Household Fixes

Many lily bulbs are easily raised from seed. Lily seedlings grow more slowly than many perennials but their care is simple and patience is needed more than skill. A few species will flower the second season, some the third summer while others need another year or two to reach flowering size.

The raising of seedling lilies provides some of the most beautiful flowers at low cost, a luxury for which one is glad to swap the time it takes to grow them. Moreover, a batch of seedlings often has interesting variations full of surprises. And, further, seedling lilies start their careers free from mosaic as the virus of this trouble is not transmitted through seeds. Unless planted near mosaic-infected plants, they remain quite healthy.

Where to get seed?

Lily dealers and a few seedsmen sell seeds of many species and hybrids. Species come true from seed but seeds of hybrids may produce a very variable lot of plants, many wholly unlike their parents. Seeds of some of the rare lilies are often hard to find; in which case, it may be necessary to obtain bulbs and produce ones own seeds.

To produce seed such as peace lily seeds, hand pollination should be practiced to make sure of a seed crop. Most lily species and hybrids rarely set seed when self-pollinated, hence pollen from another clone or variety must be used.

There are many methods of growing seedlings and all have their virtues. They may be started in the greenhouse, in flats in coldframes, or in soil in the frame, or in the garden. The starting medium may be sterilized or unsterilized soil made of various proportions of sand, loam, peat; vermiculite; sphagnum or other materials.

Seedlings may be transplanted at various times, or not. Many modifications may be introduced. I have tried several methods and am not prepared to say which is best. The method I follow, however, is old-school and probably as labor-saving as any and requires only seed flats, coldframe and lath or cloth shade.

I prefer sphagnum as a medium in which to start seed. Vermiculite has been disappointing and growth has not been as satisfactory as with other materials. Sphagnum is weed-free and sterile, hence damping-off and basal rot do not cause trouble. Sterilized soil is also good. Unsterilized soil sometimes results in losses from basal rot and damping off.

In early spring seed are sown in flats in sphagnum that has been previously prepared by working it through a 1/4 inch mesh soil sieve. The flat is filled almost full of the fine sphagnum and seed is broadcast over the surface and then covered with an additional half inch of sphagnum. Then, the flat is watered until the sphagnum is thoroughly soaked.

Subsequent treatment depends on whether or not the lilies are one year or two-year species. One year lilies come up promptly, usually in a month or less. Two year species do not show up until a year later.

One-Year Lilies

The seed flat is placed in the coldframe under lath or cheesecloth shade throughout the spring and summer, and is watered as necessary. Sphagnum dries out slowly and theres not much danger of overwatering. Very few weeds will appear.

Botrytis, a fungus disease of the foliage, may be serious in wet weather, particularly in the shade. A fungicide should be used freely so that the foliage is kept well covered with it. Removal of the shade during rainy weather may help, too.

Since sphagnum contains few nutrients, seedlings should be fed. They may be watered with a fertilizer solution made up of a handful of 5-10-5 plus a handful of ammonium sulphate mixed in a 3-gallon watering can.

This may be applied every week or two at the rate of about a pint or more to each seed flat. The flats are then watered to wash the fertilizer off the lily leaves and to dilute the solution some more.

In late fall, the flats are filled up with more sphagnum and covered with boards for the winter. The covering is removed the next spring and the seedlings are placed in the coldframe for their second summer and cared for as in their first season. Some of the more precocious ones may bloom in the seed flats.

The second fall the bulbs are tipped out of the flats and lined out in nursery beds in the garden. They are planted about 2 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches apart and are well mulched for the winter. After they flower, the best may be moved to their permanent place in the garden, or left where they are.

Two-Year Lilies

The two-year lilies are handled somewhat differently the first year. Seeds germinate and form tiny bulbs but no leaves appear on two year lilies until the bulbs have spent a winter outdoors. The cold is necessary to break the dormancy of the shoots.

To cut down on watering and kill any weeds which may come up, the seed flats are stacked in a cool place until fall. Then, they are removed to the coldframe where they receive the same care as one year lilies. While stacked, the flats require watering no more often than every three or-four weeks.

Tags: garden, gardening, lilies, plant care, Plants, remodel
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Out West April starts the first flurry of outdoor garden activities to be evident this month. The winter snows are receding and the soil is warming and mellowing with the advent of spring. Seeds of cool season kinds of vegetables and hardy annuals can be sown out of doors as soon as the ground can be worked. Vegetables will include radishes, both head and leaf lettuce, carrots, onions, peas, spinach, beets and chard.

An early setting out of cabbage transplants of an early variety will ensure heads for table use the first part of July or sooner, depending on the area. However, delay the main planting of cabbage for a little later. An early start on onions will ensure maturity of bulbs by fall. However, use varieties recommended for the area. In short growing season areas it is best to use well grown onion transplants of adapted varieties. In many areas adapted hybrid varieties of onions have performed outstandingly well.

Plant Peas Early

Early sowing of pea seeds is mandatory especially in areas where summer weather is very hot. Fusarium root rot diseases are especially troublesome with peas and attacks are most troublesome during the warmest part of the summer. Rotation of peas with other garden crops each year helps to reduce the build up of fusarium organisms. Treating the seed with a protectant aids in increasing germination. Having the vines grow and produce their crop before hot weather is a great help in reducing trouble from this disease. Using an early variety is also desirable.

With some of the other crops such as radish, lettuce, spinach, and carrots it is desirable to make successive sowings at two to three week intervals to ensure a long period of harvest. With beets and carrots, the later sowing will offer younger, more tender roots for storage. In this case, plan to make somewhat more extensive seedings at the later dates. Carrot seed is frequently difficult to germinate and the young seedlings grow very slowly.

To aid in cultivation, mix a little radish seed with carrot to help mark the rows until the carrot plants show up. Parsnip seed can be handled in a similar manner. Make sure a smooth, mellow, even seedbed is prepared for carrots”this will assist in germination. Also keep the seedbed moist at all times. Be certain to use fresh seed.

Getting Soil Ready

Careful preparation of the soil beforehand will aid in the success of the garden. If the soil is on the heavy side, and contains considerable clay, it is important not to work it while it is too wet. If worked too early, it stays in hard, lumpy, cloddy condition all through the growing season. Generally it is best to plow heavy soils in the fall and leave them through the winter in rough condition leaving them to the action of frost through the winter.

When spring arrives, all that is needed is harrowing or raking as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. The harrowing or raking will put the soil in mellow condition and good tilth so that good germination of garden seeds is ensured. Generally, lighter soils can be plowed and harrowed or raked in the spring just prior to seeding.

Many of our garden soils, especially those cropped for several years, need additional organic matter besides applications of commercial fertilizer. Where available, well-decomposed barnyard manure provides a good source of organic matter and humus as well as certain fertilizer nutrients. Manure should be applied to garden soils at the rate of one-half to three-fourths tons per 1,000 square feet.

There is always danger of introducing weed seeds with manures, but frequently the need for organic matter is much more important than the danger of adding weeds.

Other sources of organic matter are compost, leaf mold, green manure crops, and peat moss. Peat mosses are good soil amendments and provide a valuable source of organic matter, but add little in the way of chemical nutrients, and may be prohibitive to use on a large scale because of their cost. Acid peat mosses are valuable on alkaline soils where a chlorosis problem exists with certain plants.

In the drier areas of the West, phosphorus and nitrogen are generally the two most needed major elements. These are most economically supplied by using ammoniated phosphate fertilizers; such analysis as 10-20-0, 16-30-0 and 11-48-0 are available. The first number refers to nitrogen content, the second to phosphorus content, and the last number to potash content. Where considerable manure is applied to the soil, only the addition of phosphorus may be required for good plant growth.

Use of manure alone may cause excess foliage growth at the expense of good flower and fruit production because of improper balance between nitrogen and phosphorus. Hence the need for applying more phosphorus to bring the soil in correct balance.

Complete Fertilizer

In more humid sections of the West area, potash may be needed also. All three elements may be supplied by using so-called complete fertilizers such as 6-12-4. Actually, the term complete is misleading, since there are other elements just as important as these in plant nutrition, but nitrogen, phosphorus and potash have given the most trouble as far as need and availability in the soil is concerned, and are frequently needed in the largest amounts.

Since phosphorus is the least mobile of these elements in the soil, it is best worked into the soil when it is plowed or harrowed. In this way, it is placed in the region of the feeding roots of the plants. Nitrogen and potash are more mobile and are readily carried in solution to the roots of the plants. The most economical way of using nitrogen and potash is by placing these very soluble fertilizers in bands about two inches on either side of the seed row, or in bands about three inches away from the transplants. Side dressing with nitrogen during the early growing period of garden plants is also helpful. This is desirable for garden plants that are heavy feeders of nitrogen such as corn, lettuce and other leafy crops.

Rates of fertilizer to be used will depend on soil needs, the kind of fertilizer used, the method of application and the crop growth. It should be remembered that leafy vegetable crops and lawns will need and benefit from heavier feedings of nitrogen than crops from which we expect to harvest roots, fruits or flowers. These latter types of crops will need heavier feedings of phosphorus and lighter feedings of nitrogen as a general rule. Remember, too, that with adequate water available, garden crops will respond best from fertilizer use.

Nursery stock will be arriving for spring planting. As a general rule on plant propagation, well-grown, young deciduous plants transplant with greatest assurance of success as compared with older plants. This is not so important with evergreens since they are generally sold as balled and burlapped stock. The size of the stock and price one wants to pay will be the deciding factor in buying evergreens.

Planting Pointers

In planting deciduous and evergreen stock, dig the planting hole deep enough and wide enough to accommodate the roots without cramping. With evergreens, do not disturb the ball of earth or remove the burlap covering until the plant is set in the planting hole. When the evergreen is properly positioned the burlap covering can be loosened and shoved to the bottom of the planting hole. It does not need to be removed, but can remain in the planting hole to decay. In setting the trees, place them slightly deeper than they occurred in the nursery row.

As soon as the plant is placed properly, fill the planting hole with good top soil, firming it around the roots well so that no pockets or air spaces are left. In filling the planting hole, leave a basin or depression around the base of the plant so that water can collect and aid in thorough watering of the plant. As soon as planted, water the soil thoroughly so the soil is wet through the entire depth of the planting hole.

Some cutting or pruning back of the deciduous trees and shrubs will be advised to balance top growth with roots lost in the transplanting operation. Older stock will need more severe cutting back than younger, since it is likely that more of the root system will have been destroyed in the transplanting operation. The pruning back should entail thinning out weak shoots and cutting back to lateral a buds.

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Southern gardeners are still talking about the severe winter weather we had and still taking inventory of the heavy toll, when some of the worst cold spells in history ruined many millions of dollars worth of shrubbery. Cold damage does not always show up soon after a cold spell. Some plants will not begin to show signs of trouble until April, May or even June when warm weather brings the plants into active growth. The tops may not show immediate signs of trouble unless the bark splits badly at the very beginning. The tops may stay alive a while on the stored up energy in the stems.

On the brighter side of the picture, this is still a month of breathtaking beauty in southern gardens where deciduous flowering shrubs and trees fill in the gap left by flowerless broad-leaved evergreens. Now the flowering dogwoods, wisterias, flowering peaches and crabs, cherries, redbuds, weeping cherries, spiraeas, bulbs of many kinds and fruit trees in bloom fill the air with the fragrance of spring.

Pruning Back Time

Prune back injured plants to sound, live wood that shows the healthy, moist, green cambium layer directly under the bark. Dead wood often becomes a host for decay organisms. Cut it off as fast as it develops to prevent further spread of possible die-back troubles.

Roses will not show the real extent of the cold damage until about now. If they fail to show new growth by this time, dig them up and destroy them. The hybrid teas were hurt worst of all. Dont try to save plants where the tops have been killed back to the grafts. Only wild rose stocks remain below this point. So, dig and throw away plants injured to this extent.

Complete Fertilizer

A good feeding with a complete plant food at this time will help greatly in bringing back to healthy growth gardenias that have suffered from freezing. Careful trimming to live wood and feeding with an azalea and camellia fertilizer will do wonders in bringing out new growth on these plants.

Summer Flowering Bulbs

Planting of gladiolus, cannas, caladiums, tigridias and dahlias is in full swing. Be sure to plant glads every two weeks until the first of June in the Middle and Upper South to keep them blooming through the summer months. This is about the last planting in the Lower South. Thrips cause considerable damage to gladiolus flowers and foliage. So, spray with malathion.

While dahlias can be planted safely in April the best blooms are produced in the fall. This calls for June planting. They then escape most of the hot summer weather that fades and spots the blooms. Some experts even wait until the first week in July to plant their dahlias. In any case, divide your clumps in storage and have them ready for planting when the time comes.

Annual Flowers

All annual flower seeds can be planted directly in the garden or in the coldframe for transplanting into the garden next month in all sections of the South. It is too late for hardy annuals such as larkspur, sweet peas and cornflowers that grow and bloom best in the cool spring months.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are abundant in garden stores everywhere. When in a hurry to develop a colorful border get bedding plants already in bloom. They will provide attractive plantings a good part of the summer. Also select your bedding plants for flower boxes, urns and hanging baskets.

Lawns Call for Attention

Lawns need attention this month. Many of us will have to repair damage caused by the excessively low temperatures. Some plantings of centipede and St. Augustine grass have been damaged. Replantings may have to be made. Sprigging is still the only method of planting these two popular grasses. In the Middle and Upper South mixtures for sunny and shady lawns can be planted as well as Kentucky Blue and carpet grass. Sow these at the rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. In the Lower and Middle South, Bermuda seed can also be planted now.

Spray Schedule

Spraying starts in earnest in April. Gardeners are expecting everything from a slight to almost complete killing of insects from our cold winter but we must not relax our efforts at keeping pests under control. There will still be a good supply of aphids, scale and other bothersome pests ready to begin work on shrubs, flowers and vegetables as soon as new growth appears. Use oil emulsions for scale and white fly; Malathion to keep down red spider, discourage aphids and keep many other pests under control. Sevin is great for cutworms.

Mulching

Mulching is important with shrubs and all widely spaced plants such as roses and dahlias. A thick layer of “pine straw”, peatmoss or leaves will protect them during the hot summer months, conserve moisture and keep the feeding roots cool and moist.

Vegetable gardens will be in vogue this year. Gardeners plan to turn to food gardening to help offset high costs. You can plant practically everything you want in the vegetable garden now. You can even include a neem tree in your garden as your source of neem oil for plants. Check with your local seedsman on recommended varieties for your section and be sure to try some of the All-America introductions. If space is limited, try parsley for a trim border and tasty garnishes.

For an early start set out plants of tomato, pepper, eggplant, cauliflower, celery, sweet potato, cabbage and onions. Shade newly planted vegetables from the sun for a few days. “Starter solutions” also work wonders in getting them under way quickly and develop extra-strong growth that produces heavy crops.

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