THE CUl'HEA. 135 



have to make bushy young plants of them. Grow them 

 with care, so that they do not suffer for want of water, and 

 when re-potting use a rich, mellow, sandy loam. But in 

 all stages keep the plants in rather smallish pots, and you 

 will find them almost always in flower. If you suspect 

 you are carrying the starving process too far, help them 

 with manure water. A few large specimens are worth 

 having, therefore old plants cut back and re-potted as soon 

 as they make new growth are likely to pay for their keep. 

 The plant likes moisture, but it is dangerous to say so, 

 because when liberally grown it is too leafy, and the 

 flowers are few and very much hidden. 



Cuphea silenoides is a good half -hardy annual, blooming 

 from July to September. The flowers are purple, and a 

 tinge of purple is seen in the branches. It is effective 

 when massed with some yellow flower, but not of much 

 account alone. 



Cuphea nun-iota is an annual or perennial, at the will of 

 the cultivator. The flowers are in leafy racemes, the petals 

 , purple or rose. It will flower all the summer in moist soil. 



Cuphea lanceolata is a vigorous plant of erect habit, with 

 conspicuous and beautiful purple flowers. The end of the 

 tube expands into three divisions, two of which form what 

 we may term top petals, and the third a broad notched 

 petal. To liken the flower to an orchid would not be outre. 



Cuphea Jorullemis is probably the finest species known. 

 The flowers are scarlet, tipped with yellow. 



Cuphea purpurea, a pretty hardy annual, with bluish 

 or pale purple flowers, will prove useful to associate with 

 asters and balsams for autumnal bloom. 



Cuphea cinnabarina may be grown to a fine specimen 

 form as a greenhouse plant. The flowers are large, the 



