PLANTING TIME
When plants are kept indoors or cool greenhouse they can be
planted or transplanted into an indoor minigarden at almost any
time within reason, although high summer is better avoided. It
is also more probable that the beginner is likely to achieve better
results by keeping, even if somewhat elastically, to normal planting seasons. These vary according to plants and conditions and
your nurseryman can be your best adviser.
The broad principle is to plant in the cooler months of the
year, either early enough in the autumn or late enough in the
spring to avoid the danger of any frosts affecting the plant at a
time when it is liable to be easily affected. Some plants are more
susceptible to frosts than others. A very generalized guide might
be: alpines and rock plants in autumn or spring; bulbs between
August and October; succulent types in spring; roses in autumn
or early spring; cypresses, pines and spruces in autumn; other
conifers in spring or autumn.
In more temperate climates the planting season might be
extended nearer to the winter months.
PROPAGATION
Propagation is the business of increasing the birth-rate of your
plants. Some people find this work both interesting and profitable, and it certainly avoids the cost of buying new plants.
A new plant is "born" by taking a seed or a piece from a healthy parent
plant and "nursing" it with special care and attention until it
develops its own roots as a new and healthy young plant. All the
various procedures can be seen from the following diagram.
Most plants are fairly easy to propagate but there are a few
which are somewhat difficult and require a little more attention
in the "nursery" stage. The various stages shown in the diagram
are explained below.
A. SEEDS
Seeds are either bought or they are collected when ripe. In
addition to seeds from plants, the seeds, pips, and stones of trees
(such as apple, cherry, orange, plum, conifer, etc.) can be planted
in seeding compost when they are ripe or in the follow ing spring.
Soak them in water for about 24 hours before sowing to encourage
germination. Sow seeds at a depth and at a distance apart
according to their size and the nature of their growth, and not
too closely. Large seeds such as acorns or chestnuts should be
fairly deep and widely spaced; conifers and smaller seeds fairly
shallow; small seeds very shallow; while the very tiniest, almost
invisible seeds, can be sprinkled on the surface and gently dusted
over.
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