It should be an established custom to examine the seed-pans at least once every day, and morning is the best time for the task. If work has to be done, there is the whole day to arrange for its accomplishment. Whereas, if the visit is not made until evening, there may not remain sufficient daylight to do what is necessary. Just as seedlings are starting, a few hours’ neglect will render them weak and leggy.
When transferring plants from seed-pans, it is usual to put them round the edges of pots. This is no mere caprice, but is founded on the well-ascertained fact that seedlings establish their roots with greater readiness near the edge of the pot than away from it.
In the following monthly notes, our principal object is to offer a series of reminders which will insure the sowing of various flower seeds and the planting of bulbs at their proper periods, and thus save the disappointment of losing some important display for a whole season. Those who have command of large resources will sow certain seeds a month earlier than we recommend, and their intimate knowledge and abundant facilities justify their practice. But we have especially in view the possibilities for an amateur, and of gardens moderate in extent, where appliances may not be of the most perfect kind.
When seeds are once sown or bulbs potted, the work is before the cultivator, and appeals mutely for attention. Therefore it is not our purpose to give detailed and continuous instructions month by month for every flower. Our remarks are limited to hints at the time for sowing or planting, and to some few points which may subsequently appear to demand notice.
For convenience of reference, the subjects are presented alphabetically under each month.
JANUARY.
In the open ground there is little or nothing of interest in the way of flowers, but the greenhouses and pits are full of promise. A constant watch must be kept on the barometer, and the materials for repelling frost or bleak winds should be at perfect command, so that there may be ample provision for saving plants from biting weather.
Achimenes are stove bulbs and cannot be grown without a sufficiency of heat. A warm greenhouse will answer for them, and some gardeners produce fair specimens in frames over hot-beds. The bulbs will lie dormant for a considerable time, so that it is easy to have a succession of flowers. A few should be started in January, employing sandy loam for the pots. Follow up with others at intervals.
Amaryllis may be sown in any month of the year, but the most satisfactory period is immediately after the seed is ripened, and it is advisable to put one seed only in each small pot. The slow and irregular germination of the finest new seed makes the separate system almost a necessity. A rich compost, well-drained pots, and a temperature of about 65° suit these plants.
Anemone.—See remarks under October.