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SOILS FOR SEED STARTING        HARDY ANNUALS         THE WATER GARDEN

SOILS FOR SEED STARTING
It is one of the many paradoxes in gardening that the best soils for starting seedlings indoors contain no real soil at all. Ordinarily, weed  seedlings sprout and grow in profusion in any speck of open ground. So  what's the big deal with using some topsoil for starting seedlings? Why  can't we just dig up a little good earth and set it aside for our winter work?

As simple and as "natural" as that answer might seem, the truth is  that using real topsoil brings several problems to container culture and   especially to seed starting. Outdoor soil is too heavy and too compact for   good air circulation. It also holds too little air and carries too many disease   organisms. True soils -- which are mostly minerals with perhaps 5% to   10% organic matter if the soil is very rich -- are heavy, prone to   comp action and hold relatively little water. But even more important,   natural soils are very likely to harbor the disease organisms that cause   damping-off and root-rot diseases in seedlings. If you use real soil, you   risk losing your seedlings, unless you pasteurize the ground with heat --   not an easy task and not something you want to do in the house because of   the horrible odor invariably produced. So instead the world has turned to   soil less mixes. On this point the largest commercial growers and most of   the best gardeners agree.

Today's soil less mixes are mostly sphagnum peat moss, plus   vermiculite and often a little perlite. The sphagnum peat used in good seed-  starting and growing mixes is a very stable organic material that holds a   great deal of water and air and does not decompose quickly. Both   vermiculite and perlite are natural minerals that at very high temperatures   pop like popcorn. Once expanded or popped, they are very lightweight and   porous. In a soil mix, they improve both air circulation and water drainage.   Perlite retains no water itself, vermiculite a little. All three of these basic   ingredients are naturally disease-free.

The movement away from real soil in potting mixes began about 60   years ago, in an attempt to eliminate soil diseases that were plaguing the   nursery industry. The first alternatives were mixtures of sand (or very   sandy soils) with ground-up (or milled) sphagnum peat. But these still   needed to be heat-treated to kill disease organisms that came in on the sand.   The effort culminated in the early 1960's in research at Corneal University   that produced the "peat-lite" formula.

Classic peat-lite is half milled sphagnum peat and half vermiculite,   though sometimes a small portion of the vermiculite is replaced by perlite.   Although you can buy true peat-lite mixes from many suppliers, most of   their formulations will contain a higher proportion of peat, around 75%,   simply because most growing-mix producers are peat bog owners, and   they have more of it than anything else.

Firms that serve the nursery industry, such as Pro-Mix, Fafard or Baccto, may offer as many as 10 slightly different formulations, all   essentially slight variations on the peat-lite formula. Most variations have   arisen to suit local preferences of commercial growers or to allow the   producers to make use of the resources at hand. These high-peat mixes   work just fine, both for starting most kinds of seed and for growing the   transplants on in larger containers.
All good growing mixes also contain a very small amount of   ground limestone (usually dolomite) to correct the acidity of the peat and to   help buffer against the varying acidity and alkalinity of local water   supplies. Dolomite supplies some calcium and magnesium to plants. The   mixes also include a wetting agent (tested to be safe for plant growth) to   help wet naturally water-resistant dry peat. Most mixes contain a very small   amount of fertilizer, often referred to as a nutrient charge, as well. Most of   this will leach out within two weeks after irrigation starts. In fact, many   suppliers recommend that liquid fertilization begin as soon as the first true   leaves appear on seedlings.

What to Buy
You could easily get confused with all the choices on the shelf in   garden centers and nurseries. The root of the confusion lies in a fine old   gardening term "potting soil." Many mixes good for seed starting are   labeled potting soil. But other things called potting soil are not very good at   all for seed starting and are sometimes inappropriate even for container   growing.

You can be most sure of what you are getting in mixes labeled   "seed starting" or "germinating." The ingredients of germinating mixes are   the same as in peat-lite: high-quality sphagnum peat, fine vermiculite and   often perlite, a very small quantity of limestone, a wetting agent and   enough fertilizer to last through two or three waterings. What defines a   germinating mix, beyond these ingredients, is that the mix has been   screened to be very fine. Germinating mixes are designed for very small   seeds like petunias or impatiens and for filling small-sized containers and   plug cells quickly.

But a germinating mix is not the only product offered that will serve   well to start your vegetable and flower seeds. You might want a growing   mix with larger particle sizes. For one thing, germinating mixes are more   expensive. For another, they are not suitable for filling larger containers for   growing through the season. Because they are so fine, they hold more   water and eventually compact more than coarser mixes do. They stay too   wet and hold too little air for good long-term root growth. (When starting   seed in a germinating mix, the container should be deep enough to allow   for at least one and a half inches of soil, deep enough to keep the topmost   layer dry and aerated and lower layers moist.)
Unfortunately, some products traditionally labeled potting mix can   include a multitude of ingredients, not all of which are particularly good for   seed germination and root growth. You must read the label to know what's   really in the bag. If the label doesn't say, stay away. The primary   ingredients in the kind of mix you want should be milled sphagnum peat   (typically from 50% to 80%), vermiculite and perhaps perlite. Avoid mixes   containing sand, manure, topsoil or muck peat. These materials are too   heavy and do not have the water- and air-holding properties of a good   germinating or growing mix.

Fortunately, the trend toward clear and useful labeling recently has   come to the growing-mix industry. Though neither mandatory nor   completely uniform, the labels of most reliable suppliers describe the   content of their various mixes clearly. The most common ingredient is   listed first (often with the percentage), followed by the lesser ingredients in   descending order. Labels do not always indicate whether the mix contains a   starter fertilizer, because doing so would subject the mixes to regulations   for fertilizers, which clearly the mixes are not.

Soil less growing or germinating mixes are sold in plastic bags. The   material will be either loose (in a broad range of sizes from one quart up to   a 40-pound bag) or in compressed bales (about 70 pounds). Compressed   bales yield almost twice the volume on the label when you dig out the   amount you need and fluff it up.

Where to Buy
You can buy mixes in three very different places. Superstores with   gardening sections -- Home Depot, Lowes, Kmart, Wal-Mart and   countless others -- will have a wide choice of brand names and will offer   smaller packages. At local nurseries and garden centers, the choice in brand   names will narrow, but there will be a full line of soils, some of them in   larger sizes. At a retail nursery that produces at least some of its own plants   from seed or cuttings, you have the narrowest but perhaps best choice of   all: the mixes that professional growers use themselves. Very often the   owner will sell a bale or large bag. These materials cost from $8 (for a 40-  pound bag) to $14 (for a 70-pound bale) wholesale. So even if you pay   twice that, you are getting a tremendous bargain if you can find a grower   willing to sell some, and increasingly many growers will do that.

If you keep the bag tightly closed and protected from the rain, the   material will keep well for more than one season. The plastic covering on   commercial-sized bags and bales is usually treated with ultraviolet light   inhibitors, giving the material about a one-year life when stored in the   open. But all materials should be kept closed tight to keep out disease   organisms and maintain the moisture level of the material in the bag, which   should be just very slightly moist.

Where to find a good seed mix: The following companies manufacture   high-quality seed germination soil mixes. If you can't find one of them at   your local garden center, call or write the manufacturers and ask them to   help you find the nearest supplier.  Baccto: (800) 324-7328  Fafard: (800) PEAT-MOSS  Good Earth Organics: (716) 684-8111  Hoffman: (800) 877-0848  Jiffy Products: (800) 323-1047  Lambert: (800) 463-4083  Premier Pro-Mix: (800) 667-5366  Scotts (same as Peters): (800) 543-8873  Sungro Sunshine: (800) 665-4525

Making Your Own Seed-Germination Mix
The quality of professional seed-starting and growing mixes is so   high that there is little reason for anyone to bother with the dusty job of   mixing their own. Still, if you somehow can't find a good one to buy, the   recipe for a peat-lite mix is very simple: Make the blend between half and   three-quarters milled sphagnum peat moss and the rest horticultural-grade   vermiculite. For maximum air circulation and water drainage, substitute   perlite for half the vermiculite. If the peat is coarse or lumpy, break up   clods and take out large pieces with your hands, or use a 1/4-inch screen.   Mix in some dolomitic limestone, at the rate of five pounds per cubic yard   of mix. It's important to incorporate the lime thoroughly through the mix.   At least one day before you plan to plant, sprinkle the mix with water to   allow it time to permeate the peat. Rather than trying to mix in fertilizer, it's   better to wait until seedlings are up and then begin feeding with a nutrient   solution right away.

Editor-at-Large Shep Ogden grows many hundreds of seedlings   each year in his capacity as president and chief evaluator for the Cook's   Garden seed company. "A few years ago," he told me recently, "I did an   absolutely minute analysis of the costs involved in making my own seed-  starting mix. I did time studies and I did it down to fractions of a cent. And   as much as we would all like to make everything from scratch from a   purist's standpoint, there's no way I could justify mixing my own potting   soil." Ogden now uses Pro-Mix for most flowers and all vegetables.

SOILS FOR SEED STARTING         HARDY ANNUALS       THE WATER GARDEN
HARDY ANNUALS
Take advantage of those hardy annuals -- especially Shirley, red corn, and bread seed poppies; love-in-a-mist, and larkspur -- that reliably return because the seeds they release each year overwinter until spring. But it's best to let them do it their way since they are not only rugged, but also cantankerous.
  They resent the inevitable root disturbance during transplanting, especially the poppies, with their tap roots, and often don't make it. They prefer to start outside, without much help from the gardener.
  It may be shaky sociology, but tough love really is best for these tough annuals. Their seeds can be sown in the fall or early spring right where you want them, and they will grow stronger and more vigorous than transplanted seedlings. Fall sowing is problematic because seeds and clear garden patches are hard to find. Early spring sowing, even right into the snow cover (also hard to find this year), lets you do some useful gardening without too much actual work.
  These plants' tiny seeds are difficult to sow uniformly and thinly by hand. To avoid crowding, which produces weak plants, or having to thin ruthlessly, either mix the seed with sand or use a pepper shaker and a controlled flick of the wrist. Scatter seed once, carefully, and they will take it from there. Poppies and larkspur look best in patches, while fragile, ferny Nigella works better as a weaver, coming up among other foliage.
  Part of the music of a living garden is the way your point is answered by its counterpoint. Year after year, self-seeded volunteers will move about, finding unexpected places. Over time the pastels of the Shirley poppies slowly revert to the vivid red of the parent corn poppy, while the wide range of colors in the bread seed poppies revert to its natural mauve. Composing a garden should be a joint effort between you and the plants.
  WILLOWS WILL ROOT
  Q. A cut flower arrangement I recently purchased includes three joined twigs of what I believe is Japanese willow. The twigs are light, reddish-brown, very twisted (almost arthritic!). Similar twigs were almost invariably part of those large floral displays at major art museums everywhere for the last 10 years. Before the flowers died, the twigs began to grow roots and put out delicate, thin, spring green leaves. I kept the twigs in water and they continue to grow leaves and put out roots. I want to plant it in a pot and would like advice on growing conditions.
  A. The Japanese fan tail willow (Salix udensis Sekka), with its fused twigs, is a staple in museum floral displays and spring flower shows and at sizable florists. As you have seen, the twigs will root. Since it's too early to move them outside, pot them up in a well-drained mix and keep it very moist, but don't drown them: let the delicate roots adapt to the change from water to potting mix. Keep it in a cool room in a north window, covered with a plastic bag to raise the humidity. After a week or two, remove the bag and begin reducing the water, keeping in mind that willows don't like to be completely dry. Don't be surprised if the leaves wilt; the plant will probably survive. Willows are not houseplants. This one can grow 10 feet tall and wide, so transplant it in May to a nice moist site in the garden.
  There are a large number of unusual willows, with a whole range of twig and catkin color, including the purplish-black stems and catkins of Salix melanostachys and the rosy catkins of S. gracilistyla. Sources include Heronswood Nursery, 7530 288th Street NE, Kingston, Wash. 98346, (360) 297-4172, catalogue $5, and Forest Farm, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, Ore. 97544, (541) 846-7269, catalogue $4.
  HOME-GROWN GINGER
  Q. Is it possible to grow edible ginger from pieces of the rhizome acquired at a health food store (presumably the rhizome would not have been chemically treated to prevent further growth)? If so, how?
  A.Health food store or otherwise, all fresh ginger root should grow because the United States Agriculture Department does not require any treatment for ginger (Zingiber officinale) imported for culinary use. But of course, the ginger has its own requirements. As a native of the tropics, it grows well only with plenty of warmth and humidity.
  If you have a warm, humid, sunny place indoors you can give it a try, but don't expect to become ginger self-sufficient. Buy a plump, fresh rhizome now, when it would normally be getting ready to sprout, and plant it horizontally about 1- to 2-inches deep, in a well-drained potting mix rich in organic matter.
  Start it on a sunny window, and move it outside to a spot in the garden with dappled shade when the weather warms up. If you plan on keeping it inside all summer, use a five-gallon pot, because by fall that cute little rhizome is going to turn into a four-foot plant with lots of roots, assuming it likes the conditions (at least 75 degrees, bright light and very humid) and doesn't suffer too much from spider mites and the various other ills that affect plants held indoors against their will.
  By October, you will realize that this lanky, rangy plant is not particularly attractive, won't survive outdoors and should probably just be harvested. Reduce watering, stop fertilizing and wait for the foliage to turn yellow. In November, dig up the rhizome. It will have grown, although you will think it should be much larger based on the size of the plant. Ginger is hard to store without drying out, getting moldy or both, so just use it in a curry and late next winter buy another piece to plant.
SOILS FOR SEED STARTING         Back to the top       HARDY ANNUALS

The water garden
    Many people think that water gardening is difficult. Water  gardens look so exotic. But nothing could be further from  the truth: I would recommend water gardening to a rank  beginner, although I might think twice before suggesting  growing something as common as roses.

If you follow a few simple rules, it's fall-down easy  (except for one major chore: See "The Big Job"). The rules  may seem odd because all sorts of garden wisdom gets  turned upside down when you're gardening in water. For  instance, forget fast-draining soil mixes. Pot things up in  the heaviest clay soil you can find.

The Main Ingredients
You need a pond or container, water, aquatic snails, fish,  and plants. What about expensive things like pumps and  filters? Water gardening isn't like keeping tropical fish.  You don't have to change the water. After all, you never  change the water in a natural pond. Just restore what  evaporates, and the garden won't require pumps or filters  unless you're trying to keep koi, those fancy Asian carp.

Creating a water garden doesn't take much; an old half-  barrel or a big pot with a plugged drainage hole enlivens  the smallest garden. I've seen ceramic containers about  the size of a 5-gallon nursery pot filled with only floating  mosquito ferns--also called azolla (Azolla filiculoides)--  add sparkle to the smallest balcony garden. And water  gardens are irresistible. Even the tiniest one will draw  children and adults to peer into its mysterious depths.  Some gardens, mine included, are designed with a water  garden as a central feature.

Two Kinds of Water Gardens
Water gardens are either still or active. You can garden in  the first type but not the other. Fountains and cataracts  add sparkle and splash to a garden, being noisy and full of  flash. Some fountains don't disturb the water  significantly, and lilies can live in water gardens with  them if the splashing isn't constant, or if they are located  away from the fountain. Most aquatic plants prefer calm  water, with the exception of watercress, which seems to  prefer moving water. Quiet pools also have their own  romance. They reflect the sky and ripple in the slightest  breeze. I built one of each type side-by-side in my garden.

Types of Aquatic Plantings
I've tried just about all available aquatic plants in the  larger pool but have settled on what I call "floaters."  Aquatic plants grow faster than anything else, and most  types will soon choke your pool. Water lilies, which bloom  in my garden from spring to winter, and a few other  aquatics with floating leaves, seem the easiest types to  control. Even the deceptively delicate water irises spread  so quickly that after a year they occupied almost half my  pool, though some kinds are slower spreaders.

Aquatics with floating leaves, water lilies included, also  need yearly attention. Repotting is a major project with  the hardy lilies. In artificial pools, grow aquatic plants in  submerged containers so they can be lifted out and  maintained. However, heaving a plastic pot filled with  soggy soil is tricky--and messy, too.

Building a Water Garden
Depth. The ideal depth is about 18 inches. In many  communities, that's also the legal depth. Any deeper, and  some building codes consider it a swimming pool, which  might mean that it must be fenced and that you'll need a  permit to build it.

An aboveground water garden can be shallower than 18  inches. For years, I used half whiskey barrels, after  carefully swelling the slats shut by filling and refilling  the barrel halves with water. I then graduated to 21/2-  foot-wide concrete pots with plugged drainage holes, but  the pots were only about a foot deep, the minimum for  many aquatics. I managed to grow small water lilies and  other aquatics and keep a few goldfish.

My current pool is 18 inches deep but above the ground, so  visitors can sit along its edge.
Lining. You can also excavate an inground pool and use a  special pond liner made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or  ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. Or, build  a pond out of materials such as railroad ties, and line the  inside.

Some nurseries stock liners and preformed ponds that you  simply bury. Or, you can order materials by mail.

Planting a Water Garden
Where to find plants. Once you have the pond, shop for  plants. Many nurseries carry them only in the summer, but  many mail-order sources are also available (see page 70).  Suppliers' catalogs have information about installing a  garden, pond-making supplies, snails, and plants. However,  if you know someone with a water garden, you can  probably get all of your plants free. They multiply quickly,  and every spring, gardeners compost many divisions.
Containers. Most aquatics grow best when planted in wide,  shallow containers that you submerge in the pond. I use old  plastic nursery cans and cheap plastic washtubs. Water  lilies' containers must be about 18 inches wide and 10  inches deep. Plants with shorter stems and smaller root  systems can grow in smaller containers. Unlike  aboveground containers, these pots don't need drainage  holes. If the pots have any, cover them with two layers of  newspaper so soil doesn't leak out. (Newspaper takes years  to decompose under water; even pulp pots last a long time,  like the timbers of a sunken ship.)

Soil.
Forget what you've learned about potting soils. Avoid  regular potting mixes and soil amendments. They contain  elements that will rot, pollute, or float. Aquatics grow  best in containers filled with ordinary garden soil. The  heavy clay garden soil that you regularly curse over is fine  for aquatic plants. Dig some up, and break up clods to use  it as aquatic potting soil.

Some people cover the soil with sand or pebbles to keep it  from muddying the water and to prevent fish like koi from  digging up the plants. I don't. After planting, I simply soak  the soil in the container and then set the container in the  pool. It's heavy enough not to float, and the water clears in  about a day.

Fertilizer.
At planting time, add a little aquatic-plant  fertilizer, especially for lilies. Cover the fertilizer with  soil, or it will escape and feed the pond's algae. I use  tablets made for aquatic plants, and place them next to  the roots.

Stocking the Water Garden
Fish. Fish control algae and mosquito larvae. Ordinary  goldfish control both, though tiny, guppylike mosquito fish  eliminate mosquitoes completely. (Mosquito-control  agencies often give these fish away.) My first goldfish  came from an elementary-school carnival where my kids  won them by tossing little white balls into cups filled  with the hapless fish. Pet stores sell them, often as  "feeder fish" for snakes and other reptiles (imagine your  fishes' delight when they find themselves in a water  garden instead!). If you like aquatic plants, don't keep koi  in the same pond. They'll eat everything (though lilies  usually survive).

Pest note.
If your neighborhood includes raccoons, they're  likely to climb into the pond, dig things up, and try to eat  the goldfish. In this case, the less attractive mosquito  fish are better bets than goldfish. To keep raccoons out,  you must install a single-wire electric fence, which  greatly detracts from the pond's beauty. However, not  much else deters them.

Aquatic snails.
Water snails don't eat living plants, just  decaying vegetation and algae. Many garden rules are  reversed when you start water gardening: You don't want  good drainage; instead, you use crummy soil, and you  actually encourage snails.

Keep about 75 percent of the water's surface covered with  vegetation in the summer to inhibit algae growth. Algae  are a natural part of pond life, and some forms always  coat the pond lining. Some shade minimizes algae. They  cover my pool's sides, but the water stays clear. Annually,  after I repot the aquatic plants, the pool briefly turns  green as the algae eat stirred-up nutrients. That's why you  must never change the water. If you do, the pond must  achieve its natural balance all over again.

Some Favorite Aquatic Plants
In my garden, water lilies (Nymphaea) start blooming when  the weather warms and last long into the fall. Their  starlike flowers are bright and magical as they float  serenely on the water's surface. I grow tropical and hardy  water lilies.

Tropical water lilies.
Most flowers are lavender, purple, or  fluorescent pink. Some bloom at night. Most tropical lilies  spread widely. Small ones are available; my favorite is  'Edward D. Uber', with purple flowers. In my garden, this  variety stays in the pool all year. I repot them only every  few years because they don't spread like the hardy lilies,  though they bloom just as profusely. Where winters are  cold, treat tropicals as annuals.

Hardy water lilies.
These plants are hardy from zones 3 to  11, but whether you must move them indoors depends on  the pond or container they're planted in and the extremes  of cold in your area. In very cold-winter regions, you must  take in hardy lilies growing in small tubs; store them in a  garage or basement. In milder cold regions, a deicer that  you float in the water and plug into an electric outlet will  keep the water from freezing. You must take in lilies  grown in containers in small inground water gardens also.  Cover them with wet newspaper to keep them moist while  dormant.

These lilies survive in natural outdoor ponds if the crowns  and rhizomes are not in frozen earth under the ice in  winter. The flowers, stems, and leaves die back, but the  rhizomes remain alive. Find out the extreme maximum ice  depth in your area. If your pond is deeper than that, your  plants are probably safe. If you're not sure, take them in.
These lilies come in wonderful shades of pink, white, red,  and yellow. During a season, the tuber will creep from one  side of the pot to the other and, if the pot is too small,  grow right over the edge. To contain them, repot when the  weather warms in spring (see "The Big Job").

After water lilies, my favorite additions to the water  garden are (in order of preference):

Yellow snowflake (Nymphoides cristatum). Flowers on this  aquatic plant are frilled like a snowflake. Its leaves are  like a lily's but extensively marbled with green and  burgundy. It's considered hardy from zones 6 to 10. In  cold-winter areas, protect it as you would tropicals.

Water poppy (Hydrocleys nymphoides). This aquatic also  has floating leaves, and it's adorned with clear yellow  poppy flowers. North of zone 8, it's grown as an annual.  Though quite hardy in my garden, it nearly disappears  during the winter, like most aquatics.

Water hawthorn, also called Cape pondweed (Aponogeton  distachyus). In my zone 10 climate, this aquatic takes the  water poppy's place in winter. Its floating leaves are long  and narrow. The white vanilla-scented flowers are  floating racemes (flower spikes) that bloom in winter. The  whole plant vanishes below water in summer and  reappears in autumn. In cold climates, this plant blooms  only in summer.

Parrot's feather (Myriophyllum aquatica). This reasonably  well-behaved aquatic has feathery green foliage that  floats on the surface between the lilies in my pond. The  "feathers" stand about 6 inches above the water and add  vertical form to the pond. If I let them, they would take  over, so I hack away at them through the season.

Floating plants.
All of the above aquatic plants grow with  roots submerged and tops floating on the water, but some  aquatics actually float, roots and all, like little boats. You  could call these "nautical" plants. The lavender-blue-  flowered water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) is the best  known but is far too weedy in my zone, quickly forming an  armada. I like the gray-green leaves of water lettuce  (Pistia stratiodes), another boatlike floater, and the tiny  fronds of Azolla filiculoides, a fern that happens to float.

Submerged plants.
A few plants, called oxygenators, grow  completely submerged. Supposedly they add oxygen to the  water for the fish, but actually they absorb extra  nutrients that might increase algae levels. I grow only the  fluffy fanwort (Cabomba caroliniana), and must remove  lots of it every few weeks because it grows very fast.

Bog denizens.
Bog plants grow with their roots just under  the water's surface. I've planted water irises, azure  pickerel weed (Pontederia cordata), and the tall and  stately red-stemmed thalia (Thalia dealbata). I have even  added cannas, which do better in the pond than they do in  my garden. All have quickly overgrown, so now I stick to  the well-behaved water lilies and their friends.

The four rules of water gardening
1. Ponds need aquatic plants, fish, and water snails for  ecological balance.
2. Grow aquatic plants in their own pots, in ordinary  garden soil.
3. Keep 75 percent of the water surface covered with  vegetation.
4. You should never need to change the water.

The Big Job
Hardy water lilies must be repotted every spring in a  process that's similar to potting them up initially. With a  serrated knife, saw off several inches of the growing end  (the end with the leaves). Also, trim back roots so you end  up with a block of root-filled soil about 8 inches square.  The old soil will have turned jet black. It stains  everything, so quickly wash spills off paving and other  surfaces.

In a container wide enough to allow room for the roots to  spread, plug any drainage holes with two layers of  newspaper. Then plant the chunk of roots and leaves in  ordinary garden soil at one edge of the container so that it  can grow across the container. All water lilies need  fertilizer at planting time and later in the season. Little  tablets specifically for aquatic plants are the easiest to  work with if you follow label directions.

SOILS FOR SEED STARTING        HARDY ANNUALS        THE WATER GARDEN

 

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