30 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 19 9 





Sowing Seeds for Lifted Plants 



WE HAVE had much success from sowing 

 in late summer seeds of certain plants, 

 viz., mignonette, phlox, nasturtiums, petunias, 

 sweet alyssum, pansy, candytuft, morning-glory, 

 Chinese primrose and even sweet peas, gladiolus and 

 dahlias, to be "lifted" for bloom indoors. 



By starting seeds in flower pots in the garden it 

 is possible to provide sifted soil. The pots can be 

 plunged in any convenient spot, or moved from place 

 to place as desired. The "plunging" supplies a 

 more even temperature and moisture than if the 

 pots were left standing on the surface. When 

 cultivating the rest of the garden it is an easy matter 

 to stop occasionally and attend to the "lifted gar- 

 den." Water and liquid manure can be applied 

 with much less waste than if the plants were simply 

 sowed in the border. The plants are supposedly 

 started in the pots to be "lifted" later, but in case 

 they are wanted for transplanting, the potting makes 

 it an easy task to move them without injuring the 

 roots. The pots also keep insect enemies from the 

 roots. In case of unduly hot weather or dry winds 

 the pots can be grouped and protected with a screen 

 or windbreak. It is well to set them on a bed of 

 coal ashes when "plunging," as this has a tendency 

 to discourage roots striking through the holes in the 

 flower pots. 



The wise gardener will always have compost soil 

 in readiness for the time when he starts his seed 

 for "lifted" plants. Sod, three inches thick, 

 placed grass side down and covered with half the 

 thickness of cow manure, and repeated till the heap 



is sufficiently large, is one of the best composts for 

 flowers. Decaying will be hastened by keeping the 

 heap moist. It will take several months for this 

 mixture to decay properly, but when it is ripe enough 

 to crumble fine it will be worth its weight in gold, 

 so far as flower food is concerned. If used for 

 potting, one-third sand or sifted coal ashes should be 

 added; and if leafmold is accessible, it will be all 

 the better if the mixture contains one-third of that. 



On August 5th we planted gladiolus bulbs in a 

 box that measured six inches in depth and less than 

 a foot square. The box was sunk in the earth in the 

 flower garden; the plants made good growth and 

 by October 21st were in bud. At that time there 

 was danger of frost, so the box of gladiolus was 

 placed in an enclosed shed and later brought into 

 the house, where the flowers bloomed as well as if 

 they had been planted earlier in the season in the 

 garden. The last flower faded on December 4th. 



Nasturtiums sowed outdoors on August 5th 

 bloomed before frost. Some were planted in a 

 pot, purposely for lifting. The pot was plunged in 



September 1st is not too late to plant seed of 

 phlox for indoor bloom. Start the seed in 5-inch 

 pots. Do not allow the seedlings to dry out 



When growing sweet alyssum as a "lifted" plant, 

 induce a stocky growth or the flowers will not 

 amount to much. Be careful not to overwater 



the garden and was brought in before frost had a 

 chance to damage the plant. It gave scattering 

 bloom all winter. 



We experimented with ricinus, sowing the seed at 

 the same time as the others, and in a flower-pot 

 to facilitate lifting. The plants made a good start 

 and maintained a height of about a foot and a half 

 all winter. The foliage kept very green and fresh 

 and the plants constantly sent out new leaves. 

 It is an inexpensive foliage plant for window gar- 

 dens and is easy to grow. This, too, is sensitive to 

 frost, and has to be removed from the garden before 

 the weather becomes too cold. 



About September 1st is a good time to start 

 alyssum, mignonette, petunia, phlox, morning- 

 glory and dwarf sweet peas. Fill clean 5-inch pots 

 with the compost soil, then sprinkle a few seeds 

 in each. Cover with a half inch or less of soil and 

 press firmly. Do not let the seedlings dry out, and 

 when they are an inch or two high pull out all but 

 the three or four best plants in the group. Induce 

 a healthy, stocky growth or the flowers will not be 

 satisfactory. Do not overwater. 



Asters have been found satisfactory if started in 

 June or July and dahlias by August first. 



New York. I. M. Angell. 



A Summer House in a Tree 



WHY not build stairs up into an old tree where 

 there is a good view ? Mr. Stanley Mortimer 

 has a solitary oak at Roslyn, L. I., from which there 

 is a grand outlook. There is a little hill near by 

 and a bridge leads from it to a platform in the 

 foliage. In this case no steps were necessary. 



At the Height of the Season 



AUGUST is the best time for rooting cut- 

 tings from old geranium plants. 



The asparagus beds should be well fertilized with 

 well decayed compost. Keep the beds free from 

 weeds by frequent and shallow cultivation. 



Sow seed of early bush beans during the month 

 for continued bearing until frost, which, in middle 

 Georgia, usually occurs from the first to the middle 

 of November. 



Try watering eggplants, tomatoes, pepper, and 

 cucumbers with liquid manure. It will more than 

 doubly repay, with larger and better fruit, for the 

 trouble in preparing it. Get a 30-gallon barrel and 

 put four or five shovelsful of cow or horse manure 

 into it. Fill it three-quarters full of water and stir 

 well. Apply it to the plants late in the evening two 

 or three times a week, from one to two gallons to 

 each plant being sufficient for each application. 

 Thjs can also be used for watering chrysanthemum 

 plants. 



The southern farmer has a better chance to take 

 a vacation trip during this month than at any other 

 time, as there is less work to be done on the farm 

 now than during any other month. 



The gardeners who save their own seed should 

 gather them and store in a safe place. I save my 

 own lima bean and melon seed, but find it more 

 satisfactory to buy all other vegetable seed, 

 as they are purer than any I can save, and very 

 cheap. 



During the last part of the month sow seed of 

 early peas for use in the late fall. 



Keep the chrysanthemums pruned, and if large, 

 fine flowers are wanted do not allow more than one 

 or two flowers to a plant. 



A light dressing of nitrate of soda spread over the 

 lawn just before a good rainfall will promote a 

 rapid, healthy growth of grass. 



Every home gardener who desires a small green- 

 house should read The Garden Magazine for 

 August, 1908, pages 15 and 17. Small greenhouses 

 are getting more popular each year with the better 

 class of farmers and suburban gardeners in the 

 South. If you intend building one, start work dur- 

 ing this month, so as to have it ready for starting 

 some plants the last of next month. 



Georgia. Thomas J. Steed. 



Increasing Gladiolus 



THE best way to increase a stock of gladiolus is by 

 encouraging natural increase by planting as 

 early as possible and nipping off the flower buds as 

 soon as they show. Generally speaking good potato 

 land will grow good gladioli, but some varieties like 

 more sandy soils and some are slower than others in 

 the production of cormels. These little corms must 

 be planted out again the succeeding year and 

 thus grown on to flowering size. 



Dividing the corms for propagation is not generally 

 advantageous, although it can be done, taking care 

 to keep one eye to each piece. Better rely on natura 1 

 increase brought about by good cultivation. 



Gladiolus Kelwayi is a very early flowering group 

 and bears a general resemblance to Gandavensis and 

 was raised by crossing G. Gandavensis with G. tristis 

 and other early-blooming species. It is extremely 

 unlikely that it will ever be very popular in America 

 because it does not reproduce itself according to 

 trials that have been made by Dr. Van Fleet and at 

 the Botanic Garden, Washington. Dr. Van Fleet 

 reports, indeed, that the corms are likely to disappear 

 the first year. 



