Seeds of hardy plants may be sown at almost any time during spring, summer, or autumn, provided that due attention be given in the matter of watering, preparation of the soil and the like. Most of the biennials and perennials may with advantage be sown in June and transplanted to their flowering quarters in September. Annuals intended to bloom in the summer or autumn should be sown in March, April and May; whilst those intended to flower in the following year should be sown in August and September.
Most plants may be transplanted at any season of the year if the operation be properly performed. A dull day or an evening should be selected, and a ball of earth should if possible be removed attached to the roots. The ground into which the plant is to be removed, should be well and deeply dug, and a deep and capacious hole be made with a trowel or dibbler. Into this the plant is to be carefully placed, its roots being well spread out and well settled by means of water. For a day or two after being moved, it should be shaded from the hot sun, and for the first few evenings should be liberally watered.
SHIRLEY POPPIES
[LAYERS AND CUTTINGS]
The division of the rootstock is a method of propagation applicable to the majority of perennial plants. In the case of most corms and bulbs, it is necessary, in order to increase the supply, to separate the young bulbels or cormels and to plant them out in a nursery bed until they develop to a useful flowering size. But in the division of the rootstocks of herbaceous plants a certain amount of violence is usually required, and a strong knife, a cold chisel and a mallet will be found useful tools. Each plant, if it is to develop into a new plant, must include at least one eye or bud and must usually also be provided with a supply of rootlets.