Bedding Plants for Early-spring Display

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 3, 15 September 1950, Page 270

Bedding Plants for Early-spring Display

I TN the main the perennial and biennial bedding plants listed I M A on this page are treated as annuals because they can be 1 Wf raised easily and they grow and bloom better when treated Hf so. Seeds of the biennials are sown at the end of November i O and the beginning of December in frames or open ground, j „| which should be moderately rich and broken up to a fine I Ma tilth before the drills are prepared. If the weather is dry, I M the drills should be watered before the seed is sown, and I S further waterings may be necessary during summer. The I 111 seed is sown thinly, and about the middle of January the ’ S seedlings are removed from the drills and lined out similarly j to tree seedlings in clean ground. At the end of February « Bi or a little later, depending on the growth of the plants, wallflowers are wrenched by driving in a spade at an angle suffi- 1 Mo cient to -cut the taproots; this checks the growth a little, but I ft 1 compact rooting systems are obtained, which in turn make I ft for sturdier branching tops and successful lifting and replant- 1 L- ing. The raising of bedding plants was described fully in an K article by C. K. Ellis in the July “Journal”. ] R —H. P. THOMAS, Vegetable Instructor, I I Department of Agriculture, Wanganui. | 1 Photographs by Douglas Elliott. I

M Name Common name Approximate height Colour |g|a Antirrhinum ma jus and Snapdragon 6in. to 3ft. Various f8| spp. p s Campanula medium Canterbury 2 to 3ft. Various i bell 2 to 3ft. Various III Cheiranthus cheiri bell Wallflower 1 to - 2ft. Various Sfe Dianthus barbatus Sweet 1 to 2ft. Lilac, white, william purple J Dianthus plumarius Pink 1ft. Various ■«*| Erysimum asperum Siberian 2ft. Orange, yellow (syn. Cheiranthus wallflower ■S allioni) wallflower Myosotis alpestris and Forget-me-Myosotis alpestris and Forget-me-6 to 12in. Blue, white vars. not not Papaver nudicaule Iceland 1 to 2ft. Various 1 poppy