BRIEF CULTURAL NOTES (Continued) 
LARKSPURS: Larkspurs are cool weather plants and for best results 
should be sown in the fall. In warm sections, such as Southern California, 
they are sown as early as August, broadcast where they are to bloom and 
if for the cut flower market, are sown thick like radishes and the entire 
plant pulled to go to market. For the home garden, on the other hand, 
plants are thinned out to the proper distance and allowed to branch 
normally for a more brilliant show of color. In the colder sections, seed 
should be sown broadcast in November in its permanent position in the 
garden. If very severe, a light mulch covering should be applied. Seed 
will, therefore, remain stratified and dormant throughout the winter 
months and with the spring thaws and first warmth will germinate and 
commence to grow. As Larkspur seed requires a chilling for best germina- 
tion, this is the ideal treatment for best results. 
MARIGOLDS: The African Marigolds are strong feeders requiring 
plenty of water. This type should therefore be planted in the richest, most 
favorable section of the garden. Seed may either be sown where the plants 
are to flower or can be started early in a seed bed and the seedlings set out 
to their permanent position later on. They transplant very readily. French 
Marigolds on the other hand are very light feeders and require a very 
small quantity of water. Too strong feeding and too heavy watering will 
throw them into foliage growth with a great scarcity of flowers. For a 
free-flowering, colorful plant, select the poorest soil, keep the plants on 
the dry side and do not fertilize. Seed may be sown where the plants are 
to flower or seedlings can be transplanted from the seed bed although 
better results will probably be obtained by sowing in place. Marigolds are 
fairly hardy and should be started early in the spring. 
PETUNIAS: The chief pitfall the amateur runs up against in growing 
Petunias is in the seed sowing. Almost invariably they bury the tiny 
seeds so deeply that the sprouting seedlings cannot possibly fight their way 
to the surface. Petunia seed must be sown with the very utmost careful- 
ness. A seed flat or a seed pan should be used, a light, loamy soil carefully 
prepared, properly moistened and finely screened, the box filled to within a 
half-inch of the top with ample drainage on the bottom and tamped down 
firmly, smoothly and evenly. Then the seed should be mixed with about a 
’ teaspoonful of sand and this mixture of seed and sand sprinkled carefully 
and thinly over the surface of the seed box. A very fine sprinkling of pure 
sand, not more than 7g of an inch, may be used on top of this mixture or 
it may be left without any further covering. A pane of glass or a damp 
burlap sack or folded newspapers should then be placed over the flat and 
left there until the seeds begin to sprout. Immediately after the first 
sprout appears, this heavy shading must be removed and a single layer 
of gauze substituted. If the soil has been properly moistened when it is 
being prepared for sowing, it will not have to be watered again until the 
seedlings have developed their third and fourth leaves. If the soil appears 
to be drying out, however, water is to be applied with a very fine-spray 
hand bulb, or better still, the pan or flat placed in a tray of water to allow 
moisture to soak upwards from the bottom. Always leave the seed box in 
a well-ventilated place, but without any draft, to prevent damping off. 
When the seedlings are large enough to handle, they should be pricked off 
into a second flat or small pots for a few weeks before setting out in their 
permanent position in the garden. 
SCABIOSAS: While the annual Scabiosas will bloom during the sum- 
mer, they do so much better in the early spring than during the hot summer 
days, that every effort should be made to start the seed in the early fall 
in warm sections or in cold frames in early spring in the more northerly 
sections. In warm sections, such as Southern California, plants will winter 
over perfectly well and produce extremely early flowers the second year. 
Scabiosas enjoy full sun and will thrive in any good garden soil. 
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