HOW? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? 



Easiest Annuals to Grow 



We are often asked to recommend 

 annuals for growing without much 

 care, particularly around summer 

 cottages used only on week ends, 

 or where the soil is poor. We sug- 

 gest Calliopsis, Caillardia, Mari- 

 gold, Petunia, annual Phlox, Sca- 

 biosa. Verbena and Zinnia. These 

 usually bloom profusely without 

 care or extra watering, though 

 some water applied when seed is 

 sown will often insure germination. 



Annuals for Fall Bloom 



By midsummer, many spring-sown 

 annuals have seen their best days. 

 While Petunias can be cut back to 

 force new bloom, others can be 

 replaced by sowing new seed late 

 in June among the old plants. Try 

 Calendula, Candytuft, Celosia, Es- 

 chscholtzia, annual Phlox, Sweet 

 Alyssum, and small flowered Zin- 

 nias for this purpose. These late- 

 sown annuals will need extra wa- 

 tering to germinate and grow. The 

 Alyssum and Candytuft often sur- 

 vive early frost and keep flowering 

 along with the hardy Mums. 



Annuals for Edging 



Low growing annuals planted at 

 the edge of a garden make it look 

 neat and finished. The best plants 

 for this puropse are Sweet Alys- 

 sum, Ageratum, dwarf Marigold, 

 dwarf Petunias, and Zinnia linearis 

 or mexicana. Edging annuals 

 should be pinched back once to 

 keep them especially low. 



Annuals for Fragrance 



We are often asked, "What annuals 

 are really fragrant?" We recom- 

 mend Alyssum, Candytuft, Carna- 

 tion, Mignonette, Gleam Nastur- 

 tiums, Nicotiana, Petunia, Scabiosa, 

 Stocks, Sweet Peas and Wallflower. 



Flowers for Shady Locations 



Most annuals need plenty of sun- 

 light, but there are a few which do 

 fairly well in the shade, or with 

 partial sun. The following are 

 worth a trial in shady spots: 

 Cornflower Candytuft 

 Nasturtium Larkspur 

 Pansy Lupine 

 Nicotiana Godetia 

 Vinca Lobelia 

 Coreopsis Bleeding Heart 



Cleome 



In the vine group, those which 

 often prosper in fairly shady places 

 are Cardinal Climber, Cup-and- 

 Saucer Vine, and Morning Glory. 



Flowers for Poor Soil 



Of course, the right answer to poor 

 soil conditions is "Improve the 

 soil!" But if you can't or don't 

 want to do this, you can usually 

 get fairly good results in poor soil 

 with these: 



Amaranthus Marigold 

 Balsam Nasturtium 

 California Poppy Petunia 

 Calliopsis Portulaca 

 Gaillardia Sweet Susan 



Flowers for Hot, Dry Locations 



In spots where the sun beats down 

 mercilessly all day long, many 

 flowers can not prosper. But some 

 of the annuals can do well, even 

 in these difficult locations. Here's 

 a good list: 



Sweet Alyssum Marigold 

 Ageratum Petunia 

 Swan Paver Phlox, Annual 



Daisy Poppy, Calif ornia 



Bachelor Button Portulaca 

 Cosmos Scabiosa 

 Dianthus Zinnia 

 Dimorphotheca Four O'clock 

 Gaillardia Salvia 

 Perennials for hot locations are 

 less plentiful, but you can usually 

 do well with Babysbreath, Peren- 

 nial Asters, Sedum Acre, Statice, 

 and Blanket Flower (Gaillardia). 



For Successive Sowings 



Some of the annuals which come 

 into bloom quickly keep blooming 

 for only a little while. If you want 

 them in bloom through the season, 

 make several successive sowings at 

 two to four week intervals. Flow- 

 ers in this class include: 

 Calliopsis Larkspur 

 Candytuft Love-in-a-mist 

 Cornflower Mignonette 

 Forget-me-not Poppy 

 Gypsophila 



Do Annuals and Perennials 

 Need Lime? 



Yes, flowers need calcium, which 

 lime supplies. However, it is pos- 

 sible to get too much lime. Soils 

 that have a pH of much over 7.2 

 may need something to make them 

 more acid. From 0.0 to 6.9 is acid 

 or "sour," while 7.0 and above is 

 alkaline or "sweet." All the gar- 

 dener needs to know about pH is 

 that if he will keep his soil be- 

 tween 6.0 and 6.9, the plant food 

 elements in his soil will be most 

 readily available. Above that, iron, 

 sulfur and other elements lock up 

 and are not available. Below that, 

 other elements, principally cal- 

 cium, cannot be used by plants. 

 A simple SI. 00 soil test kit will 

 give you a pH reading of your soil 

 and tell you what to do to cor- 

 rect it. 



Don't Sprinkle — Irrigate 



Old timers talk about sprinkling 

 a garden. Irrigation describes what 

 we are after better than sprinkling, 

 because what we want is a long, 

 slow soaking of the soil so that 

 water penetrates to a depth of 

 several inches. 



Water should always be applied so 

 that the roots will be lured down- 

 wards rather than growing up- 

 wards as is the case when only 

 the surface is moistened. Properly 

 done watering need not be repeated 

 oftener than once or twice a week. 

 An excellent way to apply large 

 amounts of water is by means of 

 the Soil Soaker, which allows 

 water to ooze out slowly onto the 

 surface. For small areas, remove 

 the hose nozzle and allow the 

 stream of water to flow out onto 

 a board to break its force. 



mst 



ASTER, Wilt-resistant 



CHRYSANTHEMUM, Painted Daisy 

 DIANTHUS. Lacy Single 



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