THE CHALCEDONIAN ROSE CAMPION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4, 24 July 1912, Page 38

THE CHALCEDONIAN ROSE CAMPION.

LY( UNIS ( HAL( EDONI( A. In Lychnis chalcedonica. the ( halcedonian Rose ( ampioii. we have an oldfashioiietl. but indis|M*nsal>le summerflowering plant, which has been in cultivation for more than four hundred

years, and which has been admired by many generations of flower-lovers, because of its stately appearance and the brightness of its flowers. Associated with such white flowers as Campanula persicifolia alsa and C. grandis alba, it is magnificent in its season w hen in bold groups. A bed of some white-flowered annual through which rise the scarlet flowers of the ordinary L. chalcedonica looks very fine indeed. There are several varieties of this old flower to lie obtained, and these can Ik* procured in spring, early summer, or autumn, and planted then with little difficulty, seeing that with care in watering they w ill soon become established. fhe two scarlet varieties are the best, and that with single scarlet flowers, recognised as the type, is a capital plant, with its stems from 1A to 4ft high, and its heads of bright scarlet single flowers. This <an be raised from seeds or propagated by careful division. It* double variety. L. chalcedonica fl. pl., is still more handsome, but cannot be raised from seeds, and is increased by very careful division in early spring.

The white variety. L. chalcedonica alba. i* a pl.mt which is cherished more by these who like les* common subjects than by the gardeners who prize effect in their garden*. It. however, mingles well with its more vivid-coloured parent. The double white variety. L. chalcedonica fl. pL. is still more cherished by the seekers for the rarer plants, ami is a subject which appeals highly to them. It* double flowers of white are of less effect than those of its scarlet sister ( ampion. Lychnis chalcedonica likes a welldrained. well-manured, rather light soil, ami lo »ks much finer in the sun than in the shade, although in excessively strong sun we have seen the flowers become a little blanched. It is a plant well worthy of the little care it calls for. and should be grow n by everyone who lias a flower border of any size. It may be added that it should never Im* allowed to grow too far out of the ground, and a little top-dress-ing nf good soil about its crowns will well repay the trouble. S. ARNOTT.