80 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1912 



A "pan" with seed sown and labeled 



Watering the seeds until they germinate 

 is a particular, but not difficult, operation. 

 If a piece of glass is placed over the pot 

 it will prevent the rapid evaporation of 

 water, thus insuring a more even moisture 

 in the soil, and the less watering done be- 

 fore the seeds come up the better, provided 

 the soil is moist at all times. 



As soon as the seed leaves appear above 

 the soil, the glass should be removed from 

 the pot or pan, and for this reason it is 

 better to sow the seeds in pans rather than 

 flats because all the seeds will not germinate 

 at the same time. 



As soon as the little plants are large 

 enough to handle the}" should be pricked 

 out into flats or other pans and shaded 

 with a newspaper until they have taken 

 hold of the new soil and commenced to 

 grow. From this time their culture will 

 be the same as if they were asters, stocks 

 or zinnias. 



The Abyssinian banana (Musa Ensete) 

 which is such a useful plant when one 

 wishes to make a tropical effect in the 

 garden, has large seeds which must be 

 sown early in order that the plant may be 

 of use; February or early March is none 

 too early. The seed soil already recom- 

 mended can be used, but the pots should 

 be kept in a warm place; if bottom heat 

 is available, so much the better. If 

 bottom heat is not available soaking the 

 seeds in warm water for twenty-four hours 

 prior to sowing and then keeping the pots 

 in a warm place, such as near the stove, 

 will greatly facilitate germination. 



All seeds of a hard, flinty nature, such as 

 the canna, must be soaked in hot water 

 before sowing. My method of doing this 

 has been to pour over the seeds, nearly 

 boiling water, placing the vessel containing 

 the seeds where the water will remain warm 

 ■ — on the pipes in the greenhouse, or on the 

 back of the kitchen stove — but the water 

 must not get so warm as to cook the seeds. 



An equally successful way of treating 

 canna seeds is to file or cut through the 

 flinty outer covering, but not so deeply as 

 to injure the germ. It is only necessary 

 to cut through the covering sufficiently 

 to allow the expanding insides to break 

 through easily. If either of these methods 

 is not used the canna seeds will be very 

 slow to germinate. 



Begonia seeds are very fine and must 

 not be covered. The seed soil in which 

 begonias are sown should be of very 

 friable loam; the addition of leaf mold 

 is essential, and watering overhead should 

 be avoided at all times. I have always 

 been able to grow begonias from seed very 

 easily by using a seed soil which con- 

 tained equal parts of rotted sod, leaf mold, 

 sand, and a small amount of finely broken 

 charcoal, a handful of charcoal to a six- 

 inch pot full of soil being about the right 

 proportion. The pans should be prepared 

 as I have described, but the top soil on 

 which the seed is sown should be very fine. 

 Watering the soil by placing the pan in a 

 dish of water will settle the soil sufficiently 

 to cover the seeds; but I have taken some 

 dry spaghnum moss and rubbed it through 

 a fine sieve until a very thin layer of moss 

 covered the seeds. This will prevent the 

 hardening of the surface of the soil from 

 watering. Petunia seed is also very fine 

 and better success will be had in' growing 

 the plants if the same methods are used. 



Both begonias and petunias must be 

 pricked out when the plants are very smaU. 



A covering of cloth to take the water prevents the 

 loss of fine seed 



To do this successfully take out a small 

 portion of the soil containing the seedlings 

 with a knife blade, laying it on the work 

 bench, and break up the soil carefully so 

 as not to injure the roots. This can best 

 be done by dividing it with the knife blade 

 or the thin end of the dibble. 



To pick up these small plants I use a 

 pair of forceps as they are too small to 

 handle comfortably with the fingers. These 

 forceps I make from a piece of barrel hoop 

 having the points fine. A dibble is indis- 

 pensable in pricking out the plants. I 

 make mine from a piece of pine about 

 three eighths of an inch square and three 

 or four inches long, making a flat point on 

 one end and a round point on the other. 

 The round point is used to make the hole 

 in which to put the plant and the flat point 

 or edge to break up the soil in winch the 

 seedlings are, and also to firm the soil 

 about the little plant after it has been 

 placed in the new soil. 



The soil in which I prick out the plants 

 is usually made from the same ingredients 

 and in the same proportions as the seed 



soil in which the seeds are started, but 

 to which a small portion of very well 

 decayed horse manure has been added. 



In growing plants from seeds the amateur 

 must keep in mind the fact that species 

 will reproduce themselves from seed, but 

 that most varieties will not reproduce the 

 same kind of a flower as the parent plant. 

 When one has a particularly fine variety 

 it will be necessary to multiply the plant 

 from cuttings. Of the plants already 

 mentioned, the folio-Ring can be expected 

 to come true, or nearly true, to the parent 

 plant; ageratum, banana, castor-oil, cin- 

 eraria, cigar-plant, carnation, cosmos, 

 gaillardia, heliotrope, lantana, lobelia, 

 nicotiana, salvia, torenia, and verbena. 

 The varieties or species of abutilon are 

 not usually offered by seedsmen, but you 

 can purchase from them packets of seeds 

 containing a mixture of choice varieties 

 and colors; but such delightful bedding 

 varieties as Souvenir de Bonn and Savitzii, 

 can be perpetuated by cuttings only. 



The tuberous begonias which are especi- 

 ally fine for bedding purposes in shady 

 places can be purchased in single, double, 

 and the frilled forms; the seeds will come 

 fairly true to the name (type), but there 

 will be a wide variety in color, which will 

 make a very pleasing effect. Of the ever- 

 blooming bedding varieties, such as Erfor- 

 diae, Vernon, semperflorens, one can expect 

 the seed to produce plants true to the 

 name and color, but the habits of the 

 plants may vary somewhat. 



Canna seed is a lottery; if the seeds were 

 saved from fine varieties you will get a few 

 worthless plants, a large number of fairly 

 good varieties, but which probably will 

 not be worth keeping, and possibly one 

 form (if you are lucky) which will be worth 

 naming and disseminating; there is always 

 this chance. 



Dahlias, particularly the single sorts, 

 are far more fascinating to grow from seed 

 than cannas. Even - plant will produce 

 flowers three inches and more in diameter, 

 and in all shades of color, from white and 

 yellow to deep red. The seedlings need 

 not be pricked out until the first pair of 

 true leaves is produced, or even a little 

 later. Then they should be put into two- 

 inch pots, and later shifted to larger pots 

 as the growth demands. To produce flower- 





— wa rn ' 



These young plants are ready for •■ pricking out" 

 into more room 



