NEW ZEALAND CELMISIAS AT KEW.

Otago Witness, Issue 2949, 21 September 1910, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND CELMISIAS AT KEW.

An interesting experiment is. being made at Kew (says the Field) in the cultivation of the beautiful celniigias which, form one. of the chief ornaments of the alpine fioru of New Zealand, the mountain slopes beinig often whitened for miles from the abundance of their large daisy-like Sowers. They have never been quite successfully estab-

lished in European gardens, although some [ of the likeliest of the species, of -which 43 | are known, ha.ve been from time to time tried. Some of them appear to foe of little account a* garden plants, however effective they may be in New Zealand, but a fewl promise to settle in this country and to prove "worthy of a place among select plants for the rock garden. The best of them, so far as one can sea at present, is C. holcsericea, which, according to* Cheesman, is common in the South Island from sea level up to 4000 ft elevation. It forms handsome evergreen rosettes, a.nd spread* by means of stolons, the leaves being from 6in to a foot loing and an inch or so wide, dark shining green above, silvery white below, the margins serrate. The flower scapes, which are flattened at the base and clothed all the way up with linear leaf-like bracts, are numerous, about a foot lonj;, and each bears a head of glistening white flowers 3in across, the disc small and bright yellow, the ray florets very numerous and elegantly recurved; altogether a most pleasing flower head, suggesting a white gerbera. The .'lowers keep opan and fresh for at least a week when cut and placed in water. The plants at Kew have grown quickly into large tufts, which have been in flower since the beginning of May and are flowering still. The cenditicne that have suited these plants so well at Kew are semi-shade, a moist but well-drained peaty soil, and overhead protection during winter (November to April;. The plants seed freely in this country, and the seeds germinate quickly. j