LOBELIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. LOISELEURIA. 553 



stems make their appearance it forms a 

 rosette of leaves of a very pure green 

 colour, and resembling the rosette of the 

 wild Chicory. The running roots are 

 abundantly furnished with fibres. When 

 fully grown the plant attains a height of 



4 to 5 feet ; the strongest flowering stems 

 are as thick as one's thumb at the base, 

 and branch with from twelve to fifteen 

 clusters of fine broad flowers, which all 

 bloom together, the whole forming a com- 

 pact, rigid pyramid needing no stake or 



Erop to support it. I have never seen any 

 ybrid of these fine plants as good as the 

 wild species. 



L. SPLENDENS. A) so called L. fulgens, 

 it is a brilliant and precious plant for the 

 flower garden. Its leaves are long and 

 narrow, and the flower-stalks taller and 

 thicker than those of L. cardinalis, the 

 flowers larger with broad over-lapping 

 petals. The best known, and a handsome 

 form of this, bears the name Queen Vic- 

 toria. Its leaves are a deep purple colour, 

 and the flowers a brilliant crimson-red. 

 Firefly is the handsomest variety in this 

 section, and was raised in Ireland. In 

 good rich soil it attains to a height of 



5 feet, whilst in colour the flowers are 

 intensely vivid and rich. One of its 

 merits is that it bears lateral flower-spikes 

 around the central one much more freely 

 than Queen Victoria, and these keep up 

 a succession of bloom after the leading 

 spike is past its best. Huntsman is 

 another variety, brighter in colour than 

 Firefly. Sir R. Napier, Rob Roy, and 

 other varieties have been obtained from 

 it. These vary in colour and habit very 

 much, and as they are all robust, free- 

 flowering plants, they are valuable in the 

 autumn garden, giving brilliant effects 

 until cut down by frost. The variety ignea 

 has broader leaves and larger flowers. 



This Lobelia suffers from a kind of rust, 

 which fastens on the main fleshy roots 

 when the plants are at rest, and rots them. 

 This disease, working as it does at a time 

 when growth is at a standstill, is not per- 

 ceived in time to be checked, and makes its 

 appearance in November, especially if the 

 weather be wet. The plants should then 

 be carefully taken up, reserving as much 

 of the roots as possible, the soil being 

 shaken off, and the roots well washed. 

 The disease will be readily discovered by 

 its rusty-looking spots, which must be cut 

 out with a sharp knife, as the least portion 

 will suffice to destroy the plant. After 

 the plants are examined they may be 

 potted or laid in a frame in some free sandy 

 soil, and very fine specimens may be 

 obtained by potting and plunging in a 

 slight bottom-heat, keeping the top quite 

 cool. In about a fortnight they will have 

 made fresh fibre, and all danger will be 

 past. They may then be kept in a cold 

 frame during the winter, and planted out 

 where desired in spring. The bottom- 



heat, however, is not indispensable ; for 

 they will succeed if carefully and sparingly 

 watered after potting. All the plants of 

 the fulgens group show their great beauty 

 only on peaty or deep leafy and moist 

 soils ; often on loamy soils the growth is 

 short and weak, the flowers poor, and 

 under such conditions they may not be 

 worth growing. 



L. SYPHILITICA. A variable species, not 

 very showy, and robust in free moist soils, 

 it stands our winters well, and is prolific 

 in varieties of violet and purple, varying to 

 rose and white. A poor kind, it never had 

 a place in my garden. The hybrids raised 

 by crossing with the splendidly coloured 

 kinds are also a poor lot, so far as tried. 

 L. syphilitica has rich violet-purple flowers, 

 which mark it out for special distinction. 

 It is valuable for grouping in the mixed 

 border, may be left out during winter with 

 safety, and can be lifted, divided, and 

 replanted in spring. 



L. TUPA. This is also known as Tupa 

 Fuelli, and although a native of Chili, will be 

 found to stand well in the south protected 

 with sifted ashes, gravel ; or other loose 

 material in autumn. It is best, however, 

 against a south wall, and when doing well 

 often attains a height of 6 to 8 feet ; the 

 flowers large, brick-red, in large racemes, 

 from July to September. In deep free 

 soils near the sea, L. Tupa is a very hand- 

 some plant. 



L. cavanillesii is of more graceful habit 

 and hardier. We have seen patches of it 

 at the base of rockwork, where it has stood 

 unprotected for years, several feet across. 

 The flowers are scarlet, long and tubular. 

 Very showy August-flowering subject. 



LOCUST TREE. These tall Lobelias 

 have a great attraction for me, and 

 my experience of their ways may be 

 of use to others. The Cardinal Lobelia 

 is a hardy one, grows in the colder 

 parts of N. America, on the fringe of 

 lakes, and hardy in England. Brilliant, 

 but not so fine as the more southern 

 species splendens. This I never like 

 to be without, and find it not so easy 

 to succeed with, though it lives through 

 the winter in Irish sea-coast gardens. 

 With me it is very difficult to keep 

 over winter owing to the attacks of 

 minute insect enemies. It must have 

 a peaty soil, plenty of water, and be 

 carefully housed in autumn. In the 

 west, with a greater rainfall, it grows 

 stronger, sometimes over 5 feet high. 



LOISELEURIA. A wiry little shrub, 

 L. procumbens, growing close to the 

 ground, the plants forming tufts with 

 small reddish flowers in spring. Its 

 bloom is never attractive, and the 

 plants transferred to gardens from 



