THE FLOKAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 3G3 



very pale blue, others deep azure blue, and on some plants even 

 reddish purple ; but all this happens on separate plants, which are 

 capable of being raised from seeds, although without any certainty. 

 A pale-flowered variety of this plant has been published in the 

 " Botanical Magazine " under the name of Pentstemon Gordoni, 

 from the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains ; but it is not suffi- 

 ciently distinct to be separated from the original species, even if 

 perpetuated by cuttings. The seeds should be sown as soon as they 

 are ripe in the autumn, for if not sown until spring they will pro- 

 bably remain dormant until the following March, which is the case 

 with those of most Pentstemons from the north-west coast of 

 America and California. The seeds should be sown in pans or large 

 pots, in pure sandy loam, without any mixture whatever, and should 

 be placed in a cold pit, or frame for the winter, where they will 

 require no further care until the following spring (beginning of 

 March), when they should be removed to a warmer situation, where 

 there is plenty of light and air (the greenhouse is a very suitable 

 situation), and where they may remain until the middle of May, 

 when the young plants should be potted, taking care at all times 

 that they never suffer from the want of water, with which they 

 should be liberally supplied. In potting, place each plant singly in 

 a 60-pot (three inch), and use a compost composed of three parts 

 sandy loam and one of well-decayed cow-dung ; afterwards place the 

 plants in a close pit or frame, and water freely for a few days, until 

 they recover the effects occasioned by the shift ; afterwards give air 

 freely, and when the weather becomes very warm and the sun bright, 

 about midsummer, place the plants in a frame with its face to the 

 north, shading them in very bright sunshine, but fully exposing 

 them during the night and in dull weather. They may remain in 

 this situation until the end of August, when they should be shifted 

 into larger pots, using the same kind of compost as before, and 

 giving a liberal supply of water. When shifted they should be 

 placed in an airy situation, where they are partially shaded from 

 the sun, until the end of October, when the strongest plants should 

 be planted out in a bed in the flower garden, made rather rich and 

 fresh, with sandy loam and rotten dung ; the smaller ones should be 

 again transferred to a cold pit or frame for the winter, where they 

 will be free from damp or stagnant moisture at their roots, and 

 where they may remain until the end of the following March, when 

 they may also be planted out in the flower garden as before, making 

 the soil very rich for them with rotten dung. These plants will 

 then make a good succession to those planted in the autumn; they 

 must be freely supplied with water in very dry weather, but never 

 over-head, for if watered over-head they very soon canker and lose 

 their stems, and as their stems are easily blown over or broken off 

 by the wind, they should be fastened to slender stakes about the 

 beginning of June, and it would be very advisable to place hand- 

 glasses over the plants planted out in the end of October, to protect 

 them in case the winter should prove very severe and damp, for 

 although they are seldom killed by cold, they are very impatient, and 

 Boon injured by frost and damp together, particularly in spring. 



December. 



