears in capital letters. The vowels that you see standing alone are pronounced as follows: i-short sound; sounds like i in "hit" o-long sound; sounds like 0 in "snow" a-long sound; sounds like a in "hay" Abies mariesii A Y-beez mare-EES-ee-eye Abronia villosa ab-RON-ee-ah vill-OH-sah Acacia ah-KA Y-see-ah Achimenes ah-KIM-en-eez Aeschynanthus hildebrandii ess-kin -AN -th us hill-de-BRAN -dee-eye A. marmoratus a. mar-mor-A Y-tus A. parvifolius a. par-vi-FOL-ee-us Agalmyla parasitica ag-al-MY-lah par-ah-SIT-i-kah Alnus pendula AL-nus PEN-dew-lah Aloe AL-oh-eel AL-oh Amaranthus caudatus am-ah-RAN-thus caw-DA Y-tus Aralia californica ah-RAIL-yah kal-i-FORN-i-kah A. chinensis a. chi-NEN-sis A. cordata a. cor-DA Y-tah A. elata a. e-LA Y-tah A. nudicaulis a. nu-di-KAUL-iss Codonanthe carnosa Gesneria citrina A. racemosa a. ray-si-MO-sah coe-doe-NAN-thee car-NO-sah jess-NAIR-ee-ah si-TREE-nah A. spinosa a. spin-OH-sah C. crassifolia c. cras-si-FOL-ee-ah G. cuneifolia g. cu-nee-FOL-ee-ah Arctostaphylos ark-toe-STA-fill-os x Codanantanthus Gloxinia glox-IN-ee-ah Aucuba japonica var. borealis ko-dah-nan-TAN-thus Haworthia hah-WORTH-ee-ah aw-KOO-bah ja-PON-i-kah bor-ee-AL-iss x Coltricantha kol-tri-CAN-thah Hedera canariensis Bellonia aspera Columnea erythrophaea HEAD-er-ah canary-EN-sis bell-OH-nee-ah AS-per-ah co-LUM-nee-ah er-ee-thro-FA Y-ee-ah H. colchica h. KOL-chi-kah Boea hygroscopica Cryptomeria krip-toe-MEER-ee-ah H. helix h. HE-lix BO-ee-ah hy-gro-SCO-pee-kah Cunninghamia cun-ning-HAM-ee-ah Hypocyrta hy-po-SIR-tah Brahea armata bray-HEE-ah ar-MA-tah Cyclamen persicum Ilex crenata var. radicans Brassaia actinophylla SYKE-la-men/SICK-la-men PER-sic-cum EYE-lex kren-A Y -tah RAD-i-kanz bras-SA Y-ee-ah ack-tin-oh-PHYL-lah C. purpurascens c. pur-pur-AS-enz I. sugerokii i. sue-ger-OH-kee-eye Calamagrostis arundinacea var. brachytricha Diastema die-ah-STEM-ah Ipomoea x multifida ca-lah-mah-GROS-tis ah-run-din-A Y-cee-ah Dizygotheca elegantissima i-POH-me-ah mul-TIFF-i-dah brack-ee-TRICK-ah diz-ee-GO-thee-kah el-e-gan-TISS-i-mah I. quamoclit i. QUAM-oh-clit Canna x generalis Encelia en-CEL-ee-ah Koellikeria koh-el-li-KER-ee-ah KAN-ah jen-er-AL-iss E. farinosa e. far-in-OH-sah Kohleria koh-LEER-ee-ah Ceanothus see-ah-NO-thus Epipremnum aureum Lindera benzoin LIN-der-ah BEN-zo-in Cephalocereus senilis ep-i-PREM-num ARE-ee-um L. umbellata I. um-bell-A Y-tah SEPH-al-o-CER-ee-us sen-ILL-is Episcia hirsuta e-PISS-ee-ah hir-SUE-tah Lithops LITH-ops Chilopsis linearis E. lilacina e. lil-ah-SIGH-nah Magnolia hypoleuca kill-OP-sis lin-ee-A Y -ris Erianthus ravennae mag-NOL-ya hy-po-LEW-kah Chirita elphinstonia er-ee-AN-thus rah-VEN-nah-ee M.obovata m.oh-boh-VAY-tah cheer-EE-tah el-fin-STO-nee-ah Euphorbia yew-FOR-bee-ah M. salicifolia m. sa-li-si-FOL-ee-ah C. micromusa c. my-kro-MEW-sah x Fatshedera lizei Mesembryanthemum C. sinensis c. sin-EN-sis fats-HEAD-er-ah LITZ-ee-eye mezz-em-bry-AN-thee-mum Chrysothemis pulchella Fatsia japonica FATS-ee-ah ja-PON-i-kah Mimulus MIM-you-lus cry-so-THEE-mis pul-CHELL-lah Fouquieria foo-key-AIR-ree-ah Miscanthus mis-CAN-thus Cissus CIS-sus Fremontodendron californicum Nautilocalyx nau-ti-low-CA Y-licks Cleome hasslerana free-mon [-toe-D EN -dron Nelumbo nucifera clee-OH-me has-sler-A Y-nah kal-i-FORN-i-kum nel-UM-boh new-SIFF-er-ah

12 December 1984 Nematanthus wettsteinii USE THIS COUPON ne-ma-TAN-thus wet-STEIN-ee-eye Nerium oleander NEAR-ee-um ol-ee-AN-der FOR FREE INFORMATION ON Niphaea ni -FA Y-ee-ah Nymphaea tetragona va r. tetragona nim-FA Y-ee-ah te-tra-GO-nah NUTRIPONICS® te- tra-GO-nah Oenothera de ltoides New Hi-Tech Indoor Gardening ee-no-THEER-ah del- toe-EYE-deez Panax ginseng PAN-ax GIN-seng P. pseudoginseng p. su-do-GIN-seng Please send free information on Nutriponics to: P. quinquefolius p. quin -que-FOL-ee-us P. trifolius p. try-FOL-ee-us Name ______Parkinsonia aculeata park-in-SO-nee-ah ah-cul -EE-ah-ta Address ______Parthenocissus quinquefolia par-then-o-sis-us quin-qui-FOL-ee-ah P. tricuspidata p. tri-cus-pid-A Y-tah Inexpensive kits available_ 50-page color-illustrated Pennisetum alopecuroides pen-is-EE-tum ah-lo-pe-cure-oh-EYE-deez instruction book included in all kits. With this simple Phinaea fi-NA Y-ee-ah method, you can grow Tomatoes, African Violets, Ge­ Pinus strobus PY-nus STRO-bus raniums, etc. Planters are self-watering. This unique Plectranthus plek-TRAN-thus Polyscias po-LIS-ee-us discovery is better than hydroponics--developed pri­ Populus fremontii marily for indoor plants. POP-yew-lus free-MON-tee-eye Prosopis pro-SO-pis Pseudotsuga menziesii WINDOWSILL GARDENS sue-doe-SUE-gah men-ZEES-ee-eye Grafton, New Hampshire 03240 Pterocarya rhoifolia ter-oh-CA RY-ah rho-ee-i-FOL-ee-ah Quamoclit pennata QUAM-oh-clit pen-NA Y-tah Q. x sloteri q. SLOT-er-eye Rechsteineria leucotricha rek-stein-A Y-ree-ah leu-co-TRI-cah PARK SEED Rhododendron japonicum ro-do-DEN-dron ja-PON-i-kum Big New 1985 Rhus typhina ROOS ty-FY-nah Ricinus communis CATALOG ry-SIN-us com-MOON-iss Saintpaulia saint-PAUL-ee-ah Sasa SA-sah Enjoy beautiful, carefree blooms Scheff/era arboricola and better tasting, higher-yielding chef-LAIR-ah ar-bor-i-CO-lah vegetables in your garden this Seemannia latifolia spring. Thousands of items to see-MAN-nee-ah lat-i-FOL-ee-ah choose from - 124 color pages! Sequoiadendron giganteum Exciting NEW introductions plus see-quoy-ah-DEN-dron ji-GAN-tee-um your proven all-time favorites. Sinningia canescens Satisfaction guarahteed. sin-NIN-gee-ah kah-NESS-enz

S. cardinalis s. card-in-A Y-liss Ti S. concinna s. con-SIN-nah Grow High Performer ' S. pusilla s. pu-SIL-lah Flowers and Vegetables S. speciosa s. spee-see-OH-sah ~ 1984 Park Seed S. sylvatica s. sil-VAT-i-kah Smithiantha smith-ee-AN-thah ...... Send My Full FRE E , Streptocarpus saxorum = Please Print Color Catalog • strep-toe-CARP-us sax-OR-um • 106 • Taxus TAX-us : Name I Tetrapanax papyriferus : Address Apt. : te-tra-PAN-ax pa-pee-RI-fer- us • • Tilia cordata TILLlee-ah cor-DAY -tah • c~ • T. japonica t. ja-PON-i-kah • State Zip • Tsuga diversifolia = PARK SEED = SUE-gah di-vers-i-FOL-ee-ah = Cokesbury Road. P. 0 , Box 46. Gree nwood, S. C 29648-0046 = Wisteria wis-TEER-ee-ah ......

American Horticulturist 13 Richard M. Adams, II

~I1VES: Adaptations to Draug}tr

BY RICHARD M. ADAMS, II

rom inside the Plexiglas bubble of a The limiting factor here is water. The quires the regular hiss of lawn sprinklers, helicopter, a typical residential area patches of green are mostly exotic vege­ the chatter of Rainbirds atop water pipes Fof southern California looks like a tation that is too water-thirsty to exist here and the trickle of drip irrigation systems. miniature railroad landscape. Stands of trees on its own and survives only because it is Irrigation requires water, and southern and shrubs blend together like patches of within reach of hoses and sprinkler sys­ California imports water by the riverful­ multicolored green shag against a back­ tems. These bluegrass lawns, bamboo from the north via the California Aque- ground of drought-browned native scrub hedges and marigold borders-well suited the color and texture of particle board. The to the moist East Coast but foreign to the ABOVE: Agave victoriae-reginae, a native of sparse greenery, confined to areas around arid Southwest-consist of the plants peo­ Mexico, has succulent leaves that help it buildings and to moist valleys, appears to ple brought with them when they moved conserve water. RIGHT: Many species of monkey flowers, Mimulus sp., are desert be the work of a miniature railroader who west to enjoy the perennially fair weather. annuals. The 150 species in the genus are ran short of allowance and left most of his Fair weather means little rainfall, so distributed in South Africa, Asia, Australia, train table bare. keeping the imported jungle luxuriant re- and North and South America.

14 December 1984

duct, a 400-mile-long concrete channel, and Aloe spp. and Haworthia spp. are also ex­ from the east, from the Colorado River amples of succulent plants. along the California-Arizona border. When the whole plant-not just the Still, California is running out of its re­ leaves-is succulent, it can store even more liable sources, and water is becoming more water and lose less of it. "Stem succu­ expensive. Since about half the water used lents," such as the cacti, have evolved so by many single-family homes in the South­ that their stems have greened and taken west goes to the landscape, homeowners over photosynthesis. In many cases, these and landscapers should be looking for ways plants have lost their leaves. The ribbed to reduce the need for irrigation. One so­ structure of many stem succulents allows lution is to switch from water-thirsty plants them to expand as they take up and store that are foreign to the desert, to drought­ water, and to contract as the water is used­ tolerant natives. all without damaging the plants. In ad­ The southwestern United States and other dition to the cacti family members, which arid regions abound with plants that are are from the Americas, many of South Af­ drought-resistant and beautiful. These lit­ rica's succulent Euphorbia species and car­ tle-noticed species fill the landscaper's rion flowers (from the Asclepiadaceae) ex­ knowledgeable palette with a variety of hibit this type of plant habit. sizes, shapes, colors and textures. Garden­ Other desert plants that are not succu­ ing with water-conserving plants may one lent have a low surface-to-volume ratio. day become very popular in the South­ The Southwest's palo verde tree, Parkin­ west-and with good reason. sonia aculeata, whose common name is Spanish for "green stick," has green Climate Richard M. Adams, II branches and twigs but only tiny leaves. Why is the Southwest, including south­ Aloe dichotoma, a tree aloe from South Reducing Water Loss. Desert plants have ern California, so arid? Circling the globe Africa, growing in the University of evolved a variety of seemingly clever ,ad­ It at approximately 35 degrees north and 35 California, Riverside Botanical Garden. is aptations for reducing water loss that in­ one of many drought-tolerant leaf succulents degrees south of the equator are two per­ in the family. volve stem and leaf surfaces. manent bands of high atmospheric pres­ The waxy covering on the leaf and stem sure, dubbed the "horse latitudes" by sail­ of mint in the same hot sun, you can ap­ surface, called the cuticle, is thicker and ors in times past, since the lack of wind preciate the cooling value of transpiration. waxier in desert plants than in plants of often stranded sailing ships and forced the Plants native to arid regions cannot af­ moister environs. The cuticle seals the leaf, crew to sacrifice livestock. These high­ ford to transpire as much water as their ensuring that water transpires only through pressure regions tend to exclude storm sys­ northern cousins. In order to preserve this the leaf pores or stomates. tems and help create the continually fair limited commodity, they have evolved var­ Leaf hairs, spines and other projections weather of the world's deserts. The south­ ious adaptations for storing water, reduc­ act like windbreaks, by slowing the wind. western United States falls within the horse ing water loss, increasing water uptake, or (Wind makes water transpire faster.) They latitudes part of the year, as do many other growing only when water is available. also help create a layer of stagnant air well-known arid regions: the Sahara Des­ around the leaf called a "boup.dary layer," ert, the Gobi Desert, the Mediterranean Storing Water which helps retain water as if the leaf were region, South Africa, much of Australia Succulent Plant Habit. A thin leaf, like that enclosed in a plastic bag. Oleander, Ner­ and part of SOl1th America. of a maple, has a large surface but little ium oleander, exhibits a slightly different Mountains, with their "rain shadow" tissue inside. This allows it to absorb car­ adaptation. It has leaf pores or stomates effect, also help exclude storms. As air rises, bon dioxide rapidly, transpire water and that open into sunken areas on the leaf it becomes cooler and cannot hold as much cool itself efficiently, and thus grow quickly. surface, called "stomatal crypts," which moisture; as storm systems pass over On the other hand, thick, succulent leaves, shield the stomates from wind. mountains, they cause most of the rain to like those of a jade plant, contain much Some plants also have light-reflecting fall upwind of the mountains, leaving the more tissue in relation to the enclosing adaptations that provide protection from downwind sides dry. Many deserts fall not surface. Unlike the maple leaf, they are the sun. Light-colored hairs, waxes or scales only within the horse latitudes but also "small on the outside," reducing the sur­ on leaves and stems all serve to reduce the downwind of mountains. For example, face from which water evaporates, and "big amount of sunlight that strikes a plant. California's Mojave Desert, home of the on the inside," where water is stored. Since reflecting reduces heat buildup, plants Joshua tree, lies downwind of the San Ga­ (Ecologists call this a low "surface-to-vol­ that exhibit this adaptation need less water briel Mountains. ume ratio.") Therefore, a jade plant stores to transpire for cooling. Light-reflecting more water and loses less of it than a maple adaptations, which are found in many spe­ Adaptations to Drought tree. This adaptation allows a jade plant cies, are notable in Mexican blue palm How do plants of arid regions survive to grow in areas that are too dry for maples. (Brahea armata), California brittlebush with little water? Of all the water absorbed In addition to jade plant, Crassula ar­ (Encelia farinosa) and old-man cactus by a maple tree, approximately 90 percent gentea, there are many other members of (Cephalocereus senilis). passes directly through the plant, evapo­ the Crassulaceae, or stonecrop family, with Wilting-a common problem in hot, dry rating from the leaves. Although this proc­ succulent leaves, including sed urns and climates-can cause permanent damage in ess-called transpiration-cools the leaves, echeverias. The mesembs, such as ice plants plants. Many shrubs and trees native to it uses lots of water. If you have ever been (Mesembryanthemum spp.) and living­ arid regions have protected themselves by unable to hold onto a car door handle in stones (Lithops spp.), are succulent plants developing leaves that are too stiff to wilt. the hot sunlight but pinched a cool sprig in the Aizoaceae, or carpetweed family. California lilac (Ceanothus spp.), man-

16 December 1984 green after extended rains. These include many scrub and chaparral plants like the sages (Salvia spp.), brittlebushes (Encelia spp.) and monkey flowers (Mimulus spp.). The spindly, thorny ocotillos (Fouquieria spp.) of the Southwest shed their leaves during times of drought but quickly grow new ones after sufficient rainfall. Leaves are a plant's biggest water-loser, and these " drought-deciduous" species conserve water by shedding their leaves in dry weather. Like ostriches with their heads in the sand, many bulbous perennials go under­ ground during the driest part of the year. The members of the Amaryllidaceae, or amaryllis family, are just one example. An underground bulb of stored food and water sustains them until the rainy season, when leaves sprout and the plant flowers. Another kind of plant "lives" only when conditions are favorable. As if living on borrowed time (actually, previous rain­ ABOVE: Stapelia gigantea, commonly fall ), desert annuals grow, flower, set seed called Zulu-giant or quickly and die. The seeds of these plants­ giant toad plant, is which include the desert evening primrose a stem succulent (Oenothera deltoides ), sand verbena from South Africa. (Abronia villosa) and many others-con­ Its ill-smelling flow­ ers attract flies as tain germination inhibitors that prevent pollinators. LEFT: sprouting; only when sufficient rainfall Sand verbenas leaches out these inhibitors (sometimes after (Abronia spp.) are several years) do the seeds germinate. desert annuals na­ tive to Western North America. Design Use They appear only These forms and adaptations of drought­ when water is read­ resistant plants bring to mind various pos­ ily available. sibilities in the water-conserving land­ scape: a bed of bulbous perennials-a riot of color in spring-disappearing into dor­ mancy in the dry summer; a cactus garden with year-round interest and water econ­ o'my, occasionally surprising the visitor with its colorful flowers; a hedge or background of sclerophyllous-leaved shrubs, blooming and remaining green throughout the sum­ zanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Australian plant families. mer; a shade tree of velvet-leaved Fre­ mimosa (Acacia spp.) and proteas (Pro­ Increasing Water Uptake. Instead of form­ montodendron californicum, which sur­ teaceae) all have these "sclerophyllous" ing the typical root ball associated with vives all year on natural rainfall, or of leaves of hardened tissue. These hard, stiff most plants, many cacti have shallow roots Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), leaves have very thick-walled cells and re­ that fan out just beneath the soil surface. which reaches with deep taproots for sub­ duced intercellular spaces. Thus, they can rapidly absorb water when surface water. Almost all succulents, as well as many an occasional quick shower falls on the Some nurseries, garden centers and non-succulent plants from arid regions, have desert. landscape architects in the Southwest can evolved a mechanism for opening their sto­ Other plants, such as mesquite (Prosopis help in the design of a water-conserving mates and absorbing carbon dioxide-the spp.), desert willow (Chi/apsis linearis), and landscape. The main rule in such a design raw material of photosynthesis-at night; cottonwood (Populus), grow in desert is to minimize lawns and emphasize water­ accomplishing this vital process when the washes where subsurface water may be far conserving ground covers, shrubs and trees. air is cool and damp minimizes water loss. beneath the surface. They grow long tap­ To design your own landscape, consider These plants store carbon dioxide as more roots that allow them to sip subsurface the functions it must serve-for example, complex compounds than do most plants. water. screening, ornament, recreation, produc­ During the day, when light is available, Seasonal Growth. Many plants grow only tion of edibles-and look for plants that the stomates close and the plant photo­ when conditions are favorable. Seasonal meet your requirements. How high, wide, synthesizes the stored carbon dioxide. This growth is a strategy exhibited by many and fast will a plant grow? What makes adaptation, called carboxylic acid metab­ desert shrubs, which turn brown and may it attractive? Foliage, flowers or fruit? When olism (CAM), is found in many unrelated look dead in the summer but turn a verdant is it attractive? All year, or a certain sea-

American Horticulturist 17

Richard M. Adams, II son? What are a plant's problems? Ag­ which tends to be broken down by sprin­ Weed Control. Weeds that cannot grow gressive roots, messy fruit drop, insect or kler spray. under dry conditions may be a problem in disease susceptibility, or others? How will Drainage. Most water-conserving plants an irrigated garden, even if it is conser­ one plant harmonize with another aes­ do poorly or die in waterlogged soils, and vatively watered. Pre-emergent herbicides thetically and culturally? Do all plants need therefore, need good drainage. A well­ have recently been developed that prevent the same amount of water (for example, drained soil will absorb at least half an the germination of seeds without affecting those watered by the same sprinkler)? You inch of water per hour. established plants (when applied at the can find the answers to these questions by On level sites, poor drainage may be proper rates). These herbicides are useful reading books and catalogues, looking at caused by an impervious layer in the soil­ in beds of ground covers or plantings of pictures in magazines and references, and a subsurface "hardpan." To get good succulents where weeds are hard to con­ visiting nurseries and botanical gardens to drainage, break through the hardpan with trol. Sold in granular or wettable-powder see live specimens. deep planting holes, make dry wells or plow formulations, pre-emergent herbicides last deeply. Or, mound up well-drained soil several months. Culture several feet high for planting. For controlling established weeds, post­ Clayey topsoil may be poorly drained, emergent herbicide sprays save labor in Planting. Nursery stock is available in con­ but clay can be flocculated into larger-sized weeding and hoeing. These chemicals kill venient containers and sometimes as eco­ particles by adding gypsum and long-last­ all higher plant life with which they come nomical bare-root stock. Plant in the fall ing organic matter such as fine pine or fir in contact; even unseen, drifted spray can to ensure the greatest chance of survival. bark. The subsoil must be well drained. damage desirable plants. Special wick ap­ Un established plantings, even of drought­ Sandy soils, which can be too well plicators make it easier to treat weeds in resistant plants, may reqIJire watering every drained, will hold more water if you add ground covers. 0 day in the summer. organic matter, such as peat or fine bark. A layer of mulch over soil helps save Watering. Your irrigation can easily be The American Horticultural Society's Spring Symposium, to be held March 20-23 in Los water, keeps plant roots cool and controls halved by landscaping with water-con­ Angeles, will feature drought-tolerant plants weeds. It also helps preserve soil structure, serving plants. Apply water slowly and and gardens, among other topics of interest evenly to avoid run-off and evaporation. to Sunbelt gardeners. For more information on the program, write to Robin Williams, LEFT: Cacti such as this beaver-tail cactus, (Drip irrigation systems water deeply and Opuntia basilaris, are among the most American Horticultural Society, P.O. Box thoroughly while saving water.) Water only 0105, Mount Vernon, VA 22121. drought-tolerant of' plants. ABOVE: when the plants need moisture, rather than Lampranthus primivernus, a member of the on an automatic schedule. Check the sub­ Richard M. Adams, II, is a former curator of Aizoaceae, is a native of South Africa. It has the University of California, Riverside, succulent leaves and makes an excellent surface soil for moistness, and look for any Botanic Gardens. He is a frequent contributor ground cover for desert gardens. wilted plants. to American Horticulturist.

American Horticulturist 19 eDay in the OUlltaillS

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DR. JOHN L. CREECH

he United States Department of Mochida; Dr. Max Kawase of the Ohio Agriculture's plant-collecting team Agricultural Research and Development T had just ended a 2,200-mile trip Center, who served as leader of the ex­ through Hokkaido, Japan's northern-most pedition; Dr. Frederick G. Meyer, bota­ island. They had been gathering seeds and nist, and Mr. Sylvester G. March, horti­ plants that would be of particular value in culturist, both of the U.S. National the development of improved trees and Arboretum; and myself, retired director of shrubs for the colder parts of the United the U.S. National Arboretum. The date States. I had just completed a visit to Sap­ was October 8, 1982-about the peak of poro, capital of Hokkaido, where I had the seed-collecting season at Hakkoda-san. been gathering information on Louis (Japanese mountains are usually given the Boehmer, a little-known horticulturist who honorific title san. ) worked for an American mission in Hok­ Hakkoda-san, our destination, is a 1,600- kaido in 1872. meter-high (about 5,200 feet) mountain to Before we left the U.S., we had arranged which many foreigners have come to col­ to meet and make a short collecting stop lect plants over the years. Professor C. S. at Mt. Hakkoda. We met at the port of Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum, and Hakodate on Hokkaido and were ferried Charles Maries, a British plant explorer, over to Aomori, a city on the northern tip collected here in the late nineteenth cen­ of the island of Honshu. At Aomori, we tury, and E. H. Wilson of the Arnold Ar­ rented a van and met our Japanese col­ boretum visited in 1914. I had collected ABOVE: Mt. Hakkoda at the height of the seed-collecting season in autumn. BELOW: league, Dr. K. Mochida, head of the Hak­ on Hakkoda-san in 1955 with the famous Members of the plant-collecting team gather koda Botanical Laboratory of Tohoku Japanese botanist H. Takeda, and again in Tilia fruits and branches for herbarium University. The team now consisted of Dr. 1961. For the other members of the team, specimens.

20 December 1984 it was the first visit. But Meyer, March developing plants for landscape purposes.) and the road from Aomori was clogged and I had worked together in similar We also planned to collect other species with cars. mountain habitats in Japan on several ear­ we encountered if they were fruiting and On our drive to Hakkoda-san, we jotted lier occasions. In addition, Kawase, Meyer looked promising. down notes on places where the collecting and March were fresh from their collecting Hakkoda-san is part of the Towada­ promised to be rewarding. It was after­ work in Hokkaido. There was plenty of Hachimantai National Park, and consists noon when we reached the laboratory, so experience on the team. of eight dormant volcanoes that are cov­ we stowed our gear and made a survey of Dr. Kawase had established a number ered with mixed conifer-deciduous forests the area. In a nearby bog called Suirenuma, of target sp€cies for collecting, including and alpine bog communities. There are nu­ we gathered seed of flex crenata, the com­ Abies mariesii, a handsome, high-moun­ merous hot springs and spas in the area, mon Japanese holly; 1. sugerokii, an ever­ tain fir; Tilia japonica, a fine, round-headed the most famous and probably the largest green holly similar to I. crenata but with shade tree species not cultivated to any of which is Sukayu, a meandering collec­ red fruit; and Alnus pendula. Lower down extent in the United States; and Rhodo­ tion of buildings on several levels, com­ at Tsutanuma (numa means bog-in this dendron japonicum, a red-flowered azalea plete with restaurants, shops, overnight case, tsuta, or ivy bog), we found plemty whose northern limit 0f natural distribu­ accommodations and large communal hot of seeding plants of 1. crenata var. radicans tion is Hakkoda. (More and more, collec­ spring baths. Although we stayed at the (a decumbent form of Japanese holly), tors and plant breeders are recognizing the nearby botanical laboratory, we ate and Magnolia hypoleuca (formerly M. obo­ importance of collecting from various pre­ bathed at the Sukayu Onsen. Meals were vata) and Aucuba japonica var. borealis­ selected localities within the total range of also brought over to us. Sukayu operates all of interest either for direct use or for a promising species. This method of col­ during the spring and autumn months, but breeding. When we returned to the labo­ lecting enables br~eders to take advantage doses down in winter when the snows reach ratory at dusk, bad news awaited us: a of the individual variation within a spe­ impassable depths. However, this was a typhoon was now off the coast of northern cies-such as urlUsual cold hardiness at the weekend at the peak of the fall color, so Honshu, and rain and high winds were northern portion of a plant's range-when everything was operating at full capacity, forecast for the next day.

American Horticulturist 21 Saturday, October 9, dawned with the expected leaden skies, some wind, and rain showers, but the weather was not bad enough to halt our fieldwork. We loaded the van and descended to Kayankogen, a parkland, where we had observed Tilia ja­ ponica the previous day. This linden is a close relative of the European linden, T. cordata. The Japanese linden is a hand­ some, round-headed tree that should be more desirable than the European linden, because it reaches only 60 feet at maturity. (The European linden grows to 90 feet.) Nurserymen are always interested in small trees for residential landscaping. T. japon­ ica grows in temperate forests throughout Japan, but we were in the northern part of its range, so the plants collected here would be more cold-hardy than plants from farther south. In Japan, the linden is I!lsed for building material, and in earlier times, the tough inner bark was woven into rope. An excellent honey tree, it is admired for its fragrant flowers and golden fall color. Unfortunately, the Japanese linden is not available in American nUFseries at this time. So here we were, an eager team in a parkland naturally landscaped with scores of specimen trees of T. japonica, at just the right time for a bountiful seed crop. At first we were apprehensive, because the closest trees were barren, but as we moved deeper into the park, the trees were well fruited. The park was a curious sight that day; it was occupied by scores of student land surveyors carrying out practical ex­ aminations. Campsites, transit lines, tapes, judges' tables and hundreds of surveyors were everywhere. Wandering through this confusion were five plant collectors snip­ ping branches with pole pruners, stuffing seeds in canvas bags and wrapping her­ barium specimens in newsprint. But we respected each other's purposes, and our team was rewarded with an excellent crop of T. japonica seed. We retraced our route to the top of Hak­ koda-san, stopping at several sites along the way to collect specimens. One such site was Kanzuigawa, at an altitude of 730 meters (about 2,400 feet). We dispersed to collect in the sparse woods bordering the road. Dr. Meyer returned with a number of specimens, including both fruit and cut­ tings of a great find: the yellow-fruited form of Lindera umbellata. This species, a relative of our native spicebush, L. ben­ zoin, is the only Japanese species of this genus found in northern Japan. Like all

TOP RIGHT: Pine, holly, azaleas and Vaccinium sp. display brilliant autumn color at the edge of Mt. Hakkoda's bogs. BOTTOM RIGHT: Team members had to use a telescopic pole pruner to reach and collect seed.

22 December 1984 to be rather unproductive), so we stopped be completed every evening of every day along the roadside at the edge of a wooded there was fieldwork, and no one left for site near the river. Here, we gathered seeds bed until they were all finished. of the Japanese wingnut, Pterocarya rhoi­ On the final day, October 10 (Sunday), folia, a tree that grows to 75 feet and bears we scheduled our departure for early after­ winged nuts in long, necklace-like catkins. noon. First, however, we had to collect the We then made our way to the river. Col­ fir Abies mariesii and the hemlock Tsuga lecting here was out of the question, how­ diversifolia, both of which occurred at the ever, as the water was bordered by tall summit of Tamoyachidake (at 1,300 me­ hemlocks and beech, oak and ash trees, so ters or about 4,200 feet). By now, the wind we decided to head back to Hakkoda. had died down, so we took the ropeway. "Skip" March wanted to collect the di­ We could see a solid stand of fir and hem­ minutive water lily with white flowers, lock below the cable car, but from the Nymphaea tetragona var. tetragona, for summit we had to work our way down to the National Arboretum's water plant col­ the trees. Penetrating shoulder-high Sasa lections. We had seen it the previous day, bamboo-still partially iced-proved to be and although we had full authority to col­ a real struggle. Everyone tripped and fell lect, it would not have created a good down the slope to where the conifers dom­ impression to do so in front of the public. inated the bamboo thickets. Then we had So at dusk, as the cold fog began to settle, to crawl along the slanted moss floor or we stopped the van near the vast sphag­ resort to aerial acrobatics on the interlaced num bog below the laboratory. Dr. Mo­ hemlock branches. Occasionally, we had chida knew of several interior pools in the to pop up like ground squirrels to keep bog where we could find the plant. Reach­ track of each other. Despite the difficulties, ing these pools required sloshing through we discovered many hemlock cones and the bog and across holly-rhododendron managed to gather an ample supply. We thickets for several hundred yards. The light returned to the summit by pulling and had faded quickly, and the sounds of the thrashing our way up through the bam­ highway had ceased. If any of us had lost boo, to the amusement of sightseers look­ our way here, it could have been quite ing down from above. serious, as the temperature was barely above At the summit, we found a number of freezing. When we arrived at a pool, which fine specimens of Abies mariesii, with cones was perhaps eight feet across, it was im­ still not shattered. These trees yielded to possible to reach the plants. Dr. Mochida the climbing skills of March and Mochida. stripped to his underwear, slipped into the Thus having fulfilled our objectives, we icy water and extracted some roots from returned to the laboratory, completed the the mud. He quickly dressed and led us necessary final packing, and took some back to the now-darkened road. After re­ photographs of the scenic green, gold and turning to the laboratory, we accompanied scarlet vegetation for which Hakkoda is Dr. Mochida to the Sukayu hot spring bath famous. We then drove down the moun­ species of spicebush, the fruit is normally to soak away the chills. As we bathed, we tain, held a farewell dinner with Dr. Mo­ black at maturity. Such yellow-berried praised Dr. Mochida for his courage. chida, and boarded the night express from plants are of interest for landscape pur­ Work was, of course, still far from fin­ Aomori to Tokyo. We were typical ex­ poses. Since we could find only one ref­ ished. The plants we had collected had to amples of what the Japanese call henna erence to the yellow-fruited type in the be washed free of soil, cuttings needed to gaijin (strange foreigners), carrying our 25 literature, it was an exciting collection both be prepared and wrapped in damp sphag­ pieces of baggage in relays to the train. In botanically and horticulturally. num, and seeds had to be cleaned of fruit all, we had gathered some 52 collections At this stop we also collected female and packaged for shipping. Some seed re­ of significant plants, together with 44 her­ plants of the decumbent Aucuba japonica quired special handling; acorns, for ex­ barium collections, at this short stop at var. borealis, which occurs only in north­ ample, must be shipped in moist moss, Hakkoda-san. ern Japan and is an excellent plant for use because they usually germinate en route. The results of our trip will be shared as a coarse evergreen edging. Ample seed In addition, the field notes had to be com­ with the sponsoring institutions-the U.S. of Magnolia salicifolia, a small pyramidal pleted for each collection, and labels-with National Arboretum, the Chicago Botan­ tree that grows to 30 feet, was also on names, appropriate field numbers, and ical Garden, and the North-Central Re­ hand. It was exciting to find this species special instructions for the propagators at gional State Experiment Stations. The suc­ in fruit, especially at the far northern limit the Arboretum- had to be prepared. (Ul­ cess of our "one-day-in-the-mountains" of its range. Japanese villagers enjoy this timately, all living collections were sent by may not be immediately apparent, but it magnolia because it has fragrant bark and air mail to the USDA Quarantine Facility wiH no doubt be revealed in the years to pure white flowers, and is a harbinger of at Beltsville, Maryland.) Meanwhile, Dr. come. n spring. Meyer worked on his herbarium material, In the afternool} the sky had cleared, and completing his field notes and drying the Dr. John L. Creech is a past president of the we drove down to a small river called Oir­ specimens, which would be sent to the Uni­ American Horticultural Society and former ase-gawa. Open, sunny stream banks, edges director of the U.S. National Arboretum. A versity of Tokyo Botanical Garden for fi­ world-renowned authority on azaleas, he is of woods and newly cut roads are usually nal processing and shipment to the Na­ co-author of the recent Japanese reprint of A productive collecting sites (deep forests tend tional Arboretum. All these tasks had to Brocade Pillow: Azaleas of Old Japan .

American Horticulturist 23 BY PETER LOEWER

he night before our first visit to houses: Glyndor, with administrative of­ Wave Hill was spent fighting a fices, and Wave Hill House, which in­ Ttraffic jam on the Henry Hudson cludes galleries, a gift shop, the Learning Parkway and driving in circles for what Center and the Toscanini Archives. There seemed' like hours in search of a place to is also a large greenhouse, an alpine house, park for the night. Next, my wife and I the Herb Garden, the Wild Garden, the stepped nimbly around mounds of garbage Aquatic Garden, a shaded garden (under that lined many Manhattan streets, and development), and woodland nature trails. partially digested an overpriced and un­ Wave Hill House was built on 15 acres usually tasteless meal in a Greenwich Vil­ in 1843 by the jurist William Lewis Morris lage restaurant. The damp heat rose from as a summer home for his young wife. It the city streets; concrete had been soaking was to be a place far from the heat and up the sun for months, and this September noise of a growing city. It is rumored that night lacked both breathable air and cool­ the name originated with Mrs. Morris; as mg ram. Mr. Morris carried his new bride up the After a mostly sleepless night filled with hill from the river-no mean feat even for the sounds of traffic and low-flying air­ someone in perfect health-she saw the hill craft, we picked up the car. Soon we were and exclaimed, "It looks like a wave." directly involved in the New York City Peter Loewer By 1849, when the railroad was intro­ rush hour, playing a three-dimensional ABOVE: Wave Hill House. RIGHT: The duced, the area was only 30 minutes from video game with a bumper-to-bumper line great lawn at Wave Hill offers a spectacular midtown Manhattan, and more people of cars, all searching for a way to drive on view of the Hudson River and Palisades of came. Two planned villa communities were what's left of the West Side Highway. New Jersey. soon constructed- one to the north of the Eventually, we moved uptown, past the Morris house in 1852, and one to the south George Washington Bridge, north on the As we walked through the gate, 50 years in 1856. Then in 1866, William Henry Henry Hudson Parkway and over the Har­ slipped away. Traffic stopped, planes ceased Appleton, of the famous publishing house, lem River. Leaving the Parkway at 254th to fly, and a sky of cerulean blue displayed bought Wave Hill. He cut a road to join Street, we turned left at the stop sign, left just enough puffs of cloud to contrast per­ the villa developments, and the community at the traffic light, and then right at 249th fectly with a golden sun and the free­ of Riverdale was begun. Street. Following discrete green and white wheeling sea gulls gliding above. The Hud­ Appleton changed Wave Hill into a grand signs labeled "Wave Hill," we finally son River flowed gently by, and the breeze Victorian estate. He built a greenhouse and reached the gate. that swept up the immaculate lawns smelled stable, made extensive landscape plantings I've always had a problem with things of the sea. (The waters of the Atlantic (silver maples, Norway maples and copper mechanical-a lack of patience on my part. sometimes move up the river .) beeches), and imported exotic plants from It was inevitable that the first thing to oc­ Wave Hill is in the northwest corner of the world's four corners. The estate be­ cur after parking the car was the jamming the Bronx, one of five boroughs that make came an intellectual center of the day; such of the trunk lock. After five minutes of up the whole of New York City, in an area luminaries as William Thackeray and T. jiggling, the lid suddenly snapped up, nar­ called Riverdale. Its 28 acres overlook the H. Huxley were known to stop by for tea. rowly missing my beard. At the same in­ river and beyond to the Palisades of New In 1903 George W. Perkins bought the stant, I dropped my camera bag, and five Jersey-great rock cliffs that bear evidence Appleton property and created an 80-acre boxes of film wound up under the car. My of the might of geological change-but the estate with several houses, including Wave temper was short. mid-morning haze veiled the views of up­ Hill and the neighboring manor house of After gathering my equipment, note­ state New York far to the north and the Oliver Harriman, called Glyndor. Perkins book and pen, we walked through the gate, George Washington Bridge just to the south. then hired a royal landscape gardener from noting that at ten-thirty in the morning, Today, Wave Hill is a public garden . Vienna, Albert Millard, to help him design the parking lot was almost full. landscaped to perfection. There are two and develop a garden that would be worldly

24 December 1984 American Horticulturist 25 26 December 1984 in turn, jostled by the strands of love-lies­ bleeding, Amaranthus caudatus. Brightly­ colored nicotianas sparkled against a backdrop of the giant leaves of the castor bean, Ricinus communis. The nicotianas and castor beans were guarded by tall cos­ mos, both pink and white. We then passed through the Herb Gar­ den-whose orderly paths divided dozens of different plantings-and climbed steep steps to the pebbled walks of the Wild Garden. This area, developed on a natural slope that overlooks the two houses below, features an overgrown summerhouse at its peak, a cool and dark spot with one chair that looks through a screen of living brush to the garden. This garden is wild in plan only. It is not an English-style garden with neat groupings of plants all contained and fet­ tered, but rather a staggering collection of stems and flowers, tints and textures-more like the blur of an impressionistic painting than a landscape by Gainsborough. Near the center is a staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, its main trunk bounded by smaller suckers. The whole effect is one of gnarled age far in excess of the plant'S actual 50 years. And all along the garden's winding paths, grasses grow next to cacti, ferns touch annuals, and sunflowers hob­ nob with thistles. I stopped to put down my weighty cam­ era bag and marvel at the burgeoning seed pods of some mature cannas, Canna x generalis. In this garden, cannas are not ripped up after blooming but left to seed in a natural way. "What are you doing?" asked an elderly gentleman who carried a folded copy of the New York Post and a small plastic bag with two peach pits while he held a third peach, half-eaten, in his hand. "I'm writing an article on the park," I LEIT: Near the center of the Wild Garden is an impressive specimen of staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina. ABOVE: An annual garden overlooking the great lawn is filled with spider flowers, replied. Cleome sp. BELOW: The Herb Garden, built on the foundation of the old greenhouse, con­ "That's too bad," he said. " It's such a tains approximately 100 herbs. beautiful place that once you know of it, you want to keep it private. I don't mean and charming, and that would also con­ Wave Hill, Inc. was formed to manage the that in a selfish way, but it's almost too form to the natural topography of the area. property and plan the course of its devel­ fine for people." After Perkins died in 1920, his widow opment. With city funds and private do­ "I don't entirely disagree," I answered. continued to manage the estate. In 1926 nations, the public gardens have continued "Do you come here often?" she hired a Scottish gardener, John Suth­ to grow under the skilled leadership of "As often as I can. There's always some­ erland, to replace Millard, and in that year, Marco Polo Stufano, director of horticul­ thing happening in this garden, whatever 20 men worked on the grounds, while three ture, and a dedicated and sophisticated staff the time .... It's even beautiful in the win­ more worked in the greenhouse. For the of gardeners. ter. The gardener is a nice man, and the next 40 years, both family and tenants We walked along a paved path, past young people who work here are won­ continued to live on the estate. During this Glyndor and under a vine-covered pergola derful. Once you get dirt under your fin­ time, Mrs. Perkins donated two houses to with an unobstructed view of the river and gernails, I guess you become a different the Riverdale Country School, as well as the Palisades beyond. Here was a garden person." land to New York'City for a Park-Along­ made entirely of annuals, but so perfectly We wished him a good day and contin­ the-River. The transition from public to done that it looked more like a perennial ued along, gingerly stepping around a private estate was completed in 1960, when border. A mix of pink and white spider sprinkler that arched high above our heads Wave Hill House and Glyndor, along with plants, Cleo me hasslerana, stood among and covered the waving plumes of a 28 acres, were donated to the City. In 1965, vast stands of dahlias. These flowers were, blooming ornamental grass with drops that

American Horticulturist 27 sparkled like diamonds. We soon reached the Aquatic Garden, where a formal lil y pool was surrounded by more wondrous mounds of ornamental grasses- Calamagrostis arundinacea var. brachytricha, Pennisetum alopecuroides, and species of Miscanthus. At one end was a healthy planting of the sacred lotus, Nel­ umbo nucifera, its huge, rippled leaves set above the water on stout stems. A small child, first enchanted but soon bored, was dishing up handfuls of water and tossing them at the leaves to watch the droplets shimmer and fa ll back into the water like quicksilver, repelled by the surface of the leaves. A middle-aged couple was watching a green heron artfully dive for fish in the pond. "He's been here for days," said the man. "If you don't move too fast, he'll ignore Peter Loewer us." fir (Cunninghamia sp.), which, from its The man turned out to be the retired re­ A dragonfly darted from one water lily arched top, must offer a superb view of gistry clerk at the Riverdale Post Office to another. High above, a jet bound for the river. who sometimes substituted as a carrier Europe left a white trail in the sky but was Next we passed the new alpine house whenever the office was shorthanded. so quiet it did not intrude on the scene. (then still under construction) that would "Those were wonderful days around We watched the bird in its quest. house choice rock garden and alpine plants. here," he said. "So quiet ... . Why, the " Do you come here often?" I asked. When covered by the snows in their high­ British government leased this as the home "Every day that we can," answered the mountain habitats, these wild gems are of the British Ambassador to the United woman. "We live at the other end of the hardened to the ~orst climates of the world. Nations in the early '50's. Madame Chiang Bronx and come by bus. This is such a . Subjected to the rigors of a New York Kai-shek stayed in the neighborhood. And beautiful and peaceful place." climate, however, they need all the pro­ Toscanini . . .. I remember when he would We left them and walked on, behind the tection they can get. The alpine house is walk his dog before concerts, all dressed pool and under a cool and dark-tunneled called the T. H . Everett Greenhouse, in up in top hat and tails." pergola festooned with annual vines; honor of the senior horticulturist-specialist Later that afternoon, my wife and I re­ gourds, morning-glories, moonflowers at the New York Botanical Garden just a turned to Wave Hill to attend the Annual (some shriveled and dead, others ready to few miles away. Garden Party given by the Friends of Hor­ open that night), cardinal climbers (Ipom­ As we walked back along the path to ticulture at Wave Hill. Shadows from the oea X multifida, formerly Quamoclit X Glyndor, I remembered another aspect of sun setting over the Palisades lengthened sloteri) and cypress vines (I. quamoclit, Wave Hill: the new and permanent home across the river under a clear sky. Two formerly Q. pennata) all fought for air, of the Toscanini Collection, consisting of musicians-a violinist and a cellist-sat next their leaves and tendrils a maze of twisted all of the maestro's commercial recordings to a giant clump of ravenna grass (Erian ­ green strings against the shadow of the and tapes of approximately 150 concerts, thus ravennae) and played Mozart. The noon sun. Through a break in the leaves, most of which have never been released to night was cool, and the air had lost its we looked back upon the pool with the the public. humid feel. We talked with visitors and couple watching and the heron still fishing. Back on December 1, 1980, a demoli­ many of the staff about the gardens of We soon reached Wave Hill House. tion crew- without warning-began tear­ today and of the future. Stopping at the sales desk, we picked up ing down one of Riverdale's historic treas­ "We have many plans," said Mr. Stu­ a guide to the Conifer Walk. Out of 54 ures: Villa Pauline, the former mansion of fano. "The Shade Garden, the Monocot genera of conifers growing on earth, 24 Arturo Toscanini. Concerned members of Garden .... But I guess the biggest prob­ are found at Wave Hill; two additional the community did not sit idly by. Re­ lem is to keep up the quality of care that genera native to a warmer climate are in membering that Toscanini had once rented we give to the gardens while still having the greenhouse. Wave Hill for four years and would have the means to expand their scope." The well-designed guide gives a natural purchased the estate had it been up for As twilight deepened, lights came on history of the conifers and, with the help sale, this group of people suggested that along the walkways leading guests to din­ of drawings, shows the distinctive char­ Wave Hill could be the new home for the ner at Glyndor. The sky turned purple, and acteristics of the individual species. The collections and the memorabilia. over the garden's rise the lights that string walk carries you over most of the grounds: On November 10, 1981, the Toscanini the George Washington Bridge came on from an aged white pine (Pinus strobus) Collection was dedicated, and 50 tapes of and twinkled in the river's slight haze. New just to the rear of the house, to a grouping NBC concerts were incorporated in the York seemed far, far away. 6 of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); past Wave Hill Library. Today, 137 of the 231 a magnificent Japanese cedar (Crypto­ broadcasts the maestro led with the NBC Peter Loewer is a botanical artist and meria sp. ), then on to a giant seq"lOia (Se ­ scientific illustrator who writes and illustrates Symphony Orchestra are on file and tape. his own books. He is the author of Peter quoiadendron giganteum ) and a huge China We stopped to talk with another couple. Loewer's Month-By-Month Garden Almanac.

28 December 1984 FAR LEFT: A sculpture by Mary Frank stands above the ornamental grasses that sur­ round the pool. ABOVE: Water lil­ ies and papyrus add an ornamental touch to the Water Garden. LEFT: Col­ orful autumn leaves and the blue and green foliage of evergreen conifers highlight the Wild Garden.

American Horticulturist 29 BY ALLEN LACY

Michael Lacy

hen it's cold and gray outdoors, But I've always had more than my share about which color to get, I bring one home among the cheeriest of indoor of problems with the florist's cyclamen, with high hopes. But the story has always W sights are potted cyclamen from Cyclamen persicum, which has been hy­ had, until quite recently, the same sad de­ the local florist. The color range of these bridized for generations. C. persicum is a nouement: a couple of weeks after ac­ undeniable beauties includes flamboyant tender species native to the eastern Med­ quiring the latest in my long line of cycla­ crimsons and fuchsias, as well as more sub­ iterranean. It's finicky about both tem­ men, I come downstairs for breakfast and tle pinks and lavenders, not to mentiolil perature and moisture; it dislikes direct discover that its flowers are sprawling, its whites as pristine and lovely as new-fallen sunlight and temperatures of more than buds dropping, and its leaves turning a snow. I've always loved the upswept, 68° F during the day or less than 55° F at sallow yellowish-brown. strongly-reflexed petals of these plants, so night. The books on house plants all offer But now there's a happy ending. Last perky and graceful, and so strongly rem­ the not-very-specific advice that it will year I did not buy a cyclamen; someone iniscent of the flowers of shooting-star. bloom for two or three months provided gave us one just before Christmas, and it What's more, cyclamen's heart-shaped its soil is kept "moist, but not too moist." was still blooming, if looking a little leaves-as mottled as trout-are, by them­ Over the years, I have had a consistent peaked, when I threw it away after Me­ selves, fetching, and call to mind Gerard pattern with these temperamental charm­ morial Day. This fall I bought four cycla- Manley Hopkins' joyous outcry, "Glory ers: I've never been able to meet their needs. be to God for dappled things." Each time around, after much indecision Miniature cyclamen overlook a winter scene.

30 December 1984 men, in four different colors. I liked them and they aren't as persnickety about being conservative in estimating their season of so much that I went out and got four more, kept " moist but not too moist." The ex­ bloom. However, in a telephone conver­ in slightly different shades. And again, they perts still advise keeping them out of direct sation he told me he knew of instances in stayed in full and glorious bloom well into sunlight, but my plants seem to have no which some had stayed in bloom one solid the summer. complaints thus far about their location in year. ) I take no credit for my sudden success windows on the west side of the house. Personally, I like the miniature cyclamen with these lovely plants, and nothing has They bloom prolificall y-and over a long even better than the old C. persicum. changed in the treatment I've given them. period of time. (In his technical publica­ They're sold in four-inch pots, not the six­ What has changed are the cyclamen, thanks tions on the subject, Dr. Seeley has been inch ones their bigger brothers require. As to the problems that have beset greenhouse a result, they fit easily on windowsills, four operators since the onset of the energy cri­ or five per sill. In my own kitchen, where sis, the ingenuity of plant breeders, and I keep them, the sills are high enough that the work of Dr. John Seeley, Professor the plants are almost at eye level, so I can Emeritus of Ornamental Horticulture at look at them in a new way, discovering Cornell University. Dr. Seeley realized sev­ the fascinations of their architectural eral years ago that some new and richly eeds of miniature cyclamen, unlike structure. The round, flattened tuber of promising cultivars of cyclamen were be­ seeds of their hardy kin, require no each cyclamen sits above the soil in its pot. stratification. Before planting, they coming available from hybridizers in Hol­ S Each leaf and flower is borne on its own should be soaked in warm water (warm land, Switzerland, Germany and Japan. individual stalk, and all of the stalks are These new strains, developed by crossing to the wrist) for 24 hours, a trick managed arranged in an intricate and attractive spi­ the old florist's cyclamen with the much by putting them in a Thermos bottle or raling pattern that I suspect mathemati­ placing them near the pilot light of a gas tinier and hardier species C. purpurascens, cians would identify as exemplifying that oven. Thereafter, they should be germi­ had a great deal to offer. They appealed most elegant of numerical arrangements, nated in the dark at a constant temperature to Dr. Seeley, who was convinced that both the Fibonacci series. the interest of the public and that of the of 60° F. Dr. Seeley recommends 68 ° F. Cyclamen, I now discover, are wonder­ The plants require constant moisture from floral industry would be well served by fully suited as house plants for placement germination, which takes from four to eight developing potted plants so cheap to pro­ on windowsills in groups. If it's dark out­ weeks, until blossoming finishes. If growth duce that they could be sold for under $5. side when I get home from work, the first The most immediately obvious feature is checked, blooms may not appear. thing I see is the bright rows of them in of these new cyclamen is their small size­ There is considerable variation in the both kitchen windows, where they glow onset of bloom, even within the same strain. less than half the size of the ones I used to with the light from inside. In the mornings, buy and then torture to death. These small The plants must be pot-bound if they are when the sun from the east touches the to flower. plants don't take up much greenhouse bench snowdrifts in the garden beyond the win­ space. Many more can be grown in a given It is possible to save these cyclamen from dow, the plants become wonderfully trans­ area than before, so the energy costs per one season to the next, inducing dormancy lucent with subtle color. plant are considerably less. And while cy­ during the summer by laying pots on their I could raise these new, fairly unde­ clamen used to take 15 months or more sides and withholding water. When new manding, and quite marvelous cyclamen to flower from seed, these new ones can growth of leaves first appears (described from seed, I'm told. But techniques for be induced to flower in eight or nine months; by some as little, worm-like projections on propagation are somewhat complicated, therefore, seeds planted in mid-February the tubers that rest on top of the soil), the and I have a lazy streak. Besides, the own­ can be sold in full bloom from Thanks­ pots need to be righted and watering should ers of the retail greenhouse just down the be resumed. giving to Valentine's Day, a busy season street have been selling them lately for only for the nation's florists. Especially good specimens grown from $2.99. Unless they raise their prices quite The economic benefits of these new, seed can be propagated vegetatively, if de­ a bit, I'll let them do the work. I'll still scaled-down cyclamen to florists and sired, by lightly scooping out the top-cen­ have all the cyclamen's beauty- and a ter of a tuber with a sterile knife and then greenhouse operators are obvious, but since grateful heart for Dr. Seeley. 6 I am not in the trade, I find the benefits painting the cut surface with alcohol. The mildly boring. What does excite me is that numerous small pips that subsequently form Allen Lacy, a professor of philosophy at these miniature pl;mts are tough enough in the cavity may be planted separately and Stockton State College in New Jersey, grown on to maturity. contributes regularly to the gardening column to survive my less-than-scrupulous care. of The Wall Street Journal. He is the author They can take a little heat in their stride, of Home Ground: A Gardener's Miscellany.

American Horticulturist 31 Sources

THE GINSENG FAMILY The following specialists offer many cacti ends, $2.00 (senior citi zens $1.00, children The following companies offer an excel­ and succulents that are appropriate for under 14 free). For specific directions to lent selection of ivy cultivars and other desert gardens: the gardens, information on memberships and a schedule of events, write Member­ family members: Altman Specialty Plants, 26963 Sea Vista Glasshouse Works, 10 Church Street, Drive, Malibu, CA 90265, catalogue ship Secretary, Wave Hill, 675 West 252 Stewart, OH 45778, catalogue free. $1.00. Street, Bronx, NY 10471. Cycadia, 17337 Chase Street, Northridge, Logee's Greenhouses, 55 North Street, MINIATURE CYCLAMEN Danielson, CT 06239, catalogue $2.50. CA 91328, catalogue free. Seed for miniature cyclamen is available Merry Gardens, Camden, ME 04843, cat­ Grigsby Cactus Gardens, 2354 Bella Vista from: alogue free. Drive, Vista, CA 92082, catalogue $1.00. Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc., PO Box Tropexotic Growers, 708 60th Street, NW, Highland Succulents, Eureka Star Route, 31, Greenwood, SC 29647, catalogue Bradenton, FL 33529, catalogue free. Gallipolis, OH 45631, catalogue $1.00. K & L Cactus Nursery, 12712 Stockton free . Thompson and Morgan, PO Box 100, Far­ DESERT NATIVES Blvd., Galt, CA 95632, catalogue $1.00. Mesa Flora, Star Route 1, Box 1047, 1163 mingdale, NJ 07727, catalogue free. (The Seed for water-conserving plants-both Luna Mesa, Yucca Valley, CA 92284, Customer Service Department provides native and foreign species-is available catalogue $2.00. detailed information for home growers from: Pacific Tree Farms, 4301 Lynwood Drive, about the propagation of these plants.) J. L. Hudson, Seedsman, PO Box 1058, Chula Vista, CA 92010, catalogue free. Readers who enjoyed Allen Lacy's ar- Redwood City, CA 94064, catalogue Singers' Growing Things, 17806 Plummer ticle may want to order Home Ground: A $1.00. Street, Northridge, CA 91324, cata­ Gardener's Miscellany, which was re­ International Seed Supplies, PO Box 538, logue $1.50. viewed in the August 1984 issue of Amer­ Nowra, NSW Australia 2541, catalogue Ed Storms, Inc., PO Box 775, Azle, TX ican Horticulturist. Home Ground is a se­ free. 76020, catalogue $1.00. ries of essays on a myriad of gardening Plants of the Southwest, 1570 Pacheco subjects. It is available at the AHS discount Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501, catalogue The Saratoga Horticultural Foundation, price of $13.45, including postage and free. Inc., offers publications 5f interest to dry­ handling. To order, write Jeanne Egge­ Rainman Succulent Nursery, 20101 Han­ land gardeners. Selected California Native man, AHS, PO Box 0105, Mount Vernon, son Road, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, list Plants in Color is an excellent guide, with VA 22121. free. photographs of over 100 native plants, and Clyde Robin Seed Company, Inc., PO Box is available for $7.75, including postage THE FLOWERING HOUSE 2855, Castro Valley, CA 94546, cata­ and handling. A second publication, Suc­ PLANT FAMILY logue $2.00. cess List of Water-Conserving Plants, is The following companies offer a wide va­ Southwestern Native Seeds, Box 50503, also available for $7.75. The two books riety of gesneriad family members: Tucson, AZ 85703, catalogue free. may be purchased as a set for $13.50, in­ Thompson and Morgan, PO Box 100, cluding postage and handling. Plants Farmingdale, NJ 07727, catalogue free. To order the above publications, write Buell's Greenhouses, Inc., PO Box 21818, Saratoga Horticultural Foundation, 15185 Eastford, CT 06242, catalogue $.25. Murphy Avenue, San Martin, CA 95046. Country Hills Greenhouse, Route 2, Cor­ ning, OH 43730, catalogue free. Many public gardens in the desert Glasshouse Works, 10 Church Street, Box Southwest have periodic plant sales that 97, Stewart, OH 45778, catalogue free. are excellent sources of rare, desert-tol­ Kartuz Greenhouses, Inc. , 1408 Sunset erant plants. Write or call the botanical Drive, Vista, CA 92083, catalogue $1.00. gardens in your area for information about Lauray of Salisbury, Undermountain Rd., their plant sales. For a list of some of the Route 41, Salisbury, CT 06068, cata­ gardens that have such sales, send a self­ logue $1.50. addressed, stamped envelope to Assistants Logee's Greenhouses, 55 North Street, to the Editor, American Horticultural So­ Danielson, CT 06239, catalogue $2.50. ciety, PO Box 0105, Mount Vernon, VA Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc., 14 22121. Mutchler Street, Dolgeville, NY 13329, catalogue $.50. WAVE HILL Geo. W. Park Seed Company, Inc., PO Box Wave Hill is open daily, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 31, Greenwood, SC 29647, catalogue p.m. Admission is free on weekdays; week- free.

32 December 1984 How to give a donation to McKinney's Glasshouse, 89 Mission Road, Eastborough, Wichita, KS 67207, cat­ American Horticultural Society alogue $.75. and save money doing it. Tinari Greenhouses, 2325 Valley Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, cata­ logue free. The Wall Street Journal is a business Village Plants, 5656 Calyn Road, Balti­ newspaper - the Number 1 more, MD 21228, catalogue free. business publication in the country, Zaca Vista Nursery, 1190 Alamo Pintado read every business day by more than Road, Solvang, CA 93463, catalogue free. six million men and women who look to it for the facts, figures, Seed information and insights they need Far North Gardens, 15621 Auburndale to excel in their careers. But The Avenue, Livonia, MI 48154, catalogue Journal is aware that art and culture, free. too, are essential and enriching parts J. L. Hudson, Seedsman, PO Box 1058, of the lives of all of us. Redwood Ci ty, CA 94064, catalogue That is why The Journal has recently $1.00. expanded its daily coverage of the Thompson and Morgan, PO Box 100, Far­ arts and cultural events. And that is mingdale, NJ 07727, ca talogue free. why we're extending this offer to you. Why not subscribe right now? Gesneriad enthusiasts may want to write American Horticultural Society to the following African violet or gesneriad If, right now, you subscribe to will benefit. And, with your own societies for membership information: The Wall Street Journal, $15 will copy of The Wall Street Journal in African Violet Society of America, Clarice be contributed in your name to your hand every business day, so will Bell, Office Manager, Box 1326, Knox­ American Horticultural Society. you. ville, TN 37901. American Gloxinia and Gesneriad Society, Inc., Ellen M. Todd, PO Box 493, Bev­ erly Farms, MA 01915. Gesneriad Hybridizers Association, Anne • THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. • Attn------: Manager of Subscriber Service Already a Journal subscriber? Consider the gift of a Crowley, 88 Maynard Street, Roslin­ I 200 Burnett Road subscription to a business associate or a friend. The dale, MA 02131. • Chicopee, MA 01021 $15 donation will still be made in your name. Gesneriad Society International, June Til­ 0 Yes, please start my subscription to To give a gift of The Wall Street Journal, please • I The Wall Street Journal. provide the information requested below. For correct ley, 1800 Grand, Box 549, Knoxville, 0 One year $101 0 Six months $53 billing, remember to complete the section on the left. TN 37901. o Payment enclosed 0 Bill me When we receive your gift instructions, we'll send an I Saintpaulia International, June Tilley, Box I For credit card billing please check: ;~~~C~;~;ift card to your recipient, hand signed in 0 American Express 0 VISA I 549, Knoxville, TN 37901. I o MasterCard 0 Diners Club Name ______Card # Exp. Date___ Address I Since so many gesneriad family mem­ Signature ______I City State __ Zip ___ bers are grown indoors in terrariums or My name Sign gift card ______under artificial light, the following two or­ Address ______• I o One year $101 0 Six months $53 ganizations may also be of interest: City State __ Zip ___ Indoor Gardening Society of America, Inc., Credit card orders valid only with cardholder Signature, Lim ited time offer - good in continental U.S. only. 6MST ~ Virginie F. Elbert, 801 West End Ave­ nue, New York, NY 10025. The Terrarium Association, Robert C. Baur, ' ... _------57 Wolfpit Avenue, Notwalk, CT 06851. The Miracle Houseplants: African Vi­ HAPPINESS IS olets and Other Easy-to-Bloom Plants in TWO BLUEBIRDS the Gesneriad Family, by Virginie F. and A pair of handcrafted brilliant blue George A. Elbert (Crown Publishers. New crystal glass bluebirds can be shipped York, New York. 2nd Edition. 1984.272 from our workshop to your home for pages. Softcover) is available through the $8.00 + $2.00 shipping. The bluebird Soci€ty. (See "Book Reviews" in the June is America's favorite, a symbol of love, 1984 issue of American Horticulturist for hope, happiness. If not delighted return a review.) Regular price, $11.95; AHS dis­ for full refund. Next day shipping. Send count price, $11.05 including postage and Check or M.O. to: PHOENIX STUDIOS; handling. To order, write Jeanne Egge­ Dept. W8-1; 209 Harold; Fayetteville, man, American Horticultural Society, PO Ark. 72701. About 31/4in. long. Box 0105, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.

American Horticulturist 33 Classifieds

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34 December 1984 Better Seeds ALL NEW 1985 fu ll color " Flowering Jungle GREENHOUSE BOOKS Cacrus" catalog $1.00 (deductible) includes $3. 00 From the G REE NHOUSE M ANAGEMENT-SEC­ co upon (expires 3-15-85). Hundreds of Orchid OND EDITION by Robert W. Langhans, Co r­ Cacti (epiphyllums), Christmas & Eas ter Cacti, nell University Professo r. A book to help yo u Rh ipsalis, Rattail Cacti, Hoyas, succulents. Send manage and understand the equipment and sys­ lorth envelope for FREE Haworthia/Rhipsa lis lists. tems of yo ur greenh ouse. Facts on structures, Wholesale available to dealers. CALIFORNIA so ils, temperature, light, humidity and bi olog­ A t Johnny's Selected Seeds, EPI CENTER, Dept. AH85, Box 1431, Vista, ical pes t control are incl uded. 270 pages, 209 f""\ up here in Albion , Maine, we CA 92083. ill ustra ti o ns. Se nd $21.00 postpa id to develop some of the finest, hardi­ "CATALO G OF UNUSUAL SUCCULENTS" HALCYON PRESS OF ITHACA, 111 Halcyo n est vegetable and flower seeds Discover the largest sel ection of weird and un­ Hill Road, Ithaca, NY 14850. you can buy . usual succulents---over 150 photographs of suc­ HARPER HORTICULTURIST SLIDE culent crests , va riegates, living stones, and odd­ LIBRARY (PAMELA HARPER) balls. Send $1.00 today. "CATALOG OF A Decade Of Research We supply many of the pictures in American UNUSUAL SU CCULENTS" Dept. A- 12, 553 For over 10 yea rs, Johnny's Se­ Buena Creek Ro ad, San Marcos, CA 92069. Horticulturist. Over 50,000 slides of plants and gardens ava ilable. Duplica tes $2.00. Lecture sets lected Seeds has been supplying Cacti/Succu lent plant and seed ca talog. $1. 00. on many topi cs $25.00 renta l. 1983 ca talog avid gardeners like yourself with MESA FLORA NURSERY, N.B.U. 1002, Yucca $1.50. 21 9 Robanna Shores, Seaford, VA 23696 seeds ... hardy, dependable vari ­ Valley, CA 9228 4. (804-898-6453). eties that perform in the most dif­ CARNIVOROUS PLANTS HEA THS & HEATHERS ficult climates and short growing Carnivorous, woodland terrarium pl ants and COLO RFUL HEATHERS shipped UPS. Se nd seasons. Imagine how well these supplies. Book, The W orld of Carnivorous Plants, SASE fo r new 100-cultivar descriptive list. seeds will do in your garden. $6.95 postpaid. Catalog FREE. PETER PAULS HEATHER GROWERS, Box 850, Elma, WA NURSERIES , Canandaigua, NY 14424. 98541. Our professional staff continu­ DAYLILIES HORTICULTURIST WANTED ously tests all of our seeds for CHO ICE DA YLIL Y CO LLECTIO N -12 M ajor Long Island nursery seeks mature, ex­ vitality and germination. Our choice labeled daylily varieties (a ll colors) $35.00 peri enced person to direct the growin g of azal­ standards are higher than the U.S. postpaid. Six for $20.00 postpaid. Our current eas, rhododendrons and oth er ornamental shrubs. Government's, and we guarantee 40-page Dayli ly and Loui siana Iris Catalog is A mi nimum of ten years of relevant horticul­ that our seeds will perform in your available for $2.00. It includes the most ad­ tural experience is required. Salary commen­ vanced tetraploid and diploid daylilies and Lou­ surate with experi ence. Send resume to: QUAL­ garden, to your satisfaction. isiana Iris ava il able anywhere. LOUISIANA ITY PLANTS, INC., 84A Mori chesYaphank NURSERY, Rt. 7, Box 43, Opelousas, LA 70570. Road, M anorvill e, NY 11949. Famous Catalog DWARF CONIFERS HORTIDEAS-GARDEN NEWS Our catalog, famous for the vast Over 170 types of dwarf conifers described by YOU CAN USE amount of gardening information size, shape, color and texture. Many types suit­ " BEST GA RDENING N EWSLETTER!" say it holds, is almost more of a man­ experi enced orn amental, vegetable, and fruit able for Bonsai. 50 page catalog $1.00 (refund­ ual than a catalog. It will make able). Botanic Plant List FREE. WASHIN G­ growers. Why? More pages, more articles, more TON EVERGREEN NURSERY, Box 388AH, usefu l information. Facts, not fluff! Monthly you a better gardener. Once you Leicester, NC 28 748 . (704) 683-4518. coverage of new methods, tools, plants, publi­ see our catalog you'll know why cations, important technical developments. Full gardeners, beginning and ad­ EDUCATION references; annually indexed. One year, $10. vanced turn to Johnny's Selected THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN Sample issue, $1. Sati sfa ction guaranteed. SCHOOL OF HORTICULTURE. A program HORTIDEAS A, Gravel Switch, KY 40328. Seeds as the most reliable and in­ formed supplier of garden seeds. designed to train professional horticulturists HOUSE PLANTS through a combin ation of academic work and NEW! Color catalog, 1984-86- $3 .00, now lists practical field experience. Curriculu m includes 2,000 unusual Indoor Plants-Begonias, Exotics, Write for your FREE 96-page botany, horticulture and landscape design, with Gerani ums, J asmines, H erbs . LOGEE' S catalog today! work experience at both the Bo tanical Garden GREENHOUSES, AH, 55 North Street, Dan­ in the Bronx and at the Cary Arboretum in ielson-, CT 06239. Millbrook, NY. Full-time and part-time pro­ grams available. Licensed by the New York State ORCHIDS, GESNERIADS, BEGONIAS, CACTI FREE CATALOG Education Department. For catalogue write: & SUCCULENTS. Visitors welcome. 1984-85 School of Horticulru re, Education Building, THE Catalog $1.50. LAURA Y OF SALISBURY, Rt. Please send my FREE copy of NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN, Bronx, 41 (Undermountain Rd. ), Salisbury, CT 06068 Johnny's Selected Seeds 1985 New York 10458. or call : (212) 220-8739. (203 ) 435-2263 . catalog. HOY A SPECIAL FLOWER ARRANGING SUPPLIES What's a hoya: six each different hoya cuttings. Name Carefully selected supplies, equipment and ac­ $14.95 postpaid, $1.00 fo r descriptive list and cessories fo r flower arranging, corsages, house­ growing instructi ons. Satisfaction guaranteed. plants. Illustrated catalog 25 ¢ . Retai lers use let­ SAN LUIS GARDENS, 4816 Bridgecreek, San Address terhead. DOROTHY BIDDLE SERVICE, GM3, Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Greeley, PA 18425-9799. INDOOR-OUTDOOR GARDENING Town GREENHOUSE ACCESSORIES SUPPLIES COMPLETE MIST PROPAGATION SYS ­ " FREE CATALOGUE" . .. " LOWEST State Zip ______TEMS. Get phenomenal propagation results­ PRICES- TOP QUALITY SUPPLIES" . .. Plas- Greater fi nancial yield! Unequall ed- inexpen­ tic pots, hanging baskets, peat pots, etc. . . . 40¢ Johnny's Selected Seeds 100 Foss Hill Road sive- FREE brochure. AQUAMONITOR, Box stamps fo r postage. PLANT COLLECTIBLES, 327, Dep t. B, Huntington, NY 11743. OAlb ion, Maine 04910 103E Kenview Ave. , Buffalo, NY 14217.

American Horticulturist 35 CLASSIFIEDS

INDOOR PALMS PLANTS- RARE BUT AFFORDABLE ROCK PLANTS-UNUSUAL DWA RF RHAPIS EXCELSA-ELEGANT IN­ Extensive selection: ,. American Natives ,< Out­ Over 300 varieties for Sun & Shade. Hardy in DOOR PALMS Green and variegated varieties, standing Ornamentals * Uncommon Conifers * southern Ohio. 24 page catalog. Please send 40,/­ 12"-3 2" tall , 5"-10" pots. 3-9 years old. Catalog Wild Fruit ,. Hardiest Eucalyptus * Wildlife Plants. in stamps. ROCKNOLL NURSERY, 9210 U.S. $1. Rhapis Palm Book $5. ppd. RHAPIS GAR­ Affordable containerized starter-plants. Inform­ 50, Hillsboro, OH 45133. DENS, POB 28 7-A, Gregory, TX 78359. ative catalog- $1.s'O. FORESTFARM, 990 Teth­ ROSES erah, Williams, OR 97544. JASMINES HARD TO FIND ROSES. List FREE on re­ Grand Duke or Arabian jasmine 4 for $6.00. POSITION WANTED quest. HORTICO, INC., R.R. #1, Waterdown, List 25 '/- . MRS. R.C. WELSH, Route 3, Box CARETAKER. Expert management of the large Ontario Canada LOR 2HO. (416) 689-6984. 1700, Madison, FL 32340. estate. Experienced flower gardener. Permanent SEEDS position sought with house on property pro­ MAGNOLIAS WORLD'S LARGEST SELECTION of quality vided. DEVIN GARRITY, Harris Rd., Bedford, rare seeds from every continent. Thousands of CHOICE MAGNOLIA COLLECTION- 5 NY 10506. hard-to-find exotics, flowers, bulbs, house­ choice assorted Asiatic Magnolias (all different plants, hardy perennials, trees, ferns, alpines. colors) for $60.00 unlabeled or $70.00 labeled. PUBLICATIONS Rare herbs, medicinal, edible plants. European Payment must accompany order. You pay post­ EXOTIC FRUIT and VEGETABLES! Grow your and Oriental vegetables. Hundreds of exclu­ age when plants arrive. Our large 1985 MAG­ own! LIVING OFF THE LAND, Subtropic sives. Reasonable prices. World's most informa­ NOLIA AND ODD PLANT CATALOG will Newsletter. Sample $1.00-MARIAN VAN tive catalog, packed with illustrations, cultural be available shortly for $2.50 per copy. This AIT A, PO Box 2131AH, Melbourne, FL 32902- and historical information, $1.00. WORLD list will include over 300 Magnolia cultivars 2131. SEED SERVICE, J.L. Hudson, Seedsman, Box plus a large collection of choice companion plants, Georgi 1985 calendars are offered at a special 1058-AT) Redwood City, CA 94064. trees, shrubs, perennials, waterlilies, bulbs, vines, 15 % discount to the readers of American Hor­ odd plants, fruit trees and much more. LOUI­ THE WORLD'S LARGEST and most famous ticulturist: A magnificent 17 x 24" wall calendar SIANA NURSERY, Rt. 7, Box 43, Opelousas, seed catalog. Over 200 pages, 4,000 varieties, " Botanical Prints from Hortus Eystettensis, LA 70570. 1,000 color pictures. A major book of reference. 1713," list price $19; and "Redoute Roses" The Encyclopedia of how and what to grow MAPLES from the collection of Les Roses peintes par from seed. The Bible of seed catalogs to gar­ MATSU-MOMIJI NURSERY-We specialize Redoute, list price $13.95. Twelve framable cal­ deners in over 100 countries. Vegetables, pot in the finest varieties of Japanese Maples and endar reproductions of the finest quality. Send plants, exotics, perennials, alpines, rockery, lat­ Japanese Black Pines- Catalog $1.00 (deduct­ your prepaid order to GEORGI PUBLISHERS, est and best annuals, trees, shrubs, bulbs from ible), PO Box 11414, Philadelphia, PA 19111. 35 West 38th Street, #3W, New York, NY seed with rare items unobtainable elsewhere. (215) 722-6286. 10018, or call for catalog (212) 730-0518. Write for FREE copy, allowing three weeks or RARE NATIVE PLANTS enclose $2.00 for First Class mail: THOMP­ NEW PERENNIAL POPPIES SON & MORGAN, INC., Dept. AHC5, PO Rhododendron chapmannii, R. austrinum, R. Box 1308, Jackson, NJ 08527. Far Superior to existing Oriental Poppy vari­ speciosum, R. serralatum, R. prunifolia, Mag­ eties. FREE catalog. MOHNS, INC., Box 2301, nolia ashei (Weatherby) , Magnolia pyramidata, FALL PLANTING is most propitious for many flower seeds. Catalogue $1. THE FRAGRANT Atascadero, CA 93423. Stewartia malacrodondron. Grown from native PATH, Box 328, Fort Calhoun, NE 68023. NURSERY STOCK seed or cuttings. Write for prices and shipping dates. SALTER TREE FARM, Rt. 2, Box 1332, Reserve your 1985 vegetable seed catalog now! MILLIONS OF SEEDLINGS: High Quality, Madison, FL 32340. Le Marches new catalog lists over 175 varieties Reasonable Prices. Over 100 Selections­ of imported and heirloom vegetables. Full of Christmas Trees, Ornamentals, Windbreaks, RARE Pl.ANTS historical anecdotes, cultural instructions, rec­ Conservation, Wildlife Food and Cover, etc. RAREST PLANTS EXCLUSIVELY: otherwise ipes and drawings. Send $2.00: LE MARCHE FREE catalog. CARINO NURSERIES, Box 538J, commercially unavailable, houseplants, office­ SEEDS INTERNATIONAL, Dept. AH, PO Box Indiana, PA 15701. plants, collector's items or landscaping plants­ 566, Dixon, CA 95620 (916) 678-4125. ORCHIDS Rare, beautiful, durable, 50 cycads, 80 palms, TOPIARY Dwarf Palms (80 varieties), exotic foliage, 180 ORCHIDS! ORCHIDS! ORCHIDS! Brome­ Topiary Frames, animal shapes, geometrics. succulents, 150 Sansevierias, 200 Hoyas, 250 liads, Staghorn Ferns, Books, Peters Fertilizer, Write for brochure. Wholesale. Retail. variegates, shrubs, trees, 70 fantastic, interest­ Potting Mixes, Supplies for indoor and green­ TOPIARY, INC., 41 Bering, Tampa) FL 33606. ing, exciting horticultural and oriental books. house culture. REQUEST CATALOG. FOX 100 Bamboo-hardy giants up to 24" diameter TREE PROBLEMS-BOTANICAL OR ORCHIDS, INC., 6615 West Markham, Little and 90' tall, hardy mediums, hardy dwarfs, LEGAL Rock, AR 72205. tropical giants, tropical mediums, tropical dwarfs, For Directory of members of the American So­ ORCHIDS, PHALAENOPSIS, ETC. green leaves and canes, variegated leaves and ciety of Consulting Arborists-the experts in Blooming size, $20.00 values. Minimum order canes. "The Bamboo Book" and the "Sansev­ tree care and appraisals for legal matters, write: three plants, $9.50 each, postpaid. Special: ten ieria Book" with lots of large photos $12 each ASCA, 315(AH) Franklin Road, North Bruns­ 3" or five 4" seedlings $35.00. Catalog $1.00 postpaid. Four catalogs per year, $5. ENDAN­ wick, NJ 08902. (deductible). GREEN VALLEY ORCHIDS, Rte. GERED SPECIES, 12571 (A) Redhill, Tustin, CA 92680-2832. UNUSUAL PLANTS 1, ·Box 233S, Folsom, LA 70437. Baobabs, rare succulents, caudiciforms, Sansev­ PEONIES RHODODENDRONS & AZALEAS ierias, low light plants, bamboo and other ex­ SPECIALIZING IN THE UNUSUAL. Dwarf otics. Profusely illustrated catalog and periodic Daylilies, Hosta, Japanese Iris. FREE 1984 cat­ newsletters $1.50, deductible from first order. alog through November or reserve 1985 copy. Rhododendrons, Evergreen & Deciduous Azal­ eas, Dwarf Conifers, Companion Plants. Cat­ SINGERS' GROWING THINGS, 17806 Plum­ CAPRICE FARM NURSERY, 15425 S.W. mer St" AH, Northridge, CA 91325. Pleasant Hill Rd., Sherwood, OR 97140. alog $1.00, refundable. THE CUMMINS GAR­ DEN, 22 Robertsville Rd., Marlboro, NJ 07746. WOODLANDERS (201) 536-2591. PERENNIALS RARELY OFFERED SOUTHEASTERN NA­ Unusual Rock and Shade Plants, Hosta, Hem­ Rhododendrons & Azaleas- over 1,000 species TIVES, woody, herbaceous, nursery-grown. erocallis, Sempervivum, Shrubs, Iris and Native and hybrids. Catalog, $1.00. Etched, anodized Many hardy northward. Also newly introduced Americans, and Perennial Seed. 24 Page Cata­ aluminum labels retain pencil; SSAE for sam­ exotics selected for Southern gardens. Send SASE log. Please send 40,/- in stamps. ROCKNOLL ples. HALL RHODODENDRONS, 1280 for extensive mailorder list. WOOD LANDERS NURSERY, 9210 U.S. 50, Hillsboro, OH 45133. Quince Drive, Junction City, OR 97448. AH, 1128 Colleton Ave., Aiken, SC 29801.

36 December 1984 ADS 1985 Virgin Islands Cntise (January 6- Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll (July­ 13) Tour St. John and the British dates uncertain) Tour the gardens Virgin Islands, and visit private Study of Gertrude Jekyll during a mid­ gardens and famous landscaped summer visit to England. Tour resorts. Leader: Carlton Lees, Retired Vice­ Carnival in Rio (February 1-22) 'lravel President of the New York Botani­ Cntise to Brazil to experience Car­ cal Garden. nival in colorful Rio de Janeiro, South Africa (September 10-29) and tour beautiful Brazilian gar­ 'lb.... Tour the Drakensburg MountainS, dens, including ones designed by Kruger National Park, Durban, Roberto Burle Marx:. Tour Leader: Kirstenbosch and other public and Carlton Lees, Retired Vice-Presi­ Program private gardens. Tour Leader: Er­ dent of the New York Botanical nie Chew, Former Horticulturist of Garden. The American Horti­ the San Diego Zoo. Barbados Exploration (March 1-9) cultural Society is Autumn in England (September Explore this small Caribbean is­ 11-26) Visit the Royal HortiCul­ land, and tour areas of botanical sponsoring an exciting tural Society's Great Autumn interest, including We1chman Hall program of horticul­ Show, and tour the rolling, un­ Gully and Andromeda Gardens. spoiled English countryside. Tour Tour Leader: Everitt Miller, For­ tural explorations for Leader: John Clayton, Retired Cu­ mer Director of Longwood the 1985 season. Plan rator of Horticulture, Royal Horti­ Gardens. cultural SOCiety. Hawaii (March 4-16) Tour Hawaii's to join fellow AHS France (October-dates uncertain) experimental gardens and arbo­ members on one or Tour the vineyards and sample the reta, as well as unique nurseries, wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. private gardens and estates. Tour more of these inter­ Trip partiCipants will be trans­ Leader: Ernie Chew, Former Horti­ esting garden-related ported through this picturesque re­ culturist of the San Diego Zoo. gion by barge. Spring Gardens of the Southern tours. Use the coupon Autumn in the Orient (November United States (March 30-April 21) below to request in­ 1-20) Visit private gardens in Ja­ Visit the most beautiful gardens in pan, the temple gardens in Kyoto, New Orleans, Natchez, Savannah, formation on any of autumn chrysanthemum festivals, Charleston and Atlanta during the these tours. and gardens in Taiwan and Hong spring blooming season. Tour Kong. Tour Leader: Robert Savage, Leader: Mildred Mathias, Emeritus Waterways of Western Europe frequent escort of Society tours. Professor of Botany, UCLA. (May 26-June 11) Explore France, Spring in the Mediterranean (April Portugal, Spain and England ~------8-24) Cruise the Mediterranean aboard the yacht Argonaut. Tour YES! Please send me more information on and stop at ports in Greece, Tur­ Leader: Dorothy Temple, White the tours I have checked below. key and Yugoslavia during the House Floral Designer. o Virgin Islands Cruise height of the spring wildflower sea­ o Carnival in Rio Romantic France (June 1-10) Visit o Barbados Exploration son. Tour Leader: Alfred Evans, the gardens of Princess Sturdza o HaWaii Assistant Curator of the Royal Bo­ and the Comte de Brogue's chateau o Spring Gardens of the Southern United tanic Gardens, Edinburgh. in Normandy. Stop in Giverny for a States o Spring in the Mediterranean Belgium & Holland by Road & visit to Monet's garden and house, o Belgium and Holland by Road and Waterway Waterway (April 21-May 4) Visit and explore Paris. o England and the Chelsea Flower Show Brussels and the Royal Botanical Fabled Gardens of China (June 10- o Waterways of Western Europe Gardens, and see the Tulip Festi­ 27) EX'Plore the Chinese garden o Romantic France o Fabled Gardens of China val in Haarlem and the Floralies in cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou, o Tropical Ecology: The Amazon Ghent. A barge trip on the canals and visit the Ming Tombs and the o Gardens of Gertrude Jekyll of Holland during tulip time is also Great Wall in Peking. Tour Leader: o South Africa planned. Tour Leader: Richard Edwin T. MorriS, author of Gar­ o Autumn in England o France Hutton, President of the Conrad­ dens of China. o Autumn in the Orient Pyle Company. Tropical Ecology: The Amazon England & the Chelsea Flower (June 26-July 15) This tour pro­ Nrune ______Show (May 16-30) Tour public and vides an in-depth look at the plant private gardens in England during and animal life in remote, undis­ Adruess ______the spring bloorriing season, and turbed habitats along the Amazon. visit the famed Chelsea Flower This is a wilderness experience for City ______State __ Zip ______Show. Tour Leader: John Clayton, the adventurous traveler only. Tour Mail to: Robin Williruns, American Retired Curator of Horticulture, Leader: Mildred Mathias, Emeritus Horticultural SOCiety, PO Box 0105, Mount Royal Horticultural SOCiety. Professor of Botany, UCLA. Vernon, VA 22121. 1984 Index

An annual index to articles appearing in Rackemann, Francis M., Jr. Ladew Topiary Disa Orchid, The. August 13 . American Horticulturist magazine is printed Gardens. April 24. Down With Leaves. October 28. in each December issue. A separate cu­ Schokman, Larry, and Karen Ronne Tupek. Dry Streams. August 5. The Kampong. February 25. mulative index has also been published for Edgings. Garden Edgings. October 44. Silverman, Joan. A Visit With Reed Rollins. English Gardening Love Affair, An. June 18. the years 1922-1971 and is available in October 12. Epimediums. April 28. paperback for $10. Address inquiries to Smith, Mary Coakley. The Bickelhaupt Euphorbiaceae. The Spurge Family, Part I. Jeanne Eggeman in care of the Society. Arboretum. June 26. April 5; The Spurge Family, Part II. June 9. Although no index for the years 1972-79 Staff, AHS. New Plants for 1984. February 14. Fairchild, David. The Kampong. February 25 . has yet been published, these back issues Steffey, Jane. The Caper Family. February 4; Father Costa's Garden. Montjuich and the have been catalogued by the editorial staff. The Ginseng Family. December 4; The Garden of Father Costa. October 23. Back issues (if available) are $2.50 each Protea Family. August 38; The Spurge Florist Azaleas-Tips for Re-forcing. and may be obtained by writing to Sharon Family, Part I. AprilS; The Spurge Family, February 40. Barnes in care of the Society. Part II. June 9; Strangely Few Relatives. Flowering House Plant Family, The. October 40. December 40. Trimble, Michael B. Dry Streams. August 5. Fragrance. April 45. AUTHOR Tupek, Karen Ronne, and Larry Schokman. Fritillaria. Crown-Imperial. April 42. Adams, Richard M ., II. Desert Natives: The Kampong. February 25. Garden Design. Color. June 44; Dry Streams. Adaptations to Drought. December 14; Weinberg, Ruby. A New Look at Mountain August 5; Fragrance. April 45 ; Garden Native Lilies. August 28 . Laurel. June 5; New Zealand-A Garden Edgings. October 44; Garden Gates. Cannon, Mrs. Ralph. Epimediums. April 28. Tour. August 14. August 44; Garden Seats. December 44; Creech, Dr. John L. One Day in the Yang, Linda. Container Plants for Wintry Symmetry & Balance. February 44. Mountains. December 20. Terraces. February 20. Garden Edgings. October 44. Dobbs, Rosalyne B. Research Battles Garden Gates. August 44. Blackspot. June 14. Garden Seats. December 44. Elbert, George A. The Flowering House Plant SUBJECTI TITLE Garden Spiders. Spiders in the Garden.June 31. Family. December 40. Araliaceae. The Ginseng Family. December 4. Gardening With Children. Children & Goode, Jeanne. Bee Balm. June 25 ; Arboretum: Bickelhaupt. The Bickelhaupt Gardening. April 30. Nasturtiums. August 20. Arboretum. June 26. Gardens. Barnard's Inn Farm. August 22; The Harper, Pamela. A New England Cottage Autumn Season. Season of Mists. October 16. Bickelhaupt Arboretum. June 26; An Garden. April 14; Season of Mists. October Azaleas: Re-forcing. Florist Azaleas-Tips for English Gardening Love Affair. June 18; 16. Re-forcing. February 40. The Kampong. February 25 ; Ladew Harpur, Jerald. An English Gardening Love Barnard's Inn Farm. August 22. Topiary Gardens. April 24; Montjuich and Affair. June 18. Bee Balm. June 25. the Garden of Father Costa. October 23; A Hayward, Gordon. Children & Gardening. Bickelhaupt Arboretum, The. June 26. New England Cottage Garden. April 14; April 30. Bixaceae. Strangely Few Relatives. October 40. New Zealand-A Garden Tour. August 14; Hensel, Margaret. Color. June 44; Fragrance. Blackspot. Research Battles Blackspot. June 14. Wave Hill. December 24. April 45; Garden Edgings. October 44; Cannaceae. Strangely Few Relatives. October Gates, Garden. August 44. Garden Gates. August 44; Garden Seats. 40. Gesneriaceae. The Flowering House Plant December 44; Symmetry & Balance. Caper Family, The. February 4. Family. December 40. February 44. Capparaceae. The Caper Family. February 4. Ginseng Family, The. December 4. Hill, Polly. Barnard's Inn Farm. August 22. Catalogue Review, A. February 8. DIiciaceae. Strangely Few Relatives.October 40. Hillstrom, Judith. Florist Azaleas-Tips for Children & Gardening. April 30. In Praise of Common Plants. April 19. Re-forcing. February 40. Clethraceae. Strangely Few Relatives. October Indoor Gardener, The. Florist Azaleas-Tips Lacy, Allen. Miniature Cyclamen. December 40. for Re-forcing. February 40; The Flowering 30; Montjuich and the Garden of Father Color. June 44. House Plant Family. December 40; Costa. October 23. Common Plants, In Praise of. April 19. Ornamental Nightshades. October 4. Loewer, Peter. A Catalogue Review. February Container Plants for Wintry Terraces. Japan, Plant Collecting in. One Day in the 8; The Disa Orchid. August 13; Spiders in February 20. Mountains. December 20. the Garden. June 31; Wave Hill. December Cottage Garden, A New England. April 14. Kalmia. A New Look at Mountain Laurel. 24. Crown-Imperial. April 42. June 5. Martin, Easter Berryman. Crown-Imperial. Cyclamen, Miniature. December 30. Karnpong, The. February 25. April 42. Desert Natives: Adaptations to Drought. Ladew Topiary Gardens. April 24. Martin, Tovah. Ornamental Nightshades. December 14. Laurel, Mountain. A New Look at Mountain October 4. Design Page, The. Color. June 44; Fragrance. Laurel. June 5. McGourty, Frederick. Down With Leaves. April 45; Garden Edgings. October 44; Leaves, Down With. October 28. October 28; In Praise of Common Plants. Garden Gates. August 44; Garden Seats. Leitneriaceae. Strangely Few Relatives. April 19; Reflections on Muck and December 44; Symmetry & Balance. October 40. Mysticism. February 30. February 44. Lilies, Native. August 28. Rackemann, Adelaide C. October is Diospyros. October is Persimmon Month. Miniature Cyclamen. December 30. Persimmon Month. October 31. October 31. Monarda. Bee Balm. June 25.

38 December 1984 Horticultural

Montjuich and the Garden of Father Costa. Exploration on a October 23. Mountain Laurel. A New Look at Mountain Mediterranean Laurel. June 5. Muck and Mysticism. Reflections on Muck and Mysticism. February 30. Cruise Nasturtiums. August 20. Native Lilies. August 28 . April 21 - May 7, 1985 New England Cottage Garden, A. April 14. The American Horticultural Society is offering to its members this New Look at Mountain Laurel, A. June 5. exclusively designed trip, a Mediterranean cruise to explore the flora of New Plants for 1984. February 14. the region as well as the wonderful historical architecture and culture. New Zealand-A Garden Tour. August 14. Four countries will be visited - Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey. Nightshades, Ornamental. October 4. Fly to London for overnight before heading on to Dubrovnik, October is Persimmon Month. October 31. boarding Swan Hellenic's ORPHEUS Cruise for two weeks to Athens, One Day in the Mountains. December 20. Orchid, The Disa. August 13. Naxos, Patmos, Santorini, Olympia in Greece; see Troy, Pergamum and Ornamental Nightshades. October 4. Ephessus in Turkey; and dock in Venice from where we fly home. Persimmon. October is Persimmon Month. Among the high quality of lecturers and staff on board of histo­ October 3l. rians, artists, and scientists is Alfred Evans, Assistant Curator of the Plant Collecting. One Day in the Mounrains. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland. A delightful gentleman, he December 20. has frequently cruised this area . Also accompanying our group is Harold Plants For: Containers . Container Plants for Epstein, former Board Member of the American Horticultural Society Wintry Terraces. February 20; Desert and the American Rock Garden Society. ""!'/) Gardens. Desert Natives: Ad aptations to For your free brochure write to : Drought. December 14; Winter Gardens. The Education Department, ~~' Container Plants for Wintry Terraces. American Horticultural Society, .'"< February 20. P.O. Box 0105, Plants, In Praise of Common. April 19. Mt. Vernon, VA 22121. Pro tea Family, The. August 38. Or phone (703) 768-5700. Proteaceae. The Protea Family. August 38. Other Explorations in 1985 include Barbados, China, Spring Reflections on Muck and Mysticism. and Fall England, Fall Orient, and Romantic France. February 30. Research Battles Blackspot. June 14. Rollins, Reed. A Visit with Reed Rollins. October 12. Roses. Research Battles Blackspot. June 14. Season of Mists. October 16. WATER- LILIES Seasonable Reminders. A Catalogue Review. February 8; Crown-Imperial. April 42; A in your garden New Look at Mountain Laurel. June 5. Seats, Garden. December 44. Lilyponscatalogue Solanum. Ornamental Nightshades. October 4. features everything Spanish Gardens. Montjuich and the Garden of Father Costa. October 23 . needed for your Spiders in the Garden. June 3l. gardenpoo~ Spurge Family, The. Part I. AprilS. including the pool Spurge Family, The. Part n. June 9. Strange Relatives. The Caper Family. February 4; The Ginseng Family. December 4; The Protea Family. August 38; The Spurge Family, Part 1. April 5; The Spurge Lilypons Water Gardens Family, Part II. June 9; Strangely Few Relatives. October 40. Water-lilies, Lotus, Aquatic plants, Goldfish, Scavengers, Strangely Few Relatives. October 40. Koi, Fiberglass garden pools, PVC pool liners, Sweeps, Streams, Dry. August 5. Filters, Pumps, Lights, Statuary, Books and much more. Symmetry & Balance. February 44. Taxonomist. A Visit With Reed Rollins. October 12. New colorful LUypons catalogue and seasonal mini catalogs, $3.50. Terrace Gatdens, Plants for. Container Plants for Wintry Terraces. February 20. 1 Name LILYPONS WATER GARDENS 1 Tropaeolum. Nasturtiums. August 20. 1 (Please plint) 1500 Amhort Road 1500 LUypons Road 1 1 Addr P.O. Box 10 P.O. Box 188 1 Visit With Reed Rollins, A. October 12. ess LUypons, MD 21717-0010 Brookshire. TX 77423-0188 Water-Conserving Plants. Desert Natives: 1 City (301) 874-5133 (713) 934-8525 1 Adaptations to Drought. December 14. 1 State YES, Please send me the new color- 1 Wave Hill. December 24. 1 ful Lilypons catalogue and seasonal 1 Yeomans. An English Gardening Love Affair. Zip mini catalogs. I enclose 83.50. 1______.-1 June 18.

American Horticulturist 39 THE INDOOR GARDENER The Flawering Hause Plant Family

frican violets, gloxinias, achi­ menes, lipstick plants, episcias, Agoldfish plants and Cape prim­ roses are all familiar names of flowering house plants. Yet the family name that links all of these plants together-Gesner­ iaceae, or the gesneriad family-is not nearly as familiar as other family names-for ex­ ample, Orchidaceae (orchids) or Brome­ liaceae (bromeliads). Although gesneriads may be less easily distinguishable as a group than orchids or bromeliads, they never­ theless comprise a distinct community and are worthy of our attention. In fact, any­ one interested in growing flowering plants indoors should become acquainted with them. Nowhere else in the plant kingdom do we find a family that is so well adapted to bringing color into our homes through­ out the year. The gesneriad family has over 130 gen­ era and over 2,000 species. An amazingly high number of these plants have showy flowers and are-or have the potential of being-superb house plants. Most gesneriad flowers are slipper-, bell-, pouch- or tube-shaped, and have reg­ ularly or irregularly lobed corollas. (Af­ hybrid of a number of Saintpaulia species rican violet flowers have five petals, but from southern Africa. This well-known they are joined at the base.) Gesneriads are plant needs no description; virtually every remarkably floriferous, and their blooms florist and garden center in the country are shapely and colorful. However, these displays African violets in bloom at all times features alone do not account for their of the year. They are deservedly the most unique suitability as house plants. Ges­ popular of all flowering house plants. No neriads also make excellent house plants other plant can compare in carefree cul­ because of their proven ability to grow and ture, continuous bloom and variety of color. bloom with comparative ease in the warmth I would not venture to recommend any and low light that a normal home provides. particular cultivar but should warn that Furthermore, they can be quickly and eas­ not all cultivars are equally dependable, in ily propagated any number of ways. As a part due to excessive hybridization. The special bonus, several plants in the ges­ African Violet Society of America issues a neriad family do not need a dormant pe­ yearly " Honor Roll," which is the best riod, and are capable of blooming contin­ recommendation available. After about a uously throughout the year. The following year of continuous bloom, the plants de­ is a brief description of these plants, their teriorate, but they can be easily replaced relative ease or difficulty of culture, the by propagation. To propagate, remove a species or cultivars that experience has leaf with petioles attached, dust the stem shown to be the best, and some practical tip with hormone powder, poke it into a cultural tips for the inexperienced grower. sterile medium, and keep it warm, humid The modern African violet is a complex Chrysothemis puichella. Pamela Harper and moist. The leaves sprout young, rooted

40 December 1984 plants very quickly. Older plants that may is a shrub with pale, narrow leaves that others bloom on and off throughout the have developed several crowns can also be produces quantities of red-orange, some­ year. Watch out for the plants that are divided. what pouched, tubular flowers from all described in catalogues as "everbloom­ Gloxinia is the common name for a group joints and throughout the year. This spe­ ing," such as 'Early Bird' and 'Mary Ann', of hybrids of Sinningia speciosa, a Brazil­ cies lacks the long, fle xible branches and and make sure that you have the right tem­ ian plant with slipper-shaped flowers. thick, dark green leaves of the other spe­ perature environment in your home to keep During the nineteenth century, cultivated cies. It does particul arly well under flu­ them happy. plants were developed with a rotate, or orescent lighting. Attempts to make columneas more com­ wheel-shaped, upstanding flower that plant A. marmoratus, also recommended, has pact have not been very successful. How­ breeders increased to a spectacular size. lovely leaves that are barred beneath with ever, the res ult of one such attempt­ Gloxinias had their heyday then, and the maroon. It is an excellent foliage plant for 'Chanticleer'- is just right. The branches names of the finest cultivars still date from a window or in artificial light. Its flowers of this cultivar are short and sturdy. The that period: 'Emperor William', 'Emperor are green and unspectacular. orange flowers, though not very large, are Frederick', 'Etoile de Feu ', 'B lanche de Most species of Columnea present a in proportion to the plant and appear at Meru', 'Waterloo' and 'Roi des Rouges'. problem indoors because of their very long all seasons. 'V. Covert', with short, pink Of the modern cultivars, Buell hybrids have branches that may dangle many fee t below fl owers, is also a compact charmer, and proven the best. a hanging basket. Yet amateurs continue Kartuz Greenhouses' 'Butterball' is a fine In recent years, plants sold in the shops to grow them because of th eir striking yellow of this type. have been less attracti ve and well grown. beauty. When the plants are in bloom, the Episcias, with their trailing habits and Gloxinias have become less popular be­ branches are covered wi th vivi d red and richly textured, oval-pointed leaves, are cause they require a period of dormancy yellow, three- to four-inch flowers that look quite different from the plants described and have large, brittle leaves that make like fl ying fish. Some cultivars and species thus far. The leaves of episcias are of two them difficult to pack and transport. On are decidedly cool-growing, though the principal color types: brown with silver or the whole, they make better holiday gift majority accept normal house tempera­ pink veining (the latter colors become pre­ plants th an yea r-round pleasures. Never­ tures . Some are definitely seasonal, while dominant over much of the surface), and theless, you should not throw out yo ur gloxinia when it is finished blooming; put the pot away in a cool (not cold), shaded Gesneriads for Beginners spot, and wait until new growth starts. The gesneri ad repertoire is so huge, and nea -type plant with erect branches. Avail­ Then bring the plant into the light, water so many of the plants are comparatively able from Kartuz. and fertilize. Propagate leaves as yo u would simple to grow and bloom, th at it is dif­ Columnea 'Chanticleer'. Compact, ev­ for African violets. Gloxinias are still among ficult to decide which are the best to rec­ erblooming, definitely the best. 'Early Bird' the most spectacular of house plants. ommend to a beginner. The following, (o range and yellow) and 'Maty Ann' (pink) In our southern states, members of the available from the principal gesneriad nur­ are compact and floriferous. C. erythro­ genus Achimenes are widely grown in pots series, are my choices, for better or for phaea is a large plant with big orange-red or hanging baskets on porches. Blooming worse. flowers. from May to June, and again from Sep­ African violets. Start with the Honor Episcia 'Moss Agate'. An old favorite tember to October, they offer large trum­ Roll plants listed by the African Violet So­ with large, lush green leaves and brilliant pet flowers in an array of colors with in­ ciety of America. My individual all-time tomato flowers. 'Toy Silver', a new min­ teresting, contrasting markings. As indoor favorite is Ballet 'Lisa', a pink commercial iature, is charming in a small pot. plants, though, they are often frustrating. variety. I've found the plants of Lyndon Gesneria cuneifoJia. A superb terrarium They almost never bloom in urban and Lyon Greenhouses remarkably sturdy. See plant, everblooming and spectacular. Re­ industrial centers because they are very "Sources" on page 32 for the addresses of quires plenty of lime. sensitiv@to smog. Their worm-like, scaly the firms listed below. Gloxinia' Arion'. Handsome spikes with rhizomes need to be stored dry from au­ Aeschynanthus parvifoJius. Vigorous bell flowers. For fluorescent light or a sunny tumn until they show signs of growth in basket plant with flaming, blood-red flow­ window. Available from Kartuz. spring. Once growth resumes, achimenes ers from long, hairy, nearly black tubes. Kohleria 'Pamola'. Best of the recent need rapid forcing with light, warmth, hu­ Spectacular, but not a frequent bloomer. kohlerias. Red flowers on a compact plant. midity and regular fertilizing. Chirita micromusa. A yellow-flowered Nematanthus 'Bijou' and 'Castanet'. Fine The name lipstick plant is familiar to annual that blooms quickly and can be basktH plants with colorful, dangling, most indoor gardeners. These plants bear planted any time of year. Seed available pouched flowers. spectacular clusters of brilliant blood-red from Far North Gardens. Sinningia. 'Bright Eyes', 'Fr@ckles', to orange tube flowers at the tips of nu­ Codananthanthus 'Aurora'. Handsome S. pusilia, 'Snow Flake', 'Tinkerbell' and merous branches. Unfortunately, most of basket plant with pink tube flowers. From 'White Sprite' are all everblooming and are them are disappointing as indoor plants. McKinney's Glasshouse. easily grown in a terrarium. Some newer Healthy specimens 4re no problem; how­ Codonanthe camosa and C. crassifoJia. hybrids are more colorful but, in my opin­ ever, inducing them to bloom is another Sturdy, little trailing shrubs suitable for the ion, not as dependable. 'Cindy' and 'Cindy­ matter. These plants are best left to experts terrarium, with white flowers and red Ella' are larger; they are best grown in a or greenhouse growers. berries. terrarium but also do well on the open Still, there are two species of Aeschyn­ Coltricantha 'Golden Nugget'. Colum- shelf, especially under fluorescent light. an thus I can recommend. A. hildebrandii

American Horticulturist 41 THE INDOOR GARDENER green and heavily felted. Flowers are small are truly among the wonders of horticulture. but such a brilliant tomato-red that a few Episcia hirsuta and E. lilacina challenge Hybridizers and commercial are quite sufficient to light up a plant. There the skills of the plant enthusiast. The for­ growers alike believe that are a few yellow- and pink-flowered mer is a short plant that produces a great cultivars. quantity of whit€: and purplish flowers. Cape primroses, Most episcias grow well in pots or bas­ The latter, in the best clones, has gorgeous kets. They bloom all year 'round, require lilac flowers and leaves as thick and woolly Streptocarpus spp., may one somewhat more light than African violets, as Turkish towels. Both are seasonal and should not be overwatered. Normal bloomers. day become as popular as leaf size is three to four inches. Some min­ Hybridizers and commercial growers African violets. iatures with one-inch leaves are now ap­ alike believe that Cape primroses, Strep­ pearing and have proved quite charming tocarpus spp., may one day become as and dependable. popular as African violets. Plants in this I believe the finest episcia for bloom is genus are either stemless or bushy. The 'Constant Nymph' and related Nymph hy­ 'Ginny Elbert', a chance discovery at Lau­ stemless plants are the most interesting be­ brids are somewhat easier to grow than ray of Salisbury. Although the flowers of cause of their large, handsome slipper most hybrids but lack the bright colors and most episcias are borne quite low or are flowers, which are borne on long pedun­ distinct markings of the older Wiesmoor partly hidden by leaves, 'Ginny Elbert' has cles. The range of color is astonishing, and hybrids. All Streptocarpus are seasonal, erect stalks, and the flowers are very vis­ many cultivars have beautiful markings in blooming spring to fall and resting in win­ ible. Furthermore, flower production from the throat. The flowers are borne in clus­ ter. If breeders find the breakthrough they each node is abnormally large; a hanging ters that arise from the bases of individual are looking for, there will one day be Strep­ basket full of these flowers displays a blaze leaves, and each peduncle produces two to tocarpus cultivars to meet all of our indoor of color for months on end. six flowers that measure two to three inches gardening needs. Some extraordinarily beautiful sports in diameter. The shrubby plants of this genus have have turned up among the episcias. The These plants have two strikes against fleshy stems and much smaller, less col­ most famous of these is 'Cleopatra', which them as far as general popularity is con­ orful flowers than those of other plants in has leaves zoned in bands of pink, white cerned: the long, strap-shaped leaves are the genus. The best known of the shrubby and green. Since it is low in chlorophyll, extremely brittle, and the plants wilt and types is S. saxorum, which has pleasant, it is a tender cultivar. However, ' Cleo­ die rapidly if exposed to high temperatures light blue flowers and small, fuzzy, fat patra' is not at all difficult to grow in ter­ in mid-summer. The newer cultivars have leaves. The bushy or shrubby members of rariums placed rather close to fluorescent shorter leaves but are still intolerant of the genus Streptocarpus are all best grown tubes. Specimen plants are so colorful that heat. They thrive in parts of the country in the greenhouse. the occasional flowers are superfluous. They that have cool summers. Blue-flowered Some gesneriads are restricted to the do­ main of the hobby grower and specialist, only turning up occasionally in commer­ Cultural Recommendations cial nurseries. The variety is astonishing and offers a small world of delightful plants Changes in the last 50 years in the home for most of the plants. With high humidity, waiting to be discovered by ambitious environment as well as soils, fertilizers and less light is needed. amateurs. equipment have made culture of virtually Water. These plants like even moisture First in line are the gloxinia relatives, a all of these plants relatively easy. Natu­ but do not like to be damp. strangely mixed and fascinating lot. Sin­ rally, individual species and cultivars react Soil. A porous, well-aerated, partially ningia pusilla is a tiny plant with half-inch­ in different ways, and there are innumer­ organic soil is ideal. House plant mixes long, bluish-violet flowers. The fuzzy leaves able ways to produce healthy, long-lasting should include peat moss, perlite and ver­ arise from thread-like petioles attached to plants. The following is only a practical miculite. A simple mix can be made at a small tuber. Despite the tuber, which summary of basic needs. home by combining equal amounts of these indicates that the plant goes dormant, ingredients. Add two tablespoons of ground s. pusilla is capable of blooming most of Temperature. A rang€! of 60° to 85° F eggshell or one tablespoon of horticultural the year. There is no finer blooming ter­ is best. Most gesneriads suffer above or lime to each quart of mix. rarium plant. A close relative, S. concinna, below these temperatures. Exceptions are Fertilizer. Fertilizer should be high in is a little larger. Its flowers are wider lobed the true alpines and a number of species nitrogen for growth and high in phospho­ and white flushed with red-purple dots. that are rather cool-growing. On the whole, rus for bud formation. Leach soil with clear Crossing of these two relatives has pro­ however, these plants require warmth in water every three months to remove excess duced a swarm of plants with charming winter and air conditioning or fans in salts. names, including 'Freckles' and 'Bright summer. Potting. Gesneriads usually have rather Eyes'. These miniatures have been hybrid­ Light. Light requirements range from 400 shallow roots, and they like to be snugly ized with larger Sinningia species having to 1,000 foot-candles for bloom. This can potted. nodding slipper or tubular flowers. The be translated into partial sunlight or re­ Humidity. Humidity of fifty percent or plants and flowers that resulted are larger flected light. Two-tube fluorescent fix­ higher is ideal, but not essential. The smaller and suitable for four-inch pots. 'Doll Baby', tures, fitted with one Cool White and one and more delicate plants require terrarium 'Cindy' and 'Cindy-Ella' are older cultivars Warm White tube, provide sufficient light culture. that make excellent house plants. They all

42 December 1984 thrive in terrariums and in the open. Further hybridi zing with other sinnin­ gias has resulted in the red-flowered 'Tin­ kerbell' and in the extraordinary Sinningia hybrids often referred to as gloxineras, de­ veloped by Ted Bona of Reading, Penn­ sylvania. The latter are bigger and sturdier, and come in a great range of colors, in­ cluding a very elegant and unusual tan. Three other sinningias deserve special mention. S. cardinalis has velvety lea ves topped with two-inch, red tube flowers arranged like the spokes of a wheel. S. canescens, formerly Rechsteineria leuco­ tricha, grows inch-long, pink tube flowers and delightful, woolly-white leaves that look like rabbits' ears. Both go dormant, like gloxinias, but are quite easy to grow in moderate light. Sinningia sylvatica (for­ merly Seemannia latifolia) is a stemless plant with long, narrow leaves and an orange­ red pouch flower set pertly on long, erect Streptocarpus 'Constant Nymph'. Pamela Harper petioles. This is also a superb terrarium plant, much neglected at present. shrub with waxy, white flowers. Saylor Chrysothemis pulchella. A foot-high I have had both a red- and an orange­ hybrids are larger and have flushes of pink plant with four-inch-long, serrated leaves flowered plant of Gesneria cuneifolia. Both on the blooms. and clusters of flowers in the axils. The grew slowly under artificial light, filling Kohleria species are rhizomatous plants yellow corollas are short-lived, but the five-inch pots and blooming with 30 or with velvety leaves and spires of nodding, bright orange calyxes persist for a long more tube flowers every day for five years. trumpet-shaped flowers that are richly col­ time. The brown-leaved variety is superior 'Lemon Drop', a hybrid of Gesneria citrina ored and spotted. The best known of these in bloom to the green-leaved variety. produced by Kartuz, was as spectacular. is Mrs. Frances Batcheller's fine hybrid, Diastema. A plant with low, spreading These are truly unique plants. There are a 'Rongo'. There are a number of handsome mounds of hairy leaves and small, white large number of species from Jamaica, species and hybrids, including dwarfs. flowers with purple spots. There are a Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, Smithiantha species, commonly called number of species. all of which can be grown in the open or temple-bells, are similar in habit; the flow­ Gloxinia. The true Gloxinia genus. These in a terrarium. Such plants do not appear ers tend toward yellows and burnt or­ plants produce spires of large lilac flowers in the shops, since they are too small to anges, and the leaves, a rich red. They were like short-stemmed Canterbury bells. attract buyers. Incidentally, they readily extremely popular as holiday gift plants in Koellikeria. A lovely terrarium subject produce viable seed. England a few years ago. with white, spotted, hairy leaves and hairy Nematanthus (formerly Hypocyrta) has The following are a few of the many stalks loaded with little white and pink charming pouched flowers that earned an other attractive genera in the wonderfully flowers. early species, N. wettsteinii, the common rich gesneriad family . Nautilocalyx. A sturdy-looking genus of name candy corn plant. To me, it is still Agalmyla parasitica. A big, crawling, handsome bronze- and red-leaved plants the most beautiful of all because of the semi-vining plant for the warm green­ bearing tube flowers in the axils. These contrast between the tomato-red and yel­ house. The upstanding clusters of vibrant plants are of particularly easy culture. low flowers and the brilliant, shiny, green red tube flowers, similar to those of Aes­ Phinaea and Niphaea. Not true twins. leaves that form a solid curtain around chynanthus, are truly startling in beauty. Little Phinaea has white, cupped flowers baskets. The gifted hybridizer William Bellonia aspera. A lovely woody shrub­ that are strictly erect. Niphaea is a larger Saylor, of Brewster, Massachusetts, has let with little, shiny, serrate leaves and one­ plant bearing five lobed flowers that are produced many fine cultivars, some with inch, five-petaled, white flowers. somewhat similar to those of Bellonia. candy-com-shaped flowers and others with Boea hygroscopica. A charming Asian The above is just a small sampling of long shapes that dangle from thin threads miniature with bright blue flowers for the the enormously rich gesneriad family. Many under the branches. 'Aurora' an4 'Bijou' terrarium. genera have numerous species and hundreds are among the few that have been grown Chirita sinensis. A species with gor­ of cultivars, all of which can be bloomed successfully in commercial nurseries and geous, flat clusters of five-inch leaves that in the house or greenhouse. The hobbyist sold in florist shop,s. They are lovely but look like leather tooled with a rich design who is bitten by the gesneriad bug will are seasonal bloomers that lose leaves in of silver and green. Chirita elphinstonia is never tire of collecting and growing these periods of high heat and humidity. Mr. an annual that produces seed readily. wonderful plants.O - George A. Elbert Saylor has also made some attractive hy­ Planted at any season of the year, it grows George Elbert and his wife, Virginie, have brids between Nematanthus and Codo­ to about a foot in height and bears charm­ recently completed a revision of The Miracle nanthe. Codonanthe is a charming, trailing ing, rich yellow, half-inch flowers. Houseplants, first published in 1976.

American Horticulturist 43 THE DESIGN PAGE Garden Seats

any gardens are designed for walking-around ponds, along Mstreams, past flower borders, and through woods and herb gardens .... the scenes and moods are constantly changing. With so much to see, it is not unusual to find the only seats at some far corner of the garden, placed so the journey can be appreciated in retrospect. Other gardens, like those of Japanese Zen temples, are for sitting. Here, there is time to witness small events-a leaf falling, or a tree's shadow darkening a bed of moss. Whatever a garden's style or intent, seats can be used to define an area's use and enhance existing themes. A wooden bench, deep in a corner of meadow grass and wildflowers, becomes an excuse for a picnic, while green bentwood chairs beneath an old apple tree seem to cry out for old friends to take time out for long conversations. If there is one bench or chair in a garden, chances are it will be used, no matter where it is . But if placed with some thought, seats can be used as design elements to lure peo­ ple across a lawn or through trees and compel them to linger once they've arrived. Once you've captured the garden visitor with an invitation to sit down, a bench can focus attention on a scene in the garden, or a view outside the garden can suddenly catch the eye from this vantage point. A seat, perhaps encircled by an arbor of Wis­ teria, can also become the focal point. Seating can also be used to highlight an area. For example, a shady and otherwise obscure garden corner can be made bright and inviting, particularly on a hot summer day, by placing a white, wrought iron bench amid hostas and ferns. Not surprisingly, a lawn is one of the most difficult spots on which to arrange seating effectively. If disassociated from permanent elements like houses, trees or even the shade of trees, chairs-particu­ larly those white, plastic-coated mesh types-invariably look like escapees from the kitchen. But when used as design ele­ ments in their own right, variously styled and strategically placed seats can set or reinforce the mood of a garden area, or provide striking contrast. One lawn chair that is very much in keeping with the mood of an informal A wooden bench set in a hillside at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.

44 December 1984 country setting, and very much at home in unkempt grass, is the Adirondack-style chair. Made of simply cut boards that are stained or painted white or green, they look like giant grasshoppers poised for take­ off. Like rustic wicker or bentwood, with their grape-viny look, all of these chairs have an almost organic feel. Their simple, straightforward design makes them seem like the lawn and the land. The solid English teak garden benches and chairs are successful in a similar way. Like trees, they seem to have grown from the earth. Yet, interestingly, they are en­ tirely appropriate for both formal and I woodland gardens. They tend to be a bit more formal if painted white. A more extreme example of stylistic sympathy between garden and seating oc­ curs in a woodland garden a few miles from my home. There, benches of rough wood, cut from surrounding ash trees and planed on one side, are nailed to stumps sunk beside a stream thick with bloodroot, hellebores and skunk cabbage. This seat­ ing is so appropriate to the setting that it seems almost an outgrowth of the woods. Now that our fancy is attuned to the harmony of site and man's invention, the next seat is all the more unexpected. Through a pine grove, the path turns and the woods open into a beech grove, at the far end of which sits a wild concoction of white marble. A six-foot half-circle, this seat is a tangle of twining grapes and bare­ bottomed angels, with scowling gargoyles serving as legs. In short, this is something you'd expect to see in a staunchly formal English garden. In autumn, walking from the resinous darkness of the pine woods, the beech grove is all crackling gold. At that time of year, the marble bench presents an even more striking picture in its woody setting. It is entwined with ferns and the scarlet leaves of woodbine, Parthenocissus quinque­ folia, that echo the leaves of solid marble. The line between the bench's formality and the surrounding wildness becomes even more finely drawn, and makes for a great bit of garden theater. 6 -Margaret Hensel

Margaret Hensel Margaret Hensel is a landscape designer and writer li ving in South Lee, Massachusetts.

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