ZIETENIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



ZYGADENUS. 



937 



dida, with a good layer of ashes to protect the 

 roots in winter. 



Z. tubispatha. — A handsome plant, bear- 

 ing a white, slightly fragrant flower, 2 or 3 in. 

 long. It is a native of Antigua, and of the 

 Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Though properly 

 a stove plant, it will thrive and flower well in 

 mild localities, if well protected in winter. A 

 pretty pink hybrid between this species and 

 Z. cariimta is sometimes met with under the 

 name of Z. Spofforthiana. 



ZIETENIA.— Z. lavandulcefolia is a 

 dwarf, creeping, half-shrubby perennial of 

 a grayish hue, 6 to 12 in. high, with purple 

 flowers in summer, borne in whorls, 

 forming a spike about 6 in. long, with a 

 slender downy stalk. Suitable for the 

 margins of borders and the rougher parts 

 of the rock-garden, or for naturalisation in 

 ordinary soil. Division. Caucasus. 



ZINNIA. — Half-hardy annual plants of 

 splendid colour and thriving best in our 

 country on good warm soils. They are 

 among the most effective of summer- 

 blooming plants, and they flower well until 

 autumn. Their blooms are not easily 

 injured by inclement weather, but retain 

 freshness and gay colour when many 

 flowers present but a sorry appearance. 

 In mixed borders, and in beds among 

 sub-tropical plants, well-grown Zinnias are 

 always attractive, but require a deep loamy 

 soil and a warm open situation. Seed 

 should be sown in gentle warmth. Nothing- 

 is gained by sowing before the middle or 

 end of March, as, if the young plants have 

 to stand before being planted, they be- 

 come root-bound and seldom fully re- 

 cover. If the tissues once harden so much 

 as to bring the young plants to a stand- 

 still, there will be little chance of rapid 

 progress when finally set out. It is 

 not advisable to plant them out much 

 before the second week in June, as 

 they are sensitive to atmospheric changes, 

 and are completely ruined by a few 

 degrees of frost. Plant them in well- 

 stirred, fairly-enriched soil and in full 

 exposure, for they love to bask in the 

 sun's fiercest rays, and demand merely 

 a surface-covering, to protect the roots, 

 and a constant supply of moisture. In a 

 bed by themselves they would be greatly 

 improved if the soil were thrown out, and 

 a good depth of fermenting manure were 

 well trodden in, and the soil replaced. 

 Both the single and double Zinnias are 

 fine garden plants, and display a diversity 

 and brilliancy of colour equalled by few 

 plants. The double forms have of late 

 iDeen most in request, although both the 



double and single varieties have been 

 greatly improved. There is one good 

 characteristic about double Zinnias — they 

 are not all so rank and unwieldy as the 

 single types, dwarfing having gone hand-in- 

 hand with multiplying petals in the flowers. 

 Selection has also done something to 

 induce a better habit ; and it will be ob- 

 served that particular types of flower often 

 improve in habit and bloom at the same 

 time. Some of the single Zinnias are very 

 beautiful, for instance, the yellow, carmine, 

 rosy-purple, scarlet, crimson, and orange 

 kinds. Z. elegatis is the species from 

 which the numerous varieties mentioned 

 in catalogues have been derived. Z. 

 Darwini is a beautiful hybrid with very 

 double flowers of various colours. Z. 

 Haageana, known also as Z. niexicafia, has 

 a very neat habit, and rich orange-yellow 

 blossoms ; it also occurs with double 

 flowers. 



ZIZ ANIA ( Wild Rice).—h small group 

 of hardy grasses, excellent for planting in 

 water, or in wet ground at the waterside. 

 Z. aqiiatica is remarkable for the fine 

 effect of its Oat-like stems, 8 to 10 ft. 

 high, with broad vivid-green leaves and 

 graceful bronzed plumes of nearly a yard 

 long, the seeds of which are greedily 

 sought by fish and water fowl. The plants 

 thrive only in water with a soft mud bot- 

 tom, and though they will often sow them- 

 selves, the seeds are so tempting that the 

 safer way is to keep a store of them in a 

 bottle of' water through the winter, plant- 

 ing the seedlings in shallow water during 

 June. The plant is of annual duration, 

 and the seeds perish if kept dry. N. 

 America. 



Z. latifolia from Japan is a perennial 

 kind, shorter, and of more drooping habit. 

 It makes spreading tufts of a good size, 

 but does not bear its purplish plumes 

 freely in this country. 



ZYGADENUS. — Plants of the Lily 

 family, of no great ornamental value, for 

 their flowers are all greenish-yellow, but 

 their distinct growth makes them worth 

 cultivating in a botanical or a full col- 

 lection. They are slender bulbous 

 plants, with narrow grassy leaves, and tall 

 branching flower-stems, i to 4 ft. high. 

 Z. Fremoiiti (also known as Z. glaber- 

 j-iniiis, Z. chlora?it/ius, and Z. Douglasi) 

 is the largest flowered species. The other 

 kinds are Z. Nuttalli and Z. panicidatus. 

 Zygadeni thrive best in a wet peaty border 

 in a shady position protected from cold 

 winds. California. 



