474 CENTAUREA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



CENTAUREA. 



C. australis, caucasica,glabrata,japonica, 

 mississipiensis, occidentalis, and Tourne- 

 fortii. Some of the kinds are tropical, 

 and not hardy in our country. 



CENTAUREA (Knapweed}. Peren- 

 nial or annual herbs inhabiting Southern 

 and Middle Europe, some being good 

 garden plants, most of them hardy. Some 

 of the southern species require the green- 

 house in winter, but, making free growth 

 out-of-doors in summer, are freely used 

 for their silvery foliage. 



C. argentea has elegant silvery Fern- 

 like leaves, and when planted out or 

 plunged in pots has a good effect ; for 

 bedding it must be plunged and partly 

 starved to bring out its whiteness. 



C. babylonica. A distinct perennial, 

 tall and with silvery leaves, hardy, and 

 when in good ground its strong shoots 

 with yellow flowers reach a height of 

 10 or 12 ft. The bloom, which continues 

 from July to September, is less attractive 

 than the leaves, but the plant is at all 

 times picturesque. A free sandy loam 

 suits it best. Seed. Levant. 



C. Clementei. A silver-gray-leaved 

 plant of fine form. Small plants from 

 seed are useful for edging bold beds, and 

 when too large for that purpose they may 

 be transferred to borders, or planted out 

 singly on Grass. The blossoms are best 

 picked off, as they detract from the beauty 

 of the plant. 



C. Cyanus (Blue Cornflower). A 

 beautiful native flower, an annual of easy 

 culture, often sowing itself. The young 

 plants stand our hardest winters, and flower 

 better grown thus than if sown in spring. 

 It is best sown in September, either where 

 it is to flower, or in beds to be trans- 

 planted. Self-sown plants too may be 

 transplanted, or allowed to remain where 

 they come up, as they are often the finest 

 plants. The many garden varieties range 

 through white, rose, sky-blue, striped, to 

 dark purple, the delicate tints of which are 

 most attractive. They are favourites in 

 the flower market, but by far the most 

 beautiful is the true wild kind. There 

 are also a number of double kinds. 

 The Cornflower will flourish in almost 

 any soil or position, but best, perhaps, 

 in strong soil. 



C. dealbata. A hardy perennial, with 

 graceful and somewhat silvery leaves, 15 

 to 1 8 in. high, flowering in summer; 

 rose-coloured. Borders. Division. Cau- 

 casus. 



C. gymnocarpa. A half-shrubby plant 

 from the south of Europe, nearly 2 

 ft. high, with hard, branching, bushy 

 stems, and elegantly cut leaves, covered 



with short whitish-satiny down. Useful 

 as it is for edging or bedding, it is 

 when grown in fine single specimens 

 that its beauty is most seen. 



C. macrocephala (Great Golden Knap- 

 weed}. A strong plant from 4 to 5 ft. 

 high, with a great golden head of bloom. 

 In the back part of a herbaceous border, 

 or where herbaceous plants must com- 

 pete with the roots of trees and shrubs, 

 this robust plant deserves a place 

 Armenia. 



C. montana (Mountain Knapweed}. 

 A handsome border plant, i to 2^ ft. 

 high, with slightly cottony leaves, "and 

 flowers resembling those of the Corn- 

 flower. There is a white and a red 

 variety, all thriving in borders, margins of 

 shrubberies, or the wild garden in any 

 soil. This kind is somewhat coarse in 

 borders, and scarcely worth a place there- 

 in, but when cut, its flowers are pretty, 

 and larger than those of the Blue Corn- 

 flower. Division. 



C. moschata (Sweet Sultan}. A fra- 

 grant annual, of which there are two 

 shades delicate purple and creamy 

 white, the first giving the finest flowers ; 

 but both are valuable. Aphides are 

 very partial to the young seedlings, 

 and unless the pests are quickly 

 cleared off the plants soon dwindle 

 away. The first essential is a cal- 

 careous soil, and any soil deficient 

 in lime should have lime rubble worked 

 into it. The best time to sow is about 

 the middle of April, in an open and sunny 

 place, sowing the seed where the plants 

 are to remain, as they do not move 

 well. Syn., Amberboa moschata. J. R. 



C. ragusina. A showy silvery-leaved 

 plant, tender, but of rapid growth out- 

 of-doors in summer, and valued much 

 for summer-bedding". It thrives in 

 the coldest situation throughout the 

 summer. When taking cuttings, they 

 should not be cut away, but pulled 

 off with a "heel" so as to have 

 a firm base ; small firm shoots 

 should be preferred ; in taking them the 

 knife should be used very little, and each 

 cutting put singly into a small 2^-in. pot 

 filled with a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, 

 A cold frame from which frost can 

 be excluded is their best winter quar- 

 ters ; the leaves should be kept dry, 

 as they are rather liable to damp during 

 the short days, and every opportunity 

 should be taken for giving them air. 

 They also winter well in an airy vinery or 

 greenhouse. Old plants are sometimes 

 lifted and kept over the winter ; where 

 very large plants are required this is a 



