DOROTHY HAMILL Gardener, Olympic Gold Medalist

I remember helping my mother in her garden when I was little. I was so proud.

Now, when my daughter, Alexandra, helps me in our garden, I get that same wonderful feeling, like remembering a dream.

My mother let me feed her plants with Miracle-Gro, a cupful at a time.

Today, I wouldn't use anything else. Like mother used to say,

for ALL FLOWERS ALL VEOUABLES .} ALL QAI\DE~ PLANTS •

MIRACLE-GRO erican Horticulturist Volume 73, Number 6 June 1994

ARTICLES

The Man Who Moves Mountain Laurels by Sydney Eddison ...... 18 Richard Jaynes' controlled crosses and the advent of tissue culture are bringing new colors, shapes, and sizes to these native shrubs.

Hydrangeas-So Passe, So Today by Kathleen Cullen ...... 25 They're as fusty as high-buttoned shoes-and the perfect accoutrement for today's natural landscapes.

Of Twiners, Tendrils, Hooks, and Blebs by Robert Geneve ...... 30 Darwin and his contemporaries appreciated a fine vine.

Play It Again, Sambucus JUNE'S COVER by Martin Watennan ...... 35 Photographed by Joanne Pavia As time goes by, gardeners may rediscover the multipurpose elderberry. Hydrangea macrophylla-known On Fire for Phlox by a spate of common names including hortensia, mophead, by James H. Locklear ...... 38 snowball, and French hydrangea­ Will Americans warm up to these useful natives, or let Europeans is an Asian immigrant that fairly keep claiming the hottest introductions? rings with summer memories for many Americans. Called a "changeable" by the British, its flower colors evolve slowly in DEPARTMENTS spring, become mottled as they recede in fall, and at peak Commentary ...... 4 bloom, can be bright pink or blue depending on soil acidity. Offshoots ...... 5 Beginning on page 25, Long Island landscape designer Kathleen Members' Forum ...... 8 Cullen considers the uses of a shrub that has transcended the Natural Connections ...... 10 vagaries of fashion. Natives at Risk ...... 11

Gardeners' Information Service ...... 12

The Urban Gardener ...... 13

Plantrng the Future ...... 15

Book Reviews ...... 16

Classifieds ...... 44

Pronunciations ...... '.' ...... 46 American Horticultural Society

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

OFFICERS 1993-1994 Mrs. Sarah S. Boasberg Chairman he letter from a lifetime member was Washington,D.C. short and to the point. She liked Dr. William E. Barrick what she was hearing about the First Vice Chairman T American Horticultural Society and the Pine Mountain, Georgia Mrs. W. R. J. Dunn programs and plans that were underway. Second Vice Chairman "The new programs are challenging and Birmingham, Alabama ambitious," she wrote. "They reflect a new Mr. William A. Pusey Secretary breadth of activities as well as a new em­ Washington, D.C. phasis on education." Mr. Gerald T. Halpin The major educational vehicle of AHS Treasurer has always been American Horticulturist, Alexandria, Virginia our monthly publication. We have recently BOARD OF DIRECTORS added several new departments while con­ Dr. Thomas Amason tinuing to keep members informed about Birmingham, Alabama sources, new books, upcoming events, and Mrs. Suzanne Frutig Bales Bronxville, New York the latest research. We couldn't do all this without the contributions of Dr. Sherran Blair authors, photographers, editorial advisory board members, and unher­ Columbus, Ohio Mr. William F. Brinton alded sources of information for our staff. Mounr Vernon, Maine This month two of those helpful people will be officially joining our Mrs. Nancy H. Callaway magazine's editorial advisory board. They are Richard Lighty of the Mount Pine Mounrain, Georgia Mr. Paul Ecke Jr. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora in Greenville, Delaware, and Encinitas, California Elvin McDonald, whose hundreds of garden photography and writing Dr. John Alex Floyd Jr. credentials include serving as U.S. editor for the award-winning The Birmingham, Alabama Mrs. Julia D. Mobart American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening. Troy, Ohio In the months ahead our leadership and educational efforts will continue Dr. Richard L. Lower Madison, Wisconsin to evolve, not only through our publications but also through sponsorship Mrs. Martyn L. Miller of many public events, my weekly national "Growise Gardener" radio Ashton, Maryland show, and member services such as our Gardeners' Information Service Mrs. Walter M. Morgan Jr. Nashville, Tennessee and our Free Seed Program. We want our members to know what we are Mr. William G. PanniU working to do for you, your community, and the nation. Martinsville, Virginia As part of that strategy we will be publishing some special issues on Dr. Julia W. Rappaport Santa Ana, California important topics. The first of these will be the proceedings of our two Mr. Geoffrey L. Rausch national symposia on children and gardening--our successful 1993 event Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mrs. Jane N. Scarff and keynote topics from the one we are co-sponsoring this August with New Carlisle, Ohio the Montessori Foundation. In coming months, we will develop another Mrs. Josephine M. Shanks special publication based on our National Home Composting Park. Houston, Texas Mr. Emanuel Shemin These publications will be presented so that the programs they describe Greenwich, Connecticut can be easily duplicated in your communities. We hope by doing this to Mr. Andre Viette show that AHS is not just a magazine subscription, but also a voice for Fishersville, Virginia Ms. Katy Moss Warner bringing all Americans, from amateur gardeners to representatives of the lake Buena Vista, Florida green industries, together in pursuit of the "green ethic." Mr. Monroe Whitton Alexandria, Virginia Those for whom the green ethic means greater use of native plants should enjoy this issue. You' ll get an in-depth look at phlox, a perennial much loved in England but underappreciated by Americans, and vis it with PRESIDENT Richard Jaynes, "Mr. Mountain Laurel." We'll also hear about hydran­ Dr. H. Marc Cathey geas-both natives and the "old-fashioned" Asian varieties-and learn how early scientists studied the climbing mechanisms of plants. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT My letter from the long-time member ended by saying that educating Mrs. Helen Fulcher Walutes everyone to be successful and more environmentally responsible gardeners wi ll take many bold acts. We at AHS are taking those steps. Watch us in the months ahead! H. Marc Cathey, AHS President

4 JUNE 1994 American Horticulturist

Editor Kathleen Fisher OFFSHOOTS Managing Editor Mary Beth Wiesner Assistant Editor Chris Bright Editorial Assistant Steve Davolt Design Director Joseph Yacinski Designers Bob McCracken Reg Perry Membership Director Darlene Oliver

Editorial Advisory Board John Bryan Sausaliro, California John Creech Hendersonville, North Carolina Keith Crotz Chillicothe, Illinois Panayoti Kelaidis Denver, Colorado Richard Lighty Greenville, Delaware Peter Loewer Asheville, North Carolina Elvin McDonald Housron, Texas

Advertising AHS Advertising Department We sometimes ended our excursions at a 2300 South Ninth Street, Suite 501 Remembrance of Flowers Past Arlington, VA 22204-2320 particular corner of the market where an (703) 892-0733 By Mary Yee elderly lady sat on a low stool and cradled Color Separations a shallow reed tray of flowers. Not tired Heartland Separations, Inc. en I was a little girl in Hong roses swaddled in white paper or gay bun­ Printer Kong, my family lived in a house ches of robust country flowers-the old William Byrd Press, Inc. without a refrigerator. I didn't lady held a lapful of snipped buds, each the W Replacement issues of AMERICAN HORTICULTUR - feel deprived in the least. Not having a soft color of old ivory, the long outer petals 1ST are available at a COSt of $2.95 per copy. The refrigerator meant that my grandmother, faintly edged in sepia. Their fragrance was opinions expressed in the arricles that appear in AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST are those of the head cook and major-domo of the house- intoxicatingly sweet. authors and are not necessarily those of the Society. hold, visited the food market nearly every My grandmother would buy only one Botanical nomenclature in AMERICAN HORTICUL­ TURIST is based on HORTUS THIRD. Manuscripts, day. On Saturday mornings I was allowed bud-forme. On the walk homeI would peel an work, and photographs sem for possible publication to accompany her. the outer petals to feel the cool satin of the will be returned if they are accompanied by a self-ad­ At the market, we would go from the inner folds. Every few steps I waved the bud dressed, stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee the safe return of unsolicited material. open-air butcher shops with their hanging in front of my face and sniffed rap,turously. AMERICAN HORTIGULTURIST , ISSN 0096-441 7, carcasses to the Jungle gym of the r-m---;fJ----, Once at home, the b ~ d might is the official publication of the American Horticultural Sociery, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA poultry cages, where chickens 01 ... have been abandoned on a win- 22308-1300, (703) 768-5700, and is issued 12 times a and ducks fretted next to opales- dowsill. My little sister might year. The American Horticultural Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated ro excellence in horticulture. cent guinea fowl. Fishmongers have seized it in her eager baby Membership in the Sociery includes a subscription ro refreshed their glassy-eyed hos- ~ r hands. Bruising touches would AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST. National member­ tages with buckets of cold water, · cause the sepia of the petal edges ship dues are $45; twO years are $80. Foreign dues are $60. $15 of dues are designated for AMERICAN carelessly thrown. Fruits, vegeta- " to gradually stain the entire bud. HORTICULTURIST. Copyright © 1994 by the Amer­ bles, nuts, herbs, and spices gleamed from By late afternoon the flower lay crumpled ican Horticultural Society. Second-class postage paid at Alexandria, Virginia, and at additional mailing of~ baskets and enamel basins. If a holiday was and sere, but the fragrance lingered. fices. Postmaster: Please send Form 35 79 to AMERI­ approaching there might be delicacies or When I was eight years old, my family CAN HORTICULTURIST, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. trinkets for the occasion. I especially cov- moved to America. Along with a new Produced in U.S.A. eted the brightly colored tissue paper lan- country and a new language we acquired a terns for the autumn moon festival. large refrigerator. In America one did not

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 5 shop for food every morning. And a well-lit My great-aunt's plant had come from a grocery store took the place of the open-air Chinese-run nursery in California. She had market. Now our excursions ended with carried it home to the East Coast herself AHS taking a week's worth of groceries out of and did not believe that the nursery offered crisp brown paper bags. mail orders. I inspected the plant and President's Council Over the years I forgot about the market, brooded. It had a single, rather woody Membership forgot the small, gray-haired lady with the stem; obviously one could not ask for a shallow tray, forgot even the scent of the division. The plant was somewhat scraggly We would like to recognize the flower. Then one day, I opened a bulb catalog and looked far from robust. Given that my following members for their and saw a photograph of a double tuberose. previous attempts at rooting woody­ generous contributions. Their gifts The sounds of ci1e market, the bent figure of stemmed cuttings mostly ended in failure, of $1,200 or more support the the flower seller, the memory of a glorious it did not seem fair to this plant to take one Society's many programs. perfume all came back to me. Sadly, I had no of its few branches. Reluctantly I decided I plot of ground or even a sunny window for had to acquire my own plant. a pot of tuberoses. And the florists I knew I knew, of course, that the name "white Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Angino didn't carry so exotic a flower. jade orchid" would be of little help. The Azalea Society of America Months later, I sniffed a tuberose in a Chinese called many flowers "orchids" the Suzanne Bales Mexican flower market. The fragrance way other people call many flowers lilies or Mr. G. Carl Ball was rich and lovely, but not the one en­ daisies. I was not quite sure that hunting in Mr. George C. Ball Jr. shrined in memory. I examined the florets orchid books or collections would bring me Vivian Elledge Ball and found no faint sepia tracery. My mar­ the plant I wanted. But since the plant was Mrs. Alfred Bissell ket-day treat had not been a tuberose. obviously tropical, I turned again to books In a desultory way I continued to search Dr. Sherran Blair and catalogs of exotic plants. for my mystery blossom. In front of Nepal­ In the catalog from Logee's Greenhouses Mrs. Mary Katherine Blount ese temples I bought little leaf bowls of of Danielson, Connecticut, I came across Mrs. Sarah S. Boasberg blossoms, searching for satin ivory petals Michelia figo, a Chinese member of the Mrs. Elspeth G. Bobbs edged with brown. In department stores I magnolia family described as bearing Mrs. Nancy H. Callaway allowed myself to be dampened with a mist creamy yellow and purple flowers and hav­ Mrs. Susan M. Cargill of the latest perfume in the half-hearted ing a delightfully sweet fragrance. This Dr. and Mrs. ~. Marc Cathey hope that an astute "nose" had discovered sounded most promising: although I would Mr. and Mrs. Glen Charles my cherished scent. Then the name of the not have made the connection on my own, Mrs. WiHiam R. J. Dunn Jr. flower might have been revealed in a glossy now that it had been suggested, the heavy Mr. Paul Ecke Jr. advertising leaflet. substance of the "white jade orchid" John Alex Floyd Jr., Ph.D. I acquired more nursery catalogs, dis­ seemed very like that of magnolias. In a Mr. Gerald Halpin covering how many species answered the book on Hawaiian flora, the authors de­ Mrs. Samuel M. V. Hamilton description of a cream-colored, perfumed scribed M. alba as a flower brought by Mrs. Richard W. Hamming tropical flower. Having become more so­ Chinese immigrants to Hawaii and called Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Harris phisticated in matters botanical, I focused "white orchid" in Chinese. An order went out to Logee's im­ Mrs. Enid A. Haupt on jasmines. Yet photographs of species after perfumed species failed to match the mediately. I wish I could say that the plant Mrs. Julia D. Hobart flower of my recollection. proved astoundingly robust and bloomed Claude Hope In my years of hunting, I never asked my within months. No, it quietly expired on a Mr. Philip Huey grandmother about the flower. Perhaps I sunny windowsill after putting out a few Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Kulp Jr. was afraid she might have turned a puzzled leaves. A larger plant, acquired from an­ Mr. and Mrs. Gordon H. Ledbette~ face to me and denied that a tray of slender other source, also departed for a better Mr. and Mrs. David M. Lilly ivory buds ever beckoned from an old place without producing a flower. In her Mrs. Frances B. McAllister lady's lap. Perhaps I didn't really want to book A Southern Garden, Elizabeth Law­ Mrs. Paul Mellon find the flower, fearing it could never really rence described Michelia as "one of the Carol C. Morrison have smelled so sweet. I should have evergreens difficult to transplant." I can­ Mr. William G. Pannill trusted more and asked sooner. not, however, take the gentle hint that per­ Dr. Julia W. Rappaport On a visit with my grandmother to a haps this is not the plant for me; a Mr. Harry A. Rissetto great-aunt's house, I casually inquired tantalizing scent from long-ago spurs me Mr. and Mrs. William N. Scarff about a large house plant that was sum­ on. So more orders are going out. Soil Josephine M. Shanks mering out on the patio. My aunt's re­ mixtures will be adjusted, watering rou­ sponse was electrifying: white jade orchid. tines changed. I may even try replacing Mrs. Peter Spalding Jr. She said it in Chinese and the soft words Mozart's late quartets with daily recitals of Mr. William M. Spencer III fell into an empty place in my memory, Chinese folk music. My unreasonable hope Miss Jane Steffey next to the mind's image of tapered buds. is to find a nursery that will sell me a plant Mr. and Mrs. Charles B. Thomas It was as though I had always remembered already laden with tapered, ivory buds V. Mrs. Harry Van de Kamp the name. I turned to my gra~dmother and edged in sepia and fragrant with the beck­ Katy Moss Warner asked about the old lady with the reed oning memories of childhood. Mrs. Marillyn B. Wilson tray. She remembered her and remem­ bered how much I had enjoyed picking out Mary Yee is a free-lance writer living in one perfect bloom. Silver Spring, Maryland.

6 JUNE 1994

Summer Gardening MEMBERS' FORUM Classes

Continuing Education at Top Gesneriad we mentioned are still in the experimental The New York Botanical Garden. As an old friend of Darrell Trout and a stages. Wholesale buyers like your nursery We offer general interest and fellow board member of the Greater New stand a better chance oflocating an accept­ York Chapter of the American Gloxinia able substitute than do individual consum­ beginner classes, certificate and and Gesneriad Society, I was pleased to see ers buying on a retail level. Bulk purchasers college-credit programs, his article on gesneriads in the February might consider the following possibilities: advanced workshops, Master issue. However, as vice president of the Scotts Hyponex, a marketer of lawn and Classes, and courses for New York City African Violet Society, I garden products, sells various growing professional development. must take exception to one sentence in the media, including peat. But Scotts also mar­ informative and beautifully illustrated kets a mixture of compost and peat. Scotts Classes are held at convenient piece, viz, "The best-known gesneriad is can be reached at (800) 221-6220. the florist gloxinia, Sinningia speciosa." If you live in the Southeast, another pos­ times during the day, evening, The best-known gesneriads are the sibility is rice hull compost. It's used as a and weekends. Saintpaulia hybrids, the African violets that peat substitute on golf courses, athletic grace windowsills and plant stands around fields, and in potting media-usually in the world. George R. F. Baker combination with peat. Phone McMaster's Ornamental Herbaceous New York, New York Rice Hull Compost, (800) 622-4855. Plants: Perennials Top moss, the living layer of sphagnum starts June 15 Torrid 'Cleopatra' moss, is being harvested on a sustainable Contrary to what the picture caption on level from bogs in Wisconsin. Much of this page 21 of the February issue claims, the moss is brokered through Northwoods "torrid licks of red" on the leaves of Epi­ Organics in Minnesota. Tom Lebar, man­ Gardening on the Edge: scia 'Cleopatra' do not show how the ager of Northwoods, cautions that top The Design of Coastal genus earned its common name of flame moss should be substituted for ordinary Gardens with violet. That name was earned by its peat only in certain specialized applica­ tions, such as packing, topiary work, and Patrick Chasse flowers' usual color (orange-red) and shape, like that of a violet. layering and germination media. Top moss starts June 22 Incidentally, most E. cupreata have no is more expensive than peat and breaks red at all in their leaves. 'Cleopatra' is the down more rapidly. On the plus side for relatively rare exception. Larry Miles nurseries, it can be milled to specifications The Modern Daylily Independence, Missouri and doesn't need sterilizing when used for July 12 seed germination. Northwoods can be Peat Alternatives reached at (218) 727-8479. I enjoyed reading Chris Bright's article Of course, another alternative is muni­ Ornamental Herbaceous about peat bogs in your December issue. In cipal compost if it is available in your area, Plants: Annuals a side bar to that article, several alternative although its quality can vary widely. starts July 13 and experimental substitutes for peat were mentioned. I would like to learn more Defending English Gardens about these products and where ,------, In the February book review of Gardening with Heaths they are available. Please print Allen Lacy's Gardening With the names of companies offering Groundcovers and Vines, Paul and Heathers these products so that we here at Capiello writes that Mr. Lacy July 18 Yerba Buena Nursery can try urges American gardeners to de- them. We are always interested in velop their own style instead of methods less damaging to the en- trying to recreate the English gar- vironment. Cathy Simms den. I contend that the reviewer completely Call us for a free ---=B=-o-ta-n-ic-a-'-'I Woodside, California misses Mr. Lacy's point. Continuing Garden Education catalog In addressing the question as to how to 718-817-8747, Chris Bright responds: Despite the interest create English gardens, Mr. Lacy says that ask for dept 136 in peat alternatives, they can be difficult to we Americans cannot create the English find on the garden center shelf. Many that climate, and that only a handful of us can

8 JU NE 1994 grow towering delphiniums or blue Hima­ layan poppies. But, what we really want TRICKER'S when we ask how to make our gardens Water Gardens "more English, somehow" is the style of planting that characterizes such a garden. Tricker's has been selling .. "a style that is as possible to achieve in and hybridizing Water New Jersey or North Carolina as in Kent," Mr. Lacy writes. He believes that an Lilies for nearly 100 years! attitude toward plants is also involved­ "the willingness to let plants be plants," to Isn't it time you grew a let them weave through each other as they Tricker Water Lily Today? grow. He summed up the English style of planting as he has observed it at Our New 1994 Complete Sissinghurst, Hidcote, Great Dixter, and Color Catalog has: other gardens in Britain in three words­ • the Largest selection of tropical density, depth, and diversity. He then elab­ Water Lilies in America! orates on each of these aspects, showing • ExceUent Prices. clearly how we American gardeners--even • Quality guaranteed. those of us who live in Kansas!-can create • Original Tricker Water Lily hybrids of aU colors of the rainbow! our very own English gardens. • Instructions on making and planting Gardening With Groundcovers and a water garden pool. Vines is a good read for many reasons. It is • Videos and books on Water Gardening. • Assortment of ornamental fish. worth buying if only for the section entitled • Water garden pool supplies. "I Want an English Garden." Paul Capiello should apologize to Allen Lacy and his SEND $2.00 or call: fans. Lyn Holiday 1-800-524-3492 Overland Park, Kansas (Mastercard or Visa) refundable with order

Paul Capiello responds: Mrs. Holiday is William Tricker, Inc. correct in pointing out that Lacy empha­ 7125 Tanglewood Drive sizes using the English style with plants Independence, OH 44131 adapted to the American climate. I agree with Lacy entirely on this point. It is inap­ propriate to try to cultivate "English" COME SEE THE plants here simply because they are com­ GARDENS OF THE WORLD monly used in England. WITH My criticism of English gardens lies not with the choice of plant material but rather EXPO GARDENS TOURS IN 1994 with the prevalent feeling of many Ameri­ • COSTA RICA • FRANCE • ENGLAND can gardeners that the so-called English VISIT:• • LOUISIANA • DELAWARE • PACIFIC NORTHWEST style of garden design is the only type • HOLLAND • ITALY worth having. The British did not invent WRITE OR CALL FOR FREE BROCHURE garden design, nor have they perfected the art. They have simply developed a highly GARDENS of the WORLD with recognizable style. And while I have no personal bias against the style (I even have AUDREY HEPBURN VIDEO TAPES a portion of my own garden that could be compared, somewhat, to an English cot­ An excellent gift item for travel buffs, nature lovers, tage garden) there are other styles out garden enthusiasts, and fans of Audrey Hepburn there. The French, the Italians, the Japan­ • ROSES & ROSE GARDENS ese, and yes, even some Americans have, VOLUME • COUNTRY GARUENS over time, developed their own styles. I like I • PUBLIC GARDENS & TREES to feel that garden design is one of the great forms of personal expression, and to sty­ • FLOWER GARDENS VOLUME mie that expression with preconceived • FORMAL GARDENS II ideas of correctness of style seems, to me, • TULIPS & SPRING BULBS counterproductive. Six title Collector's Edition $139.95. Three title Gift Pack (Vol. lor Vol. II) for $69.95 each set. Individual tapes $24.95. Correction 1',.. . 1h< To order send a check or money order adding $3.50 for In our April issue, credits for two photo­ ' ~..l ;' .. PkS.s..-. S&H and 8.25% sales tax for New York State residents. graphs on page 19 were transposed. Dick T W-lI";.\I'\"D SI"UI' f: ~ 'J · II.." For info. & ordering: EXPO GARDEN TOURS Keen photographed the southern magnolia 145 Fourth Ave., Suite 4A/Dept AH - New York, NY 10003 and Michael S. Thompson photographed Tel. (800) 448-2685 - (212) 677-6704 - Fax (212) 260-6913 the 'Pinkspire' summer-sweet.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 9 NATURAL CONNECTIONS

Wild Roses the seed-eating birds are after the vitamin­ rich rose hips, which during the lean ost people think of roses as the months of the year are a valuable food. quintessential garden plant, but Some native roses are known to attract as M few realize how great their possi- many as 38 species of birds. bilities are for wildlife gardening. You may also find rabbits, voles, and The rose most commonly planted for mice amid the roses. In winter, the rabbits wildlife is Rosa multiflora, a spiny, fast- and voles may gnaw the stems, butthe mice growing Japanese species that can grow 10 usually focus on the hips. Often the mice feet high and 15 wide. Birds and small move into abandoned birds' nests; they mammals shelter in it and consume its hips "winterize" the nests by filling them with and shoots. But it's extremely invasive. dried grass, then burrow inside. That's You may want to choose a native rose where they feast on the hips. instead. North America is blessed with over What wild roses should you plant? Here 100 native roses, and with their white or pink are some of the more rewarding possibilities. single flowers, often large hips, and mound- R. nutkana is native to the West Coast, from ing habit, many are handsome shrubs. California to Alaska. It grows to six feet and It's true that wild roses are home to a vast produces pink flowers. R. gymnocarpa complement of insects, but many of these grows in the Pacific Northwest and as far insects are worthy of attention in their own inland as Montana. It can reach eightfeet and right, and few do the plants any serious harm. flowers in pink as well. R. woodsii ranges For starters, native roses are usually polli- from the Southwest to the upper Midwest. It nated by our native bumblebees, rather than endures very arid conditions, reaches six feet, by exotic honeybees. Leaf-<.:utter bees slice and flowers in pink or white. Also in the out circles of leaf tissue to line the nests they Midwest you'll find R. setigera, which can build inside the stems of various plants. grow as far south as Texas and as far east as o Please send me a free catalog. About 50 gall wasps lay their eggs in the Florida. It reaches 15 feet and blooms in o Please send me 100 Mammoth stems and the results can be quite beautiful: either pink or white. R. carolina, at three feet, Darwin Hybrid Tulips for $19.95. some of the galls look like eggs or tiny sea and R. palustris, at six, occur over the entire o Payment enclosed: ____ urchins. A full appreciation of native roses eastern half of the continent. The latter is o Olarge to: 0 Master Card 0 VISA may require an insect field guide. especially useful in very wet areas. Both Acct. No.: ______While you probably shouldn't hedge your flower in pink. The Northeast is home to R. carefully tended collection of Austin roses nitida and R. virginiana. R. nitida reaches Exp. Date: ______with a thicket of natives, many of these in- only two feet, while R. virginiana reaches six. Name: sects confine themselves to the genus. So Both are pink-flowering. Where their ranges Mailing Address: ______while you may find the bright red, ,------:=~ overlap, wild roses hybridize long-snou ted rose cllrculios readily. Their refusal to conform Shipping Address: _-'--_____ munching the buds of your wild to our categories helps to keep rose, they'll do your prize daphne our native roses interesting. no harm. Similarly, many of the The prospect of birds' nests, City: ______aphids, sawflies, and leafhoppers chewed leaves, and imperfect State: _____ Zip: _____ that have evolved with the wild blooms may not conform to Phone Number: ______roses cannot feed outside the genus Rosa. everyone's idea of a rose garden. But if you And all those bugs invite more appealing have a place for a native that's tough as Va", e",Sc1c", l",c. visitors. They're a big draw for insectivorous nails-and one tha t will bring a good share Stillbrook Farm birds, like warblers, which sometimes nest in of the wild along with it--{;onsider plant- 313 Maple Street, Litchfield, CT 06759 wild roses. So do mockingbirds, thrashers, ing a native rose. -Chris Bright (203) 567-8734 cardinals, sparrows, and catbirds. Many of Assistant Editor

10 JUNE 1994 BEAUTY FROM NATIVES AT RISK BULB~

that give the pl ant a matted appea rance. Most perenni al phloxes are pollinated by moths or butterfli es, but botanists aren 't rea ll y sure if the sa me is true for Texas trailing phlox. "We've never seen moths or butterflies around the plant," says Mike Warnock, a researcher who has been study­ ing th e rare phlox for rw o years. " But then we've never see n anything else pollinating it either. " The Texas trailing phlox rarely produces seeds, but sprea ds vegetati ve ly. Phlox nivalis s ubs p. texensis o nce thrived in 17 locati ons in Hardin, Polk, and Tyler counties. Housing deve lopments have sprouted in places where the plant used to spread its eve rgree n shoots. In the pas t 30 yea rs, land cl ea ring for urban de­ velopments, pine plantations, and hi ghway and pipeline construction have reduced populati ons to rwo locations, one within Texas Trailing Phlox the Roy E. Larse n Sa ndyland Sanctuary managed by the Nature Conservancy of ula Whitehouse discovered the first Texas, and another on private property population of Texas trailing phlox near Woodville. The u.s. Fish and Wildlife E( Phlox nivalis subsp. texensis ) in Service listed th e Texas trailing phlox as 1931. The subspecies, known only in endangered in September 199 1. Texas, was common in the Big Thicket- Fire suppression is the plant'S biggest an open, grassy, frequently burned, long- threat. The sandhill plant community needs leaf pine (Pinus palustris) sandhill in fire to maintain its di versity and structure­ southeastern Texas with a midstory of left unchecked, hardwoods "would shade Serving America's fInest bluejack oak (Quercus incana) , post oak out these plants and create deep duff and (Q. stellata) , and yaupon (Ilex vomitoria). litter," says Wendy Ledbetter, a restoration gardens for over 80 years. The area includes a wide diversity of forbs biologist with the East Texas office of the John Scheepers, Inc. offers the most and grasses , including bluestem Nature Conservancy. "Use of prescribed fire spectacular collection of flower bulbs (Schizachyrium sp.) and beardgrass is the most impottant tool that can be used to enhance your garden's beauty. (Bothriochloa spp.). to maintain healthy populations." There Send for FREE catalog Texas trailing phlox is usually found grow- were 23 phlox plants growing at Sandyland Send for your free color catalog ing with bird-foot violet (Viola pedata). The in 1985. After several burns, the population featuring Holland's largest selection phlox's deep rose, lavender, purple, ,------, has grown to about 400 specimens. and finest quality of flower bulbs. rose pink, or white flowers make The plant's potential as an or- Name: ______a spectacular show when the namental makes it interesting to plants bloom in March and April. botanists, plant breeders, and Street: ______This phlox is fairly short- rare plant enthusiasts. But gar- flowering clumps may only reach deners can re-create a patch of City: ______six inches tall-and has rwo kinds Texas without endangering one of stems, each with a different leaf. Flower of our rare natives. Many bea utiful State: ______Zip code: ______stems are upright and have deciduous phloxes are commercially available. Creep­ lance-shaped leaves. Nonflowering stems ing phlox (P. subulata ) is a good substitute John Scheepers, Inc. trail on the ground and are covered with that will bring a bit of the Big Thicket into ~fffil~ P.O. Box 700 Bantam, Connecticut 06750 dense, needlelike, evergreen leaves. These the garden. -Mary Beth Wiesner (203) 567·0838 sterile stems support many shorter stems Managing Editor A2~ ~~

AMERI CAN HORTICU LTURIST 11 GARDENERS' INFORMATION SERVICE

Q : Can you give me information on habit, it is not considered invasive. ternifolia}, you should prune it back by Hepatica americana, including a source Hardy to USDA Zone 4, catnip grows about one-third after it has finished flow­ for purchasing it? 18 inches to two feet tall, has small, grayish ering in midsummer. -N. M., Camden, South Carolina green leaves and four-to-five-inch spikes of If your honeysuckle vine produces lavender blue flowers. paired flowers on the current season's A: Hepatica americana, an herbaceous Nepeta species are excellent in borders, growth, it is Lonicera japonica, which perennial, is commonly known as liverleaf. herb gardens, or for edgings and walk­ should be pruned back when the plant is According to the Doctrine of Signatures, ways. They need sun and well-aerated soil. sti ll dormant in winter or early spring. It plants could be used to treat the body part Once established, they are drought and can be cut back a little or a lot, depending they resembled, and the rounded lobes of heat tolerant, but don't like heat coupled upon how much it needs to be contained. an H. americana leaf give it a shape resem­ with extended humidity. If your vine produces many long, narrow bling that of a liver. Some gardeners feel that for formal beds, whorls of flowers it is probably L. x Its flowers, which consist of six catnip is too unrefined compared to its brownii, L. periclymenum, or our native L. rounded lobes, can be lavender blue, relatives. Shearing it back four inches or so sempervirens. These honeysuckles should white, or pink. It grows four to six inches after it flowers will extend bloom time and be pruned immediately after they have fin­ tall and occurs naturally in woodlands give it a better shape. Shear it back again ished flowering. Cut back as much as you'd from Nova Scotia east to Minnesota and several inches from the ground in the fall. like, but make sure to cut right above a into our Southeast. Cats do love the smell of the foliage and nonflowering shoot. Hepatica is an excellent plant for natu­ you will probably find them rolling around If your honeysuckle is hopelessly over­ ralizing woodlands and other shady sites, or sleeping on the plant. grown and tangled, you need to take more including any shaded area of a rock gar­ Other recommended species and culti­ drastic measures, cutting the stems off to den. It needs well-aerated acidic soil rich in vars of Nepeta include N. x faassenii, within about six inches of the ground. Let the organic matter and benefits from a light which grows to 18 inches tall with a more foliage die and dry out and it will be much mulch of leaf mold. Easy to start from seed upright habit than N. cataria, and N. easier to remove. If you do this now to a vine or divisions, Hepatica needs little care once gigantea 'Six Hills Giant,' the taltest of the that flowers on the previous year's growth, established and will self-sow if the soil is catmints at three feet in height. It tolerates you will have to wait one year until it flowers evenly moist. humidity better than the other species. agam. -Maureen Heffernan Nursery propagated sources for Hepat­ For more on Nepeta, see "The Catmint Education Director ica include Roslyn Nursery, 211 Burrs Muddle," American Horticulturist, August Lane, Dix Hills, NY 11746, (516) 643- 1993. 9347, catalog $2; Shady Oaks Nursery, 700-19th Avenue N.E., Waseca, MN Q: My butterfly bush and honeysuckle BLACK WALN UT BLU ES 56093, (507) 835-5033, catalog free; and vine are growing too well! How and when I Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery, 2825 Cum­ can prune them?-M. w., Chicago, Illinois mings Road, Medford, OR 97501, (503) One of the most frequently asked 772-6846, catalog $2. .------, A: The most commonly grown questions received by our Gardeners' butterfly bush is Buddleia Information Service hotline is what Q: I'd like to plant catnip for davidii, which blooms on the cur­ plants will grow under a black wal­ my cats this year, but have heard rent season's growth. Therefore nut tree. For a list of plants that will that it can be invasive. Is this the best time to prune it back is grow under these toxic trees, send $1 true? Is there one that would be in early spring before it has begun and a SASE to: Gardeners' Informa­ less invasive than others? to grow again. Not.only can the tion Service, 7931 E.ast Boulevard -F. R., Vancouver, British Columbia shrub be pruned back this hard, but it Drive, .Alexandria, VA 22308. The should be, every spring. Otherwise, it will hotline, (800) 777-7931, is staffed A: Because camip, Nepeta cataria, is in the become woody and leggy and have fewer from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. eastern time mint family, it might be assumed that it has flowers. If you have a butterfly bush species Monday through Friday. the invasive tendencies of many of its rela­ that flowers on the previous season's ti ves. But while camip does have a sprawling growth, like the fountain buddleia (B. al-

12 JUNE 1994 Native and Cultivated Conifers of Northeastern North America A Guide

EDWARD A. COPE. ILLUSTRATED BY BENTE STARCKE KING THE Now in Paper! "The author achieves all he sets out to do ... This book will be a great help to the student, URBAN GARDENER botanist, landscaper, horticulturalist, and home gardener." - Canadian Journal of Forest Research

"The guide is consistently expert and thorough, yet simple enough for an amateur to use. The numerous drawings are exceptionally well Starting Trees Right The loss of so many roots is especially executed. Edward Cope has successfully man­ hard on trees once they have leafed out and aged both to facilitate identification of conifers for the botanist or naturalist and to provide f the city gardener has a friend, it would are transpiring more rapidly. Like mara- valuable information for the landscape architect, have to be Nina Bassuk, program thon runners, they face serious conse- nurseryperson, or home gardener." I leader of the Urban Horticulture lnsti- quences if they don't take in fluids. -American Reference Books Annual tute at Cornell University. In this respect, container-grown trees A C OMSTOCK BOOK The institute, which has two full time have an advantage over those purchased 28 iI/us., 181 line drawings, $16.95 paper faculty members and five to six graduate balled-and-burlapped ("B-and-B"), since students, was formed 14 years ago to re- they bring their entire root system with At bookstores or call search problems of urban vegetation. "We them. But container trees can become pot- (607) 277-2211 focus on trees because we believe that is bound, with tangled roots that won't regen- where our efforts will be most rewarded," erate: "When that happens, you need to Cornell Bassuk says. The institute works primarily tease the roots out," says Bassuk. You may UN IVERSITY PRE S S with city foresters, landscape contractors, need to cut into the ball a bit to do this, but botanical gardens, and others who plant be gentle. "Some people split the root ball Sage House' 512 East Stale Street· Ithaca :--'Y 14850 public landscapes. But their research can and spread it like a butterfly. That's pretty benefit anyone who believes that planting drastic and we don't recommend it." a healthy tree is about the best thing we can Container-grown trees have other draw- do for the overpaved, overheated, and backs. They need to be protected in the often overly hostile places where too many winter, for instance. The hardiness zones of us must live. given for plants, notes Bassuk, "assume "City trees don't get a lot of after-care," that their roots will be in the ground." She Bassuk continues in explaining the compared the ground to a large body of institute's focus. " There's usually no water, whose temperature doesn't fluctuate This French rain spout has served Reims money for it. We can have the most impact much compared to a small one. Container Cathedral for 700 years, guarding during the period of the trees' establish- trees also need more irrigation when against evil spirits. 15" deep. #991 Interior $48 (+ 5.50 shpg.) ment." That means carefully matching the they're transplanted. Water drains rapidly #6991 Outdoor $56 (+ 5.50 shpg.) site to the tree, moderating the soil condi- from the medium they've been growing Mounted on POSt wi th base tions, and transplanting the tree properly. in-usually a lightweight soilless mix- Interior $68 (+ 7.50 shpg.) Transplanting trees is so physiologically ture-and having all those roots intact stressful to them it's a wonder that any means the trees are transpiring faster. And survive. Studies have shown that some 95 if you want a big tree, you probably won't ~nt to really put your rain spout to work for your percent of a tree's root system can be left be able to buy it in a container, because OUf historical rain spouts can be a functional part of your behind at the nursery when it is dug from growing them that way is more expensive. home or office. Call us for more information! a field to be shipped and sold. If a tree is Another option-sometimes the only growing in a relatively undis- ,...------, choice when buying through Florentine Gargoyle turbed site, its roots will spread mail-order-is a bareroot tree. in Cement to three times the diameter of its "Bareroot trees can potentially An attractive choice crown. Clearly, it's going to be retain more of the original root indoors or out. 13 "H. impossible for even the most system," notes Bassuk, aI'ld if #5801 Enriched Cement $62 careful grower to ship many of :." ':. :.-:.... ;: there is any damage to the roots, (+ 9.50 shpg.) these roots with the tree. .' '" . : ".~ . .: . ",' it can be spotted easily. But these But root tips are the tree's water-absorbing trees, of course, have to be moved while Free Color Catalog! organs. They're also sites of hormone synthe- they're dormant. sis, and their loss disrupts the chemical sig- Another possibility not yet widely used 1-800-525-0733, ext. A559 nals to the developing shoots. The smallest is fabric containers. The container, which DESIGN TOSCANO§ roots are the most efficient at absorbing is put in the ground, lets in water and air. 15 E. Campbell St., Dept. A559, Arlington Heights, IL 60005 water, and also the first to become desiccated. It also allows roots to penetrate for a short

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 13 distance. The result is a root ball with more of the important fibrous roots. "This ha s SPECTACULAR BULBS not necessarily been a tremendous advan­ Rare and unusual flowers from England's leading tage," says Bassuk. "The fabric can rip off bulb specialist - now available to American gardeners! root growth, and you need' to water much more initially. You can grow big plants, but Arisaema Lilium Iris Tulips Crocus the root ball stays small, and this can cause Fritillaria Narcissi Cyclamen Scilla And Much More! problems when you put them in the land­ Make your garden a showpiece! This selection of the world's most scape." unusual flowering bulbs includes hundreds of choices - from the The upshot of all this is that there is no collection of prestigious Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner shock-proof system for transplanting trees. Jacques Amand. J A d But the glamour of buying a big balled­ FREE CATALOGUE acques man and-burlapped tree is possibly over-rated, P. Box 59001, Dept. AH064, Potomac, MD 20859 1-800-452-5414 ~: especially given how much heavier they Tne greatest variety of bulbs from Europe are. "A two-inch caliper tree produced in a container can be lifted by two people," says Bassuk. "A two-inch caliper B-and-B tree would require a tractor." "A must for butterfly fans." The best news for those of us on limited -Michael Levy, The Buffalo News budgets is that in many ways, small is better anyway. One study has found that a four-inch diameter tree and a lO-inch di­ ameter tree will be the same size 13 years BUTTERFLIES THROUGH after transplanting. "Large diameter trees give you an instant effect for landscaping," BINOCULARS says Bassuk, "but physiological stresses A Field Guide to the Boston­ increase exponentially with tree size." New York-Washington Region Trees generally maintain a root-shoot ratio, so their branches won't grow much Jeffrey Glassbe,rg until their roots have regrown. The four­ and lO-inch trees have lost the same ratio of roots, but the four-inch tree has lost a "The first of its kind .... smaller amount and its above-ground growth will resume in five years, compared The photographs are clear and large to 13 years for the 10-inch tree. enough to extract the information Other tree-planting tips from Bassuk: needed at a glance .... if you judge the The planting hole should be no deeper than the root ball and at least three times as value of a field guide by how well it wide. In a deep hole, the root ball can settle works in the field, then Butterflies and suffocate. Water well and gently tamp through Binoculars is a clear win- down the soil to eliminate air pockets, which can hamper water movement and decrease ner.. .. For those that have not yet the soil available for root regeneration. explored the world of 'the wildflowers Don't lift trees by the trunk. Their cam­ that fly' I earnestly recommend this book." bial walls are thin in the spring and their bark is easily "slipped." -Richard L. Orr, The Audubon Naturalist After a B-and-B tree is in its hole remove paper $19.95, cloth $49.95 artificial burlap and wire baskets. Pull nat­ ural burlap down from the top. Refill the planting hole with the soil you Butterflies through Binoculars offers these important features: took out of it unless you can amend the entire bed to accomodate the spread of • Well over 300 full-color photos of living b.utterflies several years' root growth. • Entirely new field marks for easy identification Don't wrap your tree to protect it from sunscald. Current research indicates that • Complete accounts of flight times, ranges, and seasonal patterns for all species this does more harm than good. Trees generally don't need staking unless • Forty specific locations where rare species can be seen they are on open, windy, and wet sites. Guy wires can disfigure and girdle trees and pro­ longed staking can give them a bent shape, To charge, call 1-800-451-7556 (M-F, 9-5 ES1) says Bassuk. "A tree needs to have some At better bookstores or directly from OXFORD PAPERBACKS movement for good root establishment and better flare at its base." -Kathleen Fisher Oxford University Press • 200 Madison Avenue • New York. NY • 10016 Editor

14 JUNE 1994 PLANTING THE FUTURE

Indelible Impressions ries. A viewing station with an ant farm behind hinged doors lets you imagine your­ By H. Kibbe Turner self as a tiny creature scurrying through a tunnel-or powerful enough to move huge Editor's note: The Children's Discovery boulders on your back. Sitting on a Pond, one ofthe children's gardens installed wooden bench, you can touch a smooth, last summer at the American Horticultural wiggling earthworm or grub, and get to Society's River Farm headquarters, was one know these small workers in the garden. of 10 projects recognized in a national en­ But the Discovery Pond is only one gar­ vironmental challenge contest sponsored by den. The techniques that can be used to the Amway Corporation and Newsweek attract children to gardens are both simple magazine. We asked its designer, H. Kibbe and endless. First, gardens should be de­ Turner of Wildlife Habitats in Gaithers­ signed from where they will be viewed­ burg, Maryland, to reflect on what makes a from kneecap level to just a bit higher. successful children's garden. Next, they should interact with as many of the senses as possible--even skunk cab­ o children, the aspects of gardening bage is a part of our world and an experi­ are limitles~, far exceeding what our ence to be remembered. Tmatunty might allow us to perceive Even more for children than adults, a as gardening. To the young- and in some garden has three dimensions. It is not just cases the young at heart-a garden is pure a place to look at, but a space to move experience-as fresh as the seasons that through. A simple spiral maze of bricks laid trigger renewal. end to end will wind children to its center A garden is the sensation of wet, the and unwind them out again. A path is a rustle of leaves and grass, the perfume of road to follow, a ditch is a whole valley fruit and flower-or well-rotted manure. It with two sides and a bottom to explore. Stepping stones take children into is the feel of dirt-dry and granular, or wet Weeping trees and overgrown fountain­ the magical, marshy interior of and heavy and coolon arms, legs, and face shaped shrubs like forsythia beckon chil­ the Children's Discovery Pond at until it dries and cakes and peels off. The dren to crawl into a private world where River Farm. textures of plants, their colors, tastes, imagina tions soar and reveries become shapes, structures, and fragrances, imprint vivid. A simple structure overgrown with Teach them to nurture. Make a pattern themselves on young minds incidentally but pole beans or morning-glories is at once a garden of herbs or annuals that an older indelibly. As adults, what appeals to us as place of magical escape and a stage on child can form and a younger child can garden aesthetics is often really a stirring of which children can act out their vision of plant. Or have no pattern at all, but a these earlier basic emotions, and becomes the real world. "splotch" of flower seeds thrown by a little our communion with nature. No wonder Nodding sunflowers splash the sky with hand, to be cared for attentively until they that a garden has such power, from youth color and lure birds, squirrels, and chip­ bloom. Or surround them with edible through old age, to heal and renew us. munks. Zinnias and purple coneflowers plants to pick and taste, so they learn how The Children's Discovery Pond bring butterflies, which one little the soil nurtures them. at River Farm is an outdoor class­ visitor to River Farm last year Introducing our youth to the miracles of room and a wildlife habitat called "the flowers with wings." nature should begin with plants, the suste­ meant to be experienced. In a Give your children an open nance of the animal kingdom. Activities in time when many of our young space where they can lie on their and around gardens and natural settings people have known plants only as backs to watch the grotesque out­ help them to understand the interrelation­ seeds growing in a paper cup, it line of a branch or tree against the ships of soil, air, water, and the interde­ is difficult for them to be in touch with the sky or storm clouds swirling in a kaleido­ pendence of humans on their wonders of our natural world. Lying on scope of fantastic shapes, colors, and surroundings. your stomach in the cool, wet grass and moods. Let them reflect on the world more All of these elements, and all of these watching a plant break through the soil is literally with a gazing ball that will show experiences, are represented in the gardens a multisensory experience that creates them a fisheye view of the sky and trees and for children at River Farm. These are a few wonder, runny noses, and lifetime memo- their own funny faces. of their favorite things.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 15 Garden Break-Aways at (§f/;lieil4 Come stay with us and enjoy a relaxing, informative experience. BOOK REVIEWS

Seeds of Change: The Living Treasure Kenny Ausubel. Harper, San Francisco, 1994. 232 pages. 73/8" x 91f8". Color pho­ tographs and black-and-white drawings. Publisher's price: softcover, $18. AHS member price: $16.25.

In the course of producing a documentary film in 1985, Kenny Ausubel discovered a cause. He was photographing plants in a New Mexico garden when he learned that genetically diverse varieties planted for thousands of years are endangered by uni­ For further information contact: form hybrids. In 1989 he founded Seeds of Felicita Garden 8reak-Aways Change, a company that preserves and sells 2040 Fishing Creek Valley Road Harrisburg, PA 17112-9245 organically grown native seeds-"a botan­ Phone (717)599-5656 ical ark, a genetic shelterbelt against an eroding future." This is the third book entitled Seeds of Change to appear in the last d€cade. But sells its seeds in 1,000 stores. Each section UNIQUE Ausubel's approach to his subject is clear ends with references and the book con­ HOUSEPLANTS from the clause that ends the subtitle: "The cludes with a five-page list of sources of Passionate Story of the Growing Move- plants, seeds, and information. ment to Restore Biodiversity and Revolu- Ausubel's original contribution is his tionize the Way We Think About Food." story of one of many nongovernmental He tells of people with a mission, and his organizations dedicated to the survival of account is personalized and emotional. a diversity of plants. Combining this ap- The first of three sections offers vivid pealing story with extended discussions of sketches of the people involved in Seeds of genetic erosion, multinational seed compa­ Change. It also discusses biological diver- nies, and nutrition diffuses its impact. sity, genetic erosion, the power of multina- These vital issues have been debated at tional seed companies, the displacement of length and in depth from a broader per­ delivered to your native varieties by modern hybrids, and the spective by many leaders of the plant ge­ doorstep environmental damage caused by pesticides netic resources movement. and fertilizers. Ausubellabels the multina- Ausubel's breezy style and vivid word Established in 1892, Logee's is tional seed industry "a stealthy thief in the pictures convey his story. effectively, but in one of the country's foremost dark night of the biodiversity crisis." my opinion his viewpoint is not broad mailorder sources of rare tropicals. In "Nutrition and the New r======::::-, enough to analyze biodiversity Our color illustrated catalog lists over 2,000 of the finest fragrant and Cuisine," Ausubel insists that nu- fully. For example, he discusses flowering plants. tritional values, not appearance amaranth and other crops of the or yield, must be the primary cri- Incas without mentioning Noel terion for seed selection. He Vietmeyer, the author of Lost Logee's points out the risks of "techno- Crops of the Incas and an author- veggies" -genetically altered ity on amaranth. That's lih ex- Greenhouses foods-and describes four innovative res- plaining the theory of evolution without 141 North Street taurants, giving generous samples of their referring to Darwin. Dept. AH nutritionally correct recipes. But it's Ausubel's enthusiasm that saves Danielson, CT 06239 In the final section Ausubel describes the the book. He writes, "I love working with a Catalog $3.00 refundable development of Seeds of Change. The firm global array of gardeners in direct action on now includes 80 growers in 27 states and behalf of life and its magnificent diversity." If

16 JUNE 1994 you share his passion, you will enjoy Seeds authoritative fl ora. I would have preferred job of weaving in advice from their hosts of Change. -Isabel Shipley Cunningham to see the updated binomials, whi ch reflect so that we can learn from their successes years of important sc ientific research and and fai lures. Isab el Shipley Cunningham is a contribut­ discovery-and w hi ch would have in­ In the back ofthe book is a "propagation ing editor of Diversity, a news journal cov­ creased the book's useful life. The recent primer"-to help discourage coll ection of ering plant genetic resource issues. name changes could have bee n summa­ plants from the wild; Integrated Pest Man­ rized by expanding the book's already agement basics; and state-by-state li sts of Complete Garden Guide to the lengthy cross reference secti on. native plant nurseries and pl ant societi es . Native Shrubs of California This said , I recommend Keator's new For anyone familiar with Druse's work, Glenn Keator. Chronicle Books, San Fran­ book and look fo rward to his next one. it goes witho ut sayin g that the photo­ cisco, 1994. 314 pages. 7" x 10". Black­ Grasses, perhaps? -James Trager graphs are stunning: beautifully com­ and-white drawings. Publisher's price: posed, sensiti ve ly lighted, and generously softcovel~ $16.95. AHS member price: Dr. James Trager is the naturalist at the proportioned. That's true ge nerall y, al­ $15.25. Missouri Botanical Garden's Shaw Arbo­ though there are some I wouldn't have retum in Gray Summit, Missouri. chosen to use, and a number that seem Interest in landscaping with regional native redundant. Nevertheless, thumbing casu­ plants has blossomed in recent years. It's The Natural Habitat Garden al ly through this book should sil ence for now a full-blown movement that ranges Ken Druse with Margaret Roach. Clark­ good those who contend that a natural from incidental use of a few natives to son N. Potter, New York, 1994.248 pages. garden is somehow uncivilized. restoration of entire native plant commu­ 81i2" x 11114". Color photographs. Publish­ My bi ggest quibble with the book is the nities. The movement seems to have begun er's price: hardcover, $40. A HS member capti ons, italicized in light type and often in the tallgrass prairie region of the Amer­ price: $36. only one to a two-page spread, so that one ican Midwest several decades ago, but it struggles with instructions to read them now spans the globe. What on earth is Ken Druse doing writing "clockwise from bottom left." The ocean, the mountains, and a wide about deserts and prairies, bogs a nd wood­ The natural gardening philosophy has range of latitude have given California a lands? Isn't hi s garden just a tiny little been around for quite some time now, and varied climate, and the state has an impos­ patch of Brooklyn? some of its proponents may cavil that ing richness of nati ve shrubs to match. Druse's two previous books-The Nat­ Druse is not saying anything new here. Over 500 of them are included in Glenn ural Garden and The Natural Shade Gar­ They should instead rejoice that their be­ Keator's treatise, which covers their ecol­ den-were based to some extent on hi s li efs have been wrapped up in a gorgeous ogy, aesthetics, sources, and propagation. own experiences gardening on a sma ll city Drusian package, w hi ch just might be It's a vi rtuall y complete reference from the lot. In this book, he and Marga ret Roach opened and read by their chemicall y de­ gardenerlla ndsca per's perspecti ve. become reporters, gathering and distilling pendent neighbors. -Kathleen Fisher This book will be an important addition the experiences of others. Clark Kent and to the library of any California nati ve plant Lois Lane never got an assignment this Kathleen Fisher is editor of American Hor­ enthusiast, whether currently resident in the juicy: traveling from coast to coast and ticu Itu ri st. "Golden State" or not. Within California, interviewing the most influential people in it should be required reading for horticul­ the New American Garden movement turists-as should Keator's ea rlier work, while touring the private and public gar­ Book Order Form Complete Garden Guide to the Native Pe­ dens they have created. D Seeds of Change: rennials of Ca lifornia, published in 1990. Druse call s the experience a religious The Living Treasure ... .. $16.25 In the wild, much of the state's flora is in one, and compares the growing enchant­ D Complete Garden Guide poor shape and Californians are growing ment with natural gardens to the women 's to the Native Shrubs of increasingly aware of the need for restora­ movement of the '70s: there is not one California ...... $15.25 D The Natural Habitat Gardener. $36.00 tion. Keator 's book has a role to play here single leader, but many who have taken up too, as a reference on the shrub component the cause because it strikes a moral and Postage and handling: $2.50, first book; $1.50 of plant communities in repair. emotional chord. each additi onal book. Virginia residents add I have two minor reservations about the The book is divided into four sections 4lfz% sa les rax. Please all ow six weeks for deliv­ ery. Prices are subject to change without notice. book. The style is somewhat textbookish, based on divergent habitats: grasslands, and thus may fail to capture the interest of drylands, wetlands, and woodlands. Each is Enclosed is my check for $ ______those not already converted to botanical introduced with a combination of philoso­ o Visa 0 MasterCard Exp. Date: nativism. This problem is worst when Ke­ phy, basic ecology, a plant list, and examples ator is dealing with ecology and propaga­ and tips for gardeners. Then Druse and Acct. #: tion; in the accounts of individual species, Roach, an environmental writer for News­ Keator's enthusiasm for his subjects is day, take us with them for more extensive Signature: more obvious. The abundance of useful visits to exemplary habitat gardens. These Ship to: information and the elegant drawings may be well-known public institutions, like Street: ______should also help overcome Keator's stylis­ the National Wildflower Research Center in tic failings. Austin, Texas; the homes of gardening celeb­ Ci~: ______My second reservation is that Keator rities like author Sara Stein; or properties used a botanical nomenclature " familiar to described circumspectly as a " private resi­ State/ Zip: ______the gardening public and the horticultural dence." It's rare that you get much practical MAIL TO: AHS Books, 7931 East Boulevard trade" rather than that of the most recent guidance from a coffee-table book such as Drive, Alexandria, VA 22308-1300. AH6/94 revision of The Jepson Manual, the state's this, but Druse and Roach have done a good

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 17 The Man Who Moves Mountain Laurels Richard Jaynes' faith in these evergreen beauties has given him 35 years of challenge and reward.

B y s y D N E y E D D s o N

he flowers of mountain laurel curl up in winter. It is also imposing, reach­ are as exquisite as any in na­ ing 12 feet or more at maturity. ture. The pink-tinged buds, ar­ Richard Jaynes believes that for natural­ ranged in domed clusters, izing, our mountain laurel is about as ideal open into star-shaped cups as a plant can get. But naturalizing is only Twithin which 10 stamens radiate like a one way to use plants. Gardeners want sunburst. These intricate filaments end in more options, and Jaynes has made it his anther sacs imbedded in the wall of the life work to expand the possibilities of this blossom. Maroon dots decorate the sock­ eastern native shrub. ets. As the corolla opens the filaments be­ After 25 years as a plant breeder with the come taut, and at the first incursion of a Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Sta­ bumblebee, they release one or more of the tion, Jaynes retired in 1984 to devote him­ spring-loaded anthers. Pollen is thus dis­ self fulltime to his laurel breeding program bursed, dusted on the bee's abdomen. and nursery. Not only has Jaynes intro­ The charms of the mountain laurel don't duced about half of the approximately 50 end with its fascinating pollen-discharging mountain laurel cultivars in commercial mechanism and the beauty of its flowers. It propagation today, but he is the interna­ is also tough. Hardy to USDA Zone 4, tional registration authority for the genus. Opposite: Richard Jaynes does his Kalmia latifolia thrives as far south as Flor­ This means that the International Horticul­ indoor work in a Broken Arrow ida. It is more drought-tolerant than a rho­ tural Congress has made it his responsibil­ Nursery outbuilding where he keeps dodendron, which it resembles, but its ity to keep records of all named cultivars tools from textbooks to tractors. shiny, elliptical, dark green leaves don't past, present, and future, and to periodi-

18 JUNE 1994 cally publish a checklist in a recognized Active in the 4-H Club, Jaynes grew for the U.S. Forest Service, helping ento­ botanical journal. "People are supposed to vegetables to show at the local county fair, mologists in Minnesota collect samples send the necessary information to the reg­ and was so successful one year that he won and count egg masses of the spruce bud istrar, but what usually happens is that 1 see a prize of 250 fledgling Christmas trees. "I worm, a serious pest in northern conifer an unfamiliar name in a nursery catalog can remember my mother, my aunt, my forests. His boss noticed that young and have to chase it down," he says. Jaynes dad, and myself grubbing out sod around Jaynes, who would finally settle on a biol­ hasn't been content to merely publish arti­ the edges of the apple orchard to plant ogy major, was far more interested in the cles, but has woven this cultivar checklist those trees," he recalls with a smile. "I also plants than in the insects. into a book describing all members of the remember big groans going up a year later A subsequent and even more fateful genus and its history in cultivation. when the 4-H County Agent decided we summer job took him to the genetics de­ When Jaynes was 11 years old, his par­ had done so well with the Christmas trees partment at the Connecticut Agricultural ents bought eight acres of land in Hamden, that 1 won another 250 trees." Experiment Station, where he helped with Connecticut-land that would become Jaynes never consciously thought of the breeding work of Donald F. Jones, a part of the business Jaynes now calls Bro­ himself as following in his scientist father's pioneer in the hybridization of corn and the ken Arrow Nursery. His mother was "very footsteps, but the twig was quickly bent. American chestnut tree. Jones took a shine much a gardener" of both vegetables and Looking back, it probably should have to his young assistant and made him an flowers. His father, an entomologist, reno­ been clear that he was going to be a scien­ irresistible offer. vated the small apple orchard he found in tist, but as a student at Wesleyan University "He said, 'If you go to Yale for your Hamden. "So we were, in a small way, in in Middletown, Connecticut, he felt confu­ graduate work, we will give you a fellow­ the apple business. We harvested 200 or sion about his future. ship here to do research on anything you 300 bushels of mostly McIntoshes each fall Through the auspices of his father, he want.'" With that inducement, Jaynes and sold them roadside," says Jaynes. was able to spend two summers working abandoned the idea of leaving his home

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 19 state to further his scientific education and phylla, from Oregon's Cascade Moun­ Most striking of a ll the variants is the entered Yale. " I was split three ways as a tains, forms a ground-hugging mat of min­ banded mountain laurel, K. latifolia var. graduate student," he recalls, earning a ute leaves barely two inches off the ground. fuscata, with its bold circle of burgundy or degree in genetics while his thesis advisor The notion of mixing and matching such cinnamon brown inside the corolla. was in the School of Forestry and his other diverse traits appealed to Jaynes. In The Thanks to Jaynes, many permutations of advisers were at the experiment station. Laurel Book II, his 1988 update of hi s this pattern have appeared in gardens in It was the experiment station that hired original 1975 volume on the gen us, he the last decade. Some variations have been him full-time after graduation, and he muses: "It would be wonderful if a moun­ found in the wild. 'Goodrich', with a band began casting about for a field of special­ tain laurel hybrid could be developed pos­ so broad its cup is alm ost filled with wine, ization. Jones urged him to work with hol­ sessi ng the general mountain laurel traits was se lected from a Connecticut popula­ lies, and he developed a small collection. plus the solid, deep wine-colored flowers ti on. But most banded introductions are Another mentor suggested that there were of sheep laurel and the easy rooting char­ the result of controlled crosses. There is the advances to be made in the rhododendron acteri stics of eastern bog laurel." But pol­ 1982 introducti on 'Caro usel', w h ich genus. "But too much had already been linations between species usua ll y failed, or sports a cartwheel of bright burgundy done," Jaynes felt. "So many of the nice were steril e and useless for further refine­ against its white corolla. The 1987 plants in gardens were already complex ment, or at best were unappealin g. He was 'Pi nwheel' has flowers that resemble sweet hybrids that it wasn't a good place for a beginning scientist." Then Jaynes remembered that a fellow graduate student had done an ecological study on mountain laurel. "That more than anything else turned my head to thinking, 'What about Kalmia?' It's the state flower. The nursery industry was the most rapidly growing segment of agricul­ ture in Connecticut. Interest in ornamen­ tals was increasing by leaps and bounds. Kalmia is a small genus-only seven spe­ cies. And the literature didn't indicate that anybody had ever made a controlled cross of Kalmia. " Jaynes had found his vocation. Now in his 50s, lean, and deliberate as befits a scientist, he recalls his first efforts. "I started collecting the species, and whatever variants we could find mentioned in the literature, from gardens, arboreta, and botanic gardens, and began making inter­ specific crosses. The initial thrust was to disappointed but not surprised, since ge­ A favorite with Jaynes for its deep take all the genetic variation that was avail­ netic barriers are common between species. pink coloring is 'Sarah', opposite, able among the species and use it to de­ But Jaynes found a lode of genetic diver­ named after his wife. The stamens of velop new horticultural plants." sity in mountain laurel rich enough to keep a mountain laurel flower, above, form The possibilities were intriguing. The in­ him busy for a quarter century. Besides a taut spring that loads pollen onto dividual flowers of the different species are differences normally found in wild popula­ visiting bumblebees. similar in shape, but they vary dramatically tions, the species boasts five distinct genetic in size, color, number, and position on the variations. stem. The flowers of mountain laurel are Because of its narrow, straplike leaves, usually light pink, relatively large at about K. latifolia var. angustata is commonly an inch in diameter, and borne in terminal called the willow-leaved mountain laurel. clusters. Sheep laurel (K. angustifolia var. Dwarf mountain laurel, K. latifolia var. angustifolia), on the other hand, has dimin­ myrtifolia, is less than three feet tall with utive blossoms-less than half an inch proportionately dainty foliage and flower across, and emerging from the leafaxils of clusters. K. latifolia var. obtusa, a compact the previous year's leaves. The corolla is form found near Pomfret, Connecticut, in deep purplish to bright pink. 1903, is distinguished by its oval leaves. The species also vary considerably in The flowers of K. latifolia var. polypetala stature. ' Western laurel (K. microphylla) resemble orange blossoms, with starry co­ would be at home in a rock garden, seldom rollas cut into fiv e narrow pointed seg­ exceeding six inches tall in its native Rocky ments, while K. latifolia var. apetala lacks Mountains. K. microphylla var. micro- petals entirely.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 21 Williams. In 'Freckles', commercially in­ tury and had no success with either. troduced in 1983, the band is broken into Vegetative propagation is slow at best. A ten pronounced cinnamon purple spots mother plant can provide only 10 to 20 just above the anther pockets, enlivening shoots in a given year. The following year, the inside of a pale pink corolla. the plant may have recovered sufficiently Even before Jaynes took up their cause, to furnish yet another 10 or so. At this rate, banded and red-budded mountain laurels building up a supply large enough to sell were prized by a few discerning nursery­ clearly takes many years. men. In the 1940s John Eichelser of Melrose In 1975, two landmark events changed Nursery in Olympia, Washington, was one all this. W. C. Anderson published a paper of the first people to commercially propa­ on propagating the closely related rhodo­ gate mountain laurels from cuttings. One of dendron by tissue culture, and Briggs Nur­ the selections he worked with, which came sery opened a facility for commercial tissue from the garden of a Mr. Ostbo, was the culture in Olympia, Washington. first red-budded form to receive a cultivar Using tissue culture, or micropropaga­ name, 'Ostbo Red'. Jaynes believes Ostbo tion, it is possible to take a minute portion got the first of these plants from C. O. of a single dormant bud, grow it in a sterile Dexter, a rhododendron hybridizer in Sand­ medium under controlled conditions, and wich, Massachusetts. Dexter started with wind up eight weeks later with a copse of good pink la urels collected in the wild, grew 30 green shoots, ready to be rooted in a several generations of seedlings, and se­ potting mix. In the spring of 1981, Jaynes lected those with the deepest flower color. mailed four promising mountain laurel se­ But neither he nor Eichelser were known to lections to a tissue culture laboratory. By have made crosses. fall, the selections had been isolated in Edmund V. Mezitt of Weston Nurseries culture and shoots were emerging. Within in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, was another two years, thousands of small clones of pioneer, although he probably made few if these new introductions were ready for any controlled crosses. In the 1960s "Wes­ distribution to nurseries. ton already had many beautiful selections Once quantity was no longer a problem comparable to some of the named selec­ in Kalmia breeding, Jaynes could concen­ tions we have today," Jaynes says. Mezitt's trate on quality. He is especially pleased excellent pink, banded, and red-budded with the increasingly rich pinks, and he laurels probably resulted from planting his considers 'Sarah', named for his wife, one choicest selections close together where of his finest. The buds are vivid red and the they were cross-pollinated by bees. "He open flowers a deep red pink. Stems and grew half an acre of seedlings, but he didn't new foliage are reddish bronze. know who their papa was," says Jaynes. He also likes 'Little Linda', named for "Knowing both parents gives you much his daughter. "This is one I have a great more influence over the result." deal of hope for," he says. "At this stage, I So it remained for Jaynes to establish the think it is a neat little plant. There are also first systematic breeding program for some new ones that are a little different in mountain laurels. He knew from experi­ flower. They don't have the universal ap­ ence that woody plants mean a long-term peal of the spectacular red buds, but they're The flower of sheep laurel, top, is commitment- growing mountain laurels interesting." In 1972 Marjorie and Hollis smaller and more purple than from seed to flower takes five to seven Rogers sent him photographs of a plant mountain laurel, but its foliage is years. But the patient gardener, he says, they had spotted near Danbury, North unattractive in winter. The pollen learns to enjoy the excitement and discov­ Carolina. Introduced by Briggs a decade parent of 'Sarah' was 'Pink Charm', ery that the waiting itself brings. "Every later, 'Shooting Star' has five distinct re­ above, which Jaynes selected in 1974. day and every season the plants cRange, flexed lobes. Now a banded version with He was the first breeder to and watching them grow, develop, and the same flower form has caught Jaynes' consistently record the "papa" of his mature is its own reward." fancy. "You would hardly recognize it as a introductions. The broad band of Breeding one stunning new mountain mountain laurel," he exclaims. color inside 'Pinwheel', opposite, is laurel is only the beginning. The next step Another goal is to transfer the vivid pink typical ofJaynes' Kalmia latifolia var. is producing thousands to be enjoyed by colors, red buds, and banded patterns onto fuscata selections and hybrids. gardeners, and in Jaynes' words, "moun­ small, compact plants that he describes as tain laurel is most intransigent." The plant semidwarfs. They tend to grow rapidly has been notorious for being difficult to when young, then slow down when they propagate ever since British naturalist begin to flower, remaining about a third Mark Catesby brought seeds and plants smaller than normal mountain laurels but home from the Carolinas in the 18th cen- with dense foliage .

22 JUNE 1994 Both time and nature have precluded the southeastern tip of South Carolina-it pines, balsam, fraser and Douglas firs, and Jaynes' working with other Kalmia spe­ could be used to increase Kalmia heat tol­ white and blue spruce. "We have 'choose cies. "Sheep laurel has a nice flower," he erance. Tom Dodds, a nurseryman in and cut' Christmas trees, and my own kids observes, "but the foliage droops in the Semmes, Alabama, is growing open-polli­ have been involved on a part time basis." fall and looks bedraggled all winter." He nated crosses of the two plants, but so far Jaynes is openly proud of his offspring, collected seeds from widely dispersed ge­ hasn't responded to Jaynes' urging to select all three of whom have followed him into ographical areas with the idea of crossing and propagate selections. scientific careers: both sons have doctor­ it with mountain laurel to give it a broader, Today Jaynes seems to have the best of ates in chemistry, and his daughter has a flatter leaf but never succeeded. both worlds, officially retired but working master's degree in psychology. He is more The western laurel and bog laurel (K. at what he loves best at Broken Arrow, reluctant to talk about his own achieve­ polifolia) have some potential for western which lies on a knoll ringed with wooded ments, but he admits to being delighted gardens, he says, but the bog laurel tends hills. The house he and Sarah built in the with the number of new mountain laurel to be leggy and neither are "good doers" '60s takes advantage of a superb view. On selections in the trade. in the East. the south, the land slopes to a valley of "Kalmia is becoming available in garden An intriguing possibility is a cross be­ birches and oaks. In the distance the Sleep­ centers. Instead of a handful of nurseries tween mountain laurel and sandhill laurel ing Giant, a low bulky mountain ridge, producing a few plants, you're seeing acres (K. hirsuta), which grows to about two feet presents its northern face. In winter, coni­ and acres of container-grown mountain high with leaves less than half an inch long fers marching across a slope to the south laurel. It gives me satisfaction to know that and flowers-usually solitary-borne in hold snow like a row of Christmas trees. I was involved with that." the leafaxils. Native to a limited area of And in fact, that's what they are. The the Southeast-from southern Alabama 500 trees young Jaynes won from the 4-H Sydney Eddison is author of A Patchwork and northern Florida through Georgia to Club have expanded to 20 acres of white Garden and A Passion for Daylilies.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 23

Hydrangeas- 50Pass~ So Today Crude? Quaint? Refined? Trendy? All of the above.

B y K A T H L E E N ( u L L E N

ome hydrangeas are nostalgic plants. Like lilacs, they beckon us back-the mopheads perhaps to a seaside cottage where we spent a lazy summer, the peegees to Grandma's Victorian farmhouse. But while we choose some plants for these sentimental reasons, we also tire easily of the same old thing. Now and then we like to be the first kid on the blockS with something different. Horticulture is as prone to trends as any other realm of ornamentation, and now that those in the know are moving to natives, hydrangeas can fill the bill here as well, with their oakleaf forms and hills-of-snow. It's been held that the Greek genus name refers to the shape of the seed capsule of the first species discovered-the shape of a water vessel. But I rather like to think of Colette's more creative observation that hortensias (aka mopheads, snowballs, florist or French hydrangeas) are hydrocephalic plants-plants that have water on the brain. This is certainly apropos, since these hydrangeas have an insatiable thirst. When it comes to species names, there is a great deal of taxonomic confusion, as you'll inflorescence, McClintock maintains. "They must look at the snowballs, and French hydrangeas­ small flowers under a dissecting microscope! But they don't want to do that, you see." spell nostalgia to some gardeners, The amateurs add to the confusion with a maze of common names. If a gardener asks vulgarity to others. a nursery for a "snowball bush," does she want a viburnum or a hydrangea? A blue snowball is probably Hydrangea macrophylla. But a white snowball could be H. arborescens, H. paniculata, or Viburnum opulus. And for a little mental exercise, ponder this conundrum: Not alliacecaps are macrophyllas as not a ll macrophyllas are lacecaps. Hydrangea macrophylla has two major subcategories: the hortensias-or whatever other common name you prefer-and the lacecaps. H. paniculata goes by the common names of tree hydrangea or peegee hydrangea, a clipped version of H. paniculata 'Grandiflora'. H. petiolaris is more correctly H. anomala su bsp. petiolaris, and more simply the climbing hydrangea. The two natives are H. quercifolia, the oakleaf hydran­ gea, and H. arborescens, called hills-of-snow hydrangea after a well-known cultivar.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 25 0: W "- «0: r ~ w ::; 0<.

Since the natives are currently chic-and had a stressful growing season, although they have waited long enough to come into the plant is said to do just as well in dry the limelight-they'll get first billing here. shade as in its native moist woodlands. H. arborescens, discovered in the United Oakleaf hydrangeas were discovered in States in the early 1700s, ranges from Iowa 1792 by English explorer William Bartram, to New York and as far south as Louisiana growing along the banks of rivers and and Florida. With a range like that, you creeks. He sent seeds to Peter Collinson in the peegee, and the climbing hydrangea­ might guess that it would be tough, and it London, where the plant didn't bloom for are native to Japan and China. is-hardy in USDA Zones 3 through 9. a decade, then became a smash hit. The hortensias are "in your face" plants The species, however, isn't much to look Two hundred years later there are easily that strut their stuff with abandon, and at. It's a floppy little thing with dull white 20 cultivars for gardeners to choose from, they can evoke the same response as people fertile flowers (alliteration helps one re­ although two are getting most of the press who lack inhibitions. In Home Ground: A member that fertile hydrangea flowers are today. 'Snowflake' was introduced in the Gardener's Miscellany, Allen Lacy calls fuzzy alild sterile ones are showy) and not 1970s as an improvement on 'Harmony', them artificial looking-" a major mistake used much as an ornamental. since its large flower heads don't weigh the on the part of the evolutionary process." But the cultivar 'Grandiflora', or 'Hills­ branches down as much. Its hose-in-hose One of my favorite writers, Christopher of-Snow', is one of those nostalgic shrubs, flowers give it a slightly fringed appear­ Lloyd, finds them both to bless and to popular since its discovery in the wild in ance. 'Snow Queen' from Princeton Nurs­ blame, noting that "they are regarded, in the late 19th century. It has mostly sterile eries, introduced by Wayside Gardens in refined circles, as crude, blatant, obvious, white flowers that weigh the branches 1981, is even sturdier and more compact. coarse, vulgar. . . . I do not like all these down, creating an effect like-you guessed The oakleaf's divided foliage gives it a hortensias at all times and in all places, but it-hills of snow. An improved variety, coarse texture that can be hard for a de­ they have a tremendous luxuriance and 'Annabelle', found in Anna, Illinois, by ]. signer to deal with. I find it too clumsy­ vitality that one cannot help admiring." C. McDaniel, has even showier flowers on looking for a refined garden setting. But it If we observe hortensias closely through stems said to be stronger. is truly magnificent in a woodland, per­ the growing season it's easy to see why the H. quercifolia has been receiving much haps because nature intended it to be there. English sometimes call them "change­ attention from the horticultural paparazzi In the right place, plants have merit regard­ abies." The flowers emerge a chartreuse in of late. One of its great features is its exfo­ less of trends and fashions. early to mid-July and then magically color liating bark. But to me its primary asset It's often said that most plants now up in intense shades of blue, purple, and comes in the fall when its oak like leaves grown in American gardens come from pink, depending on the pH of the soil. And turn a deep mahogany that reminds me, for Asia. The Ice Ages are blamed for ripping unlike many plants that offer such intense some quirky reason, of men's cordovan asunder many closely related plants, and colors, they are quite willing to perform in wing-tipped shoes. The flowers usually perhaps these landscape stalwarts some degree of shade. also turn russet, although on a couple of shouldn't be considered exotic foreigners Size is also in this hydrangea's favor. It occasions I've seen them go from white to so much as misplaced cousins. Three of our grows to only about five feet and can be a dingy, dead, straw color. Perhaps they long-popular hydrangeas-the hortensia, kept much smaller with proper pruning. It

26 JUNE 1994 The fall foliage of the oakleaf hydrangea, left, may be its most striking feature. Opposite is a popular oakleaf cultivar, 'Snowflake'. Lacecaps, above, are a less-often used relative of the hortensias.

forms a neat, compact, dense mound that tion. 'Blue Wave' has proven quite hardy, never gets leggy or messy the way many and the delicate tracery of its pink-laven­ other deciduous shrubs do. der-blue flower heads gives it a subtle, re­ All hydrangeas make wonderful dried fined appearance that will tone down the flowers, but the mopheads give us the ostentatious hortensias. It prefers partial greatest range of colors for that use. If we shade; an east wall or the edge of a wood­ bring them in as cut flowers and forget to land is perfect. add water to their vase as weeks go by, they Also ideal for a woodland is the varie­ just quietly dry their petals and keep their gated lacecap called 'Mariesii Variegata' or form for years. This is especially true to­ sometimes just 'Variegata'. Since it is ward the end of summer when a natural grown primarily for its foliage, I usually drying process occurs in the plant. If left on don't worry about it getting enough sun to the plant the blooms will begin to change flower heavily. The leaves fairly glow in the colors as the various pigments in the petals dark, and planted in masses, the plant can recede. Last to go is the chlorophyll, which draw a viewer toward a focal point or mixes with the other passing pigments to feature in the woods. form mottled hues. A variegated form that I just ordered In "Blue Hydrangeas" poet Rainer from Heronswood Nursery is 'Quadri­ Maria Rilke memorialized these chame­ color', described as having foliage in dis­ leons " ... as old blue letter-paper which tinct shades of pale green, cream, deep the years have touched with yellow, violet green, and yellow, with white flowers. It and gray; ... But suddenly the blue seems sounds like a knock-out. to review itself in one last cluster-and see 'Ayesha' is often called the "lilac hydran­ how the pathetic blue rejoices in the gea" because the emerging flower petals green." have a form similar to the florets of Sy­ If yqu find the mopheads, however cele­ ringa. The flower heads are more elon­ brated, just too predictable, there is a wide gated than most mopheads, approaching range of H. macrophylla cultivars. the cone shape of the peegee and oakleaf. The lacecaps are becoming a bit more It's purported to be borderline hardy here popular, but deserve even wider promo- on Long Island, although Alan Rosen,

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 27 CARING FOR HY 0 RAN GE A S

ydrangeas are one of the easiest shrubs to grow. They are not prone to fade to a delicate, mottled rose. I often severe insect or disease problems, and as long as they receive sufficient suspect that those same people who bad­ H water they require minimal care. mouth this plant in the garden are the ones The most-often asked questions about growing them refer to pruning and failure willing to pay a florist up to three dollars to flower. Since many of the hydrangeas bloom on old wood, a late pruning will per stem for the dried blooms. often cut off the flower buds for the following season. Hydrangea arborescens afld Also from Asia but held in much higher H. paniculata flower on new wood and so Gan be pruned in spring. Some writers repute-praised by authors from Russell say that cutting H. arborescens to the ground in fall will reduce the chance ofwil)ter Page and Margery Fish to Michael Dirr kill. I've never und('!fStood this, espeeially siflce I find it to be one of the hardiest and Donald Wyman-is the climbing hy­ hydrangeas around, and recommend cutting it back for aesthetic reasons onJy; drangea, H. anomala subsp. petiolaris. The shorter stems make it less floppy. famous English garden designer William The best way to pmne any of the hydrangeas is to get d0wn 1fltO the base of the Robinson described one couple growing it plant and cut out the old, thick, woody stems at their base, rather than shearing up the sides of a sunny lattice near French at the top. Top shearing not only can remove developing flowers but also can leave windows. " ... so charmed were the owners the plant with an artificial ball shape. with the tender foliage, feathering the The hydrangeas that fail to bloom tend to be gift hydraflgeas grown ill. hot houses coign of the window, that they made more for sak by florists. These are often too tender to acdirnatetG cold winters, and any lattice-work in front of the window so that flower buds that form are eventually killed by frost. It may be possible to grow the creeper could extend and form a natu­ them in a container that can be moved to a protected spot in winter. ral sunshade before the glass." This plant And then of course, there is the matter of the "chaflgeables." The hortensias are is unique not only because it climbs, but extremely sensitive to aluminum, the uptake of waiGh is regulated by the soil pH. also because of the way it climbs. Clinging If you wamt flowers in the pink by rootlike tendrils that emerge from its ranges, you need to add lime to your internodes, its opposite branches spring soil. Adding aluminum sulfate will out in many different directions, rather intensify the blues. than just laterally on one plane, thus giving Before you add either, check your the vine a very bushy appearance. soii pH. For healthy hydrangeas, This splaying tendency is a factor that the ideal is between 5.5 and 6.5, and should be cOflsidered before planting it in for striking color you will have to cramped quarters. It will not grow flat like go outside these limits. But ex­ Virginia creeper or ivy. And like the peegee tremes, especially toward the alka­ "umbrellas," it may require a bit of pa­ Near-neutral soil will produce this line eRd, need to be avoided. A pH tience, seeming to take forever to show hubbub of colors on hortensias. that is too high can interfere with the some growth. But once it does, watch out! assimilation of vital nutrients such If you have a large wall on the north side as iron and result in sickly yellow leaves. This pH adjustment can be done at any that yo u'd like to see covered in green and time, but is best in fall or early spring. It can take a year or more to see any white, plant it in a hurry and anticipate at significant color change. -Kathleen Cullen leisure. After four or five years it will begin to cover territory and put on a show of large, creamy fertile flowers ringed by overlapping, four-petaled sterile flowers. owner of Plants Preferred nursery, has suc­ quaint. It can be trained to a single trunk There are those who have experimented cessfully grown it here for several years. for a spot where even a small tree might be successfully with growing this climbing hy­ Like most of the "changeables," it has too big. If the common 'Grandiflora' is too drangea into a frustrated shrub. To this I flowers that vary from pink to blue de­ big at 10 to 15 feet, there is a more dimin­ can only respond: "But why?" pending on soil pH. utive variety called 'Tardiva' that might If you're an adventurous gardener, you If you're looking for a small hydran­ suit your taste and purpose. don't need to stop here. The hardiness of gea, the dwarf 'Pia' is the one to select. All varieties arch over gracefully as they some other hydrangea species is open to This hortensia displays reddish pink mature to develop an almost-weeping debate, but the English admire them flowers on a demure three-foot frame. form. With a little patience-a trait that enough to overwinter them in a protected Caution is needed in placing it, however, seems to be in short supply among many area, and there's no reason for American since the flower buds can be killed in of today's gardeners-planting a pair gardeners to be more timid. severe winters. about eight to 10 feet apart will eventually If the hortensias are sanguine, overfed, Another compact plant is the unique and form a grand double umbrella, perfect as buxom ladies taking lunch in the garden, tough 'Lanarth White'. The blooms are an entrance to a special garden. I find that H. aspera subsp. sargentiana is a lean, lacecap in form, with the fertile flowers growing the peegee as a tree displays it to bearded contemplative preferring to be off blue and the sterile ones white. The leaves its best advantage, although the venerable alone in the woods. Usually listed incor­ are narrow, pointed, and pale mat green. Gertrude Jekyll liked to cut it back every rectly-according to McClintock-as H. Like the hortensias, Hydrangea panic­ year and grow it bushy. sargentiana, it was found in China by E. H. ulata is sometimes dismissed as crude­ The cone-shaped flowers develop into a Wilson and introduced in 1908. When you and for the same reasons considered rich, creamy white late in the summer and see the foliage and flower buds for the first

28 JUNE 1994 The peegee hydrangea, left, arches over gracefully and can be trained as a weeping tree. Unlike other Asian members of the genus, the climbing hydrangea, below, is almost universally praised. Hydrangea aspera subsp. sargentiana, bottom, has atypically long, fuzzy leaves with silver undersides.

time, you would never guess you were looking at a hydrangea. The elongated SOURCES leaves are covered with a raspy pubescence and their undersides are a striking silver. Appalachian Gardens, Box 82, Waynes­ The atypical buds open to beautiful boro, PA 17268-0082. Catalog $2. lacecaps in mid-July. Crownsville Nursery, P.O . Box 797, Like the oakleaf hydrangea, it is uncom­ Crownsville, MD 21032. Catalog $2. fortable in the social situation of the gar­ Forestfarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Wil­ den, but in a protected woodland its strong liams, OR 97544-9599. Catalog $3. but gentle texture is truly inspiring. Gossler Farms Nursery, 1200 Weaver Hydrangeas are a lot of things, but rarely Road, Springfield, OR 97478-9663. indifferent, today seemingly going in and Catalog $2. out of fashion simultaneously. But between Heronswood Nursery, 7530 288th Street the showy and the subtle, the formal and N.E., Kingston, WA 98346. Catalog $3. the casual, the rampant and demure, it is Louisiana Nursery, Route 7, Box 43, Op­ difficult to lend any credibility to anyone ellousas, LA 70570. Catalog $5. who boasts of hating hydrangeas. Owen Farms, Route #3, Box 158-A, Rip­ ley, TN 38063. Catalog free . Kathleen Cullen is a landscape designer Woodlanders, 1128 Colleton Ave., Aiken, who lives in Stony Brook, New York. SC 29801. Catalog $2.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 29

vines in perfect concert with the new theory of evolution, but their movements could be detected by the limited---'Yet imaginative--­ experimental tools of the time. It's a mea­ sure of these early insights that our understanding of climbing plants has not changed fundamentally since 1910. The accomplishments of these pioneers are worth revisiting for what they can teach us about a remarkable class of plants-and about the history of science itself. A scientific interest in climbing plants had emerged at least as early as the descrip­ tive anatomical works of Marcello Mal­ pighi, a 17th-century Italian physician. But the first significant work on the subject was published in 1827 by Hugo von Mohl, a German botany professor. That the topic should have taken so long to attract serious attention is surprising, given the promi­ nence of the grape-usually just called "the vine" -throughout botanical history and European culture in general. But earlier authors ·simply referred to vines as climb­ often. considered the "father of botany." ing and mentioned the "claspers" they His lecture notes, which he published in used to do it. Mohl seems to have b€en the 1887, are still worthwhile reading for every first to look further: he noticed that physi­ student of plant sG:ience. Sachs's lecture 38, cal contact was an important factor in the entitled in translation "The Revolving of "irritability" of tendrils. Tendrils and Twining Plants," shows his flair Such was the state of the field when for teaching. Here's the analogy he uses to Darwin turned his attention to it. His care­ explain circumnutation: "The free sweeping ful descriptions defined four classes of apex of the twining plant b€haves much as a climbing plants, and these definitions are man whose arm is extended horizontally and still useful today. Twining plants make up groping towards all points of the compass in the first class. These have no specialized order to fasten to a support." adaptations for climbing: they simply coil Sachs described the process of twining in their stems around a support. Most climb­ remarkable detail. He noted that shoots ing plants are twiners. The group includes arising from seed or dormant rootstock climbing beans, honeysuckles, hops, morn­ don't twine initially: they grow fairly ing-glories, wisteria, and many oth€rs. straight. Circumnutation doesn't usually Tendril climbers make up the second begin until the shoot has developed several class. These vines have specialized or­ internodes-the intervals between the leaf gans-tendrils-that clasp in response to buds. Generally, only the youngest two or touch. Familiar tendril climbers include three internodes move and they usually grapes, cucurbits (cucl!lmbers, melons, and move at different rates. The overall result, gourds), edible peas, and sweetpeas. one exception. The vanilla orchid (Vanilla if you follow the path of the shoot tip, is an. Plants in Darwin's third class scramble planifolia) sparked curiosity because its aer­ S-shaped or elliptical pattern. A complete up supports by means of hooks. Brambles ial roots behaved like tendrils: they made a revolution usually takes one or two hours. of the genus Rubus climb this way. Mech­ clasping movement in response to touch. Sachs noticed that the direction of twining anisms as obvious as hooks aren't very You might not think that Darwin's first could be either clockwise or counter-clock­ rewarding to study, so this dass never at­ class, the twining plants, would yield much wise. Any particular species will usually tracted much attention. in the way of interesting data. But the twine in only one direction. Most twine The fourth class consists of species that revolving movement of the shoot tip--a counter-clockwise. use adventitious roots to attach themselves characteristic of twiners-fascinated Dar­ Other researchers supplied additional to a support. Here we find a small but win and his contemporaries. Darwin in­ details. Hugo de Vries was a student of familiar group of plants, including English vested considerable ellergy in describing Sachs's who went on to teach plant physi­ ivy (Hedera spp.), wintercreeper (Euony­ this movement, kIlown as circumnutation. ology at the University of Amsterdam. In mus fortunei), and poison ivy (Rhus tox­ So did Julius von Sachs. A gifted teacher, 1873, he drew ink lines along the stem of icodendron). Early researchers weren't Sachs was a professor of botany at the ' a honeysuckle to show that the stem below greatly interested in this group either, with German University of Wiirzburg. He is the shoot may twist during circumnuta-

32 JUNE 1994 The tendrils of Virginia creeper, left, have small projections on their tips that enlarge into adhesive disks. The vines of a honeysuckle, opposite, show the turns its stem made in twining to grab a support. Unattached tendrils of gourds, below, can hang like surreal springs up to a foot long.

tion. It had been noted earlier that twining support, it twines around it. You can see plants cannot twine around a horizontal this readily in the climbing nasturtiums support. This led to speculation that grav­ (Tropaeolum spp.). Darwin noted that ity was involved in circumnutation. In only six minutes of contact is necessary to 1906, Wilhelm Pfeffer observed that a pot­ get nasturtium leafstalks to curve, but that ted vine twining around a vertical support the leafstalks wi ll straighten again if con­ will uncoil its uppermost internodes when tact is not maintained. placed on its side. A professor of botany at Another group of leaf climbers produces the Universiry of Leipzig, Pfeffer too had compound leaves. In these species, the irrita­ studied under Sachs. ble portion of the leaf is sometimes along the In a particularly ingenious set of experi­ leafstalk, as in clematis vines. In others, the ments, de Vries disproved the common as­ terminal leaflets may be modified into sumption that twining plants were threadlike tendrils for clasping supports. You somehow reacting to phys ical contact with can see this approach in peas (Pisum spp.). a support-that they "felt" a support and Perhaps the most unusual leaf climbers reacted by coiling around it. De Vries tied are the gloriosa lilies (Gloriosa spp.) and a fine thread to the shoot tip of a kidney the tropical pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.) bean. He ran the thread through a pulley In Gloriosa, the midvein of the leaf extends and counterweighted the bean shoot with beyond the leaf tip to produce a coiled just two or three grams. That was enough hook used for clasping a support. In a to pull the shoot's tip upward for two or similar but more spectacular way, the three internodes. After a few days, the stem pitcher plant leaf has aterminal midrib that coiled up in spirals-just as if it were climb­ grows into a long filamentous tendril. As it ing an invisible support. grows, this tendril may coil around a sup­ Tendril climbers, Darwin's second class, port. At its tip it develops the famous are perhaps the most celebrated vines "pitcher," which traps and digests insects. largely because tendrils do "feel" and Sachs and some of his contemporaries be­ react to contact. Darwin defined tendrils as lieved that the pitcher only developed on "filamentary organs, sensitive to contact tendrils that had found a support to coil and used exclusively for climbing." He rec­ around. But I have seen many Nepenthes ognized that these "irritable" organs could in conservatory hanging baskets in which be modifications of leaves, branches, or every tendril had produced a pitcher with­ flower stalks. out any coiling. The leaf climbers are an especially di­ Grapes (Vitis spp.) offer an interesting verse group. In some cases, very little out­ variation on the tendril theme. By 1887, ward adaptation of the leaf is apparent. Yet Sachs had detailed the similarities between when a leafstalk of such a vine touches a branches, tendrils, and flowers on a grape

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 33 vine. Careful observation revealed organs in small fastening disk at the tip. The most rransition: these were part flower and part common and most studied example is the tendril. Interestingly, modern tissue culture of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinque­ grape can induce the production of either folia). The plant produces typical filamen­ tendrils or flowers, depending on the hor­ tous tendrils, but with small projections at mone concenrrations in the culture medium. the tips. If the tips touch something, they Some of the most spectacular tendrils enlarge into little disks and secrete an ad­ might best be described as modified hesive that glues the tendril to the support. branches. Good examples of this type of Only at this point does the tendril coil, development can be found in the Cucur­ pulling the stem closer to the support. Over bitaceae, the family that includes cucum­ time the tendril turns woody and dies, but bers, melons, and gourds. The tendrils of it continues to furnish a sturdy connection gourds (Lagenaria spp.), especially, are ex­ to the support. traordinary for both their size and shape. The texture of the support's surface is They make a wonderful show when important. Rough surfaces are best and if trained to an overhead trellis or pergola. a tendril encounters a crack, it will often Any unartached tendrils will hang in tightly thrust its tip inside. This may be due to a coiled spirals like surreal springs up to one Ivies use adventitious roots to climb, process called negative phototropism-a foot long. as this one is doing on a Douglas fir tendency to avoid light. In general, as every In 1909, Pfeffer described the develop­ trunk. Early researchers found this school child knows, plants grow towards mental stages of tendrils. Initially insensi­ group less interesting than the twiners light: they are positively phototropic. But tive to contact, the tendril begins to and tendril climbers. not in the case of many vines. Vines may circumnutate once it is fully extended, just deploy their leaves in light, but by bending like the shoot tip of a twining plant. Several their shoot tips or tendrils towards the decades earlier, Darwin's experiments had shade, they give themselves a better chance described in methodical detail the rota­ contact is removed. Finally, if the contact of finding a support. In Virginia creeper, tional time and elliptical shape of many stimulus continues, the tendril will "coil." this penchant for growing away from light species' circumnutating tendrils. Darwin Coiling requires growth of the tendril with was probably first described by Malpighi also observed the minimum pressure re­ the outer cells enlarging more rapidly than around 1650. It was well known to Darwin quired to stimulate a coiling response by the inner ones. Normally coiling continues and his contemporaries. placing threads of various weights on a whether contact with the support is main­ The adhesive disk adaptation occurs in tendril. Some species, like peas and'clema­ tained or not, and the coils tend to grow only a few genera of tendril producers, and tis, responded within minutes to weights of progressively tighter. De Vries removed the it attracted attention fairly early: the first less than a milligram. support of a cucumber tendril after it had anatomical study of the disk was published But it was Pfeffer who recognized that a made five and a half coils and the tendril in 1885. In 1977, two researchers looked tendril is not equally sensitive throughout just kept spiraling, eventually producing at the disk through an electron microscope. its length. Usually the base is less sensitive eight smaller coils. Anton Endress and William Thomson de­ than the tip. He also noticed that some Coiling can exert considerable pressure. scribed the complex cell divisions that species have tendrils that are sensitive on De Vries demonstrated this by offering a formed it and observed that the epidermal only one side, while other species produce tendril a paper support, which the tendril and subepidermal cells secreted a mucous tendrils that are sensitive all th€ way then crushed. The pressure is produced by material. They postulated that the adhesive around. Today we distinguish between continued coiling as well as by an increase was a mucopolysaccharide similar to the thigmotropic and thigmonastic tendrils. in the tendril's diameter. (Early investiga­ substances algae and barnacles secrete to "Thigmo" comes from the Greek word for tors noticed that tendrils coiled around a glue themselves in place. touch. Thigmotropic tendrils curl in the support tended to be thicker than those Our ability to observe the diversity of direction of the contact stimulus. Thigmo­ that were coiling in mid-air.) This contin­ nature has advanced incredibly since these nastic tendrils always curl in the same direc­ ued coiling tends to draw the main stem early observations on climbing plants were tion, whether that matches the stimulus or closer to the support, thereby making other made. But it's intriguing to look over the not. The cucurbits, for example, produce tendril contacts more likely. Pfeffer also shoulders of these 19th-century plant sci­ thigmonastic tendrils. In some species, these thought that coiled tendrils might act like entists-to watch them plumb the myster­ tendrils have specialized cells along their shock absorbers, to buffer the plant in ies of plant movement with their simple, inner surface to act as touch receptors--ei­ rough weather. elegant experiments and meticulous obser­ ther dome-shaped "tactile papillae" or Tendrils may respond in several ways if vation. Those mysteries go to the heart of warty projections called "tactile blebs." they fail to find a support. Sometimes a plant physiology: they concern plant re­ Tendrils move in three ways. Initially the tendril will just dry up and fall off. In other sponse to light, gravity, and touch. Even as tendril circumnutates to increase the cases, as with the cucurbits, the tendril will our own century draws to a close, those chances of contacting a support. After coil into tight loops and lose its sensitivity mysteries have yet to be fully revealed. making contact it "curls." The curling to touch. movement is produced by an enlargement The type of tendril that I personally find Robert Geneve is an associate professor of of the outside cells; it can be reversed if the the most fascinating is the kind that has a horticulture at the University of Kentucky.

34 JUNE 1994 Play It Again, SalTIbUCllS Whether you want fruit or foliage) the once-popular elderberry deserves a fresh look.

BY MARTIN WATERMAN

lderberries were once a popular plant. In North America during the 18th and 19th centuries, they were a valued addition to many gardens and land­ scapesE-both for their fruit and their orna­ mental qualities. But fashions changed, new plants became available, and elderberries declined into obscurity. Today, most gardeners know virtually nothing of our native Sambucus species or of their exotic relatives. Elderberries are members of the honey­ suckle family, Caprifoliaceae. Sambucus contains about 20 species, six of which are native to North America. Best known is S. canadensis, the common elderberry. Long before the arrival of European colonists, native North Americans ate the berries and used other portions of the plant for medi­ cine. Here in Atlantic Canada, for instance, our native Micmacs and Maliseets made a sedative tea from the flowers. The colonists recognized it as a relative of the European The fruit of the common elderbeny can be turned into delicious jelly, jam, elder, S. nigra, and found uses for many or wine, but you'll have to beat the birds to the ripe berries. parts of the plan:s, making jams and jellies as well as teas and ointments. The hollow or cymes of snowy white, which can have life gardeners, since an elderberry in fruit stems were fashioned into spiles-the little a welcome cooling effect in hot weather. is a magnet for birds. tubes that are used to tap sugar maples for Soon afterwards bunches of dark red, pur­ Elderberries in fruit can draw people making maple sugar and syrup. ple, or black berries appear. The weight too, and a number of S. canadensis culti­ Most elderberries are generously pro­ pulls the branches down-an assuring sug­ vars have been bred for fruit production. portioned: S. canadensis may reach 10 feet gestion of plenty. These ofkr the gardener a chance to redis­ and have a six foot spread. They're at their Contemporary trends may revive the cover what must surely be one of our least­ best in summer. The lush, compound leaves elderberry's fortunes. Edible landscaping, known native fruits. Yet elderberries are a have from five to 11 leaflets, depending on the replacement of traditional landscape versatile food. Gardeners who take rhe the species. The foliage can make even material with food plants, may bring the trouble to plant them usually wish they had Nova Scotia look a little tropical. Most elderberry back onto the lawn. So may the discovered them earlier. species bloom in June or July. The flowers growing interest in using native plants. You can eat the berries raw, bur for most are usually born in large fragrant clusters Elderberries also have much to offer wild- of us they're an acquired taste in rheir

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 35 MINDING YOU R E L D E R S

lderberries are easy to grow, as long as you choose a suitable site. They aren't can grow to 50 feet. The leaves don't differ particular about soil type but they do like plenty of moisture. Elderberries won't greatly from those of S. canadensis. The Etolerate standing water, however, so you'll need to find a spot with good berries are large, dark blue, and edible. In drainage. European elderberries usually profit from some light afternoon shade. The the Southwest, there are some desert vari­ American forms will tolerate a bit of light shade, but are usually better off in full sun. eties of S. caerulea. These have grayer Elderberries are normally propagated from cuttings, either hardwood or soft­ lea ves, smaller leaflets, and fewer berries. wood. Rooting hormone is rarely necessary since they root .so easily on their OWfl. S. callicarpa, the red coast elderberry, Depending on the severity of YOl\r wiQters, you may find tha( your plants die occurs along the coasts of the Pacific back their firsr year. Bur don't despair: oace established, elderberries are haFdy at Northwest. It varies in height from eight to least rhrough USDA Zone 5 and many wjll grow much farther north. 20 feet and produces small, bright red ber­ Once your plants are acclimated, your biggest problem is likely to be restraining ries. They're beautiful-but not edible. them. Elderberries are prone to suckering, so you may want to PrIme out unwanted S. racemosa, the European red elder, is shoots in (lady spring. My spriNg pruning strategy is usually to redlJ,Ge the plants to native to Europe and western Asia. The abour half a dozen year-old shoots and two or three two-year-old shoots. Of course, leaves of the species are much the same as if you're planting elderberries as a bedge, your pruning shol;lld be more lirni~ecl. those of S. canadensis and the flower clus­ Spring is also a gGod time to work some composted manure-o),' any other ters are smaller. Yet S. racemosa has yielded nitrogen-rich fertilizer-into the soil. But be careful not to cultivate too deeply several remarkable cultivars. around the plants: yo u may if),jure their shallow root systems. S. racemosa 'Sutherland Cutleaf Golden' Organi(; gardeners will be pleased to learn that elderberries alie relatively free is "one of the showiest elderberries," says from disease and insect problems. The only trOtable you're likely to have is Peg Prag, co-owner of Forestfarm, an Or­ competing with the birds for the fruit. -Martin Waterman egon nursery that offers a selection of elderberries. "It's considered one of the best golden-leaved shrubs. It's lime green in the shade and that's also very pretty." But natural srare. I once heard someone de­ them developed at the Canadian Ministry she cautions that the plant will tolerate scribe wild elderberries as tasting like ink. of Agriculture'S Research Station in Kent­ only light shade. This description delayed my initiation into ville, Nova Scotia: S. racemosa 'Plumosa Aurea' has strik­ the elderberry realm. I probably should 'Johns' was selected more than a century ing, chartreuse foliage that complements ha ve known better than to rrust someone ago. A vigorous plant that produces large its yellow flowers and bright red berries. else's taste buds-especially someone fa­ clusters, it can grow to 10 feet. The best foliage occurs on the youngest miliar with the taste of ink. 'Kent' is an excellent choice where early branches, so the shrub should be cut back Elderberry jellies, jams, and sa uces don't ripening is desired--either in short-season regularly. require practice to enjoy. Neither does el­ areas, or just to get an early start on the S. nigra, the European or common elder, derberry wine, which in my opinion is one harvest. It has large uniform fruit. is another unpromising species that has of the best fruit wines you can make. Some 'Nova' is another early variety with es­ produced some exquisite cultivars. These people make juice out of the berries; others pecially sweet fruit. aren't usually grown for their white flow­ dry them and use them in baking as if they 'Scotia' is only moderately vigorous, but ers or their black berries, but for their were raisins. In Atlantic Canada and New its fruit is especially high in soluble solids foliage. They aren't as tough as the native England, people make elderberry flower and unusually acid. elderberries, largely because all the Euro­ pancakes by dipping flower clusters in bat­ 'Victoria' is perhaps the best tasting of pean species have a hard time with our hot ter and frying them. In general, elderberries the available cultivars, and its berries tend summers. "If they're not in some shade, aren't ve ry acid, which can make them to "shell " readily from their stems. But it they'll look miserable in August," says rather bland. They're often cooked with is only moderately productive. Robert Popham, co-owner of Fairweather vinegar, rhubarb, or so me other acid food 'York' is a vigorous, heavy-bearing late Gardens, a New Jersey nursery that sells a to sharpen the tas te. Elderberries are also variety with big juicy berries. variegated form of the plant. Popham rec­ low in pectin, so they're often combined A half dozen or so well-established ommends that all the S. nigra cultivars be with high-pectin fruits. Euell Gibbons, per­ bushes can yield over 100 pounds of fruit. cut back hard, not just to encourage new haps the best-known wild foods advocate, You'll need to plant at least two cultivars foliage, but to discourage flowering. "The recommended combining them with crab for proper pollination, though, since flowers aren't too attractive and they drain apples, whi ch would boost both the pectin elderberries are only somewhat self-polli­ off energy that could have gone to the leve l and the acidity. You can find myriad na ting. En jo y, but one word of ca urion: the foliage." recipes for elderberries in natural and wild roots, stems and leaves of the plant are said S. nigra 'Albo-variegata' has cream-col­ foods cookbooks. to be poisonous. ored leaf edges, scented white flowers, and Of course you ca n gather wi ld berries, if Consider also a few of the fancier mem­ shiny black berries. " It's very showy," says there are elderberries in your neighbor­ bers of the elderberry genus se lected or Prag. "You can catch the effect of the leaves hood- and if you can get to them before bred primarily as ornamentals. Among the from quite a distance." the birds do-but I recommend the culti­ North American natives, S. caerulea is well S. nigra 'Marginata' is si milarly eye­ va rs if yo u're interested in the fruit. These worth noticing. A denizen of the West, it's catching but has silver-edged leaves. "To far exceed the species in flavor and yie ld. found from northern California to British get the best effect," says Popham, "you Here are some of my favorites, most of Columbia. It's usua ll y a large shrub but it really need to cut it to the ground each

36 JUNE 1994 Native to the Pacific Northwest, the red coast elderberry, left, bears lipstick red fruit that looks good enough to eat, but isn't. The chartreuse foliage of Sambucus racemosa 'Plumosa Aurea', below, lights up an informal landscape.

spring." Variegation fans may wish to note woods behind them or not. Some people that there's also a yellow-variegated culti­ grow them as hedges, and I've even seen var ca lled 'Aureo-marginata'. some planted as specimens. It's worth not- ~ a: S. nigra 'Laciniata' has very finely cut ing, in this connection, that they tolerate ~ foliage-Prag calls it "kind of ferny­ heavy pruning, so you don't have to be ~ ::; leaved." This plant is a favorite of the content with their somewhat rangy habit. ct ....."""&o..w. ... famous English plantsman Graham Stuart Another virtue is the bush's appeal for Thomas, who called it "one of the great wildlife, especially birds. If you like birds, I've seen elderberries memorably arranged beauties of summer." Thomas recom­ you'll be amazed at what elderberries can with hardy roses and bleeding-hearts. I've mends growing it in part shade, which will do-just leave the fruit unpicked. In my seen excellent plantings with spring bulbs, encourage finer foliage. area I've noticed robins, catbirds, eastern white potentillas, and low blue junipers. Even the work-horse S. canadensis has kingbirds, nuthatches, Swainson's The elderberry'S lush foliage ca n be an its more refined cultivars. 'Aurea', for in­ thrushes, and eastern phoebes. Grouse will effective foi l to so many garden favorites, stance, produces bright red berries that also feed on elderberries. Alder flycatchers, why limit the possibilities? contrast beautifully with its bold, golden goldfinches, and yellow warblers nest in If you've got room for a versatile foliage. "It holds its color even in the sun," the dense foliage. shrub-one that's tough, ornamental, and says Popham, "which is something that If you're planning some major landscap­ edible--consider the neglected elderberry. many golden-leaved shrubs won't do." ing, elderberries can offer another service. S. canadensis 'Maxima' features enor­ Their rapid growth will populate open ter­ Martin Waterman is a free -lance writer and mous flowers and leaves-as well as huge rain while slower trees and shrubs play horticultural researcher in Petitcodiac, yields of fruit. Its flower clusters are up to catch-up. About their only serious siting New Brunswick. 15 inches across and its leaves may grow limitation is that they don't do well in to 18 inches long. heavy shade. (See sidebar, page 36.) And Wha t elderberries should you plant? don't crowd them: in winter, especially, a SOURCES Whi,le ornamental cultivars have merit, at little extra space makes it easier to forgive the risk of trying your patience, I would the coarse, rough form. Bear Creek Nursery, P.O. Box 411, point out that the fruit cultivars are also I have my fruit cultivars growing amidst Northport, WA 99157. Catalog free. beautiful. I'm interested in edible landscap­ purple coneflowers and some other prairie Fairweather Gardens, P.O. Box 330, ing-in pressing food plants into double plants, and they look wonderful. In an­ Greenwich, NJ 08323, (609) 451 -626l. duty as ornamentals. other area, I've interplanted them with Catalog $3. While it's true that elderberries are defi­ gooseberries and currants. Forestfarm, 990 Tetherow Road, Wil­ nitely not for the formal landscape they're Other gardeners in my locale use wild li ams, OR 97544-9599, (503) 846- great iri the edible landscape. They're also grape (Vitis riparia) as a companion plant. 7269. Catalog $3. perfect candidates for naturalizing, espe­ That probably sounds bizarre but it works Mellinger's Inc., 2310 Wes t South Range cially in the North, and great for creating well. Conventional solutions usually ca ll Road, North Lima, OH 44452-9731, a woods'-edge effect, whether there's a real for smaller, more intensely colored plants. (216) 549-986 1. Cat,llog free.

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 37 t was a mild rebuke, but a rebuke appreciated for blooming during the just the same. As part of a strategy dreaded midsummer lull, garden phlox cul­ to increase awareness of herbaceous tivars range from two to five feet in height. perennials in the United States, the Over the years selection and breeding work Perennial Plant Association (PPA) both at home and abroad have yielded Ihad just named Phlox stolonifera as its first numerous named cultivars representing an "Plant of the Year." In a letter to the asso­ array of colors. ciation, published in the PPA newsletter, The second basic group of phloxes are English plantsman Phillip Swindells enthu­ the mat or cushion-forming species. These siastically congratulated his overseas col­ are represented by one of the most popular leagues on their choice of species. But he herbaceous perennials in America, the went on to encourage PPA members to creeping phlox (P. subulata). With pros­ consider the horticultural value of the trate stems, dense, needlelike foliage, and many other members of the genus Phlox. an early spring blooming time, this species What is ironic about this situation is that fills a totally different niche in the garden an English plantsman felt it necessary to tlaan its taller relative. As with garden explain to his American counterparts the ph.lox, there aFe nU.I1i1erous cultivated selec­ merits of a plant genus that, save one spe­ tions of creeping phlox. cies, is entirely endemic to North America. It seems that most Americans are per­ Swindells went on to scold, with British fectly content with what these two species civility, "On my many regular visits to offer for our gardens. But our nation's nurseries and gardens in the United States, woods, grasslands, mountains, and deserts I have been disappointed to learn that fine are host to a great array of phlox speGies, natives are underutilized by the nursery each of which displays its own beautiful trade, especially as we in England exploit interpretation of either the upright or them extensively." creeping theme. Ouch! Like the gqrden phlox, the majority of What do the British (and other Europeans) the upright members of the genus are na- see in the 50 or so species in this genus that we Yanks have missed? Perhaps we need to take a close look at these American natives that are coveted on another continent. While botanists dicker over subdivisions in the genus, to the average eye phloxes fall into two groups. The first includes those plants with an essentially upright growth habit. The best-known representative of this group would be the common garden phlox (P. paniculata). Widely grown for its showy panicles of flowers and especially

Since the 19th century, breeders have tinkered with garden phlox to create bold cultivars like 'Sandra', above. In the right of the opposite photo is a phlox Georgia plantsman Don Jacobs contends is the true 'Chattahoochee'. The popular plant usually sold under that name is bluer, like his own 'Eco Regal', to the left.

38 JUNE 1994 On Fire or Phlox Why should it take a nudge from Europeans to spark interest in this all-American flower?

BY JAMES H. LOCKLEAR

AM ERICAN HORTICU LTURIST 39 'Betty Blake', below, is a cultivar of tive to the eastern part of the United States. cleft phlox, so called because of its Four species in particular are noted for deeply divided petals. 'Alpha' and their horticultural value. 'Omega', bottom, are selections of our P. divaricata is known by a number of tall meadow phlox made by Alan common names including wi,ld sweet Wil­ Bloom in England. liam, Canadian phlox, and blue phlox. My personal favorite, however, is the name "timber phlox." Timber phlox occurs over much of the eastern United States, often associated with flood-plain forests. As one might expect, it prefers semishade and rel­ atively moist conditions. It reaches 12 to 15 inches in height and blooms in the early spnng. In the wild, timber phlox is typically bluish purple. But in certain parts of its range other colors have been found. DON Jacobs, proprietor of Eco Gardens iI'l De­ catur, Georgia, has been searching the southeastern United States for natives of su perior color and hardiness. So far, Jacobs has released five named cultivars. One of these is P. divaricata 'Eco Regal', featuring purple-blue flowers with violet-red eyes. This attractive cultivar is already being grown in England, Holland, Germany, and Austria. The prairie phlox, P. pilosa, is another dome-shaped habit. As the I'lame implies, widespread eastern species. Its growth each petal is divided by a cleft, making the habit, height, and blooming time are sim­ flowers appear to have 10 petals instead ilar to timber phlox, although it is more of the phlox standard of five. P. bifida tolerant of sun and its flower color tends 'Betty Blake' is an outstanding dark purple toward pink. Jacobs says that one of the form selected and named by Panayoti most popular phlox cultivars, P. Kelaidis, curator of the Rock Alpine Gar­ 'Chattahoochee', is a member of this spe­ den at the Denver Botanic Gardens. cies named for a small town iI'l northern Kelaidis probably knows as much about Florida, and is pinker than the p1ant usu­ phlox as any person in North America, ally sold under that name. In a recent cat­ and has an excellent eye for superior selec­ alog, Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery of tions. 'Betty Blake' is among his personal MedfOL"d , Oregon, renamed the bluer b.vorites, as is P. 'Whiteout', a vivid white 'Chattahoochee', long thought to be of cultivar with cleft petals, presumably of P. divaricata parentage, P. pilosa 'Moody bifida parentage. Blue'. It's a beautiful plant, regardless of its NONe of these upright species, however, I'lame, with its red-eyed lavender blue flow­ is as well known or as widely grown as the ers, and one that's easily grown. standard garden phlox (P. paniculata). Eu­ Meadow phlox (P. maculata) is similar ropeans have been fine-tuning this species to garden phlox in growth habit, but ever since it was first introduced into culti­ blooms about a month earlier. One of our vation in the 1800s and the majority of tallest phlox species, it reaches two to three cultivars grown in American gardens today feet. A distinguishing characteristic is the have their origins in England and Ger­ shape of the flower clusters, which are many. Actually, there are still impressive narrower and more cylindrical than those new cultivars being developed; in the past of P. paniculata. There are several cultivars couple of years Wayside Gardens of of meadow phlox available, including rose Hodges, South Carolina, has featured sev­ pink 'Alpha' and white, fragrant 'Omega', eral exciting selections from Bloom. both selections made by Alan Bloom of John Elsley, director of horticulture for Bressingham Gardens in England. Wayside, hopes for even more im­ The cleft phlox (P. bifida) straddles the provements in this very popular species. line between the uprights and the creepers. He would especially like to see more com­ Growing up to eight inches tall, it has a pact growth, heavier flowering, and an

40 JUNE 1994 Association gave Phlox stolonifera, above, its first Perennial Plant of the Year Award. The more commonly grown creeper, P. subulata, mingles at left with cypress spurge.

extended flowering season. And he, like sippi. That's hardly surprising since there flowered cultivar named 'Wagon Wheel' everyone else, would like to see more resis­ are altogether about twice as many phlox was selected by Lawrence Crocker and tance to powdery mildew, the bane of gar­ species in the West as in the East, and Boyd Kline, the founders of Siskiyou Rare den phlox. botanists are still finding new ones; two Plant Nursery. Siskiyou offers one of the Jacobs is working towards these goals new phloxes have been discovered in Wy­ finest selections of low-growing phloxes in through a breeding program that involves oming in the past five years. The majority the country, listing 20 different species, crossing mildew-resistant forms of P. of low-growing phloxes are spring-bloom­ cultivars, and hybrids. paniculata from wild populations found ing plants. Another popular phlox from the Pacific throughout the southeastern United States These western species range longitudi­ Northwest is the Douglas phlox (P. with the best of the European cultivars. nally from the Arctic Circle to the Chihua­ douglasii) and its hybrids. In addition to His efforts have resulted in two releases, huan desert and all kinds of places in their visual appeal, these plants have a later 'Eco Purity' and 'Eco Day Glow', both between, often in the most inhospitable and more extended period of bloom than exhibiting sturdy stems and mildew resis­ habitats. Ironically, while these hardy is typical among low-growing phloxes. P. tance. plants often thrive under adverse condi­ douglasii 'Crackerjack' is a crimson red A cooperative research project involving tions in the wild, their deep taproot and selection that is offered by many nurseries the Long Island Research Laboratory in preference for dry, rocky soil put them at a specializing in rock garden plants and is Riverhead, New York, and the University disadvantage in the ga,rden. The late Edgar often mentioned by rock gardeners as a of Vermont is approaching the mildew Wherry, discussing the horticultural poten­ favorite. problem from a different angle. The initial tial of these low-growing species in his There has been quite a bit of excitement findings show that certain gar-den phlox book The Genus Phlox, states that most among phlox aficionados in recent years cultivars are more resistant to mildew than "would be of interest only to specialists in over the introduction of several selections others. These cultivars may not only per­ rock gardening." Indeed, it has been deter­ of phlox from the desert grasslands of Chi­ form better in northeastern gardens but mined rock gardeners, both here and huahua, Mexico. These plants were dis­ could also prove useful in breeding resis­ abroad, who have brought many of these covered in 1978 by the late Paul Maslin tance into new selections. The project has gems into cultivation. and his wife Mary of Boulder, Colorado. also found encouraging evidence that pow­ Labeled "the prize of the phlox tribe" An additional search was carried out in dery mildew can be controlled with horti­ and "the most beautiful of all the phloxes," 1981 by Maslin, Kelaidis, and Baldassare cultural spray oil, a more environmentally the periwinkle phlox (P. adsurgens) is a Mineo of Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery. friendly control than fungicides. favorite among phlox connoisseurs. En­ Among the selections made were individu­ While the commonly grown creeping demic to the Siskiyou Mountains of north­ als with flower colors unusual for the phlox, P. subulata, is native to the north­ ern California and southern Oregon, this genus-bright orange, reds, and vermillion eastern United States, the great majority of plant stays under four inches tall and tol­ with yellow centers. One of these, P. creeping species occur west of the Missis- erates semishade and acidic soils. A pink- mesoleuca 'Arroyo', is described as car-

AMERICAN HORTICULTURIST 41 of phloxes might run into a bit of difficulty. The most recent American book on the genus is the aforementioned The Genus Phlox by Wherry, primarily a scientific, botanical treatment, published in 1955. A new book on phlox that is due out in the near future is being wrirten by (sigh) a German plantsman, Hermann Fuchs. For­ tuna tely, an English version will be released in the United Kingdom. One way to get berter acquainted with phloxes is to visit some of the berter collec­ tions around the United States. In the opin­ ion of Kelaidis, the best are found at the New York Botanical Garden, Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, New York, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Berkeley Botan­ ical Garden at the University of California­ Like many American immigrants, a Berkeley. The phlox collections are creeping phlox cultivar from Tasmania typically displayed in the rock garden areas called 'Tamanomagalei' undenvent a of these institutions. stateside name change, to the more While it might seem that the world has pronounceable 'Candy Stripe'. run away with our plants, a growing num­ ber of horticulturists at American nurs­ eries, botanical gardens, and universities have turned their attention to these beauti­ mine red. Unfortunately, these have proven foot of shrubs such as azaleas and rhodo­ ful natives. Perhaps it's time the rest of us difficult in cultivation unless an effort is dendrons. It produces pastel-colored flow­ got on fire for phlox. made to duplicate the year-round dryness ers ranging from white through lavender of the plants' native habitat. and purple. The cultivar 'Home Fires' is a Former director of the Dyck Arboretum of Some of the western phloxes most'prom­ rose pink selection made by Wherry near the Plains in Hesston, Kansas, James H. ising for use if} the garden are native to the his home in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Locklear recently became director of the grasslands of the Great Plains. Wherry While the species mentioned so far all Nebraska Statewide Arboretum in Lincoln. noted two of these in particular-alyssum­ offer beauty, durability, and interest, the leaved phlox (P. alyssifolia) and Oklahoma standard creeping phlox, P. subulata, is still phlox (P. oklahomensis)-as deserving pretty hard to beat. It is widely adaptable SOURCES AND RESOURCES "wider horticultural use." The PPA funded and over the years has yielded some very a research project to evaluate the horticul­ exciting variants that observant plantsmen The quarterly Bulletin of the American tural potential of three species from the and women have developed into named Rock Garden Society contains not only Great Plains, carried out jointly by myself cultivars. Unfortunately, the best of authoritative articles on phlox but also and Dale Lindgren of the University of these-'Fort Hill', 'Schneewitchen', and advertisements from rock garden and wild­ Nebraska. the "Millstream" series-are not usually flower nurseries, many of which offer nice P. alyssifolia, P. andicola, and P. hoodii carried by American garden centers and selections of phlox. Write American Rock are artractive and hardy, and occur natu­ nurseries, although they are available from Garden Society, 15 Fairmead Road, Dar­ rally in a broader range of conditions than many specialty mail-order nurseries. (See ien, CT 06820. other western phloxes, making them a little "Sources and Resources.") Carroll Gardens, 444 East Main Street, more at home in the garden. The fragrant As with garden phlox, most creeping P.O. Box 310, Westminster, MD 21157, alyssum-leaved phlox in particular occurs phlox cultivar selections have been made (410) 848-5422. Catalog $2. in a variety of flower colors, shapes, and for us by obliging Europeans, particularly Lamb Nurseries, East 101 Sharpe Avenue, sizes, and shows great potential for the the English and Germans and, more re­ Spokane, WA 99202, (509) 328-7976. selection of superior forms. cently, the Czechs. If American horticultur­ Catalog $1.50. The western states cannot lay claim to ists feel no embarrassment about this, Milaeger's Gardens, 4838 Douglas Ave­ all the best low-growing members of the perhaps we might at least blush a bit at the nue, Racine, WI 53402, (414) 639- genus. One of the finest is P. stolonifera, recent appearance of a new P. subulata 2371. Catalog $1. also called creeping phlox, which is native cultivar, 'Candy Stripe' (formerly 'Taman­ Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery, 2825 Cum­ to an area stretching from Pennsylvania to omagalei')-introduced into the United mings Road, Medford, OR 97501, (503) Georgia. It is one of the few creepers that States by a nursery in Tasmania! 772-6846. Catalog $2. is tolerant of shade and acid soil, making Those who find themselves wanting to Wayside Gardens, 1 Garden Lane, Hodges, it useful for planting under trees or at the know more about our continent's treasury SC 29695, (800) 845-1124. Catalog free.

42 JUNE 1994 THE 49TH AHS ANNUAL MEETING OCTOBER 13 TO 16 ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

This year the American Horticultural Society's Annual Meeting returns to the­ Washington, D.C. , area with an exciting program that includes lectures by John Brookes, British landscape designer and author; Allan Armitage, horticukure profes­ sor at the University of Georgia; and John Alex Floyd, AHS Board Member and vice president and editor of Southern Living magazine. This year's garden tours will take us to Green Spring Valley outside Baki­ more, Maryland. As always, the highlight is our Awards Dinner, honoring ~orticulture ' s brightest stars. Optional events include an evening Gala at our River Fafm headquar­ ters in Alexandria, Virginia. For more information on the 1994 Annual Meeting call AHS toll-free at (800) 777-7931 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. A complete Annual Meeting program will be mailed to members in June. The Cactus & Succulent Society of America Invites You to Join! CLASSIFIEDS As a member, you will be part of an international Society founded in 1929 to promote a better understanding ana appreciation of cacti and succulents. The Society is also Classified Ad Rates: All classified advertis­ OUT-OF-PRINT, RARE AND USED BOOKS dedicated to the protection and ing must be prepaid. $1.25 per word; min­ for gardeners and collectors. Free catalog, FAIR preservation of these most unique imum $25 per insertion. 10 percent MEADOW BOOKS, 90 Hilltop Dr., Trumbull, creations of nature. discoutlt for tmree consecutive ads using the CT 06611. (203) 378-4865. By joining you will enjoy many same copy, provided each insertiQn meets BULBS benefits, including: the $25 minimum after discount. Copy and TULIP COLORBLEND5=First quality bulbs at prepayment must be received on the 20th the best prices. Free catalog, SCHIPPER & ./ A Subscription to the Cactus COMPANY, Box 7584a, Greenwich, CT 06836. and Succulent Journal. A day of the month three months prior to (800) 877-8637. "Our Roots are Bulbs." bi-monthly publication fea­ publication date. Send orders to: AHS Ad­ vertising Department, 2300 South Ninth DUTCH BULBS for fall planting, 12cm Tulips, turing a balanced presentation DN1 Daffodils, Hyacinths and Mis(;ellaneous. of scientific and cultural Street, Suite 501, ArlingtoFl, VA 22204- Catalog Free. Paula Parker DBA, Mary Matti­ articles. Advertisers in the 2320 or call (703) 892-0733. son Van Schaik, IMPORTED DUTCH BULBS, Journal offer a wide variety of ART P.O . Box 32AH, Cavendish, VT 05142. (802) 226-7653. plants, seeds, literature and ORCHIDS! PEONIES! Original signed, num­ supplies. bered ChromaliNlithographts by iPternatioFlally ANTIQUE TULIPS, DAFFODILS, and more ./ Membership Voting acclaim~d botanical artist Radella Purves. Of­ from America's only specialist in rare historic Privileges fering Paphiopedilium sanderianum (first bulbs-for every garden! 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Frteway Blvd .. 51 •. 121. 5.acramaalo. CA 95834 FARMS, Rt. 3, Box 158-A-AH, Ripley, TN (800) 505-2505 or (916) 922-7927 38063-9420.

AMERICAN HORTICULT UR IST 45 LET'S GROW PRONUNCIATIONS TOGETHER

Bothriochloa boh-three-oh-KLOH-uh Nepeta cataria NEP-eh-tuh kat-AH-ree-uh Buddleia alternifolia BUD-Iee-uh N. faassenii N. fas-SEN-ee-eye al-ter-nih-FOE-Iee-uh N. gigantea N. jy-GAN-tee-uh B. davidii B. dah-VID-ee-eye Parthenocissus quinquefolia Episcia cupreata ee-PISH-yuh par-then-oh-SISS-us kwin-kweh-FOE-Iee-uh koo-pree-AY-tuh Phlox adsurgens FLOKS ad-SIR-jenz Euonymus fortunei yew-ON-ih-mus P. alyssifolia P. ah-liss-ih-FOE-Iee-uh for-TOON-ee-eye P. andicola P. an-DIK-oh-Iuh Gloriosa glor-ee-OH-suh P. bifida P. BIF-ih-duh Hedera HED-er-uh P. divaricata P. dih-vair-ih-KAH-tuh Hepatica americana heh-PAT-ih-kuh P. douglasii P. dug-LASS-ee-eye ah-mer-ih-KAN-uh P. hoodii P. HOOD-ee-eye Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris P. maculata P. mak-yew-LAH-tuh high-DRAN-juh ah-NOM-ah-Iuh P. mesoleuca P. mez-oh-LOO-kuh subsp. pet-ee-oh-LAIR-iss P. nivalis subsp. texensis P. nih-VAl-iss SHARE THE JOY OF H. arborescens H. ar-boh-RES-enz subsp. teks-EN-sis GARDENING WITH OTHERS. H. aspera subsp. sargentiana H. ASS-per-uh P. oklahomensis P. oh-klah-ho-MEN-siss subsp. sar-jen-tee-AN-uh P. paniculata P. pan-ik-yew-LAH-tuh GIVE A MEMBERSHIP IN H. macrophylla H . mak-roh-FIL-uh P. pilosa P. pih-LOW-suh THE AMERICAN H. paniculata H . pan-ik-yew-LAH-tuh P. stolonifera P. stoh-Ion-NIF-er-uh HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. H. quercifolia H . kwer-sih-FOE-Iee-uh P. subulata P. sub-yew-LAH-tuh Ilex vomitoria EYE-leks vom-ih-TOR-ee-uh Pinus palustris PIE-nus pah-LUS-triss Kalmia angustifolia var. angustifolia Pisum PY-zum Share the unique range of AHS member­ KAL-mee-uh ang-gus-tih-FOE-Iee-uh Quercus incana KWER-kus in-KAN-uh ship benefits with your family and var. ang-gus-tih-FOE-Iee-uh Q. stellata Q. stel-LAH-tuh friends: American Horticuhurist maga­ K hirsuta K. her-SOO-tuh Rhus toxicodendrvn RUS tahk-sik-oh-DEN-dron K latifolia var. angustata K. Rosa carolina ROH-zuh kair-oh-LY-nuh zine and News Edition, toll-free lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. ang-gus-TAH-tuh R gymnocarpa R. jim-no-KAR-puh Gardeners' Information Service, Annual K latifolia var. ape tala K. R nitida R. NIT-ih-duh Free Seed Exchange, Educational Pro­ lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. ay-PET-ah:luh R multiflora R. mul-tih-FLOR-uh K latifolia var. fuscata K. R nutkana R. noot-KAN-uh grams, Horticukural Employment Ser­ lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. fus-KAH-tuh R palustris R. pah-LUS-triss vice, Horticultural Book Program, K latifolia var. myrtifolia K. R setigera R. seh-TIJ-er-uh Environmental and Conservation Pro­ lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. mir-tih-FOE-Iee-uh R virginiana R. vir-jin-ee-AN-uh K latifolia var. obtusa K. R woodsii R. WOOD-zee-eye grams, Offieal AHS Membership Card, lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. ob-TOO-suh Rubus ROO-bus special events at River Farm, our Society's K latifolia var. polypetala K. Saintpaulia saint-PAUL-ee-uh headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and lat-ih-FOE-Iee-uh var. Sambucus caerulea pah-Iee-peh-TAL-uh sam-BOO-kus seh-ROO-Iee-uh much more. Plus New Member Dues are K microphylla var. S. calli carp a S. kal-lih-KAR-puh discounted to only $39! microphylla K. S. canadensis S. kan-ah-DEN-siss my-kroh-FIL-uh va r. S. nigra S. NY-gruh It's so easy to give an AHS membership! my-kroh-FIL-uh S. racemosa S. ras-eh-MOH-suh Simply call our Membership Depart­ K polifolia K. pah-lee-FOE-lee-uh Schizachyrium Lagenaria laj-eh-NAIR-ee-uh skits-ah-KEER-ee-um menttoll-free at (800) 777-7931 to Lonicera brownii lah-NISS-er-uh Sinningia speciosa sih-NIN-jee-uh place your gift membership orders. BROWN-ee-eye spee-see-OH -suh L. japonica L. jah-PON-ih-kuh Syringa sih-REENG-guh L. periclymenum L. pair-ih-KLY-meh-num Tropaeolum troh-PEE-oh-Ium L. sempervirens L. sem-per-VY-renz Vanilla planifolia vuh-NIL-uh plan-ih-FOE-Iee-uh Michelia alba my-KEE-lee-uh AL-buh Viburnum opulus vy-BER-num OP-yew-Ius M. figo M. FY-go Viola pedata VY-oh-Iuh peh-DAH-tuh Nepenthes neh-PEN-theez Vitis riparia VY-tiss rih-PAIR-ee-uh

46 JUNE 1994

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P.O. Box 10, Dept. 1526 P.O. Box 188, Dept. 1526 P.O. Box 1130, Dept. 1526 Buckeystown, Maryland 21717 Brookshire, Texas 77423 Thermal, California 92274 1-800-723-7667