Starting a Florida Flower Garden 
Florida flower growers frequently experience difficulty in getting a 
good stand of robust seedlings, and as these are the basis of a beautiful 
garden, every effort should be made to secure good planting stock. 
There are two general methods of sowing flower seeds, the first 
method is to sow the seeds in the open in shaded shallow furrows in the 
garden, where the plants are to bloom. Burlap, palm leaves or Spanish 
moss may be used for shading, and will also protect seeds from being 
washed out, covered too deep or packed by heavy rains. 
The other and preferred method of starting most flower seedlings in 
Florida is to sow the seeds in flats or shallow boxes, or in muslin or 
burlap covered seedbeds, where the environment may be more easily 
and better controlled, than when sown in the open. The flats must have 
adequate drainage provided by holes in the bottom to allow the free 
passage of water. To prevent the soil from falling through the holes 
place a bit of broken flower pot or glass bottle or large stone over each 
hole. 
Where an outdoor seedbed is made of fine pulverized, well fertilized 
soil, we recommend the use of burlap or white muslin as a cover, 
stretching it on a 3 or 4 foot wide tent-shaped or slanting frame built 
over the seedbed, with the sides about twelve inches from the ground 
to provide ample circulation of air under the cover. The seedbed cover 
will serve as a shade, also break the force of heavy rains. Ground covers 
of burlap may also be used to facilitate rapid and strong germination. 
The seedbed soil should be raised four to six inches to prevent overflow 
in case of heavy rains. 
If flats are used, use a mixture of rotted manure or peat moss and 
fertile sandy loam garden soil, free of root-knot nematodes, and fill the 
flat to within a half inch of the top. Firm the soil with a block of wood, 
and soak with a fine spray. After the water has drained away, sprinkle 
small seeds thinly over the moist surface, or plant large seeds in rows. 
Large seeds may be covered by sand, fine seeds planted broadcast, such 
as Snapdragon, Pansy and Petunia, should be pressed into the soil with 
a block. Cover the seeds with newspaper, or better, with burlap, and 
apply water to the flat or seedbed daily, toward evening, until germina- 
tion starts, never allowing the seeds to dry out. The cover must be 
remoyed immediately after the seeds sprout so that the tiny plants will 
not be weak, spindly or leggy. 
After germination, apply a damp-off disease control, such as Seme- 
san, following directions on the package. The damp-off control should 
be used at the first sign of the disease, which causes young seedlings to 
rot off at the base of the stem. Give as much light as possible and water 
daily with a fine spray, never allowing seedbed soil to dry out. 
Ants must be prevented from carrying away the seeds. Blocks of 
wood which stand in cans of oil will make excellent ant-proof legs for 
the flats. Magikil Jelly Ant Bait is a most effective control for ants, 
and is harmless to plants. It is desirable to treat flower seed with 
Semesan just before sowing, which has a tendency to repel ants and 
prevent them from carrying seed away. It also controls damping-oft 
disease in seedbeds. If many ants appear, the seeds can be protected 
by sprinkling corn meal or grits liberally among the rows as the ants 
will prefer this food to the seeds. 
Thin the seedlings as they begin to crowd. When the flower plants 
have four leaves and are 4 to 6 inches high, they should be set in their 
permanent locations in moist soil in the garden on a cloudy afternoon 
or toward evening, and water the plants thoroughly immediately after 
setting. They should be shaded during the next few days until they be- 
come established. Frequent heavy watering toward evening, and bi- 
monthly applications of a good fertilizer will contribute in a large 
measure to the success of a flower garden. Frequent shallow cultiva- 
tion to keep down weeds, and to loosen the surface soil is a very 
beneficial operation. 
When an annual plant forms seeds, it has completed its life cycle and 
begins a rapid decline. To assure a maximum number of blossoms, all 
annual flower plants must have the faded blossoms or seed vessels 
removed each day, thus keeping up the production of flowers and post- 
poning the decline of the plant as long as possible. 
When flowers are cut, they should be stored in deep, cool water for 
several hours before arranging. Never leave cut flowers in sunlight or 
in a draft. 
vwy 
CHEAP SEEDS ARE NOT ECONOMICAL 
It takes the same length of time, fertilizer, care and attention to pre- 
pare the soil and plant poor seeds as it does good seeds. Poor seeds can 
never be depended upon to produce quality plants or flowers. The best 
and most adaptable seeds for Florida that one can obtain are the only 
seeds worth planting. Kilgore’s “Bred-Rite” flower seeds have been 
thoroughly tested and proven for Florida conditions. No better flower 
seeds for Florida planting can be secured anywhere at any price. For 
over 35 years, we have been engaged in furnishing Florida flower 
enthusiasts the choicest and best adapted flower seeds. 
Preparing and Fertilizing the Soil for the 
Florida Flower Garden 
Since a proper soil condition is absolutely necessary for a good flower 
garden, you will profit vastly in the end by giving this matter of soil 
and soil preparation very careful attention. The soil must be put in the 
proper condition or the flower garden will never be satisfactory. It is 
much easier to make the condition of the soil right at the beginning 
than to attempt to do the improving as you go along. 
In many places, the size of the garden is limited and the soil often 
very poor. The procedure of improving and preparing the flower gar- 
den soil'is really quite simple, whether the soil is hard clay or light 
sand. Well rotted manure and leaf mold or black muck or hammock 
soil are ideal materials to work into the flower garden soil. If you can- 
not get well rotted manure and leaf mold or muck or hammock soil, 
the easiest and cheapest way is to spade under a thick layer, two or 
three inches deep, of horticultural grade peat moss. This material is 
clean and easy to handle, and a wonderfully effective material for 
breaking up hard soil and making it mellow, or for adding humus to 
sandy soil, making it more retentive of moisture and fertilizer ma- 
terials. After the first layer of peat moss has been spaded into the 
ground, again cover the surface with an inch or two of peat moss, or 
better, Wizard Brand Sheep Manure, and a liberal sowing of good gar- 
den fertilizer such as Vigoro or a special garden fertilizer such as a 
5-10-5 mixture, applying one of these materials at the rate of about 
4 to 6 pounds per 100 square feet. If these materials are raked into the 
surface soil at least 10 days before sowing seed or setting plants, you 
have the foundation for an excellent flower garden. 
When setting out flower plants from flats or a seedbed to the per- 
manent place in the garden, each plant should be given a good appli- 
cation, according to directions on the package of Hyponex, and this 
should be repeated a week or ten days later. This is a complete ferti- 
lizer and a wonderful plant stimulant, which will help the plants to 
overcome the shock of transplanting. Transplantone is also a valuable 
material to stimulate root development in transplanting. 
After the flower plants are established in the garden, a light mulch of 
peat moss, oak leaves or partially rotted grass clippings over the entire 
soil around the plants will preserve moisture, keep the roots cool, and 
discourage weed growth. 
A good complete fertilizer mixture such as Wizard Brand sheep 
manure, Vigoro or a special fertilizer mixture—5-10-5 formula, applied 
lightly every two weeks will make thrifty plants which produce an 
abundant supply of large attractive flowers throughout the season. It 
is a good plan to apply the above indicated materials alternately, using 
different materials for successive applications. 
Nore :—All of the above indicated materials can be secured from any 
Kilgore Seed Store or from our Mail Order Department, Plant City, 
Florida. 
Twelve Kilgore Seed Stores Serving Florida 
In addition to our large mail order department at Plant City, Florida, we maintain twelve Florida stores for your convenience, located at the 
following points: 
Bette Gare PAHOKEE 
GAINESVILLE PaLMeETTo 
HoMeEstTr ap Prant Crry 
Miami, 127 N. W. 5th St. Pompano 
SANFORD 
Vero Breacu 
‘W AUCHULA 
Wesr Patm Bracu, 
910 Belvedere Road 
Each of these stores carries a full supply of all flower seeds listed and described in this Flower Guide, and also a complete supply of lawn 
grass and vegetable seeds, fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides, sprayers and dusters, as well as garden tools and supplies. Everything for 
the Florida flower and vegetable garden. 
