How to Plant and Raise Flowers 
By LUTHER BURBANK 
Planting 
Most of the larger and coarser 
seeds of flowers may be planted out 
of doors quite early in the season, 
though there are exceptions to this, 
and no very specific directions can be 
given for growing such a vast vari- 
ety of seeds which require such wide- 
ly different treatment. One of the 
causes of lack of success in starting- 
flower seeds is planting too deep. 
The general rule is to cover the seed 
a little more in depth than the di- 
ameter of the seed; this is for mod- 
erately moist climates. In dry cli- 
mates it is necessary to plant them 
deeper, but small delicate seeds can 
not push up through much weight of 
dirt. For this cause the seedsman 
is often blamed, when it is the pur- 
chaser's fault entirely, as is readily 
proved by other parties having 
abundant success with the same 
seeds. 
Cold Frame 
When convenient, many flower 
seeds are best started in a well pre- 
pared cold frame or hot bed or a 
shallow box in the house or green- 
house, transplanting them later to 
the open ground. By treating them 
thus the season of blooming is great- 
ly lengthened; they need not be 
transplanted until the weather be- 
comes warm. (See page 9.) 
Watering and Shade Protection 
In our dry Western climate it is 
necessary to see that the seeds do 
not become dried out before they 
have had an opportunity to germin- 
ate. To avoid this the ground where 
they are sown should be lightly 
sprinkled every day until they are 
well up; then an occasional watering- 
will be sufficient. Many young seed- 
lings should also be protected from 
bright sunshine by a slight shading — 
not a solid, but a broken shade — 
such as is made by laths with spaces 
between them or branches of trees, 
brush or something of that nature, 
merely to protect them from the 
fierce heat of the midday sun until 
they can form stray roots and estab- 
lish themselves. 
These directions apply to both the 
annual and perennial flower seeds. 
Most of the larger seeds like sweet- 
peas may be planted out of doors 
any time during the early spring- 
months, and in climates like Cali- 
fornia sweet-peas can be planted any 
time after the first of January or 
even in the fall. 
In very dry weather it is necessary 
to see that they have a sufficient 
amount of moisture, if the soil does 
not naturally supply it. The sweet- 
pea will bloom much longer and 
more abundantly and the flowers 
will be larger, if they are picked as 
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