PLATYSTEMON. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PODOCARPUS. 757 



breakage by wind. Perhaps the best 

 position for the plant would be overhang- 

 ing a ledge in some sunny corner of the 

 rock-garden, where its negligent growth 

 matters less, and its flowers, being on a 

 level with the eye, are shown to ad- 

 vantage. Like most Campanulas, it has 

 a tendency to revert from blue to white, 

 and this white form, though equally pretty, 

 is by no means so common as the 

 type. A rich loamy soil, good drainage, 

 and an open situation are best. Propa- 

 gate by seeds, which can be readily pro- 

 cured. The young shoots, if taken off 

 when about 3 in. long, in spring, and 

 placed in a gentle bottom-heat, will strike, 

 but not freely. The plant is a bad one to 

 divide division often resulting in failure, 

 and, if attempted, must be carried out in 

 May, when the growth has just com- 

 menced. P. autumnale, or chinense, from 

 China and Japan, is taller and more 

 robust than P.grandiflorum,\\\\\\ narrower 

 leaves, but more dense, and its flowers, 

 though smaller, are pretty evenly distri- 

 buted along the upper half of the stems. 

 Besides a white variety, it has a tendency 



Platystemon californicus. 



to become semi-double, by a sort of " hose- 

 in-hose" reduplication of the corolla, 

 similar to what occurs in many of our 

 Campanulas. The dwarf, Mariesi, from 

 Japan, is distinct in habit, with rich blue 

 flowers. 



PLATYSTEMON. P. californicus is a 

 pretty Californian hardy annual Poppywort, 

 forming a dense tuft, studded thickly in 

 summer with sulphur-yellow blossoms. It 



merely requires to be sown in ordinary 

 soil in the open border either in autumn 

 or spring ; but the seedlings should be 

 well thinned out. P. leiocarpum is a 

 similar kind. 



PLUMBAGO (Leadwori).kn interest- 

 ing family of graceful perennials and half 

 shrubby plants, the hardiest being P. Lar- 

 pentce, the blue-flowered Leadwort, from 

 China. P. capensis, usually grown under 

 glass, may be planted out in summer, bear- 

 ing its lovely pale-blue flowers continu- 

 ously. The plants should be specially pre- 

 pared for out-of-doors, young ones being 

 best for edgings, though taller ones may be 

 used in certain positions. P. capensis is 

 used with good effect in German gardens. 

 P. Larpentce is perfectly hardy, its wiry 

 stems forming neat and full tufts, varying 

 from 6 to 10 in. high, according to soil 

 and position. In September these are 

 nearly covered with flowers, arranged in 

 close trusses at the ends of the shoots, and 

 of a fine cobalt-blue, changing to violet ; 

 they usually last till the frosts. A warm 

 sandy loam or other light soil and a sunny 

 warm position should be given, such as 

 above the upper edges of vertical stones 

 or slopes on the rock-garden. It may 

 also be used for borders, banks, or edgings 

 in the flower garden, particularly in the 

 case of slightly-raised beds. Very easily 

 increased by division of the roots during 

 winter or early spring. 



POA. Perennial and annual Grasses, 

 few worth cultivating. P.fertilis has dense 

 tufts of long, soft, smooth, slender leaves, 

 10 to 18 in. high, and arched gracefully on 

 every side. In the flowering season they 

 bear airy, purplish or violet-tinged panicles, 

 rising to twice the height of the tufts. 

 Isolated on lawns the plant is effective, 

 and if in good soil gives no trouble. P. 

 aquatica is a stout native Grass, 4 to 6 ft. 

 high, usually occurring in wet ditches, by 

 rivers, and in marshes. It is one of the 

 boldest and handsomest of hardy Grasses 

 for the margins of artificial water or 

 streams, associated with such things as 

 the Typhas, Acorus, Bulrush, and Water 

 Dock. It increases rapidly. 



PODOCAKPUS. Evergreen trees of 

 the Yew tribe, tender in Britain save 

 in the mildest parts. P. chilina is a 

 handsome tree which has reached a fair 

 size in a few sheltered gardens, and P. 

 japonica and P. macrophylla from Japan, 

 and P, Totara from New Zealand, may 

 prove more or less hardy along the South 

 Coast when older and well established. 

 P. alpina, from the mountains of Tas- 

 mania, is probably the hardiest of the 

 group, but is only a Yew-like shrub of 



