January 1958 the National HORTICULTUR .·\L Magazine

$January 1958 the National HORTICULTUR .·\L Magazine$ TIIE N A..TIONA..L ~GA'Z , INE 0 & JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, INC. * January 1958 The National HORTICULTUR .·\L Magazine *** to accumulate, Increase, and disseminate horticultural information *** OFFICERS EDITOR STUART M. ARMSTRONG, PR ESIDENT B. Y. MORRISON Silver Spring, Maryland MANAGING EDITOR HENRY T. SKINNER, FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT Washington, D.C. JAM ES R . H ARLOW MRS. i'VAL TER DOUGLAS, SECON D VICE-PRESIDENT EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Chauncey, New York I/:;- Phoenix, Arizona i'VALTER H . HOD GE, Chairman EUGENE GRIFFITH, SECRETARY JOH N L. CREECH Takoma Pm'k, Maryland FREDERIC P. LEE MISS OLIVE E. WEA THERELL, TREASURER CONRAD B. LINK Olean, New York & W ashington, D.C. CURTIS IVIA Y DIRECTORS The National Horticultural Maga zine is the official publication of the Te?'ms Expiring 1958 American Horticultural Society and is Stuart lVI. Armstrong, Mm'yland iss ued four times a year during the John L. Creech, Maryland qu arter s commencing with J anuary, Mrs. Peggie Schulz, Min nesota April, July and October. It is devoted to the dissemination of knowledge in R. P. iJ\Thite, Dist?'ict of Columbia the sc ience and art of growing orna Mrs. H arry Wood, Pennsylvania mental plants, fruits, vegetables, and rela ted subjects. Original papers increasing the his· T erms Expiring 1959 torical, varietal, and cultural knowl Donovan S. Correll, T exas edges of plant materials of economic and aesthetic importance are wel Frederick VV. Coe, Mm'yland comed and will be published as early Miss Margaret C. Lancaster, MG1'yland as possible. The CHairman of the ~ di · Mrs. Francis Patteson-Knight, Vi'l"ginia torial Committee should be consulted Freeman A. 'Weiss, District of Columbia for manuscript specifications. R eprints, saddle-stapled, will be fur nished in accordance with the follow Emeritus ing schedule of prices, plus postage, Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, District of Columbia and should be ordered at the time the galley proof is returned b y the author: Mrs. Mortimer J. Fox, New York Mrs. J. Norman H enry, Pennsylvania Copies 2 pp 4 pp 8 pp 12 pp Covers Mrs. Arthur Hoyt Scott, Pennsylvania 100 $6 .60 12. 10 25.30 36.30 12.1 0 Entered as second class matter in the p ost office at Baltimore, Maryland, in accordance with the Act of August 24, 19 12. Additional entry for Washingon, D.C., was authorized Ju ly 15, 1955, in accordance with the pro· visions of Section 132.122, Pos tal Manual. A subscription to The National H orticuJural Magazine is included as a benefit of membership in the American Horticultural Society, the dues being $5.00 a year. The National Horticultural Magazine Volume Thirty,seven Washington, D. C. 1958 COPYRIGHT THE AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, INC., 1958 The National Horticultural Magazine VOL. 37 Copyright, 1958. by TI-IE Ar..'IERICAN HORTICIILTURAL SOC I 1:::1 Y, J :-.c. No. I JANUARY 1958 CONTENTS The Christmas Rose for winter flowers. KARL F. FISC HER .________________ __________ _ The Dahlias. CONRAD E. F AUST____________________________ ___ ____________________________ ___ _________ __ 4 vVildfiowers to start the garden season. ELIZABETH CLARKE __________________________ 20 Deciduous Azaleas for the Lower South. HENRY T. SKINNER ______________________ 24 The African Violet. MRS. E. G. MAGILL ___________ _. ____________________________________________ 28 Virginia Seashore State Park LOUISA VENABLE KYLE & KATHARINE FONTAINE SYER ________________________________ 34 A Book or Two __ .. ______________________________ _______________________________________ .________________________ 38 The Gardeners' Pocketbook C oc h l iost ema jaco b ia n u m _____________ ___ ________________ _____ _________________ ___ ____ ..________ ___ 43 Crape Jasmine as an Herbaceous Plant __________________________________________________ 46 Azaleas Thrive on "Poor" Soil _____________________________________________ _________ __ .__ ___ ._ 46 A New Color Chart for Horticulture _______________________ _____________________ __ __________ __ 47 Spi la nth es 0 lera ce a ____________ _______________ ___________ ___________ _____ _____ ____ ________ ___ _____________ . 49 Iris vi ca ri a ______ __ __________ _______ __________________________ ___________________________________________________ 51 The Darlington Oak ______________________ _______________ .____ ______________ ____ ___ ____________________ _ 52 Carex m01Towi __________________________________________________________________ .. ____ ___ ___ ________ ___ .__ 54 S c h iza nth us ____________ _____ ___ ___ _________ _______________________ ____ _____________________ ________________ __ ___ _ 55 [lex coriacea-M inori ty Commen t _______ _______ _________________________________ . ____ .________ 55 A Rare Con i fer-A t h r 0 tax is _____________________________________________________________________ 56 FRONT COVER ILLUSTRATION A fall sketch of Ginkgo biloba by Erik Hans Kmuse CORRECTIO~ The National Horticultura l Magazine, October 195 -: Page 327. Illustration legend should read: Plate 6. Hosta fortunei var. gigantea (Giant Plantainlily) Page 328. Illustration legend should read: Plate 7. H osla ventricosa (Blue Plantainlily) Page 338. P. viridis, P.I. 75160 should read: P. viridi-glaucescens, PJ. 75160 P. sulphurea var. viridis, P.I. 77257 should read: P. viridis, PJ. 77257 Helleborus nzger An excellent specimen flowering plant of the Christmas Rose in a Massachusetts garden (Note several bees worlting on the flowers) The Christmas Rose for winter flowers KARL F. FISCHER The genus Helleborus is a memb~r of The flower is borne one on a stem; RAN UNCULACEAE) the Crowfoot or But frequently, one or two smaller flowers tercup Family. Several species and cul will appear on the same stem below the tivars of this genus are known. The main flow er. The flower is single having Christmas Rose, H ellebmus nigeT, al five white petals, often flushed on the though by no means a common plant, is, outside with purplish rose, and measur perhaps, the best known and most com ing from 2-4 inches. A well-grown plant monly cultivated species. might produce 150 twelve-inch flower The Christmas Rose is interesting not stems. "When the flower fades, the petals only bota.nically, but also from the legen turn rose, later greenish, and will last dary and the medicinal points of view. for months even though the fruit has The species H. nige1' and its numerous formed. cultivars are particularly valuable be The leaves are basal, divided into cause of the flowering season, which ex seven or more evergreen, or nearly ever tends from October until March-a time green, leaflets, and on mature and well when few flowers are found in gardens grown plants, have stems not more than in many geographical areas. An indi 18 inches long. vidual plant, of course, will not flower It is necessary to start with plants of during' all these months; the time de su fficient size and vigor to insure success. pends upon the particular cultivar, the The 'writer believes that this is of utmost section of the country, and even varia importance and that failure in the cul tions of temperature from year to year. ture can almost always be attributed to failure in selecting good plants. H elle boms plants are like many other alpines THE PLANTS which are difficult to establish, but are The Christmas Rose has been well comparatively easy to grow once they known in Europe for many years. The have reached a certain size and age. As plants are grown there in favorable gar they are still considered a novelty, it may den locations and considerable use is be difficult for the average gardener to made of their cut flowers. They are ex know what constitutes a plant of suffi cellent for corsages and may be worn cient size. A description of the methods out-of-doors during cold winter days. of propagation may help to clarify this They combine well with hollies and p()illt. other Christmas greens for table decora tions. PROPAGATION European florists sell potted plants of H ellebonts nigeT may be propagated HelleboTus during the Christmas se~son. by division and by seed. Of course, if it They also move clumps into the cool is desired to perpetua te a particular greenhouse, or pit, at regular intervals quality of a strain, division is necessary. for cut flower production. It is interest This should be done in the early fall be ing to note that these cut flowers bring cause new roots form rapidly then. The prices comparable to the first forced division should be promptly planted into tulips available at the same time. a carefully prepared nursery bed and In this country, plants of Helleboms grown there for at least one year. Those were hardly known some twenty years plants developing two strong leaves) or ago. They still are considered a novelty more. and a good root system are con in spite of the fact that leading horticul sidered sufficient in size for transplanting tural magazines have recently published to permanent locations. excellent articles on their culture point Propagation by division is compara ing out their unusual qualities. tively simple. HelleboTus slowly grows 2 THE NATIONAL HORTICULTURAL MAGAZINE to a sizeable plant large enough to be foliage is still tender and wi.lts easily in divided, however, and it becomes neces wind and sun, even though there may be sary to propagate by seed when a large considerable moisture in the ground. quantity is desired. Wooden lath, bamboo, reed mats, alumi The flowering time falls in the winter num lath, or evergreen boughs which months and seed ripens during early have lost their needles, will be satisfac spring. To preserve their viability, these tory. It should not exclude more than must be sown immediately or tempo forty per cent sunlight. The shade should rarily stored in moist sand. Stored seed be supported on a framework at least 18 planted indoors germinate in November inches from the ground. The framework or December, while stored seed planted may be used later to support sash or outdoors in October, germinate in March other winter protection, whenever such or about ten months after harvest.

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