Look Inside
This is a book for both home gardeners through to professional horticulturists; nurserymen, seedsmen, garden managers, landscapers or cut flower growers.
Written by John Mason and staff, Growing and Knowing Annuals is 141 pages packed full of beautiful colour pictures.
The first part of the book deals with how to grow annuals. Most of the book however looks at different annuals and how they are grown;presenting information systematically under different headings, in a format such as the following:
Genus:Matthiola
Common Name: Stock, Ten-week Stock, Gillyflower, Night-scented Stock.
Origin: Europe,North Africa, Central South <st1:place w:st="on">Western Asia
Appearance: Simple or lobed leaves, 4-petalled flowers in dense racemes and highly scented. Wide range of colours.
Culture: Moist,well-drained soil, pH neutral or slightly alkaline. Large double-flowered cultivars may need staking. Full sun but will tolerate part shade.
Propagation: Seed sown in gentle heat in spring. Sow seeds in situ for Night-scented Stock, in trays for others. Prick out when sturdy seedling.
Health: Usua lBrassica problems – club root and downy mildew. Aphids, flea beetles and cabbage root fly all possible.
Uses: Cut flowers, borders and beds, cottage/informal gardens. Good bee plant.
Cultivars/Species: Around 55species including M. incana, M.fruticulosa, M. longipetala subsp. Bicornis (Night-scented stock). Cultivars: ‘Mammoth Column’, ‘Apple Blossom’,‘Cinderella’ series, ‘The Seven Dwarfs’, and many more.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1- How to Grow Colourful Annuals
Reasons to use annuals
Examples of annual plants
Some possible problems of growing annuals
Understanding a plant’s life cycle
Timing
Seed viability
Optimum conditions means faster flowering
Creating a magnificent flower garden
Flower bed design
Chapter 2- What to Grow Where
Selecting annuals of different heights
Scented annuals
Attractive foliage
Annual vegetables and herbs for display
Seasonal displays
Shade
Growing annuals in containers
Chapter 3- Encyclopaedia of Annuals
Adonis
Alyssum
Angelonia
Ageratum
Amaranthus
Antirrhinum
Aquilegia
Bracteantha
Begonia
Calibrachoa
Calendula
Celosia
Cleome
Cineraria
Capsicum
Coleus (see Solenostemon)
Cockscombe (see Celosia)
Cosmos
Crambe
Crossandra
Delphinium
Dianthus
Diascia
Digitalis
Erysimum
Eschscholzia
Gazania
Helianthemum
Helianthus
Helipterum
Lathyrus
Limonium
Lobelia
Lunaria
Marigold (see Tagetes)
Matthiola
Nasturtium
Nicotiana
Nigella
Papaver
Petunia
Poppy (see Papaver)
Portulaca
Primula
Rudbeckia
Salvia
Solenostemon
Sweet pea (see Lathyrus)
Tagetes
Tropaeolum
Verbena
Vinca
Viola
Zinnia
Appendix