6 
HOVEY’S ILLUSTRATED GUIDE 
BIENNIALS AND PERENNIALS. 
Biennial and perennial plants are almost indispensable additions to the flower-garden, displaying 
their blossoms both early and late, succeeding and even flowering with the spring bulbs, and con¬ 
tinuing long after the frost has destroyed the hardiest annuals. They are also so easily cultivated, 
and require so little care for their great amount of beauty, that they must be ranked as the most 
permanent and showy objects of the flower-border. We only need name the Larkspur, 1 hlox, 
Lychnis, Coreopsis, Eupatorlum, &c., as a few among the many imposing and elegant groups. 
Biennials are those plants that generally do not flower until the second year, and, after bloom¬ 
ing, die. These include, however, many splendid species, such as the Foxglove, Canterbury Bells, 
Sweet-Williams, Hollyhocks, &c. Perennials are plants which generally do not bloom until the 
second year, but continue to bloom for years in succession, and may be propagated, after once 
obtained, by division of the roots, growing more vigorously and flowering better if divided and re¬ 
planted every three or four years. 
The proper time for sowing the seeds of hardy kinds is in April or May, at the period of Bow¬ 
ing the hardy annuals, in order to obtain a good strong growth the first year, and a greater abun¬ 
dance of flowers the second; but the sowings may be continued with success as late as August, after 
which the plants will not become strong enough to flower the following year. Whether the seeds 
are sown in beds or in the border, the young plants should be thinned out, and afterwards trans¬ 
planted, just as we have directed for hardy annuals; only giving them more room, and encouraging 
a vigorous growth by hoeing, watering, &c. On the approach of severe frosty weather, protect the 
plants with a light covering of leaves or coarse manure, and the succeeding year they will blossom 
in great profusion. 
Special Directions to Amateur Cultivators. 
In addition to the preceding remarks, which are given as the results of our own practice for many 
years, and which, we think, are adequate for all general purposes, the following special directions are 
added for the guidance of amateurs in the treatment of many of the more choice and new flowers 
enumerated in our Catalogue. If carefully followed, it is hoped they will remove all causes of 
failure in the attempt to cultivate many of the most beautiful plants. 
French and German Asters.—These now justly admired and most beautiful annuals should 
be sown in pots, pans, or boxes, in a well-prepared soil, and placed in an exhausted hotbed or cold 
frame, watering them gently till the plants are an inch high; when, after hardening off by gradual 
exposure to the air, they should bo tr a nap’anted Into the open ground in a light, rich soil, placing 
them In rows six inches apart, shading for few hours in the middle of the day, until well rooted. 
In the course of two or three weeks, they will have become stout and stocky, and ready for replant¬ 
ing out where they are to flower. Before transplanting, give the bed a good watering; then with a 
trowel take each plant up separately and carefully, and remove it to the bed or border; finish with 
another liberal watering, which must be repeated if the weather is dry: they will soon take root, 
however, and will make a rapid growth. Before the flowers expand, tie each plant up to a neat 
stick, and, if the soil is not rich, apply a light sprinkling of guano. The first week of June is the 
best period for filial planting. 
Zinnias may be treated precisely like the Aster. The double varieties, in eight distinct colors, 
are superb ornaments of the garden. 
Epacrises, Heaths, Azaleas, and Rhododendrons should be planted In boxes or pans, 
well drained, and filled with light, very sandy loam, with a small quantity of peat. Make the earth 
firm, and give a thorough watering before sowing. Cover the surface with a little sand, upon which 
the seed should bo thinly scattered, covering with the least possible quantity of fine sand. Place the 
pans or boxes in the greenhouse, where they can be wholly shaded from the mid-day sun, and lightly 
damp the surface when dry. The young plants will make their appearance in three or four weeks; 
and, when strong enough to handle easily, transplant into boxes an inch or two apart, and gradually 
harden them off, so as to remove to frames or the open air. 
Calceolarias, Cinerarias, and Chinese Primrose require similar treatment. The seeds 
of the former are so minute, that they are liable to be destroyed by covering; and complaints are 
frequent of the failure to make the seed grow. If the following directions are carefully observed, an 
abundance of plants may be easily raised : — 
The Beed should be sown in pots prepared in the following maimer: The pot to be half filled 
with drainage, over that rough siftings of the mould, and the surface covered with soil as fine as pos¬ 
sible, half of which should be composed of silver-sand. When prepared thus, it should be watered 
with a fine rose; immediately after which sow the seed carefully without any covering of soil. The 
pots should then be placed under a close frame or hand-glass, in a shady part of the garden (no arti¬ 
ficial heat being required). In large establishments, of course, they may have propagating or other 
houses that will do, where the same kind of moist temperature could be obtained; out any exposure 
to the sun must be carefully guarded against by mats or paper. If the situation is of the proper tem¬ 
perature, they will require watering but very seldom. Directly the seedlings are strong enough, 
they must be pricked off in pots prepared as before, and placed in the same situation. From the 
store-pots they will require to be potted off singly; after this they will grow very rapidly. Through 
the winter, the plants will thrive well on the shelves near the glass, in the greenhouses; and, to ob¬ 
tain fine specimens, they must bo shifted freely till the flower-stems have started, and should always 
be smoked with tobacco directly the green-fly appears, as no plants in cultivation so readily surfer 
from this insect as the Calceolaria. It is necessary to remark, tnat one of the most frequent causes 
of the appearance of these injurious insects is the plant becoming root-bound; to avoid which evil, 
it is important that it should frequently be repotted during the growing season. 
The best season for sowing these beautiful flowers is March and April for early autumn bloom; 
but, for flowering later, they may be sown in succession until July. 
