TROPAEOLUM

Nasturtium, or Indian Cress. Hardy and half-hardy annuals



The Tropaeolum tuberosum is treated under the 'Culture of Flowering

Bulbs,' so that here we have only to consider the varieties that are

grown from seed. There are two distinct classes, both widely cultivated,

for the seed is inexpensive, and the plants extremely showy durable, and

easily raised.



Tropaeolum majus is the climbing Nasturtium, or great Indian Cress. The

flower as originally obtained from Peru was a rich orange, marked with

deep reddish-brown, but it has been developed into various shades of

yellow and red, culminating in a tint which is almost black. The leaves

are nearly circular, and are attached to the long footstalks by the

centre instead of at the margin. Loudon fancifully compares the leaf to

a buckler, and the flower to a helmet. The Lobbianum section is close in

habit, with smaller foliage borne on somewhat woolly stems. All the

varieties bloom freely, and constitute a brilliant class of climbers of

great value for brightening the backs of borders or hiding unsightly

objects. After the seeds have been dibbled about an inch deep in either

April or May, the only attention the plants require is to nip out a

straggling shoot occasionally, or prevent a stray branch from reaching

over and smothering some plant which will not endure its embraces.



The well-known Canary Creeper (T. canariense) is a perfectly distinct

variety, and as a half-hardy annual should be raised under protection

and planted out in May, although sowings in the open ground in April and

May often prove satisfactory. Unlike the others, it needs a rich soil to

insure vigorous growth. When liberally treated the entire plant will be

covered with its bright fairy-like flowers, until frost ends its career.



Tropaeolum majus nanum.--The Tom Thumb, or Dwarf varieties, make

excellent bedding plants, blooming far on into the autumn after many of

the regular bedders have faded and become shabby. There is an extensive

choice of colours in reds, yellows, and browns, which come perfectly

true from seed, and all possess the merit of flowering freely on very

poor soil. They grow luxuriantly on rich land, but then the foliage

becomes a mere mask under which the flowers are concealed. There is not

one of the Tom Thumb class that may not be treated as a hardy annual,

and all afford opportunity of making a gorgeous show of colour at a cost

ridiculously disproportionate to the effect obtained. They are also

admirably adapted for pot culture, making shapely plants covered with

bloom for a long period.



Many of the later introductions in Nasturtium are notable for their

refined and delicate colouring, and are extremely desirable subjects for

the decoration of the dinner-table and small vases in the drawing-room.



As the flavour of the flowers and leaves somewhat resembles that of

common Cress, they are frequently used in salads, and are accounted an

excellent anti-scorbutic. The flowers are legitimately employed in

decorating the salad-bowl, because they are not only ornamental but

strictly edible.



In a green state the seeds of both tall and dwarf varieties make an

excellent pickle which is occasionally used as a substitute for capers.