SEEDS FOR AUTUMN SOWING

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 78, 15 March 1935, Page 10

SEEDS FOR AUTUMN SOWING

Antirrhinums: Snapdrons, or as they are now well known as antirrhinums, are seasonable tor sowing, these gay garden decorators may bo had in un almost unlimited range ot colour*, and are unsurpassed lor general garden decorative, work. Uc cannot too i strongly recommend a good sowing ol these great favourites, ami in choosing the s'cd select named varieties 1 1 longI mg to the semi-tall kind: Violas V iolas lor bedding .ire imhs | pensable ami aie umxi'Hed for edging ‘the garden beds It town now they 1 will come into flower during tin winter i and will carry on their good work right I through the spring. Buy the seeds in ; separate colours. I he best oi these ale : the yellow, blue and white, 'there are I other shades to be had. but the flowers are somewhat large and have not the fairy-like appearance ot the three old borts. Pansies: Pansies are also a line which should go in now. Grow the b<vi strain obtainable. In mir estimation there are mme better than Bath's Empress and j for fancy flowers the French strains ot j blotched pansies. Primus, Polyanthus ami Pnmro'es, j Primulas, polyanthus and pioniums are all (dose relation-, and are to * e this month. The seeds are slow I in germinating, but are generally ex-

tremely fertile. Grow the primroses in senii-tiiade; the polyanthus will stand a little more sun, and the primula malaeoideg will grow right out in the sun W'e advise getting the latter out as soon as possible, so as to have the Howers out in the winter months. Malacoides makes a wonderful pot plant, and needs little skill in bringing it to perfection. Ranunculi: Ranunculi are wonderful Howers if a good strain of reeds ean be purchased, but seed is very hard to germinate and very slow', so we advi.< obtaining bulbs. Contrary to general j belief, flic smaller the ranunculus bulb j the better the plant and flower will be. ; Ibis is only natural, however, for after | two or three years you will find that I the bulb begins to lose ite vigour, whereas a small yearling bulb has all its life before it. Stocks; And last of all, but not least, we must sow’ stocks. Last month we had an article on stock growing and we advise you to turn it up for full particulars. For growing we consider the Giant Perfection second to none, being quick in flowering, large in flowers, good large plants, and a very large proportion of doubles. Next to the Giant Perfection comes the Beauty of Nice varieties, which are equally as good as the Giant Perfection, with the exception that we find they are not quite so hardy, and the proportion of double flowers is much lower. However, the variety known as “Beauty of Nice’’ is as good as any we have seen, and returns an extremely high proportion oi double flowers.