
Easiest Annuals to Grow 
We are often asked to recommend 
annuals for growing without much 
eare, particularly around summer 
cottages used only on week ends, 
or where the soil is poor. We sug- 
gest Calliopsis, Gaillardia, Mari- 
gold, Petunia, annual Phlox, Sca- 
biosa, Verbena and Zinnia. These 
usually bloom profusely without 
care or extra watering, though 
some water applied when seed is 
sown will often insure germination. 
Annuals for Fall Bloom 
By midsummer, many spring-sown 
annuals have seen their best days. 
While Petunias can be cut back to 
force new bloom, others can be 
replaced by sowing new seed late 
in June among the old plants. Try 
Calendula, Candytuft, Celosia, Es- 
chscholtzia, annual Phlox, Sweet 
Alyssum, and small flowered Zin- 
nias for this purpose. These late- 
sown annuals will need extra wa- 
tering to germinate and grow. The 
Alyssum and Candytuft often sur- 
vive early frost and keep flowering 
along with the hardy Mums. 
Annuals for Edging 
Low growing annuals planted at 
the edge of a garden make it look 
neat and finished. The best plants 
for this puropse are Sweet Alys- 
sum, Ageratum, dwarf Marigold, 
dwarf Petunias, and Zinnia linearis 
or mexicana. Edging annuals 
should be pinched back once to 
keep them especially low. 
Annuals for Fragrance 
We are often asked, ‘‘What annuals 
are really fragrant?’’ We recom- 
mend Alyssum, Candytuft, Carna- 
tion, Mignonette, Gleam Nastur- 
tiums, Nicotiana, Petunia, Scabiosa, 
Stocks, Sweet Peas and Wallflower. 
Flowers for Shady Locations 
Most annuals need plenty of sun- 
light, but there are a few which do 
fairly well in the shade, or with 
partial sun. The following are 
worth a trial in shady spots: 
Cornflower Candytuft 
Nasturtium Larkspur 
Pansy Lupine 
Nicotiana Godetia 
Vinca Lobelia 
Coreopsis Bleeding Heart 
Cleome 
In the vine group, those which 
often prosper in fairly shady places 
are Cardinal Climber, Cup-and- 
Saucer Vine, and Morning Glory. 
Flowers for Poor Soil 
Of course, the right answer to poor 
soil conditions is “Improve the 
soil!” But if you can’t or don’t 
want to do this, you can usually 
get fairly good results in poor soil 
with these: 
Amaranthus Marigold 
Balsam Nasturtium 
California Poppy Petunia 
Calliopsis Portulaca 
Gaillardia Sweet Susan 
Flowers for Hot, Dry Locations 
In spots where the sun beats down 
mercilessly all day long, many 
flowers can not prosper. But some 
of the annuals can do well, even 
in these difficult locations. Here’s 
a good list: 
Sweet Alyssum Marigold 
Ageratum Petunia 
Swan River Phlox, Annual 
Daisy Poppy, California 
Bachelor Button Portulaca 
Cosmos Scabiosa 
Dianthus Zinnia 
Dimorphotheca Four O’Clock 
Gaillardia Salvia 
Perennials for hot locations are 
less plentiful, but you can usually 
do well with Babysbreath, Peren- 
nial Asters, Sedum Acre, Statice, 
and Blanket Flower (Gaillardia). 
For Successive Sowings 
Some of the annuals which come 
into bloom quickly keep blooming 
for only a little while. If you want 
them in bloom through the season, 
make several successive sowings at 
two to four week intervals. Flow- 
ers in this class include: 
Calliopsis Larkspur 
Candytuft Love-in-a-mist 
Cornflower Mignonette 
Forget-me-not Poppy 
Gypsophila 
Do Annuals and Perennials 
Need Lime? 
Yes, flowers need calcium, which 
lime supplies. However, it is pos- 
sible to get too much lime. Soils 
that have a pH of much over 7.2 
may need something to make them 
more acid. From 0.0 to 6.9 is acid 
or “sour,” while 7.0 and above is 
alkaline or “sweet.’’ All the gar- 
dener needs to know about pH is 
that if he will keep his soil be- 
tween 6.0 and 6.9, the plant food 
elements in his soil will be most 
readily available. Above that, iron, 
sulfur and other elements lock up 
and are not available. Below that, 
other elements, principally cal- 
cium, cannot be used by, plants. 
A simple $1.00 soil test kit will 
give you a pH reading of your soil 
and tell you what to do to cor- 
rect it. 
Don't Sprinkle—Irrigate 
Old timers talk about sprinkling 
a garden. Irrigation describes what 
we are after better than sprinkling, 
because what we want is a long, 
slow soaking of the soil so that 
water penetrates to a depth of 
several inches. 
Water should always be applied so 
that the roots will be lured down- 
wards rather than growing up- 
wards as is the case when only 
the surface is moistened. Properly 
done watering need not be repeated 
oftener than once or twice a week. 
An excellent way to apply large 
amounts of water is by means of 
the Soil Soaker, which allows 
water to ooze out slowly onto the 
surface. For small areas, remove 
the hose nozzle and allow the 
stream of water to flow out onto 
a board to break its force. 
35 

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