July, 1906 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



323 



and are bright green on both sides. While 

 this is not a showy species, it is graceful 

 and pleasing. 



It is very easily increased, either by seeds 

 or tubers. In the fall the main stem, as big 

 as one's fist, or bigger, hardens and ripens 

 into a rough tuber. It should be taken in- 

 doors about the first of November, or earlier, 

 if ripe, and kept in dry sand. Pringle says 

 he has seen them lying on the ground in 

 dried up pools in Mexico, like old pine cones. 

 In spring each tuber gives rise to several 

 lusty plants for summer blooming. This 

 hardy character is shared by its offspring, 

 William Stone and Mrs. C. W. Ward, mak- 

 ing these the best ones for most of us. 



THE BEST WHITE NOT OFFERED 



A nearly allied species is Nymphcea ampla, 

 from tropical America. While it resembles 

 N. flavo-virens in color, the flower is larger 

 (four to seven inches across) and the petals 

 broader, and rounder. The leaf is often 

 very large, twenty to twenty-four inches 

 across, and reddish purple beneath. The 

 sepals are marked with numerous black 

 specks and lines, whereas those of AT", flavo- 

 virens are pure green, or very rarely with 

 black markings. Unfortunately, this fine 

 species has yet to be introduced to the Ameri- 

 can trade; the plant commonly known in 

 the American trade as N. ampla is N. Ama- 

 zonum, a night bloomer. 



A BLUE GEM FOR THREE DAYS 



We have a native blue water-lily which is 

 the daintiest of all its group, Nymphcea ele- 

 gans. The smooth-edged oval leaves lie 

 separately on the water, without crowding 

 one another. They are about eight inches 

 long, by six inches wide, of very graceful out- 

 line. The dark green upper surface is 

 handsomely blotched with brown, the under 

 surface a rich red-purple, with blue-black 

 specks. Each flower lasts three days, and is 

 open from 8 a. m. until i p. m. Think of 

 the most delicate shade of violet in the rain- 

 bow, and you have an idea of the color that 

 plays on the petals and shades in and out 

 between the golden stamens and the pale 

 sepals of this charming little water-lily. It 

 rarely exceeds six inches in diameter. Like 

 all the others, it needs no special care in 

 summer, and it is as easy as any blue kind 

 to flower under glass in winter. 



THE REAL EGYPTIAN LOTUS 



The true Egyptian lotus, or blue lotus 

 (Nymphcea ccernlea), is a water-lily of this 

 class, and one of the easiest blues to raise. 

 The flowers rise well above the water, 

 and are open for three days, from 

 7:30 a. m. until noon. They never open 

 very widely, but remain in a broad, cup- 

 shape, so that the four green sepals, with 

 their characteristic copious black spots, are 

 always evident. The petals are of a pale 

 blue color, shading to dull white at base, 

 not very numerous, and rather narrow. I 

 have had flowers six and a half inches across, 

 with petals three and a half inches long. 

 The leaves reach a diameter of twenty inches 

 under verv favorable circumstances. Thev 



are entire, dark green above, copiously 

 spotted with black beneath. 



This species produces many seeds, which 

 are easily grown. Its seeds have been known 

 to lie out in the mud of a pond near Phila- 

 delphia over two winters, and to come up 

 vigorously during the second summer. The 

 same thing occurred once with the Zan- 

 zibar lily, the seedlings actually coming into 

 bloom in September. 



OPEN AS LATE AS FOUR O'CLOCK 



The last real species of blue water-lily is 

 Nymphcea Capensis. It is a strong plant, 

 with pale blue flowers like the azure Zanzi- 

 bar. It differs from that chiefly in keeping 

 its flowers open from 7 a. m. to 4 p. m., and 

 in having the leaves pure green on both 

 sides. The sepals and petals are narrower. 

 The flowers are very large, and of perfect 

 shape, making this a desirable kind. 



THE BEST BLUE STAR 



From the blue lotus (Nymphcea ccerulea), 



have sprung two hybrids of prominence, 

 N. pulcherrima and N. Pennsylvania. N. 

 pulcherrima has long been known as the 

 best "stellate" light blue. By stellate is 

 meant that the petals are few and narrow 

 enough to give the flower a star-like shape. 

 It is a fairly free bloomer, and produces very 

 large flowers and leaves. Its big sharp, 

 cone-shaped buds, heavily mottled with 

 black dots, are very striking and characteris- 

 tic. The leaves have wavy margins. 



A DANGEROUS RIVAL — PENNSYLVANIA 



It is said, however, that Nymphcea Penn- 

 sylvania is to outshine Nymphcea pulcher- 

 rima. Pennsylvania is a most prolific 

 bloomer, always having two or three flowers 

 up at once. They remain open from 8 

 a. m. until 5 p. m. Each one is a great, 

 bright blue cup, with a golden centre. The 

 buds are big, blunt, and egg-shaped. The 

 four heavy sepals are thickly marked with 

 black dots and lines. The original plant 

 bore petals four and a half inches long. 



The tender water-lilies, excepting N. gigantea, will flourish as far north as Massachusetts. Plant outdoors 

 about the middle of June, when the water has begun to temper. N. Capensis and N. Zanzibariensis in the 

 garden of Mr. Oakes Ames at North Easton 



