96 A GUIDE TO FLORICULTURE, 



CARDINAL FLOWER. 



(LOBELIA CARDINALIS.) 



11 Sweet flower! for by that name at last, 

 When all my reveries are past, 

 I call thee . 



This beautiful perennial is a native of this country, 

 growing and blooming to great perfection in swampy places 

 in Indiana and Ohio, and other parts ; it attains the height of 

 two to three feet, bearing a spike of flowers of a bright 

 scarlet in the month of July, and even to September. Such 

 is the brilliancy of the colors, that the eye is dazzled with 

 their splendor when the sun shines on them. It is surpris- 

 ing that this plant, a native, and of such beautiful magni- 

 tude, should not be more noticed than it is. In Europe it 

 is grown to great perfection ; it is easily propagated by 

 seeds or cuttings of the flower stem before flowering, and 

 by suckers at the root in the fall. Seeds should be sown 

 in the fall or early in the spring, in a pan or box ; the seed 

 should never be covered with the soil, and the soil should 

 be kept damp, and a rich loam is necessary to grow good 

 plants. When the plants appear in the spring they should 

 be kept in the shade to gain strength; when of sufficient 

 size, which will be in May, the plants should be potted off 

 To propagate by cuttings, it should be done before the 

 flowers expand, by taking the flower stems and cut them 

 into suitable lengths, say two or three joints, stick them 

 into a pan, and cover them with a bell glass, and admit air 



