Manual of Gardening Part 43

The former is the familiar trailing evergreen myrtle, with blue flowers in early spring; in its variegated form the latter is much used for hanging baskets and vases.

Climbing hydrangea, _Schizophragma hydrangeoides._

Clings to walls by rootlets, producing white flowers in midsummer.

Pa.s.sion-flower, species of _Pa.s.siflora_ and _Tacsonia._

Used in the South and in California.

_b. Woody twiners_

Actinidia, _A. arguta._

Very strong grower, with beautiful thick foliage that is not attacked by insects or fungi; one of the best vines for arbors.

Akebia, _A. quinata._ Very handsome and odd j.a.panese vine; a strong grower, and worthy general planting.

Honeysuckles, woodbine, _Lonicera_ of many kinds.

j.a.panese honeysuckle, _L. Halliana_ (a form of _L. j.a.ponica_).

10-20 ft.; flowers, white and buff, fragrant mainly in spring and fall; leaves small, evergreen; stems prostrate and rooting, or twining and climbing. Trellises, or for covering rocks and bare places; extensively run wild in the South. Var. _aurea reticidata_ is similar to the type, but with handsome golden appearance.

Belgian Honeysuckle, L. _Periclymenum_ var. _Belgica._

6-10 ft.; monthly; flowers in cl.u.s.ters, rosy red, buff within; makes a large, rounded bush.

Coral or trumpet honeysuckle, _L. sempervirens._(A)

6-15 ft.; June; scattering scarlet flowers through the summer; with no support makes a large rounded bush; for trellises, fences, or a hedge; it is one of the list of hardy trees and shrubs recommended for Canada by the Experiment Station at Ottawa.

Honeysuckle, _L. Caprifolium,_ with cup-like connate leaves.

Good native climbing honeysuckles are _L. flava,_(A) _Sullivanti,_(A) _hirsuta,_(A) _dioica,_(A) and _Douglasi._(A)

Wistaria, _Wistaria Sinensis_ and _W. speciosa._(A)

The Chinese species, _Sinensis,_ is a superb plant; flowers blue-purple; there is a white-flowered variety.

j.a.panese wistaria, _W. multijuga._

Flowers smaller and later than the Chinese, in looser racemes.

Dutchman's pipe, _Aristolochia macrophytta (A. Sipho_).(A) A robust grower, possessing enormous leaves. Useful for covering verandas and arbors.

Wax-work or false bitter-sweet, _Celastrus scandens._(A) Very ornamental in fruit; flowers imperfect.

j.a.panese celastrus, _C. orbiculatus (C. articulatus_ of the trade). _C.

articulatus_ and _C. scandens_ are in the list of 100 trees and shrubs recommended by the Experiment Station at Ottawa for Canada.

Moonseed, _Menispermum Canadense._(A) A small but very attractive twiner, useful for thickets and small arbors.

Bokhara climbing polygonum, _Polygonum Baldschuanic.u.m._ Hardy North, although the young growth may be killed; flowers numerous, minute, whitish; interesting, but does not make a heavy cover.

Kudzu vine, _Pueraria Thunbergiana (Dolichos j.a.ponicus_). Makes very long growths from a tuberous root; shrubby South, but dies to the ground in the North.

Silk vine, _Periploca Graeca._ Purplish flowers in axillary cl.u.s.ters; long, narrow, shining leaves; rapid growing.

Potato vine, _Solanum jasminoides._ A good evergreen vine South, particularly the var. _grandiflorum._

Yellow jasmine, _Gelsemium sempervirens._(A) A good native evergreen vine for the South, with fragrant yellow flowers.

Malayan jasmine, _Trachelospermum_ (or _Rhynchospermum) jasminoides._ A good evergreen vine for the South and in California.

Climbing asparagus, _Asparagus plumosus._ Popular as an outdoor vine far South and in California.

Jasmines, _Jasminum_ of several species. The best known in gardens are _J. nudiflorum,_ yellow in earliest spring, _J. officinale,_ the jessamine of poetry, with white flowers, and _J. Sambac,_ the Arabian jasmine (and related species) with white flowers and unbranched leaves; these are not hardy without much protection north of Washington or Philadelphia, and _J. Sambac_ only far South.

Bougainvillea, _Bougainvillaea glabra_ and _B. spectabilis._

The magenta-flowered variety, sometimes seen in conservatories in the North, is a popular outdoor vine in the South and is profusely used in southern California. The red-flowered form is less seen, but is preferable in color.

Wire-vine (polygonum of florists), _Muehlenbeckia complexa._

Abundantly used on buildings and chimneys in southern California.

_Climbing roses._

The roses do not climb nor possess any special climbing organs; therefore they must be provided with a trellis or woven-wire fence. Some of the roses cla.s.sed as climbing are such as only need good support, Fig. 267. For culture of roses, see Chapter VIII.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 267. Climbing rose, Jules Margottin.]

The most popular climbing or pillar rose at present is Crimson Rambler, but while it makes a great display of flowers, it is not the best climbing rose. Probably the best of the real climbing roses for this country, bloom, foliage, and habit all considered, are the derivatives of the native prairie rose, _Rosa setigera_ (native as far north as Ontario and Wisconsin). Baltimore Belle and Queen of the Prairie belong to this cla.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration XV: Scuppernong grape, the arbor vine of the South. This plate shows the noted scuppernongs on Roanoke Island, of which the origin is unknown, but which were of great size more than one hundred years ago.]

The climbing polyantha roses (hybrids of _Rosa multiflora_ and other species) include the cla.s.s of "rambler" roses that has now come to be large, including not only the Crimson Rambler, but forms of other colors, single and semi-double, and various climbing habits; a very valuable and hardy cla.s.s of roses, particularly for trellises.

The Memorial rose _(R. Wichuraiana_) is a trailing, half-evergreen, white-flowered species, very useful for covering banks and rocks.

Derivatives of this species of many kinds are now available, and are valuable.

The Ayrshire roses _(R. arvensis_ var. _capreolata_) are profuse but rather slender growers, hardy North, bearing double white or pink flowers.

The Cherokee rose _(R. Icevigata_ or _R. Sinica_) is extensively naturalized in the South, and much prized for its large white bloom and shining foliage; not hardy in the North.

The Banksia rose _(R. Banksice_) is a strong climbing rose for the South and California with yellow or white flowers in cl.u.s.ters. A larger-flowered form _(R. Fortuneana_) is a hybrid of this and the Cherokee rose.

The climbing tea and noisette roses, forms of _R. Chinensis_ and _R.