BUTTERFLY-FLOWER
Family SOLANACEAE
Schizanthus hybridus grandiflorus
Annual
A Chilian genus known mostly for the race of
garden forms of varied origin and grouped under
Schizanthus hybridus, also known as Fringe-flower.
A tender annual valued as a decorative greenhouse
plant, where the best specimens are developed,
and also for outdoor planting.
Of erect habit with dainty, fern-like foliage,
forming an imposing pyramid of irregularly shaped,
spreading flowers of butterfly-like form and possessing
a very wide colour range.
All manner of varied combinations of white, yellow,
pink, salmon, mauve, apricot, violet and red make
this plant one of the most colourful of annuals.
Under glass the plant may reach a height of two
or more feet, but it is considerable smaller out-of-doors.
Sow the seed in gentle heat under glass in March,
prick the seedlings off into pits and, for outdoor
cultivation, plant out in early June.
It is wise to provide support in the form of short
twiggy peasticks or thin bamboo canes to prevent
plants from being blown down by high winds.
Propagation is from seed.
The flowering season is in late summer.
Schizanthus
Half Hardy Annual.
Eighteen inches to two feet.
Flowers of several colours, July to September.
A slender growing plant, with a half-climbing
habit and “butterfly shaped flowers.
In Schizanthus pinnatus these are lilac and white;
in Schizanthus retusus, orange and pink; there
is also a white variety of the latter.
Schizanthus pinnatus may be sown in heat in March,
treated as a half-hardy annual, and planted out
in May; but it is somewhat delicate, and is chiefly
grown in pots for greenhouse decoration.
Schizanthus retusus may be raised in heat, or
on light warm soils may be sown in the open in
April. |
