April 6, 1922 



The Florists^ Review 



57 



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PERENNIALS IN SOUTH- 



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GROWING PERENNIALS IN DIXIE. 



By FLOYD BRALLIAR. 



Many Would and Could. 



For the last ten years or more there 

 has been an ever-growing interest in 

 perennials, and this interest has not 

 been confined alone to the north and 

 east. In fact, there is no question asked 

 more often by amateurs than, ' ' What 

 perennials will do well in the south?" 

 Professionals, as well, often ask the 

 same question. It seems that there 

 must be not only a widespread interest 

 in this subject, but a real dearth of 

 knowledge as well. 



About twelve years ago we began 

 growing perennials rather extensively 

 for trial purposes at Madison, Tenn. 

 This does not mean that wo grew them 

 extensively from the standpoint of the 

 professional nurseryman, but we had a 

 pretty complete collection and grew 

 them by the hundreds. Further than 

 that, two or three friends were per- 

 suaded to plant perennials for cut 

 flowers in commercial quantities. A 

 few of these were planted in the vicin- 

 ity of Nashville, Tenn.; others near 

 Chattanooga, Tenn., and still others in 

 the vicinity of Asheville, N. C. This 

 gave opportunity to study the be- 

 havior of perennials under conditions 

 that are pretty general in the south. 



In this article I mean to give what 

 I believe to be the best method of 

 growing these valuable plants and to 

 mention the varieties that have proved 

 a success in the south. Unless they 

 have been tried out and found to be 

 conspicuously unsuited to this climate, 

 I do not mean to mention those that 

 proved of no particular value. 



How to Get a Start. 



Most perennials are most profitably 

 grown from seed. This does not mean 

 that they cannot be grown from cut- 

 tings or from root divisions, but that 

 for the ordinary man who wishes to 

 embark in the business of growing 

 perennials, it is usually better to start 

 with seed. There are exceptions to this 

 rule and they will be given in the 

 proper place. 



Fresh seeds are essential and it is 

 highly important that they be obtained 

 only from reliable sources. I find that 

 it is not always easy to get good peren- 

 nial seeds. Either they are saved in 

 discriminately from indifferent parents, 

 6r they are old seeds that do not ger- 

 minate, or something else is the nuitter 

 with them. In fact, some perennial 

 seeds lose their germinating power 

 quirkly and for this reason it is usually 

 best to buy seeds in August or Septem- 

 ber and to specify especially that they 

 lie fresh, new-crop seed. 



South of the Mason and Dixon line 

 most perennial seeds are best planted in 

 August, although, of course, this is not 

 imiK'rative. 



The Seed Bed. 



I much prefer to plant perennial .seeds 

 in coldframes. These need not be ex- 

 pensively made, but it is essential to 

 remove the soil to the depth of a foot 



and to fill in with a special compost. 

 In my estimation, the best compost for 

 such purposes is made of a mixture of 

 one part well rotted cow manure, one 

 part well rotted sods, one part good 

 garden loam, and one part sand, well 

 mixed. Unless this soil is in strictly 

 first-class condition, it should be put 

 through a screen, such as is used to 

 screen sand for cement work. That 

 means it should be put through a screen 

 with i/^-inch or %-ineh mesh. It really 

 is only necessary to screen the upper 

 inch of soil. 



Fill the coldframe with this soil, mix- 

 ing in a little air-slaked lime, ;i quart 

 to enough soil for a coldframe (5x30 



Helianthus OrgyaUs. 



feet, and five or six pounds of fine bone 

 meal in the upper inch of soil. I prefer 

 usually to soak the coldframe thorough- 

 ly before putting on this upper inch of 

 soil. This settles and firms the soil, so 

 that it will hold moisture and give it 

 off readily to the young growing seed- 

 lings. Then put on the upper inch of 

 soil and you are ready to sow the seeds. 

 Most seeds are drilled in rows four 

 inches apart, and are covered according 

 to size. Such seeds as poppy are cov- 

 ered no more than one-sixteenth or one- 

 quarter of an inch, while seeds like 

 delphinium or sweet william will stand 

 planting three-quarters of an inch or 

 more deep. In general, perennial seeds 

 hear ilecpor planting than greenhouse 

 pitiiit seeds. The seeds should not be 

 drilled too thickly in the row, for some 

 kinds are expected to remain where 

 they are, at least until the following 

 spring and, in the case of perennial 

 popjiies, longer than this. 



Before sowing, I always plan to have 

 this top inch of soil thoroughly moist, 

 but not wet enough to be sticky. As 

 soon as the sowing is completed, sprin- 

 kle lightly, using a sprinkling can or 

 a hose with the nozzle screwed down to 

 give a fine spray, and shade until the 

 seeds germinate. Probably there is 

 nothing better for this, and certainly 

 there is nothing cheaper, than tobacco 

 cloth, light cotton goods, scarcely 

 thicker than cheesecloth. This is placed 

 over the frame in the same way in 

 which it would be used by tobacco 

 growers in covering a seed plot; that 

 is, by stretching it over the frame of 

 the bed two or three inches above the 

 suiface of the soil. 



Methods. 



Most varieties of perennials, if fresh 

 seed is used, will germinate within a 

 week or ten days and may bo allowed 

 to grow under the cloth, if dowred, 

 until any slower-germinating varieties 

 have come up. The chief advantages 

 of this cloth are to prevent too rapid 

 evaporation of moisture from the soil 

 and to protect from insects. Care 

 should be used to keep the soil always 

 moist, but never too wet. It is usually 

 best to spray the seed bed every after- 

 noon about 3 or 4 o'clock, regulating 

 the amount of water used according to 

 the condition of the bed. As soon as 

 the young seedlings are well on the 

 way, the cloth protection is either 

 laiseil high enough to give perfect Ven- 

 tilation or removed entirely. Future 

 treatment of these seedlings will de- 

 pi'iid much on the variety. 



I'ansies may either be sold in October 

 to those who desire to carry them over 

 the winter or transplanted into other 

 |(>ldfranirs, where the individual plants 

 Are given more room and allowed to 

 stand over winter for spring sales. No 

 wintei* protection other than this cloth 

 lovering i.s needed, unless it be a few 

 liandfuls of good chaff or some similar 

 material scattered between the jilants. 

 It is often profitable to carry pansy 

 I>lants over for spring sales. Of course, 

 it is not necessary to transplant all the 



