92 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



early. When the plants are raised comparatively late, and the central truss is preserved, 

 a fine pyramid of bloom results. Those who grow plants for exhibition find that it is 

 not the largest plants, with no central truss, that, as a rule, gain the premier awards ; 

 but rather those with compact, healthy foliage, and a perfect cone of fresh blooms, 

 with few or no traces of faded flowers or trusses having been removed. Grand plants 

 can be had in November from seed sown late in April or early in May. A successional 

 sowing may be made in June, but when early and late flowering varieties are sown 

 at the same time, these form a good natural succession. Deferring the final potting of 

 some of the smaller plants a month later than the rest is another method of providing 

 a supply of late, compact-flowering plants. 



More than ordinary pains ought to be taken in raising these primulas from seed. 

 Fill pans or well-drained G-inch pots with a mixture of equal parts of fine loam and 

 leaf soil, with silver sand added, making it firm and level. Give a gentle watering and 

 then lightly cover the surface with sand. Sow the seeds thinly, pressing them in with 

 the smooth bottom of a flower-pot, and only just cover with fine soil. Place or plunge 

 the pans or pots in a moist heat of from 65° to 70°, cover with squares of glass and 

 shade heavily. The soil must be kept uniformly moist. Directly the seedlings appear 

 shade from bright sunshine only and tilt the squares of glass, eventually dispensing 

 with these altogether. According as the plants arc large enough to handle, lift them 

 out of the pans or pots with the point of a label without greatly disturbing the rest of 

 the soil — a necessary precaution owing to the irregular manner in which primula seed 

 germinates. Transplant the seedlings 1| to 2 inches apart in pans of soil similar to that 

 in which they were raised, sinking them up to the leaves. Keep them growing in a warm 

 house or frame till well established, when they will require more air and less shade. 



Cultural Details. — Before the young plants press against each other in the pans 

 in which they are growing, move them carefully with a small mass of soil adhering 

 to the roots, and place them singly in 2\ or 3-inch pots, taking care to sink them in 

 the soil well up to the collar, without, however, burying the hearts. The old-fashioned 

 plan of exposing a portion of the stem and steadying with crutches or three small sticks 

 to each plant as shown at Fig. 47, is, or ought to be, obsolete. Instead of this being 

 a preventive of canker it actually invites an attack, and in any case crutched plants are 

 objectionable. Those potted deeper emit roots from the buried stem, and from first to 

 last are the strongest and most serviceable plants, as shown in b. Use rather more loam 

 at this potting than advised for the seed pans. 



