6i6 



PENTSTEMON. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PENTSTEMON. 



out in May, will usually flower by 

 autumn. 



The following are the cultivated 

 species. Some are not sufficiently 

 hardy for border culture, though they 

 succeed well enough against a warm 

 wall. It is a very large genus in the 

 vast range of its own country, so here 

 are given a selection best for our 

 climate. 



P. ACUMINATUS. A pretty plant growing 

 rigidly erect to 12 or 1 8 inches, with thick 

 greyish leaves clasping the stem and a 

 compact spike of mauve or violet flowers, 

 wide at the throat and nearly an inch 

 long. 



P. AZUREUS. A beautiful plant form- 

 ing a neat tuft of narrow grey leaves 

 and loose spikes of azure-blue flowers 

 shading to reddish-purple at the base. 

 N. California. Jaffrayanus. One of the 

 best dwarf forms, about a foot high, with 

 redish stems bearing large flowers of rich 

 blue in showy clusters of three to five 

 blossoms. 



P. BARBATUS. A tall, erect plant, very 

 showy in a dry season, and one of the best 

 and hardiest kinds. Its spikes of narrow 

 tubular flowers, varying from light pink 

 to bright carmine, rise from a dense 

 spreading tuft of bright green leaves. A 

 flesh-coloured form is known as carneum, 

 and there is also a white form. Other 

 varieties are Torreyi with deep scarlet 

 flowers, longer in the lip and coming 

 rather later than in the parent ; and 

 Antwerpensis, of looser procumbent habit, 

 the stems rooting where they touch the 

 ground, and bearing small flowers of vivid 

 scarlet. Syn. Chelone Barbata. 



P. C^RULEUS. A dwarf kind rarely 

 exceeding 9 inches, with large flowers 

 varying from light blue to lilac and 

 white, or more rarely flushed with rose. 

 The plant is sub-shrubby in habit with 

 grey foliage, and is one of the most beau- 

 tiful for the rock garden. 



P. CAMPANULATUS. A Mexican species 

 of about 2 feet with diffuse spreading habit, 

 branching freely from a woody base ; 

 stemless leaves narrowing from a broad 

 base and much toothed. Long narrow 

 spikes of flowers variously shaded in pink 

 and violet, and borne during a long 

 season. Comes freely from seed. 



P. CONFERTUS. A distinct plant with 

 short erect stems rising from a carpet of 

 dark green shining leaves, at times finely 

 toothed. Small flowers of pale yellow or 

 creamy white in dense crowded spikes. 

 A much prettier variety of this is P. 

 c&ruleo-purpureus, with compact heads of 

 deep violet blue, appearing earlier than 

 any other kind. Syn. P. procerus. 



P. CORDIFOLIUS. A useful shrubbery 

 plant of semi-climbing habit, flowering 

 from early summer to late autumn. Its 

 growths are leafy, the long slender stems 



loaded with tubular scarlet flowers about 

 an inch long. S. California. Being 

 tender, this handsome kind needs shelter 

 in winter. 



P. GLABER. A handsome plant, and one 

 of the best, with several fine seedling 

 forms. Dwarf erect growths, often less 

 than a foot high and slender in habit, with 

 long narrow leaves, smooth and wavy. 

 Profuse in fleshy flowers of an inch or 

 more, wide at the mouth and borne in 

 clusters of six or seven ; colour, bright 

 blue shading to violet or purple. Banks 

 of the Spokane River in N.W. America. 

 Among its many good forms are alpinus, a 

 dwarf robust kind with dense clusters of 

 clear azure blue ; cyanthus, a form from 

 the Rocky Mountains, with taller and 

 greener stems, broader in leaf, with dense 

 clusters of blue ; hybridus, stouter and 

 more vigorous with large heads of blue 

 and rosy-purple ; speciosus, a narrow- 

 leaved form with beautiful bright blue 

 flowers shaded purple ; and splendens, a 

 tall plant with flowers of rich dark blue. 

 Seed should be sown early* in spring. 

 Syns. P. speciosus and preanihera. 



P. HETEROPHYLLUS.- A lovely little sub- 

 shrub, 12 to 15 inches high, with narrow 

 leaves of grey-green, and slender branching 

 stems of clear, bright blue flowers, with a 

 rosy flush deepening to purple, and often 

 much varied upon the same plant. July. 

 Thrives best in warm sheltered spots and 

 light soil, and it is best to winter a reserve 

 of cuttings under glass. California. 



]?. MENZIESII. A shrubby kind found 

 by Douglas in the Rocky Mountains. It is 

 a good rock plant for a sunny corner in dry 

 sandy soil, with freely spreading stems of 

 less than 12 inches, and pretty rose-purple 

 flowers of brilliant hue. Increased by 

 cuttings in sandy soil. Its several forms 

 are : Douglasi, wi-* c mall thick leaves 

 and lilac or rosy-i trple flowers; New- 

 berryi, forming a graceful bush . ' ^ink 

 or rosy-purple flo <:rs ; and Scouleri, a 

 taller and earlier f cring form 

 habit, rooting at 1^.0 joints, and hardier 

 than most, its flowers ui i>; 

 violet-purple. Oregon. 



P. OVATUS. A pretty mountain A 

 from the limestone summits of Idaho, with 

 slender erect stems of 3 feet, bearing bright 

 green leaves and loose spikes of blue 

 flowers changing to rosy-purple. It is 

 best grown from seed at frequent intervals, 

 old plants perishing. 



P. SECUNDIFLORUS. A distinct plant of 

 free growth, with narrow grey-green leaves 

 and bluish flowers suffused with bronze 

 where touched by sunlight. They are an 

 inch or more long, very broad and bell- 

 shaped towards the mouth, and carried 

 in long, narrow, one - sided racemes. 

 Colorado. 



Hybrid Pentstemons are supposed 

 to have come from P. gentianoides, 



