Annual Flowers
Many of the flowers that grace gardens in the summer are planted indoors in March, April and May. Some plants are easy to start indoors from seed but some require special treatment. Deciding which are which from a seed catalogue can be a little difficult for the uninitiated.The following 10 varieties are the easiest to grow, although they're popular with veteran gardeners as well.
• Annual Phlox,
• Cosmos,
• Common Morning-glory,
• Dwarf Morning-glory,
• Flowering Tobacco,
• Four-O-Clock,
• Globe Amaranth,
• Love-in-a-mist,
• Marigold,
• Pincushion Flower.
The seeds should be sown about 30 days before the last frost in your area. You can get the best starting date from your provincial Ministry of Agriculture, your local horticultural society or a local greenhouse gardener.
To start your annual flowers indoors you'll need: some 9 to 13 centimetre (cm) flower pots with drain holes; some flats (shallow trays for growing seedlings); labels; a small sieve or screen (the kitchen sieve will do); a wooden dibble (a pointed stick, 15 cm long) for making holes in the earth.
You'll also need some sterilized potting soil. You can make your own, but it's much easier to buy a pre-sterilized mixture — 85 litres is enough to fill about 100 pots or eight flats.
Before filling the pots with soil, place a few rocks or clay pot shards in the bottom for drainage. Next, fill the pots with the potting soil to within three centimetres of the top, then add enough sifted soil to bring the surface even with the rim. Press the mixture smooth and level, one centimetre or so below the rim. Then place the pot in a tray of water until the surface becomes damp.
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December 4, 2008