PE.VTSTEMOX. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. PENTSTEMON. 707 



in trade lists for several spurious kinds, 

 but the true plant when in flower can be 

 readily recognised. Texas. 



P. crassifolius. Allied to P. Scouleri, 

 but the flowers are of a charming light 

 lavender colour and the plant admirably 

 suited for a dry knoll of the rock-garden ; 

 but this knoll must be well exposed to 

 the sun and on a deep mass of bog soil 

 or peat, so that while the situation of 

 the plant is dry, the roots may find what 

 they require. P. Menziesi resembles P. 

 Scouleri, but has reddish purple flowers. 



P. cyananthus. A lovely kind, 3 to 4 

 ft. high, bearing in May and June dense 

 spikes about i ft. long of bright blue 

 flowers. The new variety Brandegei is an 

 improvement on the type, being more 

 robust, and having brighter flowers. 

 Rocky Mountains, and N. America. 



P. diffusus. A semi-shrubby kind, 2 

 to 4 ft. high, with violet-purple flowers 

 in a large, loose, many-branched head, 

 throughout the greater part of summer 

 and autumn. Its relative P. Richardsoni 

 much resembles it, but is inferior in 

 beauty, and P. Mackayanus and P. 

 argutus are nearly allied. This plant is 

 liable to succumb to the damp of our 

 winters. Like all the Pentstemons, P. 

 diffusus is readily increased by cuttings, 

 and might come true from seed, but, 

 in this country, seed is rarely matured. 

 N. W. America. 



P. Digitalis is a large-leaved free- 

 growing kind, of erect habit, not very 

 showy. The same remark applies to P. 

 pubescens, laevigatus, perfoliatus, and 

 glandulosus. 



P. Fendleri. A distinct glaucous kind, 

 with a long, one-sided raceme of light 

 purple flowers, 12 to 15 in. high, hardy in 

 ordinary soils. P. Wrighti is a similar 

 plant with magenta-tinted blossoms, and 

 its variety angustifolius is also pretty. 



P. Hartwegi, generally known as P. 

 gentianoides, is one of our best autumn- 

 flowering plants, its progeny, called into 

 existence by the skill of the florist, 

 including endless variety of colour and 

 increased size of bloom, the narrow 

 tubular flower acquiring almost the 

 dimensions of a Foxglove. About the 

 beginning of this century it was found by 

 Humboldt and Bonpland in Mexico, at 

 an altitude of nearly 1 1,000 ft., but it was 

 not introduced into cultivation till 1828. 



THE HYBRID PENTSTEMONS, among 

 the most precious of flowers, are supposed 

 to have descended from P. gentianoides, 

 but there is little doubt that most of them 

 have come from the pretty P. Hartwegi. 

 P. Cobaea, too, has probably been em- 



ployed in hybridising, for some varieties 

 bear a strong resemblance to it. What- 

 ever their parentage, they are beautiful 



| plants, and much use should be made of 

 them, as they are valuable in autumn and 



i carry their beauty into winter, at least in 

 western and seaside gardens. 



The varieties of Pentstemon succeed in 

 any good soil, and are certain to do well 

 in a good loam enriched with manure and 

 leaf-soil. They can be planted out in 

 groups, in beds or in the mixed border, 

 where their various colours blend charm- 

 ingly, among them being a wonderful 

 range of colour from white to scarlet, 

 with intermediate shades of pink, rose, 

 purple, carmine, and purplish-lilac. If 

 good plants be put out by the end of 

 April, they will bloom about the middle of 

 June, and yield a succession of flowers 

 until winter. They are increased both by 

 cuttings and by seeds ; the cuttings taken 

 in August or early in September from the 

 young growth round the main stem, and 

 they should be put into a prepared sandy 

 bed, on a shady border, under a hand- 

 glass, or into boxes or pots in a cold 

 frame, where they root readily, and those 

 in boxes or pots might be wintered there, 

 and not transplanted till spring. Those 

 in the border should be lifted and potted 

 and planted in a cold frame for the winter, 

 or transplanted to the open ground in a 

 well-prepared bed, and protected during 

 severe weather with a little litter or 

 branches of Evergreens ; but -the young 

 plants should not usually be planted out 



, till March or April. To increase the 

 stock of any given variety rapidly, the 



i store pots of cuttings rooted in autumn 

 should be put in a gentle bottom-heat in 

 spring, and induced to grow ; if the 

 young growths be taken off when they 

 are 2 in. in length, and put into pans of 

 sandy soil of the same temperature, they 

 will quickly strike, and by May and June, 

 if properly treated, will be healthy plants. 

 SEEDLINGS. The Pentstemon is a free 

 seeder, and there is no difficulty in obtain- 

 ing seed. Seed should be taken from 

 only the finest varieties showing distinct, 

 or novel character and such varieties, 

 can scarcely fail to yield something 

 worthy of cultivation. The seed should! 

 be sown in February or early in March ini 

 a gentle heat : it will quickly germinate,, 

 and when the plants are large enough to 

 handle, they should be pricked off into 

 shallow boxes, and, after a time, hardened 

 off in a cold frame. Here they can 

 remain till the end of May or later ac- 

 cording to size, and they should then be 

 planted out in well-prepared beds. When 

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