THE CARE OF SEEDLINGS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 204, 12 August 1932, Page 9

THE CARE OF SEEDLINGS

HOW TO GROW THEM SUCCESSFULLY. Many thousands of seedlings are lost every years through not knowing how to treat them, and many more or not grown successfully, that is, not brought to that state of perfection to which every plant is entitled in order to show off its fullest beauty. The following few hints may help to give them a good start in life which in the case of annuals means everything between success and failure, as their season is comparatively short. Situation.—All seedlings will not grow in the same position; they all want, and most have their own particular place in the garden in order to grow successfully and eventually show oil their individual charm. In other words, they must be made comfortable. While the poppy with its gaudy flowers will delight in full sunshine, a cineraria revels in a cool shady position, so also do the polyanthus and primrose family. Pansies love a position shaded from the mid-day sun, so do forget-me-not, lobelias, the pretty mauve primula, malacoides and columbines.

On the other hand, antirrhinums, asters, stocks, salvias, sweet peas, delphiniums, geums, gaillaria, petunia, phlox, marigolds, zinnias, delight in any open situation. At the same time strong winds should always be guarded against, the plants get broken and blooms are easily bruised. Care should always be taken to avoid planting a dwarf-growing variety behind a taller, thus hiding it from view. Such plants as lobelia, myosotis (forget-me-not), poppies, primulas, polyanthus, pansies, violas, etc., should always be well in front. Carry in the minds’ eye the approximate height of the varieties being planted, and above

all do not overcrowd. . Massing does not mean crowding the plants; far from it. Plants such as salvias, snapdragons, stocks, asters . .and petunias show to much greater advantage if planted in mass formation, but care must be taken with regard to the background. For instance, salvias should never be planted against a red brick wall; the reason-is obvious, the colour will clash. Rather choose a bed in a lawn, or border with a hedge as a background. The some thing will apply to other plants, blend the colours nicely and you will have more satisfaction when they come into flower. Soil.—Soil in flower beds will naturally be of a more or less consistent nature, and will therefore suit ail classes of seedlings. Whilst such plants as stocks, dianthus, carnations and wallflowers revel in a good dressing of lime, pansies, delphiniums, violas, etc-, require a liberal supply of well-rotted manure (cow manure for preference); antirrhinums (snapdragons) and poppies dislike it,, unless applied some time before planting— at least three months. Asters will often go blind if heavy applications of manure are used. Mignonette and sweet peas to be grown will require very rich soil indeed, large quantities of good cow manure being absolutely necessary, whereas phlox Drummondi will succeed in any soil. So that summed up, it is well to try to give to each variety of seedlings just what they really like, a simple matter, especially if the varieties are grown in masses. In all cases the beds or borders must be well and deeply dug beforehand, bringing the surface soil to a flue tilth. It is courting disaster to attempt to plant seedlings, in rough ground as their rots are very fine and require a fine soil in order to grow quickly and make strong plants. It is therefore time well spent to properly prepare the soil. We make our homes comfortable to live, in, why not make your seedlings’ homo comfortabe too?