PLANTING ANNUALS

Evening Post, Issue 13, 16 January 1936, Page 20

PLANTING ANNUALS

DANCER FROM DROUGHT AND PESTS

I The work of planting out summer annuals should be completed early this month. Aids in planting at present are to plant in the late afternoon, and, if buying seedlings, to buy the young plants from boxes rather than to buy bundles of seedlings which may be out of the ground for several days before they are planted. In many gardens shell-back snails are making conditions of planting difficult. All seems well on the afternoon of planting, but go out that night, or the night after, about 10 p.m., and it will be seen that all the shell-backs in the garden have been attracted by their keen sense of smell to the banquet set out

that afternoon. It must be seen to be believed. Slaked lime andL pestend scattered freely over and around the seedlings after planting will do much to deter the snails,^ little attention given each night until the: seedlings have got over the "wilting" stage, generally about two days,, will save many I a bed of flowers. A further sprinkling of slaked lime over the snails when they are actually out at night will destroy them. Spraying with alum water is also destructive, as,.. a contact spray, using lib alum in 10 gallons of water. Among the summer annuals which may be planted out now are zinnias, bonfire salvia, celosias or cockscombs, begonia semperflorens, petunias, and portulaca—these are ideal for sunny places. Other heat-loving annuals are globe amaranth and phloxes. Phlox Drummondii, by means of successional sowings, may be maintained in bloom for four or five months in the year. There are-many colours, some of them obtainable in .separate shades. The perennial phloxes are.also invaluable for 'early, summer colour, and are among the first of the herbaceous perennials, to give a brave show of bloom. They need good, light, welldrained soil, abundance of water, when they will remain attractive until almost the end of the summer. ' ■,-,