Anagallis
Half Hardy Annual
6 inches.
Flowers scarlet or blue, in July.
Low-growing plants related to and much like the
wild Pimpernel.
The variety usually grown as an annual is called
grandiflora; its flowers are scarlet or bright
blue.
Seed may be sown in the open, in the manner and
at the time of sowing the less robust annuals,
such as Convolvulus or Aster; in heavy soils and
late neighbourhoods, recourse must be had to seed-boxes
or beds under some protection, such as cucumber
lights.
Its final position should be as open and sunny
as possible, and it will thrive in a dry soil.
PIMPERNEL
Family PRIMULACEAE
Anagallis linifoli (syn. Anagallis graniflora)
Annual
This is a pretty perennial, best treated as half-hardy.
It is native to Europe, and has flax-like leaves
and flowers of blue on stems twelve inches high.
Anagallis linifolia var. monelli parksii grows
six inches high, and has scarlet flowers, and
var. collina is similar but with rose to purple
flowers.
Anagallis l. var. monel philipsii is a garden
variety with flowers of bright blue and a maroon
centre. The species is also the parent of a number
of garden varieties with flowers that vary in
colour from pink to purple.
Anagallis linifolia and its varieties are most
delightful in hot, dry summers, and are disappointing
under wet cool conditions. They welcome a light,
well-drained, soil, rich in rotted organic matter,
and a sunny situation.
Propagate from seeds sown under glass in March,
temperature 65ºF., pricking off, and eventually
transplanting out-of-doors where they are to flower
in late May or early June, preferably massed for
effect.
The flowering season is from midsummer to early
autumn.
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