— ®Iie ^. ^. ^tU pbrar^ ^ortij (Elarclma ^tat^ College t)b405 —^i^~,»—»— "'' ^nr-Mi mil mill arjggT-u ii'i i.^.. ~... .- . ..J ^O P NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES II II I 111 III iiii iiiiiniiiii Qnn7n£;Qi;'3 t Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2009 witii funding from NCSU Libraries littp://www.arcliive.org/details/americanflowergOObuis 'i'^ •;'-^ * LIBRARY. Diciaion of A-'^QC^fSTB/Jf .nSL Horticuiittpe;-- H. 0. Dec't of AffWnnn— u&Y 19 190 AMERICAN FLOWER-GARDEN DIRECTORY: CONTAINma PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE CULTURE OP PLANTS, in THE FLOT\^R-GARDEN, HOT-HOUSE, GREEN-HOUSE, ROOMS, OR PARLOUR WINDOWS, FOR EVERY MONTH IN THE YEAR. WITH A BESCRIPTION OF THE PLANTS MOST DESIRABLE IN EACH, THE NATURE OF THE SOIL AND SITUATION BEST ADAPTED TO THEIR GROWTH, THE f PROPER SEASON FOR TRANSPLANTING, ETC. WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR ERECTING THE WHOLE ADAPTED TO EITHER LARGE OR SMALL GARDENS WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING THE SOIL, PROPAGATING, PLANTING, PRUNING, TRAINING, AND FRUITING ; THE GRAPE VINE, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OP THE BEST SORTS POR CULTIVATIl^Q IN THE OPEN AIR, BY ROBERT BUIST, NURSERYMAN AND SEED-GROWER. Zixil H5&itiDiT, initfj Numtrou^ EJJifitionif. NEW YORK: C. M. SAXTON, BARKER & CO., 25 PARK ROW. SAN FRANCISCO: H. H. BANGKOET & CO. UBRakY1860..„.^ Ditisicri. oi Horncui^^ui-^, . _ , - . ^ _ii...-. MAY ' Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by C. M. SAXTON, En the Clerk's OfiSce of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern District of New York. a INTRODUCTION. We are again called upon to present to the public the 6th edition of this popular work on the Culture of Flowers— taste that is now widely disseminating itself; in fact, a know- ledge of which is requisite before a refined education is com- pleted. We boldly and fearlessly say that no country has made such rapid advancement in the art and science of Horti- culture in so short a period as the United States. Wherever the taste prevails, it diffuses a peace and harmony among its participants without either symbol or mystery. In this edition, a feast of new materials has been served up ; entire lists have been cancelled and replaced with those of newer and finer forms and habits ; extraneous matter and plants of indifierent character are dropped. The great and successful adaptation of Hot water to Horticultural purposes is explicitly described, and to those who wish to examine the results, we Bay " Come and see." A new and distinct list of hardy Evergreens has been added, and a new chapter on the ever-to- be-admired ROSE, and every improvement in the art up to this present time introduced. True, we have not dilated on the wonderful effects of electricity upon vegetation, nor have we been extravagant in the results of guano in the growth of plants. With re- gard to the former, the capability of its reduction to general practice has yet to be proven—and the latter has to be ;; iv INTRODUCTION. cautiously used, and even then its beneficial efi'ects arc not universal. However, it can in a liquid state be used to advantage on almost any plant, especially those of strong habits, such as the Hose, Geranium, Fuchsia, Heliotrope, Chrysanthemum, &c. To such, the following proportions will be very beneficial : 1 lb. of guano to 5 galls, of water after standing 12 or more hours, can be used in the routine of watering once a week or even once in two weeks ; but to plants that have more delicate and silky rootlets, such as Epacris, Erica, Azalea, &c., the liquid must be reduced one- half. Our descriptions of plants have been conveyed more with the view of giving an idea of their character to the general reader than an accurate botanical synopsis, which would have been known to the botanist alone. All that we have described and recommended have, with a few exceptions, passed under our own observation, and are such as are worthy of cultiva- tion, either for beauty of flower, foliage, or habit, together with those celebrated in arts and medicine. Many may, possibly, have passed unobserved, either from not being very generally known or difficult to obtain ; but in no case has there been suppression, from business prejudices. Where the words " our collections" occur, they are meant for those of the country generally. All our observations have been guided by dint of practice and, although others may difi'er, this is designedly and pro- fessedly given as the result of our own experience. The plan laid down is our own routine of culture ; the soils are those whicn we adopt ; but, at the same time, conceding that every art and profession is subject to improvement, and none more so than American horticulture. The table of soils was originally constructed at the expense of much investigation and labour, and has, also, in this edition, undergone consider- able improvement. To every one that has but a single plant INTRODUCTION. V it will be found invaluable. Although the publications in Europe on Gardening and Floriculture are profuse, yet many of their directions, when practised in the United States, prove almost a dead letter. Not so with their architectural and horticultural designs. The estates of the wealthy are suscepti- ble of great improvement ; they want more of the picturesque, and (to use the words of the veteran pioneer of horticulture) gardenesque effect, to relieve their premises from the mono- tonous erections and improvements which seem to govern all. On culture, a work adapted to the climate must (and no other can) be the guide in this country : on this account, a work like the present has been a desideratum to aid those who desire to employ their leasure hours either for amusement, the benefit of health, to sweeten the decline of life, or to gain a more intimate knowledge of the various productions of nature throughout the world. Every year brings from other climes some remarkable flower, fruit, or plant ; and as a point that we are at least in some of our undertakings second to none, we have only to refer to the very successful culture and flowering of the Victoria Regia Water Lily, at Spring Brook, the country seat of Caleb Cope, Esq., where it has bloomed with more regal grandeur than at any of the Abbeys, Castles, or Palaces of the Eastern world. ROBERT BUIST. ROSEDALE NUESEEIES, Near Philadelphia, 1854. 1* PEETACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. This volume owes its existence principally to ine repeated requests of a number of our fair patrons and amateur sup- porters, whose inquiries and wishes for a practical manual on Floriculture at last induced us to prepare a work on the subject. That now offered is given unaffectedly and simply as a plain and easy treatise on this increasingly interesting subject. It will at once be perceived that there are no pre- tensions to literary claims—the directions are given in the simplest manner—the arrangement made as lucidly as was in our power—and the whole is presented with the single wish of its being practically useful. How far our object has been attained, of course our readers must judge. Nothing has been intentionally concealed ; and all that is asserted is the result of minute observation, close application, and an extended continuous experience from childhood. We pretend not to infallibility, and are not so sanguine as to declare our views the most perfect that can be attained. But we can so far say that the practice here recommended has been found very successful. Some, very probably, may be disappointed in not having the means of propagating as clearly delineated as those of culture ; but to have entered into all the minutiae connected (vii) Vlll PREFACE. therewith would have formed materials for two volumes larger than the present. We might have described that branch, as it has already been done in works published both on this continent and in Europe. In one of the former, it is said '' You may now propagate many kinds (^Exotic Plants) by suckers, cuttings, and layers, which should be duly at- tended to, particularly such as are scarce and difficult to be obtained." And the directions given in one of the most ex- tensive works in Europe on the propagation of an extensive genus varied in character and constitution, ran thus : " Cut- tings of most kinds will strike root. From the strongest- growing kinds, take off large cuttings at a joint, and plunge them in a pot of sand under a hand-glass in the bark bed. Of the smaller kinds, take younger kinds and put them under a bell-glass, also plunged in heat. The sooner the plants are potted off after they are rooted the better." Such instructions to the inexperienced are imperfect and unavailing, which, we flatter ourselves, is not the character that will attach to the present work. We are well aware that there are persons who, to show their own superior abilities, may cavil and say that there is nothing new. To such critics it may be answered, if arranging, simplifying, digesting, and rendering Floriculture attainable by the humblest capacity, with useful lists and tables on a plan quite novel, as we believe, offer nothing new, it may at least be called an im- provement. Howevei-, we submit all to a generous public, to whom we are already under many obligations. HIBBEUT & BUIST. Philadelphia, April 18th, 1832. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CONTENTS. APRIL. Annuals, Biennials and p>2rennials, Roses, Hybrid Chinese roses, . Select list of Chinese roses, Hybrid roses, striped, spotted, or marbled, Perpetual roses, Hybrid perpetual roses, Grafting roses, Bourbon roses, .