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~GAZINE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, INC. * October 1962 AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY A union of the American H orticultural So ciety and the A merican Horticultural CouncLl 1600 BLADENSBURG ROAD, NORTH EAST . WASHINGTON 2, D. C. For United Horticulture *** to accumulate, increase, and disseminate horticultural information B. Y. MORRISON, Editor Directors JAMES R. HARLOW, Managing Editor T erms Expiring 1963 MARY W . M. HAKES Maryland Editorial Committee GRETCHEN HARSHBARGER Iowa JOHN L. CREECH, Chairman FREDERIC H EUTTE W. H . HODGE Virginia W. H . HODGE FREDERIC P. L EE Maryland CONRAD B. LINK ALBERT J. IRVI NG New York CURTIS MAY Tenns Expiring 1964 FREDERICK G . MEYER R . C. ALLEN WILBUR H. YOUNGMAN Ohio P. H. BRYDON Officers California CARL W. FENNINGER PRESIDENT Pennsy lvania JOHN E . GRAF H EN RY T . SKINNER District of Columbia Washington, D. C. GRACE P. WILSON Maryland FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT T erms Expiring 1965 R AY C. ALLEN Mansfield, Ohio HAROLD EpSTEIN New York SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT FRED C. GALLE Georgia FKITS W. W ENT FRED J. NISBET St. Louis, Missouri North Carolina J. FRANKLIN STYER ACTING SECRETARY-TREASURER Pennsylvania GRADE P. WILSON DONALD \~ I YMAN Bladensburg, Maryland Massachusetts The American Horticultural Magazine is the official publication of the American Horticultural Society and is issued four times a year during the quarters commencing with January, April, July and October. It is devoted to the dissemination of knowledge in the science and art of growing ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables, and related subjects_ Original papers increasing the historical, varietal, and cultural knowledges of plant materials of economic and aesthetic importance are welcomed and will be published as early as possible. The Chairman of the Editorial Committee should be consulted for manuscript specifications. Reprints will be furnished in accordance with the following schedule of prices, plus post age, and should be ordered at the time the galley proof is returned by the author: One hundred copies-2 pp $6.60; 4 pp $12.10; 8 pp $25.30; 12 pp $36.30; Covers $12.10. Entered as second class matter in the post office at Baltimore, Maryland. in accordance with the Act of August 24, 1912. Additional entry for Washington, D.C., was authorized July 15. 1955. in accordance with the pro· visions of Section 132.122. Postal Manual. A subscription to The American Ho,·ticultural Magazine is included as a benefit of membership in the American Horticultural Society. Individual Membership dues being 16.00 a year. OCTOBER. 1962 T"E~ER.ICAN FORMERLY THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE VOLUME 41 • NUMBER 4 Contents Native bulbs of Israel for American gardens ABRAHAM H. HALEVY ____________________ ._______________________________________________________________ 185 Malayan Fantasy-A new garden cockscomb \IV ILLIAM F. GRANT_____________________________________________________________________________________ 201 The Scientific Approach to Summer Mulching ] OHN R. HAVIS ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 204 Ornamental Fruiting and Autumnal Foliage Viburnums DONALD R. EGOLF ________________________________________________________________________________________ 209 The Variations of the Australian CTinum fiaccidum L. S. HANNIBAL _______ ___________________ . _____________________________________ _______________ . __________ .____ 224 A Book or Two ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 227 The Gardeners' Pocketbook Zenobia pulveTUlenta. B. Y. MORRISON _____________________________________________________ 233 his danfOTdiae. MRS. LEILA B. STAPLETON ________________________________________________ 233 Taste and Smell as Aids to Identification. MAUD R. ] ACOBS __________________ 234 Cantua buxifolia. RICHARD W. LIGHTY ________________________________ __ _________________ 235 :Multipurpose Humus. GRAHAM HEID _____________________________________________________ 236 Cold Damage in North Louisiana. CAROLINE DORMON ____________________________ 237 Lady's Mantle. MRS_ WINTHROP J. MEANS ------- _______________________ ________________ 237 A Hemerocallis Variation. MAUD R. ]ACOBS ___ _________ ______________________________ 238 Some Notes on Occasional Plants of the North Gulf Coast. E. ]. HORDER _____________________ __ _________________________________________ _________________________ 239 PteTostYTax hispida. B. Y. MORRlSON ____ __ ____________________________________ ________________ 240 Index to Volume 41 __.___________________________________________________ ---------------________________________ 243 OCTOBER COVER ILLUSTRATION PHOTOGRAPH BY IVAN N_ ANDERSON Zenobia pulverulenta, a deciduous or half-evergreen shrub to about six feet, with arching branches and a fine show of flowers, from the massing of the smaller axillary clusters that come from the upper axils of the shoots until they appear as a great ~aceme of bloom. See Page 233. Copyright, @ 1962 Am.erican H orticultural Society, Inc. DONALD R. EGOLF For about a week in August the Viburnum lantana, Wayfaring Vibur num, fruit clusters are a spectacular display of green, orange-red, and black fruits [See Page 209 ] Native bulbs of Israel for American gardens ABRAHAM H. HALEVY* Israel is a small country, about the size hot summer. During five to eight of Massachusetts, but this small geo months, no rains at all fall in Israel. grahical area is marked by a great divers About the edaphic conditions we can say ity of topographic, climatic, and edaphic that in spi te of the great differences, characters. Dr. G. E. Post, who, at the most soils are rich in lime and their re end of the last century wrote the first action is slightly alkaline. complete "flora" of this region, says in The three main climatic regions are: his introduction: "This region is un 1) The Mediterranean territory, ex equalled by any of the same size on the tending along the Coastal Plain and in globe, not only for the thrilling and im land into the hill country. This region portant events of human history of receives a considerable amount of rain which it has been the theatre, but for -14-25 inches during the six or seven its unique geological structure, its great months of winter. Its natural vegetation diversity of surface and climate, and its develops, when undisturbed, into a forest remarkable fauna and flora." or maquis (a typical Mediterranean The plant-lover tourist crossing the formation of high mostly evergreen country from west to east, will be as ton shrubs) . ished to find so many plant formations, 2) The Irano-Turanian territory has within a two-to-three hours drive. On a continental climate, with extreme the Mediterranean coast he will find the seasonal and daily fluctuations in tem typical vegeta tion of the sand dunes. A perature. The average annual precipi few minutes later he will enter the loamy tation is 7-14 inches, and the typical soils, planted mainly with citrus groves. vegetation is steppe. Further to the east are the alluvial heavy 3) The Saharo-Sindian territory com soils of the Coastal Plain, rich in native prises the desert region of South and and cultured vegetation. Leaving the East Israel, which receives 1-6 inches of plain he will start ascending the moun rain a year. tain chains of the central part of the In addition to these three main vege country (Mount Carmel, Galilee, and tation groups, the flora of Israel includes Judea), some of them denuded and representatives of two minor groups: the some covered with various degrees of tropical-African vegetation and the vege shrub and wood formations. Descending tation of the temperate cold zones of the mountains eastward he will arrive Europe and Asia. rather suddenly from the woods to the As a result of the above mentioned arid steppes, and a little farther he will conditions, this small country has a very find himself in complete desert. He rich wild flora comprising about 2,500 will end his trip going down to the deep species of phanerogamic plants, com chasm of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, pared, e.g.) to about 1,500 in the British the lowest valley in the world, about Isles and 1,800 in Egypt. To illustrate 1,300 feet below sea level; here he may the variety and richness of the vegeta find in some places tropical-African vege tion we may state that within a radius tation. All this within a drive of no of five miles from Jerusalem, one can more than fifty to a hundred miles. find more than a thousand plant species Israel is si tuated at the meeting place belonging to seventy families. of three continents and three climatic The great diversity of the topography, and vegetational regions. Some basic climate and vegetation of Israel indi facts of its climatic and soil conditions cates that, in spite of its restricted area, are, nevertheless, common to all regions elements of the native flora might be of this country. The most characteristic found suitable for adaptation to certain feature of Israel's climate is the well areas within the United States. It is marked difference between the two quite obvious that regions of the south seasons: a mild, rainy winter a,nd a dry, and west with relatively frost-free win ters, would be most suitable especially - The H ebrew University. Faculty of Agriculture. Rehovot, Israel. the coastal districts of California, and [ 185] 186 THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL IVIAGAZINE in some areas in the Southwestern States many of the present common cultivars