143 



Water Plants. 



LIMNOCHARIS HUMBOLDTII Useful for planting where the water is 

 only a few inches deep. The flowers are yellow, about 2 inches in diame- 

 ter. The plants must be wintered indoors. When grown in shallow 

 water during Summer it is not necessary to keep them under water dur- 

 ing Winter. All that is required is to prepare a box of moist loam; put 

 the plants in this, in rows, close together; give a good watering and 

 stand the box under the bench of a warm house where it will get a fair 

 amount of light. They will make a new set of short-stalked leaves ere 

 long, and remain in good condition for planting out in the Spring. 



NELUnBIUfl There are at least two species, N. speciosum and N. 

 luteum, besides several forms of the first named, differing from it princi- 

 pally in the colors of the flowers. N. speciosum and its forms are the best 

 for growing in ponds and fountain basins. During Summer they make 

 very long underground stems, and, on the approach of cold weather, 

 form thick resting tubers at the ends of which are one or more dormant 

 buds. Nelumbiums need an abundance of rich soil for their perfect 

 development. When grown in a cramped space comparatively few 

 flowers are produced. The flowers are from 8 inches to a foot across 

 pink, white, and yellow, in color. They are borne on long, rigid stems 

 well out of the water. The leaves have an exceedingly ornamental 

 appearance, being peltate and standing a considerable distance out of 

 the water. The first few leaves float on the surface, but as the shoots 

 gain strength they rise 2 and 3 feet above the surface. 



Raising Plants from Seed This is a very certain method of increas- 

 ing the supply of plants, not only for planting out the same season, but 

 as a convenient form in which to keep plants for sale. The seeds have a 

 very hard covering, and before putting them in water this covering 

 should be pierced either with the point of a knife or by the aid of a file. 

 A very small opening will suffice in causing them to germinate in a few 

 days. About the end of March sow fairly thick in a shallow seed pan, 

 sinking it about 6 inches beneath the surface in a warm tank. After the 

 seedlings have made the first leaf put each in a 3-inch pot. They can be 

 planted out of these; or, if necessary, shift into 6-inch pots; in these 

 they will pass the Summer and in the Fall form one or more small 

 tubers. 



Starting Dormant Tubers Attempts to start the dormant tubers of 

 Nelumbiums after removal often result in disappointment. The opera- 

 tion of digging them up and replanting has an effect upon them sufficient 

 to prevent their breaking into growth with the same certainty that 

 would have followed had they been left undisturbed. Especially is it a 

 risky performance to plant out the tubers early in the season. I find it 



