Sarah Raven wrote an article on just this on 18 November in the Daily
Telegraph. She trialled 17 varieties for smell, flowering and length of
stem. Her favourite 10 are Matucana without which she says she would be
'bereft'; Midnight Painted Lady, Zorij Rose, Karen Louise, Aniversary,
Black Knight, Gypsy Queen, Lord Nelson, Wiltshire Ripple.
In the 'how to grow' section she says to sow at any time in autumn, two
seeds to a pot, using root trainers. Use multi purpose compost and push the
seeds about 1" below the surface.
She doesn't soak the seed and she reckons they'll germinate in a week or
two. Cover the pots with newspaper or a polystyrene tile to keep mooisture
and warmth in and light out. Heat is not essential.
Set a mousetrap! Mice love the seeds but you can also soak the seeds in
paraffin overnight to make them unpalatable or leave a paraffin soaked rag
scrumpled around the pots. Soaking in seaweed fertiliser is said to have
the same effect.
Check for germination every day and once the seedlings appear, keep them
cool at about 5C to promote root growth, not stem growth. A cold frame,
cool greenhouse or windowsill are fine but she says she used to use a couple
of straw bales with an old window over the top.
She says that they don't need protection from the cold and that bottom heat
won't help them but will hinder them.
Pinch out the leader when there are three or four pairs of leaves.
Water them and pinch out any spindly new tips.
As soon as white roots are visible in the bottom of the pot, move the plant
to a one size bigger pot and water them in. Don't let them get pot bound.
Pot them on in pairs, as sown. Two plants will cover any upright. Use a
good compost to pot them on. A slim, deep 1-litre pot is ideal.
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Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/