RICHARD DIENER, OXNARD, CALIFORNIA, IJ. S. A. 
SOWING OF PETUNIA SEEDS 
Prepare a seed bed by taking leaf mould soil which 
has been mixed with some clean, white sand (use 
positively no fertilizer in this soil when sowing). 
Sift this through a fine sieve into seed pans and 
flats within two inches from the top. Fill the re¬ 
maining two inches at the top of the receptacle 
with boiling water and let the water seep through 
the soil and let the soil then stand for a day. This 
will have killed all weed seeds, worms and fungi 
contained in the soil. Smooth over the surface of 
the soil, but do not pack, as Petunia seeds will not 
grow in soil which has been packed. After the sur¬ 
face is smooth, sprinkle with fresh, cold water so 
that the soil will settle evenly. Sow the seeds over 
the top. If you are in a dry atmosphere, sprinkle a 
very little of this sterilized soil over the seeds. In 
damp climates no soil covering is needed, but a 
sprinkling of charcoal dust is good. Place a clean 
pane of glass over the flats or seed pans. If the sun 
strikes the glass, place over it a single sheet of 
newspaper. Always keep the seed bed moist, but 
not wet. Do not sow the seeds too closely, as they 
are to attain three to four leaves before transplant¬ 
ing. The glass should be removed as soon as the 
seeds have sprouted. The young plants should be 
transplanted as soon as possible into flats, spacing 
them one inch apart. 
Petunia seeds sowed out in this sterilized soil 
will germinate 100 per cent and the young plants 
will grow faster and be more vigorous. Also, you 
will not be bothered with weeds and fungi. These 
seeds are cleaned by a process where only the 
fertile kernels are selected. Ants will carry off the 
seeds if they have any access to same. Snails will 
eat the young seedlings—a great many in one 
night. For this reason seed boxes should be placed 
so that snails and ants are unable to reach them. 
Most of the loss of the seeds occurs in this way. 
We would suggest in this case that the seed box 
be placed on small blocks of wood, the blocks 
resting in jars or pans, the latter containing either 
oil or water. The ants or snails are unable to cross 
the oil or water, and so cannot reach the seeds. 
If you have successfully raised Petunias from 
seeds before, use your own method. The above is 
given to those who are unacquainted with the 
handling of Petunia seeds. 
HANDLING OF YOUNG PETUNIA PLANTS WHEN 
GROWING IN 3-INCH POTS FOR THE MARKET 
In order to have large flowers and brilliant colors 
in three-inch pots, a good soil is absolutely essen¬ 
tial for the young plants. 
Following are Directions for Preparing the Best Soil: 
It is best to use an even mixture of leaf mould and 
old, rotten manure (four or five years old or from 
the hot bed). However, if no old manure is avail¬ 
able, leaf mould will do. To a cubic yard of soil 
add a four-inch pot of fresh Portland cement, a 
five-inch pot of bone meal, a five-inch pot of dried 
blood and a regular water pail full of white sand. 
After mixing all of these ingredients, in a dry 
condition, run them through a fine screen. It is 
best to let this soil lie in the open in the shade of 
a tree or at the north end of a building to ferment 
for at least three months before using, but which is 
not absolutely necessary. 
Do not add anything else, as this is the best 
mixture for proper results. Do not use powdered 
sheep manure, chicken manure or fish meal, for 
these ingredients act as poison to Petunias. When 
transplanting, the young plants should be planted 
so that just the root part reaches into the soil. If 
poor soil is used plants will be spindly, flowers 
small and colors bleached out. This has been the 
cause of many complaints in regard to the Petunias 
not being large. You cannot raise good plants in 
poor soil in three-inch pots. Many mistakes are 
made in that the seedlings are set too deep. It is 
very essential to be careful in transplanting so that 
only the roots are under the ground, as when 
planted too deep they take much longer to start 
growth and many will damp off. 
My Petunias should not be pinched back when 
young, as they are naturally stocky and of dwarf 
growth, which I have accomplished by years of 
careful selection in that direction. 
I receive thousands of questions from my cus¬ 
tomers every season in regard to growing and 
cultivating Petunias best, and as my time is con¬ 
tinually taken up in my work, I have tried to 
cover the most important of them in this article. 
However, there is an excellent book on the market 
in which nearly all the questions which are asked 
me are clearly explained. The name of this book 
is Fritz Bahr’s Commercial Floriculture, which 
you can obtain by sending to me. (See the book 
page at the end of catalogue.) 
■ ■ ■ 
FREESIA SEEDS 
These are from my own hybrids. They run mostly 
in lavender, blue, purple, yellow and white. There 
are some among them with reddish and pink tints. 
Flowers mostly double the size of the regular kinds 
and even larger. They have long stems and I believe 
there is nothing better in existence. I am increasing 
the stock from some of my finest and largest seed¬ 
lings of the last few years and the seeds are taken 
from these. If sowed out early, many will flower 
five to six months after sowing. 
Pkg. 25c j /2 oz. 50c I oz. $1.00 I lb. $15.00 
Directions for Sowing: Sow the seeds right out in 
the open in subtropical and tropical localities. Put 
them in rows, twelve inches apart and about three 
seeds to the inch in the row. Cover the seeds with a 
good, rich soil one-quarter inch deep. In cold cli¬ 
mates, sow them out in boxes or seed pans, placing 
the seeds about one inch apart and one-fourth inch 
deep. Leave them there until the leaves have dried 
up, say about five tp six mouths, and by that time 
they will have formed nice bulbs which will bring 
large flower spikes the* following winter. 
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