246 THE CULTURE OF FLOWERS FROM SEEDS 



then they need delicate handling, and after the task is accomplished 

 they should be promptly placed in a warm frame or propagating pit 

 for a few days. In June or July the plants should reach 48-sized 

 pots, but they must not be transferred to the conservatory without 

 careful hardening, or the whole of the flowers will fall. 



JACOBEA. see SENECIO 

 LOBELIA 



Annual and perennial ; half-hardy 



THERE are several distinct classes of Lobelia, differing materially in 

 height and habit. For dwarf beds or edgings the compact varieties 

 should alone be used. These grow from four to six inches high, and 

 form dense balls of flowers. The spreading class, such as L. spetiosa 

 and Z. Paxtoniana, is in deserved repute for positions which do not 

 demand an exact limit to the line of colouring. The gracilis strain 

 is displayed to advantage in suspended baskets, window boxes, rustic 

 work, vases, and any position where an appearance of graceful negli- 

 gence is aimed at. The ramosa section grows from six to twelve 

 inches high, and produces much larger flowers than the classes pre- 

 viously named. 



All the foregoing can be treated as annuals ; and from sowings 

 made in February or March, plants may be raised in good time 

 for bedding out in May. Use sandy soil, and place the seed-pans 

 in a temperature of about 60, taking care to keep them moist. By 

 the end of March or beginning of April the seedlings will be ready 

 for transferring to pots, pans, or boxes. The last named are very 

 serviceable for this flower, for they afford opportunity of pricking off 

 the seedlings at moderate distances, which produces a tufty habit of 

 growth well adapted to the end in view. A gentle heat will start 

 them, and they will give no trouble afterwards, except on one point, 

 which happens to be of considerable importance. It is that the 

 plants should never be allowed to produce a flower while in pots or 

 boxes. Pick off every bud until they are in final positions, and then, 

 having taken hold of the soil, they will bloom profusely until the very 

 end of the season. 



Lobelias make elegant pot plants, yet they cannot be grown 

 satisfactorily in pots. The difficulty is easily surmounted by putting 



