Herbaceous and Bedding Plants 



Poinsettia. 



POINSETTIA. 



Poinsettia pulcherrima, the 

 most showy of the species, is a 

 general favorite, during Decem- 

 ber and January, for the decora- 

 tion of our halls and dinner 

 tables. 



In the northern counties the 

 Poinsettia is treated as a green- 

 house plant; from Santa Bar- 

 bara south it gives grand results 

 when grown in the open ground, 

 its great scarlet bracts often 

 being twelve inches or more 

 in width and the plant itself 

 frequently growing ten feet high and six feet wide. 



PORTULACA. 



This old favorite, popularly known as Purslane, is sometimes 

 used in salads but generally is grown for its gaily-colored flowers 

 of purple, yellow, or pink. A near-allied species, the Calandrina 

 caulescens, is a native of California and grows abundantly all 

 over the State. 



Its cultivation, like that of the Portulaca, is very simple; 

 after cultivating the ground, sow the seeds thinly and rake the 

 ground lightly to cover the seeds, any time between the fall of 

 the first rains and the first of February. This will insure a bed 

 of bright flowers in Spring and early Summer. Thin the plants 

 to eight inches apart as soon as they are large enough to be 

 handled. 



POTENTILLA. 



This pretty little perennial-flowering plant is found very 

 useful for planting in the herbaceous border and among 

 shrubs where its bright single and also double flowers are very 



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