THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



PHLOX. 



713 



until the second. In the second year all 

 the best sorts ought to be marked and 

 then grown a third year, to test them with 

 the best named kinds. Cuttings can be 

 taken at all seasons, and in propagating 

 from roots cut the oldest into pieces about 

 -i in. in length, sown, so to speak, in boxes, 

 and treated like seedlings. 



The leaves also strike, but this is a very 

 slow way. As regards division, this con- 

 sists in taking the old plant and cutting it 

 into small pieces. The habit of the plant 

 should be strong and erect, with plenty of 

 broad and healthy foliage, and not exceed i 

 3 or 4 ft. 



P. Carolina is a handsome plant, about 

 i ft. high, with slender stems terminated 

 by a cluster of large showy deep rose 

 flowers. P. ovata has broader leaves ; 

 while P. nitida is also handsome. P. 

 glaberrima, is far less important. These 

 kinds flower in summer, in ordinary soil 

 and an open spot. 



P. divaricata. A handsome plant from 

 North America, larger than either the 

 Creeping Phlox (P. reptans) or the Moss 

 Pink (P. subulata), and about i ft. high 

 with large lilac-purple blossoms in summer, 

 while the leaves are rounded at the 

 base, and are egg-shaped or lance-shaped. 

 Rock-garden in good soil. Increased by 

 division. 



P. Drummondi. One of the most 

 beautiful of half-hardy annuals, varied and 

 brilliant in colour, and not injured by bad 

 weather, like many other flowers. It may 

 be used in a variety of ways, such as a 

 carpet to beds of standard Roses, as it 

 does not interfere with the well-being of 

 the Roses, but hides their naked stems. 

 It is also suitable for rustic vases and 

 boxes ; but it is when in masses that its 

 beauty and diversity of colour are best 

 seen. Seed should be sown about the 

 first week in March in shallow pans or 

 boxes, in a light rich soil, and a warm j 

 and rather moist temperature. Prick off : 

 the seedlings when fit to handle in boxes 

 or a bed in a warm house in a tempera- 

 ture of 50 to 60. Here they will soon 

 grow, and place them out in the shade to 

 harden as the weather gets warm. Those 

 growing in a bed should be again trans- 

 planted to a prepared bed in a cold frame, 

 kept covered for a few days, and hardened 

 gradually. When the plants are 3 to 4 in. 

 high, pinch out the main shoot, to induce 

 bushy growth, and prolong the flowering 

 period. The bed should be fully exposed 

 to the sun, and if good moist soil, the 

 plants will be uninjured even in the hottest 

 weather. Although generally treated as 

 an annual, P. Drummondi strikes freely 



from cuttings in autumn: these are useful 

 for pots and early spring bloom in the 

 conservatory or the greenhouse. Varieties 

 are endless, and some very distinct named 

 sorts differ from the type not only in 

 colour but in growth. 



P. pilosa is a pretty plant 10 or 12 in. 

 high ; large flat clusters of purple flowers,. 

 \ to | in. in diameter, appearing from 

 June to August. It is one of the rarest of 

 cultivated Phloxes, though a spurious 

 kind is sometimes sold for it. The true 

 plant reminds one of P. Drummondi. 

 Another rare species is the true P. 

 bifida, an elegant plant, the flowers bluish- 

 purple. 



P. reptans (Creeping Phlox}. This is 

 a beautiful little plant sending up numbers 

 of stems from 4 to 6 in. at the end of 

 April or beginning of May, each bearing 

 from five to eight deep-rose flowers. It is 

 useful on the rock-garden or border ; and 

 makes pretty tufts round beds of hardy 

 plants ; thriving in peat or light soils. 

 It is known as P. verna and P. stolonifera 

 as well as P. reptans. 



P. setacea is sometimes considered the 

 same as P. subulata, but its leaves are 

 longer and farther apart on its trailing 

 stems, the whole plant being less rigid. 

 The flowers are of a charming soft rosy- 

 pink, and have delicate markings at the 

 mouth of the tube. P. s. violacea is a 

 handsome Scotch variety more lax in 

 growth and with deeper coloured flowers, 

 almost crimson. Both the variety and 

 the type are lovely plants for the rock- 

 garden, where with roots deeply seated 

 among the fissures and enjoying coolness 

 and moisture, they thrive luxuriantly in 

 any amount of sunshine. 



P. subulata (Moss Pink}. A Moss-like 

 little Evergreen, the flowers pinkish- 

 purple or rose-colour, with a dark centre, 

 and so dense as to completely hide the 

 plant. The stems, though 4 in. to i ft. 

 high, are always prostrate, so that the 

 dense matted tufts are seldom more than 

 6 in. high ; but in moist, sandy, and well- 

 drained soil, when the plant is fully ex- 

 posed, the tufts attain a diameter of 

 several feet, and a height of i ft. or more. 

 P. frondosa is a vigorous form of P. subu- 

 lata, and in any ordinary light garden soil 

 its trailing branches will soon cover almost 

 a square yard of surface. P. nivalis is as 

 trailing, but smaller, and with shorter, 

 more densely arranged leaves. Its flowers 

 are snow-white. P. Nelsoni is no doubt a 

 hybrid between P. subulata and its forms, 

 as it possesses foliage of an intermediate 

 character ; the flowers pure white with a 

 charming pink eye. Besides this, the late 



