i94 THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



Annuals for Spking Bedding. 

 Although there are a goodly number of annuals that are caj)able of creating a 

 brilliant effect in the spring, it is yet unwise to depend largely on them. They succeed 

 best in the warmer and drier localities, cold damp positions not unfrequcntly proving 

 fatal to many of them during an unfavourable winter. A point in favour of these 

 annuals is the fact that they can be easily and cheaply raised, this bringing them 

 well within the reach of all classes. When each kind should be sown will be seen at 

 a glance on reference to the appended table, but a few cultural details applying 



to all of them will first be offered. 



The one great drawback in the case of 

 most annuals is their tendency to deep root- 

 action, many of them forming a long tap root 

 and only comparatively few root fibres. This 

 renders it difficult to transplant direct from the 

 seed beds without giving them a severe check. 

 If all moved so well as the silcnes and sapo- 

 narias there would be no real ground for com- 

 plaint, as these can usually be moved in the 

 autumn with a compact ball of soil and roots 

 attached. Not so the collinsias, candytufts, 

 nemophilas, Virginian stocks, and the like. 

 Baising them early and pricking out to a 

 certain extent obviates this difficulty, but is 

 not often practised. Shallow well-prepared 

 seed beds, of a depth of 3 inches of fine soil 

 resting on a hard bottom, are recommended as 

 the least conducive to deep fibreless root action; and the avoidance of sowing the 

 seed thickly or of crowding the plant are points to be particularly observed. Not only 

 are the sturdy stocky plants (see Fig. 91, page 191) the least trouble to transplant, 

 but they also suffer the least from frosts and damp, and are the most effective when 

 in flower. These remarks apply with great force to wallflowers that are raised from 

 seed, as advised on the preceding page ; and the illustrations, Figs. 91, 92 and 93, 

 teach important lessons on the raising of these and practically all other plants from seed. 

 Choice of site for seed beds is another important detail. The border chosen should 



Fig. 94. A Well-grown Wallflower. 

 The point to be pinched off at g. 

 (Compare with c, page 192.) 



