2H THE CULTURE OF FLOWERS FROM SEEDS 



any stage of growth. An occasional re-potting is the only other 

 attention they will require until they reach the final size, and this 

 need not be large. 



HOLLYHOCK 



Alth&a rosea. Hardy perennial 



GENERATIONS of unnatural treatment had so debilitated the Holly- 

 hock, that disease threatened to banish it from our gardens. Just at 

 the critical time it was discovered that the plant could be grown and 

 successfully flowered from seed. Florists at once turned their atten- 

 tion to the production of seed worth growing, and with marked 

 success. The best strains may now be relied on to produce in the 

 first season a large proportion of perfectly formed double flowers, 

 imposing in size, colour, and substance. The seedlings also possess 

 a constitution capable of withstanding the deadly Puccinia malva- 

 cearum, and there is no longer a danger that this stately plant will 

 become merely one of the pleasures of memory. 



In growing the Hollyhock, it is necessary to remember that a 

 large amount of vegetable tissue has to be produced within a brief 

 period, so that the treatment throughout its career should be excep- 

 tionally liberal. Sow in January in well-drained pots or seed-pans 

 filled with rich soil freely mixed with sand, and cover the seed with a 

 slight dusting of fine earth. Place in a temperature of 65 or 70, 

 and in about a fortnight the plants will be an inch high, ready to be 

 pricked off round the edges of 4^-inch pots, filled with a good porous 

 compost. Put the seedlings in so that the first leaves just touch the 

 surface. At the beginning of March transfer singly to thumb pots, 

 and immediately the roots take hold remove to pits or frames, 

 where they can be exposed to genial showers and be gradually 

 hardened. Defer the planting out until the weather is quite warm 

 and settled. 



The shrubbery border is the natural position for the Hollyhock, 

 but the regular occupants keep the soil poor, and for such a rapid- 

 growing plant as we are now considering there is obviously all 

 the greater need for deep digging and liberal manuring. If put out 

 during dry weather, complete the operation with a soaking of water, 

 and repeat this twice a week until rain falls. Give each plant a clear 

 space of three or four feet to afford easy access for staking and 

 watering. By midsummer offshoots will begin to push through the 



