THE FLOKAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
363 
very pale blue, others deep azure blue, and on some plants even 
reddish purple ; but all this happens on separate plants, which are 
capable of being raised from seeds, although without any certainty. 
A pale-flowered variety of this plant has been published in the 
“Botanical Magazine” under the name of Pentstemon Gordoni, 
from the eastern side of the Pocky Mountains ; but it is not suffi- 
ciently distinct to be separated from the original species, even if 
perpetuated by cuttings. The seeds should be sown as soon as they 
are ripe in the autumn, for if not sown until spring they will pro- 
bably remain dormant until the following March, which is the case 
with those of most Pentstemons from the north-west coast of 
America and California. The seeds should be sown in pans or large 
pots, in pure sandy loam, without any mixture whatever, and should 
be placed in a cold pit, or frame for the winter, where they will 
require no further care until the following spring (beginning of 
March), when they should be removed to a warmer situation, where 
there is plenty of light and air (the greenhouse is a very suitable 
situation), and where they may remain until the middle of May, 
when the young plants should be potted, taking care at all times 
that they never suffer from the want of water, with which they 
should be liberally supplied. In potting, place each plant singly in 
a 60-pot (three inch), and use a compost composed of three parts 
sandy loam and one of well-decayed cow-dung; afterwards place the 
plants in a close pit or frame, and water freely for a few days, until 
they recover the effects occasioned by the shilt ; afterwards give air 
freely, and when the weather becomes very warm and the sun bright, 
about midsummer, place the plants in a frame with its face to the 
north, shading them in very bright sunshine, but fully exposing 
them during the night and in dull weather. They may remain in 
this situation until the end of August, when they should be shifted 
into larger pots, using the same kind of compost as before, and 
giving a liberal supply of water. When shifted they should be 
placed in an airy situation, where they are partially shaded from 
the sun, until the end of October, when the strongest plants should 
be planted out in a bed in the flower garden, made rather rich and 
fresh, with saudy loam and rotten dung ; the smaller ones should be 
again transferred to a cold pit or frame for the winter, where they 
will be free from damp or stagnant moisture at their roots, and 
where they may remain until the end of the following March, when 
they may also be planted out in the flower garden as before, making 
the soil very rich for them with rotten dung. These plants will 
then make a good succession to those plauted in the autumn ; they 
must be freely supplied with water in very dry weather, but never 
over-head, for if watered over-head they very’ soon canker and lose 
their stems, and as their stems are easily blown over or broken off 
by the wind, they should be fastened to slender stakes about the 
beginning of June, and it would be very advisable to place hand- 
glasses over the plants planted out in the end of October, to protect 
them in case the winter should prove very severe and damp, for 
although they are seldom killed by cold, they are very impatient, and 
soon injured by frost and damp together, particularly in spring. 
December. 
