

Flower Guide 

en een 

NID RL te 
Marigolds—Crown of Gold 
} GG »j G very 
rc 2 / 4 — 
17 
bo KILGORE’S 
KK. 1_G_O-R..E-S-~- aa 2 tc Nay 
BRED-RITE 
Se oS 
TRADE-MARK 
LIBRARY 
RECEIVED 
x% JANI21949 5 
pus. pb hank Bb ature 





Snapdragons—Rust Resistant Giant 
Mixture 
In Florida, unlike many other parts of the United States, flowers can be grown every month in the year, since the climate and soils 
are favorable to the production of the finest flower gardens. Not only does a flower garden enhance the appearance and attractiveness 
of a home, it also makes it a much more inviting place to live. The home garden should not only produce an abundance of good, 
wholesome, fresh vegetables for the table, but should also provide a profusion of flowers to adorn it. In Florida, a well-kept flower 
garden can be had with little effort and expense. 
Make a flower garden this season. It will be a source of enjoyment to you, your family, and to the community in which you live. 
SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING A FLORIDA FLOWER GARDEN 
A proper soil condition is absolutely necessary for a good flower 
garden. The soil must be put in the proper condition or the flower gar- 
den 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. i 
In many places, the size of the garden is limited and the soil often 
very poor. The procedure of improving and preparing the flower garden 
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 cannot 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 materials. 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 application of good garden fertilizer such as 
-Vigoro 5-10-5 mixture, applying it at the rate of about 4 to 6 pounds per 
100 square feet. If these materials are raked into the surface soil 7 to 10 
days before sowing seed or setting plants, you have the foundation for 
an excellent 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. 
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 
removed 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. 
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. 
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 tertilizer mixture such as Wizard Brand Sheep 
Manure or Vigoro 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 in- 
dicated materials alternately, using different materials for successive 
applications. 
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. 
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 re- 
moved each day, thus keeping up the production of flowers and postpon- 
ing the decline of the plant as long as possible. 
FLORIDA’S FLOWER GARDEN HEADQUARTERS 
THE KILGORE SEED COMPANY 
General Offices and Mail Order Department, 
PLANT CITY, FLORIDA 
