CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

388 THE NURSERY-MANUAL
IWliSpurS, campanulus, achilleas, chrysanthemums, asters, heli-
;mtl~usw, goldenrods, may be grown easily from seeds sown in the
opc’n prouncl in spring. The plants should blooru the following
year. Thta sowing may be where the plants are eventually to
stand, but tllis I~~ZCI~S that the place will not be well utilized the
first )-ear. It is usl~ally preferable to raise the seedlings in speciall~~
prepnred l)eds and to transplant in autumn or spring to
permanent quarters. Specially choice things should be handled
in pots and currird over winter in a frame, particularly if somewhat
tender to cold, heat and drought. Seeds of many early-blooming
dry-fruited perennials germinate the same season, if planted
when kpe, but spe&l care is often necessary to protect the young
plants over winttbr so they may not get a strong foothold. Usually
it is better to keep the seeds till the following spring. Seeds
of many perennials, particularly those borne in fleshy capsules or
bc’rrics, do not grow till they have pa3secl the winter’s frost, and
sornc~ of the woods things will not germinate till the second spring.
In long-WWOH climates, perennial seedlings may become so
karge 1,~. fall, if started early in spring, as to make preparations
for bloLm and thcrtl-ry so weaken themselves as to be liable to
winter-injllr>.. TiGs is true specially of those that tend to take on a
birnnirtl character.
&Ian)* of tllr florist’s perennials are practically avmuals under the
method of cultural under glass, with the continuous growth. This
is true of tlitl c;~rnntioI~, the florist’s chrysanthemum, violets,
fuchsius, geraniums, a.nd even of roses, counting the period from
cutting to blooin. Even from seed, the epoch may be condensed
into a )-ear, ils with tuberous begonias, gloxinias, cyclamens,
calceolarias, lupines, primulas. In nature the line between perennials
and plants of lesser duration is not always sharply drawn.
See Uic~~ll~icds ;d ,llnll mls, pages 251, 231.
IYith most herbaceous perennials, the best bloom is obtained
with young plants ; after the second bloom (or sometimes even
after the first) the plant may begin to fail or to become rootbound.
Tl lere are many exceptions to this, when plants grow
stronger and mow Aoriferous for a series of years, as lilies, crown
imperial, peonies, dictamnus. Only by experience of oneself or
others can one determine these difierences ; and the distinctions
are likely to \-ary in different climates and soils.
The practice of growing perennials from seeds should be encouraged.
One knows a plant better and cares more for it if one