646 LOBELIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LOBELIA. 



nial Lobelias, of which L. splendens 

 and L. syphilitica may be taken as 

 types, are amongst the most useful of 

 autumn flowers. Although fairly hardy, 

 they are impatient of excessive moisture, 

 and in most districts require protection 

 during winter. This may be done by 

 placing ashes in the shape of a cone over 

 the crowns, or lifting and storing in a dry 

 shed or frame. The latter method, though 

 perhaps more troublesome, is safer, as 

 the plants are always under control and 

 easier propagated in spring. By storing 

 the roots in frames they begin to grow 

 earlier, and where large stocks are re- 

 quired it is most convenient. Although 

 impatient of moisture during the resting 

 period they revel in it when in active 

 growth, and where beds can be prepared 

 in the vicinity of lakes or streams, better 

 results will be obtained than in the mixed 

 border or flower beds. In propagating in 

 early spring they can be divided into 

 single crowns, and these potted on soon 

 form sturdy plants ready to plant out on 

 the approach of warm weather. They 

 thrive best in a free vegetable soil and 

 like plenty of sun, unless in the case of L. 

 cardinalis, which I find thrives best in a 

 partially- shaded bed. In some districts 

 with light soils and often near the sea 

 these plants do not require protection in 

 winter. 



L. cardinalis (Cardinal Flower}. The 

 true plant is one of the rarest and one of 

 the prettiest of the genus. The brilliant 

 effect produced in autumn by tufts of this 

 species well repays any trouble it may 

 give, for though by no means fastidious, 

 the difficulty of growing it well in small 

 gardens in the absence of shade and 

 moisture is great. It is a bog-loving 

 plant, being found in wet ground in 

 Brunswick, Florida, and the borders of 

 Texas, and is not very hardy. It is, how- 

 ever, a true perennial, although maybe a 

 short-lived one, and should be frequently 

 raised from seed to make sure of keeping 

 up the stock. This species is not so 

 liable to disease as L. splendens and its 

 varieties. Grown on an ordinary border, 

 it invariably has a weak, stunted appear- 

 ance, but in a free rich soil, in a shady 

 position and well supplied with moisture, 

 I have often seen it 3 to 4^ ft. high and 

 flowering profusely. The flowers are of 

 the most vivid scarlet, and as they last a 

 long time in bloom it well deserves care. 

 So far as I know, there are no varieties 

 of this species in cultivation. Dr. Gray 

 mentions its varying to rose colour and 

 even white, but this, it seems, is rare. 

 Parkinson mentions it as " cherished in 



our garden in 1629," and gives it as 

 " growing near the river of Canada where 

 the French plantation in America is 

 seated." It is hardier than L. fulgens, 

 living through the winter in open beds 

 and with little or no protection. Its 

 leaves are shorter and greener than 



The scarlet Lobelia. 



those of L. fulgens ; the flowers, too, are 

 smaller, but more numerous on the spikes, 

 and of a vivid scarlet colour on spikes 

 from 2 to 3 ft. in height. 



L. Gerardi is a hybrid raised by 

 Messieurs Chabanne and Goujon from 

 that superb variety of L. cardinalis named 

 Queen Victoria, the seed parent being an 

 improved variety of L. syphilitica, with 

 taller and more robust flowering stems 

 than those of the typical species. The 

 raisers named the hybrid in compliment 

 to Mons. Gerard, director of the botanical 



