736 PENTSTEMON. 



THE ENGLISH FLOIVER GARDEN. 



'ERNETTVA. 



age, they are beautiful plants, and much 

 use should be made of them, as they are 

 valuable in autumn and carry their beauty 

 into winter, at least m western and sea- 

 side gardens. 



They succeed in any good soil, such as 

 a good loam enriched with manure and 

 leaf-soil. They can be planted out as 

 groups in beds, or in the mixed border, 

 where their various colours blend charm- 

 ingly, ranging from white to scarlet, 

 with intermediate shades of pink, rose, 

 purple, carmine, and purplish-lilac. If 

 good plants be put out by the end of 

 April, they will bloom about the middle of 

 June, and yield flowers until winter. 

 They are increased both by cuttings and 

 by seeds ; the cuttings taken in August 

 or early in September from the young 

 growth round the main stem should be 

 put into a prepared sandy bed, on a 

 shady border, under a hand-glass, or 

 into boxes or pots in a cold frame. 

 They root readily, and those in boxes or 

 pots might be wintered there, and not 

 transplanted till spring. Those in the 

 border should be lifted and potted, or 

 planted in a cold frame for the winter, or 

 where the winters are mild they may be 

 transplanted to the open ground in a 

 well-prepared bed, and protected during 

 severe weather with a little litter or 

 branches of Evergreens. The young 

 plants, however, should not usually be 

 planted out till March or April. To in- 

 crease the stock of any given variety 

 rapidly, the store pots of cuttings rooted 

 in autumn should be put in a gentle 

 bottom-heat in spring, and induced to 

 grow ; if the young growths be taken 

 off when they are 2 in. in length, and 

 put into pans of sandy soil of the same 

 temperature, they will quickly strike, and 

 by May and June form healthy plants. 



Seedlings. — The Pentstemon is a free 

 seeder, and there is no difficulty in ob- 

 taining seed. It should be taken from 

 only the finest varieties showing distinct 

 or novel character — and such varieties 

 can scarcely fail to yield something 

 worthy of cultivation. The seed should 

 be sown in February or early in March in 

 a gentle heat : it will quickly germinate, 

 and when the plants are large enough to 

 handle, they should be pricked off into 

 shallow boxes, and after a time hardened 

 off in a cold frame. Here they can 

 remain till the end of May or later, ac- 

 cording to si;;e, and they should then be 

 planted out in well-prepared beds. When 

 they flower, which they will do by August 

 and September, any especially good 

 varieties should be marked for increase. 



If the bed of seedlings be allowed 

 to stand for another season (and this is 

 often a good plan), the seed-stalks should 

 be cut away as soon as ripe, and the bed 

 cleaned, top-dressed with leaf-soil and 

 short manure in spring, and there will be 

 a plentiful har\'est of flowers the following 

 summer. Seedlings should be protected 

 by a cold frame during winter, and planted 

 out in April in good soil in a sunny spot. 



Good CiARDEN Forms : Arthur J. 

 Ward, Countess of Tweedale, Dr. Baine, 

 Dr. Barrie, Edwin Beckett, Emile 

 Rodigas, George Home, James Robert- 

 son, Jane Dieulafoy, John A. Elliot, John 

 Forbes, John Jennings, Joseph Chamber- 

 lain, Joseph Kent, Lady Arthur, Lord 

 Lister, Lord Rothschild, Marconi, Miss 

 Stewart Peter, Miss Talbot, Mrs. Forbes, 

 Mrs. J. Chamberlain, Mrs. Oliver, Mrs. 

 Jennings, Mrs. Younger, M. Deherain, 

 Peter Readman, Simon Campbell, and 

 Walter Thomson. The above are re- 

 markable for the large size and brilliant 

 colour of their flowers, but a variety that 

 for massing is as good as any is New- 

 berry Gem. In this the blooms are small 

 and graceful, very freely carried during 

 many weeks on a plant of neat compact 

 habit, their glowing crimson colour ren- 

 dering great effect in the border or in 

 massed beds. 



PERILLA.— /*. Jtankinensis is a half- 

 hardy annual, with dark vinous-purple 

 foliage. Seed should be sown about the 

 middle of February in pans or boxes in 

 heat ; the seedlings should be transplanted 

 into boxes in soil not over-rich, and after 

 being gradually hardened off they should 

 be planted out about the end of May. 

 To those without artificial heat in spring 

 it is worth little, needing heat to reach a 

 fair size for planting. There are several 

 garden varieties which are much used in 

 bedding-out, and often with the worst 

 results as to effect. 



PERIPL0CA(6V//t Vine).—P.grceca is 

 a rapid-growing shrubby climber of the 

 Stephanotis order, excellent for walls, ar- 

 bours, trellises, and the like, but on ac- 

 count of the somewhat unpleasant odour 

 of its flowers it is not well to plant it 

 against a dwelling-house. Its long slender 

 stems and branches form a dense mass, 

 and at midsummer are covered with 

 brownish-red \-elvety flowers ; it is de- 

 ciduous, and therefore unsuitable for a 

 winter-screen. Increase by seeds, layers, 

 or greenwood cuttings under glass. 

 Southern Europe. It is hardy, and has 

 been grown in English gardens for nearly 

 three centuries. 



PERNETTYA. {Prickly Heath).- 



