362 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
exposed to air as circumstances will admit, while those that are 
movable may be removed to a cooler house for a month or so. They 
should be removed to a light, airy part of the stove for blooming, and 
when the racemes begin to appear thickly, manure water may be 
given once or twice a week with advantage. See that the foliage is 
quite clear of red spider before blooming commences, as heavy 
syringing after that time would be apt to spoil and break off the 
flowers. I have no doubt that where it is desirable to have this 
plant in bloom late in spring, that it may be wintered in a house 
where the temperature is just high enough to save the foliage 
(58° by fire-heat will be quite sufficient for this) and roots from 
injury, and will bloom splendidly when placed in a moderate heat in 
spring, but it is perhaps most valuable for winter use. If young 
plants are provided to succeed those that have bloomed, the old 
plants may be thrown away as soon as their beauty is faded, but if 
they are to be retained for further use, they should be well rested be- 
fore starting them into growth a second time, and the shoots severally 
thinned out, reducing the ball sufficiently, so as to allow of giving 
them a good shift in the same sized pot. About equal parts of turfy 
loam, leaf-soil, and fibry peat, with a fair proportion of sharp sand, 
may be used for potting, but any rich, light soil will answer, for it 
does not appear to be particular in this respect. 
PENTSTEMON SPECIOSUM. 
OTHING can be more charming in the flower garden 
than a bed filled with this plant, properly treated and in 
full bloom ; but this beautiful Pentstemon is seldom to 
be seen in cultivation under any circumstances, and the 
reason always assigned is that it is difficult to manage. 
This, however, is not the case ; on the contrary, if properly treated, 
few plants are more easily cultivated. I will therefore point out 
how it should be treated, for the guidance of those who may be 
desirous of cultivating one of the handsomest hardy herbaceous 
plants our gardens possess. The Pentstemon was first introduced 
by Douglas, from the north-west coast of North America, where 
apparently it is very abundant. It is, however, very variable both 
in colour of flowers, size, and shape of the leaves, and also in 
stature, some plants attaining four feet, others not more than two 
feet in height ; in some plants the foliage is broad and nearly round 
or spathulate, particularly the lower leaves ; while on other plants it 
is long and narrow, and most frequently lanceolate, even the radical 
leaves ; some plants, again, have no ieaves upon their stems, beyond 
the first whorl of flowers, while others have leaves, intermixed with 
the flowers to near the top. The flowers, as I have stated, also vary 
much both in shape and colour ; some are short, inflated, and very 
ringent ; others (on separate plants) are more tubular, larger, and 
much less ringent. They also vary greatly in colour ; some being 
