Picotee
Dianthus caryophyllus.
PICOTEES differ from carnations in having the colour concentrated on the outer edge of the petals, whereas in carnations the colour is disposed in bands and blotches longitudinally. It is a question with the experts which is the oldest form of the flower, and that question is one of very great interest both to the florist and the student of the laws of evolution. Mr. E. S. Dodwell, a man of extensive knowledge, and a most successful cultivator of these flowers, holds firmly to the opinion that in the development of the flower the picotee appeared in advance of the flaked carnation. His theory is that the self-coloured flower changed in the first instance to an edged flower, and that this became a carnation by the spreading of the colour from the edge towards the centre. We have held, and still hold, that the carnation produced the picotee, which is the very opposite of the doctrine held by the gentleman named above. Our conviction rests on no hypothesis, but on recorded facts; still, as there is no finality in such matters, we leave the question to the further consideration of the reader.
Considered etymologically, a picotee is a spotted flower; and when a number of seedlings flowering for the first time are under inspection, it will be observed that the term is quite appropriate, for a certain number show a disposition in the colours to pass inward from the edge in dots and dashes. In Parkinson's "Paradisus," the figure of "Master Tuggie, his Princesse," will display a showy flower, with frilled edges and conspicuous spots, in respect of which the author describes it as "very beautiful, and exceedingly delightsome." The truth must be told that this sort of thing is not now allowed. A picotee must no longer be spotted, but have a distinct and sharp marginal line of colour, the breadth of which will determine whether it is a light-edged or heavy-edged flower: those that are most prized having a very fine line of colour, which entitles them to be designated wire-edged. The rules that now determine the degrees of merit in these flowers may be said to date from July 25, 1850, when a grand trial exhibition of carnations and picotees was held in the Royal Nurseries, Slough, and nearly thirty stands were put up, in addition to the blooms presented for class showing. This was followed, on the 7th of August of the same year, by a similar exhibition at Derby, when there were presented thirty-six stands of six, fifteen of twelve, and upwards of a thousand single specimens. It is a curious fact that at both these brilliant encounters the principal first prizes were carried off by Mr. Charles Turner and Mr. E. S. Dodwell, the first representing the commercial cultivators, the second the amateurs. The fact seems to prove the rarity of first-class skill in handling these flowers, for with any approach to equality of power in the competitions the prizes must have been more freely divided. The National Carnation and Picotee Society, founded in 1851, has established on a firm basis the standard of technical merit in these flowers, while leaving a liberal margin for the introduction of new forms, should they arise, as also for new methods of displaying them, for it is only in certain classes that strict compliance with fixed rules is required. The picotee class had acquired special and peculiar interest, from the introduction of flowers with a yellow ground and sharply-defined and brightly-coloured edges. It is no new thing to see yellow in these flowers, for Parkinson rejoiced in the "yelow or orenge-tawny gilloflower." But the yellow-ground picotee, as now known, is a modern creation, for which we are indebted to Mr. Richard Smith, of Witney, Oxon., who, in the year 1858, in the exhibition at Moira, took all the prizes offered for flowers of this class. He had refashioned it by crossing and selecting, and he had his reward. Among the finest yellow-ground picotees seen by the present generation of florists was one shown by Mr. James Douglas, of the gardens at Great Gearies, Ilford, in the exhibition of the National Society, 1886. It bears the name of Annie Douglas, who should be proud of her own and her father's flower.
It may be an advantage to amateur cultivators of these flowers to remark that they are less hardy than carnations, and require more care to take them through the winter. The finer kinds should be potted in the autumn, and kept in a frame or airy greenhouse until the spring, when they may be planted out, or flowered in pots, at discretion. For the general potting-up of rooted layers, the favourite date with growers in London, and as far north as the Trent, is October 20th; beyond Trent, an earlier date is required. If potted too early, they make more growth than is desirable before winter; but if too late, the winter cripples them.
It has been urged, and it may be again urged, that carnations are most useful flowers for town gardens. The same cannot be said of picotees, and, therefore, the town amateur may be advised not to speculate in picotees until he has acquired some experience with their more hardy relatives.