HARDY PLANTS. 
163 
the seedlings out later on. Or seeds may be sown in heat 
in March, the seedlings hardened off and planted out in 
May. 
Leontopodium (Edelweiss). — The Edelweiss cannot be 
said to be a showy plant, and probably were it not for the fact 
that it commands a certain amount of veneration owing to 
its growing on the Alps in more or less inaccessible places, it 
would not be grown in English gardens. L. alpinum belongs 
to the Daisy order (Composite), grows 3in. or so high, and 
bears small yellow flowers surrounded by rosettes of dense 
woolly or cottony bracts in July. It is easily reared from 
seeds sown in sandy soil in a cold frame. The seedlings 
should be planted in sandy loam in sunny nooks of the rockery. 
There they will thrive and bear their curious flowers just as 
freely as on the Alps. It is a mistake to uproot plants on the 
mountains and send or bring them home ; they rarely survive. 
The Edelweiss will not thrive in smoky districts. 
Leptosyne. — Half-hardy or hardy annuals and peren- 
nials, belonging to the Daisy Order (Composite). They bear 
large yellow flowers on long stalks, which are useful for 
cutting. L. calliopidea is a Californian species, growing i to 
2ft. high ; L. Douglasii a half-hardy annual, growing ift. high ; 
and L. Stillmanii a hardy annual ift. high. All flower freely 
in summer. L. Douglasii is best reared from seed in heat, 
and the seedlings planted out in May; the others may have 
their seed sown in the open ground in April, or in heat in 
March, and the seedlings afterwards planted out. Ordinary 
soil and a sunny position. 
Lewisia. (Spatlum). — Only one species of this genus is 
grown, and that is L. rediviva, a native of N. America and 
a member of the Purslane order (Portulacacee). It is a dwarf 
perennial, growing only an inch high and bearing large rose 
or white flowers in summer. A very neat and pretty plant 
to grow' on a sunny rockery, in sandy loam and peat, mixed 
with small pieces of stone. It loves moisture in summer, so 
should be well watered in dry weather. Plant in March or 
April. This interesting plant apparently withers and dies 
after flowering, but its fleshy roots retain their vitality and 
put forth new growth in spring. Increased by seeds sown 
in sandy loam and peat in gentle heat in spring; also by divi- 
sion of the roots in March. 
Liatris (Snake-root; Blazing Star). — Hardy perennials, 
natives of N. America, and members of the Daisy order (Com- 
posite). They are very show'y plants, bearing their flow'ers 
in spikes or panicles, and thriving well in sun or shade. The 
