Gardening for Amateurs 



497 



The Pentstemon 



THE Florist's Pentstemon or Bearded 

 Tongue is a very popular plant for 

 beds and border, being equally useful 

 for the narrow border of the town and 

 suburban garden or the extensive pleasure 

 grounds of public parks and large private 

 gardens. The last twenty years have 

 witnessed a wonderful improvement in the 

 Pentstemon. The size and colouring of 

 the flowers, habit of growth, and length 

 of flower spikes show an advance, with 

 the result that Pentstemons are more 

 largely grown than ever before. 



The cultivation is not difficult. Seeds and 

 cuttings form ready means of propagation. 

 From seeds sown in a heated greenhouse 

 during February or early March nice plants 

 will be available to plant out of doors at 

 the end of May. 

 These commence 

 to blossom in 

 July and continue 

 to flower freely 

 till frosts spoil 

 their be auty. 

 Provided the 

 seeds have come 

 from a reliable 

 source the flowers 

 of many of the 

 M <! lings will be 

 as large as the 

 named sorts, and 

 vary from white 

 to crimson, includ- 

 ing pink, rose, 

 mauve, purple, 

 and intermediate 

 shades. Those 

 with the w h i t e 

 th mats are especi- 

 ally attractive. 

 In July seeds may 

 be sown in a cold 

 frame, a method 

 that will suit 

 amateurs not for- 

 tunate enough to 

 possess a heated 

 32 



Pentstemon Southgate Gem, scarlet, with white 

 markings 



greenhouse. Prick off the seedlings 1 inch 

 to 1^ inches apart in shallow boxes during 

 autumn. Give them the protection of a 

 cold frame in winter, planting outside early 

 in April. These plants will flower a month 

 in advance of those raised under glass in 

 spring. Select a few of the best seedlings 

 with the view of propagating them from 

 cuttings with the named sorts. Early Sep- 

 tember is the best time to insert Pentstemon 

 cuttings. They should be in a cold frame 

 or under handlights on a sheltered border. 

 When it is proposed to raise a considerable 

 number of plants from cuttings, including 

 bedding Calceolarias, Tufted Pansies, and so 

 on, it is more economical to make up a bed 

 of sandy soil in the cold frame and insert the 

 cuttings 2 inches apart in this ; for a few 

 cuttings shallow 

 boxes may be 

 used. Plant out- 

 side in April 

 either where they 

 are to flower, 1 

 foot to 15 inches 

 apart, or, presum- 

 ing the beds and 

 borders are occu- 

 pied with spring 

 flowers, plant out 

 temporarily in a 

 reserve border for 

 six or eight 

 weeks. 



As a bedding 

 plant and for 

 borders, be it in 

 small groups or 

 in large masses, 

 t he Pentstemon 

 has fe\\ equals for 

 yielding a display 

 of flowers from 

 June to Novem- 

 ber. First of all 

 it produces a 

 vigorous central 

 spike of flowers 

 from 2 feet to 



