Eremurus

Eremurus - Noble tuberous-rooted plants from N. India, Persia, and C. Asia, now finding favour in our gardens. Most of the kinds are handsome, and well suited for the warm sheltered glades of gardens where hardy flowers and plants are grown in a natural and informal way. In such a home they are seen to advantage in bold groups with some of the finest hardy plants, with a background of shrubs. These plants are far more accommodating than at first was imagined. Groups of the bolder kinds associated with Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora, Lilium Henryi, and Azalea mollis are effective for months on end, and all revel in deep rich loam, old manure, and leaf-mould. The plants named afford them shelter from spring frosts, which is important. Such bold and vigorous growers as E. robustus and E. Elwesianus should never be planted in prepared "holes," but, because of their extended root systems, on a much more generous plan, so that their thong-like roots, radiating like the spokes of a wheel from its hub, may be catered for. In planting, keep the crowns of these giants of the race fully 6 inches deep: they will come to the surface a year or two later by the very nature of their crown-above-crown annual increase. In all my ill-drained and clay soils they succeed quite well. The modern, late-flowering hybrids are not averse to thin partial shade, and in such last well, while the earliest sorts are capable of fine effect amid their plantings of Rhododendrons or other shrubs. They thrive admirably in deep, rich, sandy loam, with the addition of some decayed cow manure. Autumn is the best period for planting. Also See: Flowers

The Rev. F. Page-Roberts writes from Scole Rectory:—

"With a little trouble Eremuri may be grown successfully by every lover of beautiful flowers. All that is necessary for their well-being is protection from slugs, which soon scent them from afar. I keep a perforated zinc collar round the crown and protect from spring frosts. The plant early forces its way up even through the frost-bound earth, but the tender flower-spike, tender only in infancy, is nipped in the bud if rain fall on it and freezes. Protection also from cutting winds which destroy the foliage is needed. With such precautions and planted in loam, deep but not too stiff, in a well-drained sunny border, and with an occasional dose of weak liquid manure, they will repay one for all the care given to them."

Contents 1 Related Flowers 1.1 Eremurus Aitchisonii 1.2 Eremurus Aurantiacus 1.3 Eremurus Bungei 1.4 Eremurus Himalaicus 1.5 Eremurus Olgae 1.6 Eremurus Robustus 1.7 Others

Related Flowers

Eremurus Aitchisonii

Eremurus Aitchisonii - A fine kind from Afghanistan, where it grows on ridges of the hills nearly 12,000 feet above sea-level, bearing in June dense spikes of pale reddish flowers, robust, and on stems from 3 to 5 feet high.

Eremurus Aurantiacus

Eremurus Aurantiacus - A dwarf plant, hardy, flowering in April, the numerous spikes of bright citron-yellow flowers giving quite a character to part of the Hariab district, where it is one of the commonest plants on rough ground. It is the vegetable of the Hariab district upon which the inhabitants depend for at least two months of the year. The leaves are cut from the root-stock, as close to the ground as possible, and cooked.

Eremurus Bungei

Eremurus Bungei - A beautiful plant with wand-like spikes of yellow flowers 2 to 3 feet high. E. B. pallidus (primrose yellow) and E. B. superbus, a magnificent plant with towering spikes of yellow flowers, are notable varieties. Native of Persia, flowering in July.

Eremurus Himalaicus

Eremurus Himalaicus - a beautiful white-flowered kind. The flower-stems are 4 to 8 feet high, the dense racemes taking up quite 2 feet of the upper portion, with flowers as large as a florin. It is one of the hardiest and best of the known kinds. It flowers in May and June, and is a native of the temperate Himalayas.

Eremurus Olgae

Eremurus Olgae - A dwarf kind, and one of the latest to flower. The flower-stem is nearly 4 feet high, and is densely set with handsome lilac flowers as large as a five-shilling piece. It is certainly one of the handsomest species. E. O. roseus and E. O. Salmon Queen are beautiful varieties. A native of Turkestan, flowering in June and July.

Eremurus Robustus

Eremurus Robustus - One of the best known in gardens, with a huge flower-stem 6 to 10 feet high, bearing a dense raceme of peach-shaped lilac flowers nearly 2 inches in diameter. It is hardy, and my often be seen forcing its shoots through frozen ground. Native of Turkestan, flowering in June.

Others

In addition to the above named are E. Shelford and E. St Michael, raised by the late Sir Michael Foster, and considered by him to be the best of his many seedlings; Tubergini and Warei, of coppery-pink hue, and a wide range of seedlings affording shades of cream, pink, buff, salmon, and orange, which, apart from color, beauty, and novelty, have greatly added to the value of the group by their late (July) flowering.