The Culture Of Vegetables And Flowers From Seeds And Roots Part 29

The well-known Musk is a Mimulus (=M. moschatus=), and is as easily grown from seed as other varieties. It makes a valuable pot plant.

==MYOSOTIS==

==Forget-me-not. Perennials, hardy and half-hardy==

AT one time an impression prevailed that all the varieties of Myosotis were semi-aquatic, and could only be grown satisfactorily in very damp shady places. And it is quite true that most of them bloom for a longer period in a moist than in a dry soil. Still, they all flower freely, and last a considerable time in any garden border.

The only half-hardy variety that need be referred to is Sutton's Pot Myosotis, which is a delightful subject for flowering indoors at Christmas time; and as Forget-me-nots are everywhere welcome, the practice of growing plants in pots is rapidly increasing. Seed should be sown in a cold frame in June, and the seedlings can be potted on as required, taking care from the commencement to avoid crowding as a precaution against mildew, to which the plants are very liable. The strain referred to produces fine free-growing specimen plants, and a batch should always be in reserve for cutting. For table decoration in winter Forget-me-nots are very telling.

All the hardy varieties may be sown from May to July for a brilliant display in the following spring. The seed should be put into a prepared seed-bed under the shelter of a wall or hedge; and in autumn the plants must be transferred to blooming quarters at the earliest opportunity.

Myosotis make an extremely effective groundwork for spring bulbs, for which purpose =M. dissitiflora= is the most valuable.

==NASTURTIUM--=see= TROPaeOLUM==

==NEMESIA STRUMOSA SUTTONI==

==Half-hardy annual==

THIS beautiful South African annual is remarkable for its floriferous character, long duration of bloom, and diversity of colour. Since we introduced it to this country in 1888 it has attained great popularity as a pot plant for table decoration, and some of the most resplendent bedding effects in public parks and gardens have been secured with this flower.

For an early show of bloom sow in pots or pans in March under gla.s.s, using a compost consisting largely of good fibrous loam, with the addition of a small proportion of wood ashes. No more heat than necessary should be used, and when the seedlings are large enough to handle p.r.i.c.k them off and gradually harden for planting out in May.

Other sowings may be made in May and June, and at this period of the year the seed germinates most quickly in boxes placed in a cool shady spot out of doors. In early summer seed may also be sown in the open border, and by thinning to a distance of six or eight inches st.u.r.dy plants will be secured, which will remain in bloom until quite late in autumn.

For winter and early spring flowering in pots seed should be sown in August or September. There must be no attempt at forcing, or attenuated worthless plants will result. A further sowing may be made in January for blooming in the later spring months.

Like the seed of Verbena, Furze, and some other subjects, the germination of Nemesia under artificial conditions is somewhat capricious, but no difficulty will be experienced with open-air sowings.

==NICOTIANA==

==Tobacco. Half-hardy annual==

The delicious fragrance of the Tobacco plant, especially during the morning and evening, has made it a great favourite in the greenhouse and conservatory, as well as in beds and borders near frequented paths.

As a pot plant too, the Nicotiana is exceedingly useful, the large sweet-scented white, soft pink, and rich red coloured flowers being very attractive. A group of plants placed in the porch will, in the earlier and later hours of the day, as the door is opened, fill the house with their delightful perfume. Seed may be sown from January to June, and a continuance of bloom may thus be secured during nearly nine months of the year. p.r.i.c.k off the seedlings as soon as they are fit to handle, for if sown too thickly they are liable to damp off rapidly. Gradually harden off if required for planting out in May or June. In some places, more especially in the South of England, Tobacco seed sown on an open sunny border early in May will produce fine plants that will flower freely in August.

==PANSY==

==Viola tricolor. Hardy perennial==

The popularity of this flower has been greatly extended and the culture simplified since it became the practice to raise the required number of plants every year from seed. For all ordinary purposes the trouble of striking cuttings and keeping stocks in pots through the winter is mere waste of labour and pit-room. The Pansy is a little fastidious, but not severely so. It thrives in a cool climate, with partial shade in high summer, and in a rich, moist, sandy soil. Notwithstanding all this, the Pansy will grow almost anywhere and anyhow; but as fine flowers of this old favourite are highly prized, the plant should be treated with reasonable care to do justice to its great merits.

A thick sowing is very liable to damp off: therefore sow thinly, either in pots or boxes, in February and March. The thin sowing, moreover, renders it possible to take out the forward plants without disturbing the remainder. In due course transplant into pans or boxes of good soil, and place in some cool spot where the plants may gradually harden off.

When they have become stocky, remove to beds or borders, with b.a.l.l.s of earth attached to the roots. Should the surrounding soil become set by heavy rain or by watering, a slight stirring of the surface will prove beneficial.

Seed sown in the open ground during the summer months will readily germinate, and the seedlings need no attention beyond thinning to about six inches apart until they are ready for transferring to their proper positions, where they will produce a ma.s.s of bloom in the following spring.

The Pansy puts forth its buds very early in the year. Whether they are particularly tasty, or the scarcity of young vegetable growth gives them undue prominence, we know not, but certain it is that sparrows show a marked partiality for them. And having once acquired a taste for the buds, these impudent marauders will not leave them alone; they evidently regard Pansies as the perfection of a winter salad. Their depredations can be prevented by an application of water flavoured with qua.s.sia or paraffin oil, which must be repeated after rain.

==PELARGONIUM==

==Greenhouse perennial==

All kinds of Pelargonium may be raised from seed with the certainty of giving satisfaction if the work be well done. An amateur, who contributed to the production of symmetrical flowers in the Zonal section, found that under ordinary treatment Zonals began to bloom in one hundred days from the date of sowing the seed, and some of those that flowered earliest proved to be the finest. The cultivator will soon discover that one rule is important, and that is to sow seed saved from really good strains. The simplest greenhouse culture suffices to raise Pelargoniums from seed. Some growers sow in July or August; others in January or February. The summer sowing necessitates careful winter keeping, and the flowers appear earlier than those from spring-sown seed. But the spring sowing is the easier to manage, and is recommended to all beginners. Any light, sandy loam will serve for these plants, and it is well to flower the princ.i.p.al bulk of them in 48-and 32-sized pots, for if grown to a great size the date of flowering is deferred without any corresponding advantage.

==PENTSTEMON==

==Hardy perennial==

Penstemons when grown as half-hardy annuals are a valuable addition to beds and borders, where they produce a brilliant effect in summer. In borders it is not advisable to plant singly, but they should be employed in groups of not less than one dozen. It is also important to sow a strain consisting princ.i.p.ally of scarlet and pink shades with white markings, as well as white flowers; under fair conditions there will be a profusion of richly coloured blooms on stately spikes about two feet high. Sow in heat during February or March and plant out in genial weather. It is not necessary to keep them after flowering has finished, although seedling Pentstemons on comparatively dry soil in favourable districts scarcely feel the winter. Seed may also be sown in June, in the manner usual with hardy perennials, and the plants will bloom in advance of those which are spring-sown.

==PETUNIA==

==Half-hardy perennial==

The Petunia affords another example of the immense strides accomplished in the art of seed-saving. Formerly the colours were few, and the blossoms comparatively insignificant. Now the single strains produce large flowers, beautiful in form, including self colours and others which are striped, blotched, and veined, in almost endless diversity.

Some are plain-edged, others elegantly fringed. The double varieties also come so nearly true to their types that there is little necessity for keeping a stock through the winter. Plants raised from seed of the large-flowered strain embrace a wide range of resplendent colours, and the doubles are perfect rosettes, exquisitely finished in form and marking.

The only way of obtaining double seedlings is to save seed from the finest single blooms fertilised with pollen of good double flowers.

Plants raised from such seed may be relied on to produce a fair proportion of double flowers of great beauty, and those which come single will be of the large-flowered type.

The dwarf varieties attain the height of five to eight inches only, and make admirable edging and bedding plants. The taller strains range from one to two feet, and are handsome subjects for border and shrubbery work. Both dwarf and tall sections are sufficiently brilliant and free-flowering to produce a beautiful display as pot plants in the greenhouse and conservatory.

For indoor decoration, the third week in January will be early enough to commence operations. Two parts of leaf-mould, one of loam, and one of sharp sand, make an excellent soil for them. Fill the pots or seed-pans within half an inch of the rim, and press the soil firmly down. Sow thinly on an even surface, and cover the seed with almost pure sand.

Keep the pots or pans uniformly moist with a fine rose and a light hand, and in a temperature of about 60. Greater heat will render the seedlings weak and straggling. From this condition it will take some skill and much time to redeem them; indeed, they may not produce a good display of flowers until the season is well-nigh over. Just as the seed is germinating is a critical time for Petunias, and a little extra watchfulness then will be fully repaid.

In February the sun has not sufficient power to do mischief, so that shading is generally unnecessary. An even temperature and freedom from draughts should insure seedlings strong enough to p.r.i.c.k off by the end of that month. Put the plants into seed-pans about an inch apart, so that the first leaves just touch the soil, still using a light compost.

In April they should be ready for transferring to small 60-pots.

Subsequently they must be potted on as growth demands, until they reach the 48-or even the 32-size. After re-potting place the plants in a sheltered part of the house or frame, where shade can, if necessary, be given until the roots are established. Frequent sprinklings of water, and a temperature of 60 or 65, will give them a vigorous start. The lights ought to be put down in good time in the evening, but this must be done with judgment, or the plants will lose their healthy colour and a.s.sume a yellowish tinge. Insufficient drainage has a precisely similar effect. In about ten days air may be given more freely, and then no suitable opportunity of exposure should be lost.

In raising Petunias for bedding, the same conditions are applicable; but as it is useless to put them into the open ground until the weather is warm and settled, the sowing need not be made until the end of February or the beginning of March. And for bedding there is no occasion to put the plants into larger pots than the 60-size. It will be necessary to give these seedlings shade in their young state, after they have been p.r.i.c.ked off or potted.

The beds or borders intended for Petunias will be better without recent manure, for this tends to the excessive production of foliage and defers the flowering until late in the season. Do not be tempted by the first sunny day to put them out, but wait for settled weather. A cutting east wind, such as we sometimes have in May, will ruin them irretrievably.

Each plant of the tall cla.s.s will occupy a s.p.a.ce of two feet, and the dwarfs may be one foot apart.

In potting Petunias, those which are weakly among the singles will probably produce the most valued colours, and from seed sown for doubles it may be accepted as a rule that from the feebler seedlings the finest rosette-shaped flowers may be expected.

All Petunias are impatient of being pot-bound, and this applies especially to the double varieties. They will, if treated generously, do ample justice to the 8-or even the 10-inch size. The growth should not be hurried at any stage, and if the foliage has a dark, healthy, green colour, free from blight, there will be magnificent flowers four or five inches across. The final s.h.i.+ft should be into a sound compost, consisting, if possible, of good loam and leaf-mould in equal parts, with sufficient sand added to insure drainage. About a fortnight later commence giving weak manure water once a week instead of the ordinary watering, and as the buds appear it may be increased in strength, and be administered twice a week until the flowers expand.

Petunias are accommodating in their growth, and may be trained into various forms. The pyramid and fan-shape are most common, and the least objectionable. We confess, however, to a feeling of antipathy to fanciful shapes in plants, no matter what they may be. It is a necessity of our artificial conditions of culture that many of them should be trained and tied to produce shapely specimens, but the more nearly the gardener's art approaches Nature, the greater pleasure we derive from his labours.