THE EDELWEISS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3818, 17 May 1927, Page 11

THE EDELWEISS.

ALPINE AND NEW ZEALAND

SPECIES.

The well-known Swiss species of the edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) has always had an attraction for plant lovers, and is freely grown in England from seed. The species obtained in the New Zealand mountains (Leucogencs leontopodium), although its flowers are not quite so large as the Swiss Alps species, has in late years found its way into a few Dominion gardens, and is a plant well adapted to rockery cultivation. It is described in Cheeseman’s Manual as “a beautiful little plant, with precisely the aspect of the edelweiss of the European Alps, but with flower heads of different structure.”

In an article on Leontopodium in The Garden it is noted that the widespread but quite erroneous belief that edelweiss grows only in Switzerland, and- that even there it grows only in its wild state, refusing to submit to cultivation, has been responsible for the exclusion of this interesting little plant from our rookeries. The variety so keenly sought after by tourists in the Alps is Leontopodium alpinum, a pretty plant with silver grey leaves and yellow Bowers surrounded by a ring of silver grey bracts. This variety, given certain conditions, succeeds well in Great Britain, seed being procurable from any of the well known firms of seedsmen. This should be sown under glass any time in boxes filled with sandy soiL When the

plants are big enough to handle they should be potted up singly and placed in a sheltered place out of doors. In autumn they will be ready for transplanting to their permanent positions in the rockery, or, if preferred, they may be kept in a cold frame during the winter and planted out in late spring. Success or failure in the cultivation of edelweiss lies very largely in the preparation of the rockery. It must have a very sunny, sheltered exposure, and it is advisable to arrange the stones in such a way as to afford additional' shelter to the little plants from cold winds. The most important factor of all, however, is drainage, which must be perfect. Unless this is attended to with the utmost care the plants will not survive, for damp is a ■ much greater enemy to edelweiss than frost. It is always well, if at all possible, to protect the plants from excessive rain by covering them with glass. Edelweiss blooms about a year after sowing. Although in the Alps it is perennial, it is best to treat it in this country as a biennial. It can, if desired, be grown successfully as a pot plant.